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THE PILGRIMS
THE PILGRIMS
BY

FREDERICK A. NOBLE
PASTOR EMERITUS OF UNION PARK CONG REG ATIOXAL CHURCH, CHICAGO
AUTHOR OF "DIVINE LIFE IN MAN," "DISCOURSES ON PHILIP-

PIANS,"
" OUR REDEMPTION," AND " TYPICAL
NEW TESTAMENT CONVERSIONS"

The noblest ancestry that ever a people looked back to with love

and reverence." — John G. Whittier

BOSTON
THE PILGRIM PRESS
NEW YORK CHICAGO
1907
 LOAN STACK

Copyright, 1907
By Luther H. Cary

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.

 TO

EDWARD FRANKLIN WILLIAMS

A FRIEND
WHOSE FRIENDSHIP IS OF LONG STANDING
AND
TENDERLY CHERISHED

195
 PREFACE
story of the Pilgrims is not merely a twice-told
THE — tale it is a tale which has been told over and over.

Historians renowned for their ability and learning,

essayists distinguished for their literary skill, orators of
the highest order, poets of world-wide fame, and patient
chroniclers have all taken it in hand ; and not a few of the
facts entering into the narrative are as familiar as
household words.
Of the earlier writers, Bradford, Winslow, and the Mor-
tons, along with what is found in Robinson's works and
the records and laws of the colony, have supplied a fund
of information, original and precious above all that any-
body else can ever hope to contribute, towards our knowl-
edge of this little Plymouth colony. Of the later writers,
Hubbard, Prince, Young, Baylies, Thacher, Hunter,
Davis, Cheever, Bacon, Elliott, the Dexters —
three of
them, the father, Henry Martyn Dexter, the son, Morton
Dexter, and Professor Franklin Bowditch Dexter of Yale
College
— Goodwin, Brown, Mackennal, Bartlett, Griffis,
Arber, and Ames, besides historians like Hutchinson, Barry,
Bancroft, Hildreth, and Palfrey, who have had to deal with
the Pilgrims ; and many others, some of whom like Neal,
Campbell, Byington, Fiske, and Winsor, if not dealing
directly with this subject, have yet dealt with subjects
which led them to throw important side-lights upon it;
and biographers like Steele, who has written the life of
Brewster, and O. S. Davis, who has made a fresh contribu-
tion to our mass of Pilgrim literature in his recent book
on Robinson, would seem to leave nothing unsaid which
ought to be said.
viii PREFACE
Why then attempt to repeat for the hundredth time
well set forth by other and
what has been so often and so
eminent authors? Why venture to multiply the volumes
— so many and so attractive — which already enrich our
libraries ?
To be frank, it is a fascinating and glorious story to
tell. It does one's own soul good to trace the footsteps,
recount the experiences, and record the virtues of the heroic
men and women who were identified with the movement which
invested the Mayflower with an immortal interest, erected
Plymouth Rock into a shrine of freedom
—
religious and
civil alike —
and culminated in large bodies of churches
self- regulating and independent of the State, and in our

glorious republic. In the light of the fierce opposition

they met, it is impossible to rehearse the incredible hard-
ships which this dauntless band of liberty-lovers had to
endure, the sublime steadiness with which they held to
their faith and purpose, the loftiness of life and character
which they illustrated, and the unique success with which
their efforts were finally crowned, without arriving at a
new conviction of the value both to the individual and the
state of loyalty to conscience and a new confidence in the
perpetual presence and guiding energy of God in human
affairs.
But though a sufficient warrant for weaving the
this,
facts into a web of connected narrative for one's own bene-
fit, or for the benefit of small circles of friends, can hardly
be advanced as a valid justification of publishing what may
have been written.
There were really two motives which led to the writing
of this book.
One was to gather and combine the leading facts, and
the leading facts only, in the story of this remarkable
group of men ; and then, with each fact falling into its own
place, to present them in a form to be easily grasped and
held in memory.
Here in our land constant reference is made to the
Pilgrims. Each succeeding generation has to learn anew
and who they were and what they
for itself did. For this,
students in our higher grades in schools and colleges have
 PREFACE ix

ample opportunity. Boys and girls, however, whose school-

days have been few, and young men and women whose lives
are largely spent in stores and mills, and not infrequently
members of reading circles and study classes of the more
ambitious sort, require an account of this advance-guard
of our free institutions which is so simple and direct that
it can be easily mastered. Many years of intimate asso-
ciation with just such learners as are here described, and
of efforts to familiarize them with the main features of
early New England history, have shown the indispensable-
ness of books, which, while not losing sight of the proper
chronological order, yet put those events and incidents and
movements, which are of the same class and are naturally
affiliated, together, and bring them before the eye at a
single sitting and in their entirety. This applies more
especially to the leading facts in the experience of the col-
ony on this side of the water. For example, one who wishes
to know how the Pilgrims treated the Indians, how they
managed to meet the expenses of their migration and work
free from debt, what kind of schools they had and when
they started them, how they organized and maintained
their churches, what sort of government they instituted
and what was the spirit of their legislation, or anything
else which was of vital concern to them and is of interest to
those who live after them, ought to have the information
laid before him in a compact and duly articulated form.
To the degree to which it seemed permissible this plan has
been carried out in this volume.
The other motive was a conviction that the movement of
which these men were the exponents ought to be set forth
in an interpretative way. Macaulay says that
" facts are
the mere dross of history," and that " the writer who does
not explain the phenomena as well as state them performs
only one half of his office."
The Pilgrims were a simple folk, but they stood for a
great and sacred cause. In all history there are few acts
of men so freighted with significance as the coming from
the Old World to the New of this little band of English
exiles. Who were these exiles? How came they to be?
What was the cause which they espoused? Were their
x PREFACE
and actions principles and actions for which it
principles
was worth while to suffer and make sacrifices? Exactly
what, in fine,were their contributions to the progress of
society? These are questions which may well be asked.
They are questions, too, which ought to be met with wise
and stimulating answers. Facts speak louder than words ;
but facts speak loudest when words are used to place them
in their true light and give them their proper emphasis.
Names and dates, causes and consequences, relations of
parties and successions of events are important. But in
the instance of these men, whose comprehension of liberty
both for Church and State was so advanced, and whose
devotion to duty was so sublime, it is a thousandfold more
important to catch their spirit and answer back to their
lives with lives set aflame and kindled to white heat with

religious zeal, patriotic devotion, and unswerving loyalty

to conscience by their example. It was with the purpose
and in the hope of doing something in this direction that
the work now completed was undertaken.
These, then, were the ends in view in this fresh attempt
to tell the story of the Pilgrims. My own conclusions will
be stated freely, but little space will be given to clearing
up controverted points in history and settling debated
questions. All facts and incidents which appear to be of
sufficient importance to lend interest to the recital, or throw

light on men and movements, have been given a place in the

body of the narrative. For these reasons it has been
thought better not to burden the pages of the book with
foot-notes and references. It would be too much to claim,
or to expect, that no mistakes have been made in the trans-
fer of statements by other authors, or in the apprehension
in every instance of the precise intent and meaning of what
somebody else has said ; but the utmost care has been taken
to make all quotation marks tell the truth, and to treat
views differing from my own with the courtesy and candor
to which all honest opinions are entitled.
It remains to bear testimony to the deep personal satis-
faction which the preparation of this volume has brought
into my own life, and to express the trust that this new set-
ting of the story of the trials and triumphs of our Fathers,
 PREFACE xi

however imperfect and inadequate it may be found, may

interest persons here and there who otherwise would not
have pursued studies along this line, and so would have
missed the inspiration which comes from intelligent and
sympathetic contact with heroic souls. A
more complete
surrender to the influence of these men and to the ideas
and aims for which they stood is, in my judgment, a con-
summation devoutly to be wished. For in these times and
under present tendencies the thing which we have least to
fear is too much enthusiasm for Plymouth Rock.

F. A. NOBLE.
Evanston, III., May 1, 1907.
 CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I The Way opened for the Pilgrims .... 1
Wycliffe and the Lollards
— The English Bible
— Incoming of
Dutch artisans — —
Holland an object lesson Divine influences
abroad — Temper of the times.
II Persecution a Factor in Making the Pilgrims 17
Nature of the Reformation in — Discontent and conflict
— Explanation of Elizabeth'sEngland
strange conduct
— How injustice
and oppression helped.

III The Pioneers of the Pilgrims 31

Hooper and his
martyrdom —
Thomas Cartwright and his ser-
vices — Robert Browne —
His merits and his tarnished fame.

IV The Pilgrims at Scrooby 51

A sign of the times
— Scrooby — The old manor house — A
marked Providence — Names of leaders — Clyfton — Brewster
— Bradford — Robinson — Other exiles — The explanation of
these men.

V The Escape to Holland 83

How the Scrooby Nonconformists were treated — Resolution to
leave and hindrances met — Effort to reach Holland successful.
VI EXPERIENCES AT AMSTERDAM 95
Reasons for going to Amsterdam — Amsterdam held out promise
— English-speaking people already at Amsterdam
of livelihood
— Smitten —
and exiled believers brought together Why Pil-
grims left —
Amsterdam —
Francis Johnson —
John Smyth
Henry Ainsworth — Strong desire to keep together — Petition
for leave to settle at Leyden.

VII The Pilgrims at Leyden 113

Leyden —
History of the town
—
The university Finding
—
homes in Leyden —
Settling down to work
—
Locations chosen
—Newcomers : Carver, Winslow, Brewer, Allerton, Cushman,
Fuller, Standish
—
Books printed and controversies stirred up
xiv CONTENTS
Chapter Page
— Robinson in great debate — Further Robinson
activit}' of
—
Marriages, citizenship, interest in religious questions —
Church
polity
— Life at Leyden helpful.
VIII Leaving Leyden 145
Removal contemplated —
Deciding where they should go How- —
obtain means to carry out their plan —
Solicitations by the Dutch
—Thomas Weston and the Merchant Adventurers —
Articles of

agreement
—
Disheartening change in articles —
Side-lights
thrown on the Pilgrims —
Preliminary points settled —
Tender
religious services.

IX Crossing the Ocean 169

Disappointment, delay, and loss
—
Ready to sail Robinson's—
letter —
Further hindrances and disappointments— Off at last
— Accessions the colony: Martin, Mullins, Hopkins, Alden —
to
The — Trying experiences — Shadow and sunshine
— OffMayflower
Cape Cod
— Where land — Safe anchor.
to at

X An Eventful Month 193

The Mayflower Compact —
Seeking a site for settlement The —
first exploration —
The second exploration —
The third explo-
ration— A significant observance of the Sabbath — Setting foot
on the famous rock — From Cape Cod to Plymouth.

XI The First Winter 221

Choosing a site for
building
— Beginning to build — Plan of town
— Sickness and death — Causes of sickness — Sufferings of
survivors — A common experience of colonies — Shows stuff
of which the Pilgrims were made — Mishaps and narrow escapes
— Return of the Mayflower.
XII Making a Living 241
The supply producing force —
More discipline in store Help ob- —
tained —
The trying period —
Embarrassing accessions Aban- —
doning planting in common —
An alarming drought— New
industrial scheme justified —
Lived simply —
Cattle brought
to the colony —
Health and long life.

XIII Paying their Debts 261

Why in debt — Amount of indebtedness difficult to ascertain —
—
First complaints at delay in remittances First remittance and
what came of it—A —
second remittance Other futile attempts
to make returns — A new financial basis necessary — The new

agreement
— New arrangement inspires hope — Financial and
other readjustments — Taught to use wampum for currency
— Expanding their trade — Debt increased by bringing over
 CONTENTS xv
Chapter Page
Leyden associates —
Helpful accessions to the colony: Timothy
Hatherly, William Thomas, John Jenney, Thomas Willet
—
Free at last.

XIV Relations with the Indians 287

Feared ferocity of the savages — Providential preparation for
coming of the Pilgrims —A —
startling introduction Samoset's
welcome —Some account — Squanto — Massasoit —
of Samoset

Deputation Massasoit — Startling rumors — Massasoit and

visits
others invited to visit — Clouds in the sky — Weston's
colony
— Blood must becolony
shed — The Pilgrims just and kind to
the Indians.

XV Fostering the Church 323

The two branches one —
The first meeting-house Brewster's —
ministry
—
The Bible used —
A minister in prospect Con- —
spiracy of Lyford and Oldam
—
Rev. Ralph Smith Roger —
Williams at Plymouth —
Seeking a successor to Smith —
Charles Chauncey at Plymouth —
A minister found at length
— Incidents of interest —
The problem of church extension —
Other ministers and churches — Ralph Partridge
— Ichabod
Wiswell —
Nicholas Street.

XVI Setting up Schools 351

First mention of training the young —
Schools started early —
Legislation on school question
—
Claim the first free school —
Free schools a glorious achievement.

XVII Development of their Laws 361

Government simple at the outset —
Revision and codification of
laws needed —
System of laws adopted —
Declaration of rights
— Some of the specific
— Other forms of pun-
laws of the code
ishment — Change to representative government — Jealous of
rights
— Freemen — Voting a sacred trust — Fines for refusing
to hold office — Laws were growths.
XVIII Witches and Quakers 379
Belief in witchcraft universal — Only two cases — Trouble with
the Quakers — Why alarmed — First law against Quakers —
Further enactments — First instance of punishment — Other
instances — No Quaker put to death — Stopped by the king.

XIX Confederation of the Colonies 393

The which came into the union
colonies —
The basis of union —
—
New articles of union Value of union to Plymouth Settled —
claims to disputed territory —Incidental benefits Stress on —
local rights, opportunity to show ability
— Training secured for
future needs.
xvi CONTENTS
Chapter Page
XX The War with Philip 409
Causes of the war —
Philip
—
Indian ranks greatly reduced —
Part taken by Christian Indians —
Course of the war War —
swept back into Plymouth
— —
End of war in sight Result of
the war.

XXI The Closing Years 425

Andros and his administration — Timely — An edifying
relief

spectacle
— Plymouth united to Massachusetts — A consum-
mation to be desired.

XXII Lessons Taught by the Pilgrims .... 435

Had exalted views of God— Had a positive and earnest religion
— Laid great stress on righteous character — Emphasized civic
duties — Sensitively alive to the future.
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Plymouth Rock Frontispiece

Manor House, Scrooby Facing page 58

Bradford Cottage, Austerfield „ „ 72

The Church in Austerfield „ „ 72

The Little Street of the Brownists, Amsterdam „ „ 100

In Amsterdam „ „ 100

John Robinson's House, Leyden, Holland . . „ „ 136

The Departure of the Pilgrims from Delfshaven,

July, 1620 „ „ 168

Plymouth in 1622 „ „ 228

The Pilgrim Monument, Plymouth „ „ 446

 I

THE WAY OPENED FOB THE PILGRIMS

 The minds of men having been prepared beforehand, not only by the
writings of Wycliffe and the martyrdom of Huss and Jerome, but also by
the new impulse and independence which had been given to thought in
consequence of the revival of learning then in progress ; and by the
excitement which the discovery of a new world, and of new paths and
regions for commerce, had spread over Europe ; and the invention of
printing which provided a new instrumentality for the diffusion of knowl-
edge and the promotion of free enquiry —
only a few years elapsed from
the time when Luther in the University of Wittenburg, and Zwingli in
the cathedral of Zurich, made their first efforts, before all Europe
was convulsed with the progress of a great intellectual and moral
emancipation.
— Leonard Bacon.

The progress of the Reformation in Germany, by the preaching of

Luther, Melanchthon, and others, with the number of books that were
published in those parts, some of which were translated into English,
revived learning, and raised people's curiosity to look into the state of
religion here at home.
—Daniel Neal.

The method of Providence in history is never magical. In propor-

tion to the magnitude of the catastrophe are the length of time and the
variety of agencies which are employed in producing it. Events, because
they are unexpected and startling, are not to be ascribed merely to some
proximate antecedent. But ... we must take into account the personal
qualities and the plastic agency of individuals not less than the operations
of general causes. Especially if a revolution in long established opinions
and habits of feeling is to take place, there must be individuals to rally
upon men of power who are able to create and sustain in others a new
:

moral life which they have first realized in themselves.

George P. Fisher.
 The Pilgrims

THE WAY OPENED FOR THE PILGRIMS

Puritan was before the Pilgrim. The Puritan
THE
— was the first stage in the development of the Pilgrim,
the blossom of which the Pilgrim was the fruit.
Not all Puritans were Pilgrims ; but, speaking in general,
all Pilgrims were Puritans. There was an arrested Puri-
tanism, — a Puritanism which, instead of passing over into
Separatism, became bitter against it and did all in its power
to thwart its aims ; but Puritanism in the sense of aspira-
tion for more holiness of character, for larger freedom of
direct personal access to God, and for opportunity for
wider usefulness in spreading abroad a knowledge of the
truth as it is in Jesus, and informing society with the rules
and habits of righteousness, was the soil out of which the
Pilgrim sprang. Puritanism, non-conformity, separatism,
—
exile, partly enforced and partly voluntary,
—these were
the successive degrees through which those men passed who
began by wanting things sweeter and better in the Church
in their own home-land, and who ended by going away and

planting in a foreign land a church which they conceived to

be more nearly in conformity with the plan and spirit of the
gospel.
Had there not been first a Puritan there would have been
no Pilgrim to write a new chapter in the story of Chris-
tianity and human progress. Had there been no Pilgrim
to emphasize with heroic daring and large sacrifice his sense
of the need of reformation in the conduct of religious life
and in the management of ecclesiastical affairs, Puritanism,
in all probability, would have been like one of those western
4 THE PILGRIMS
streams which starts in the mountains, and is clear and
vigorous in its flow for a while, but before it reaches the
ocean is lost in the sands.
It is not easy to fix definitely upon the beginnings of
Puritanism. It is easy to trace the influences which led
up to it, — easy to detect signs of its approach, even as
one can detect signs of the coming spring while it is yet
winter,
—but just who were the first Puritans, and just
where Puritanism first began to round out into shape, are
fields of quest which slope back into the mists of the un-

explored and uncertain.

The truth uttered by Wycliffe, so long before the great

German Reformer had acted his part in the sublime drama
of human progress, baffled and arrested though
Wycliffe was? neV er lost its hold on the English mind,
ft
and the The light shed by Wycliffe, who with justice
Lollards has been called "The Morning Star of the
Reformation," obstructed and refracted though
it was, never wholly faded out of the English sky. The
seed scattered by Wycliffe, who was following the Master
in His spiritual husbandry, trodden underfoot though it
was by the iron hoof of blind persecution, never ceased
to hold in it a germinating power. From Wycliffe's time
on Puritanism was in the air. It was the pollen with
which the wind was fertilizing religious thought. By a
subtle chemistry of growth it was persistently pushing its
way through a thousand rootlets into the new and expand-
ing life of the nation. Like leaven in the lump, for a hun-
dred years and more before Henry snatched the church of
his realm from the greedy and defiling hand of the pope
that he might bruise and besmear it in his own clumsy grasp,
the message which Wycliffe declared from his rediscovered
Bible had been quietly working in the mental processes and
spiritual aspirations of the most devout of the people. Wy-
—
cliffe planted the tree that bore the fruit so nourishing to
life — which subsequent generations plucked and ate. The
time came when, worn and weary and ready for the " Well
 THE PILGRIMS 5

done " which awaits faithful souls on the threshold of the

lifebeyond, he had to lay aside his harp and sweep its chords
no more but other hands took up the instrument and touched
;

its strings to a music which at length thrilled the hearts of

his countrymen and stirred them to such high endeavor
that they were enabled to achieve moral and spiritual victo-
ries not alone for themselves, but for the world. Though
dead, with ashes desecrated and borne by Avon to Severn,
and from Severn to the sea, this brave prophet of the Most
High still maintained his hold on life, and, with a voice
which no pope or potentate could hush, kept on speaking
to the mind and moral sense of thoughtful Englishmen.
The little candle which he lighted was a candle of the
Lord, and it sent its beams afar. It is but a blind eye
which can look on the Puritan and not see Wycliffe behind
him.
The direct endeavors of Wycliffe were greatly reinforced,
and was vastly extended by the bands
his personal influence
of preachers, known as Lollards, who went forth to empha-
size the truths which their great leader had brought out
afresh from the Word of God, and to advocate the reforms
which he had set in motion. These strolling " mumblers,"
" " in
clad," as another has described them, long robes of
coarse red wool, barefoot, with pilgrim staff in hand," going
"
up and down, setting forth the Word of God wherever they
could find listeners," distributing hand-copied " passages
from Wycliffe's tracts and texts from the Bible among
tradesmen and artisans, yeomen and plough-boys, to be
pondered over and talked about and learned by heart,"
made a deep and lasting impression on large numbers of the
common people. They were not men of the schools, but
they were men with a message, and their words set sensible
people to pondering, to looking about, to asking questions,
and to reaching conclusions which meant sooner or later
a better condition of things in church and state. They
popularized the teachings of Wycliffe. They stamped the
truths which he uttered into the minds of the more thought-
ful in the communities in which they labored in a fashion
to make them the heritage of succeeding generations.
Where these preachers went, and were in a measure wel-
6 THE PILGRIMS
corned, later reformers found the soil prepared for their
sowing.
This is the view commonly held by all well-informed
writers on the subject. The
Dr. Mackennal, in his
late
"
exceedingly interesting and instructive little book on Eng-
lish Separatism," says that the counties over which the
influence of Lollardy extended are almost exactly the coun-
ties in which martyrs suffered under Mary. He says
" were the counties where
further that these Puritanism
was subsequently strong," and that the " Home counties,
with Suffolk and Norfolk, where the martyr-roll is most
crowded, are the counties where Separatism had its origin."
Maps have been published which make good this claim and
show clearly the coincidence of the boundaries which mark
the sowing of the Wycliffe ideas and the reaping of Puritan
convictions and deeds.

II

The Bible, too, given to the people in their own tongue,

first in parts and then in its entirety, by those worthy
successors of Wycliffe, Coverdale and Tyndale,
The Eng- h a(] a SUD tle but very effective influence in
lish Bible
shaping and forcing the issue which resulted
in the advanced Protestantism of the out-and-
out Puritan.
The great writers who have had
to do with the develop-
ment of have not failed to recognize
letters in the nation
the formative influence of the English Bible on English
literature. John Fiske has an illuminating passage on the
value to the people at that particular period in the history
of the country of the " most original and noble literature
"
which was unfolded to them in the translations of the
" At a time when
Scriptures into the English tongue.
there was yet no English literature for the common people,
this untold wealth of Hebrew literature was implanted in
the English mind as in virgin soil." Our author is right
in adding that it was a matter of vast consequence
" that
the first truly popular literature in England the first —
which stirred the hearts of all classes of people, and filled
 THE PILGRIMS 7

their minds with ideal pictures and their every-day speech

with apt and telling phrases —
was the literature comprised
" To the
within the Bible." Englishmen who listened to
Latimer, to the Scotchmen who listened to Knox, the Bible
more than filled the place which in modern times is filled
by poem and song, by novel and newspaper and scientific
treatise."
But the Bible brought within the reach of the people did
more than create a taste and furnish inspiration for a match-
less literature. It became a system of practical ethics. Men
discovered in it an authoritative standard of right conduct.
It was a revelation from God, and reading it, the more de-
vout and earnest souls felt that they were catching the ac-
cents of a divine voice. It was not thought alone which
was touched and quickened, itwas life. Literature, it may
be said again, is a potent factor in shaping the character
of any people. A high-toned literature helps very greatly
to make a high-toned nation. Still, incalculable as was
the value to literature of the Bible, rendered into their
mother-tongue and made easily accessible through the
translations of Coverdale and Tyndale —successful work-
ers in the same fertile field —
its value to the English

people as a regenerating moral and spiritual force was

yet greater. At once it became a vital and uplifting
power. Men were taken back in their thoughts to the
divine image in which they were created, and given a
fresh sense of the rights and privileges of the indi-
vidual as well as new notions of the duties and obli-
gations of lawmakers and rulers. With the Bible open
to everybody who cared to read it, or who could be in-
duced to read it, the old conditions were no longer
possible. There was then, as there is now and always,
a silent but tremendous transforming energy in an open
Bible.
Anopen Bible is a risen sun, and the potency and prom-
ise of an expanding intelligence are in its beams. An open
Bible is a proclamation of liberty; and men who read it
will become more and more impatient of all restraints im-

posed on conscience and the free exercise of natural rights.

Tyrants who wish to be secure in the practise of tyranny
8 THE PILGRIMS
do well to withhold the Bible from the hands of their out-
raged subjects. Oppressors who find their pleasure and
profit in grinding the faces
of the poor are wise with the
wisdom of their kind in keeping the Bible a closed book.
Unlike Tjndale, who went through the sharp pains of mar-
tyrdom, Coverdale died in peace; but the open Bible, dis-
trusted and opposed as it was by so many who ought to
have been its advocates, survived and kept on its way with
an energy that was irresistible.

Ill

There were still other influences at work toward the same

end. Some of these, coming in from the outside and blend-

ing with those which had a home origin, were exceedingly
effective in the making of the Puritan, and after him the
Nonconformist, the Separatist, and the Pilgrim.
Dr. Griffis is surely right in his strenuous
Incoming contention that reform ideas, in one fashion and
of Dutch
another, were imported from across the North
artisans g ea j n to the more northern, the middle eastern,
and the southern counties of England, and were
potent factors in determining the events which followed.
Not so early, not so subtle, not so pervasive as the influ-
ences which proceeded from the Oxford Reformer and those
who entered into the sacred inheritance of his thought and
aim, yet the influences which came to the shores of England
from Holland were not only timely but to an eminent degree
helpful.
For one thing there was a free intermingling of Dutch
and English during those years which more immediately
preceded the definite solidifying of Puritan sentiment which
was immensely effective in stimulating thought and shaping
opinion. Dr. Griffis condenses the facts into a single para-
" With ten thousand
graph when he says :
English, Welsh,
Irish, and Scottish soldiers, fighting under the red, white,
and blue flag of the republic thousands of British contrac-
;

tors, merchants, traders, and agents in the Low Countries,

and a hundred thousand Netherlanders, mostly educated
people and skilled workmen, in the British Isles, relations
 THE PILGRIMS 9

between England and Holland were close and varied."

One can see at a glance that it could not be otherwise.

Referring to this same line of facts Professor Williston

Walker says " These radical English efforts for a com-
:

plete reformation had their chief support in the Eastern

Counties, especially in the vicinity of Norwich and London.
These regions had long been the recipient of Dutch immi-
gration; and the influx from the Netherlands had vastly
increased during the early reign of Elizabeth, owing to the
tyranny of Philip II. In 1562 the Dutch and Walloons
settled in England numbered 30,000. By 1568 some 5225
of the people of London were of this immigration ; and by
1587 they constituted more than half of the population
of Norwich, while they were largely present in other coast
towns."
Elizabeth made the relation between these foreigners and
her own people still more close than it might have been
otherwise by requiring each Netherland family " to take
an English apprentice, so that the country might imme-
diately get the benefit of continental superiority in science,
art and handicraft."
Many of these cunning artisans, it is fair to presume,
entertained advanced views on the question of freedom in
church and state. Close association with them would have
no inconsiderable force in shaping the aspirations and aims
of men whose leanings were in the direction of notions quite
other than those held by subservient secretaries and time-
serving prelates. Minds ripe for change could not help
being hurried to their conclusions, or, if their conclusions
had been already reached, confirmed in them by this intimate
intercourse with people who were from the other side of the
German Ocean, and who had experienced all the bitterness
and pain of an inquisitorial persecution. At the loom, by
the bench, and in the foundry, within the narrow homes
where manufacturing was carried on, there must have
been many simple conversations on the same high topics
which engaged Luther's attention and of which Calvin
wrote and Milton was to sing.
10 THE PILGRIMS
IV
But was something more than
in the course of time there
this. When these eastern and southern county English-
men lifted their eyes and looked beyond the
Holland North Sea into the Netherlands they saw
an object-
sights to stir the blood and kindle the soul
lesson i n to a blaze of enthusiasm. So soon as the
bigoted and cruel Spaniard had been brought
to halt by the indomitable courage and heroic obstinacy of
the freedom-loving Dutch, or from the latter part of the
sixteenth century onward, Holland granted toleration —
not the widest, but enough for all practical purposes —
to
the different sects within her borders. Examples were also
afforded, especially by the Anabaptists, of churches govern-
ing themselves and settling policies and aims to suit their
own ideas of rights and duties and to meet the needs of the
hour.
As to Anabaptist influence in shaping the ideas of early
English Congregationalists, Professor Walker does not
appear to be willing to go so far as some others go and
"
yet he does not hesitate to make this statement :
Among
the workmen of Holland Anabaptist views were widely dis-
seminated, and while it would be unjustifiable to claim
that these exiles on English soil were chiefly, or largely,
Anabaptists, there were Anabaptists among them, and an
Anabaptist way of thinking may not improbably have been
widely induced among those who may have been entirely
unconscious of the source from which their impulse came.
Certainly the resemblances between the Anabaptist move-
ments on the Continent and English Congregationalism
in theories of church polity, and the geographical possibili-
ties of contact between the two, are sufficiently manifest to
make a denial of relationship exceedingly difficult."
In that land, too, a man might think aloud. If he chose
to do so he might put his thoughts into tracts and books.
It was a land of the free as well as a home of the brave. To
intelligent, sincere, and earnest onlookers, only a short dis-
tance away, who were disloyal neither to king nor country
 THE PILGRIMS 11

nor religion, but who wished simply to be permitted to think

their own thoughts, to be faithful to their own best concep-
tions of truth and worship God according to the
service, to
dictates of their own and without let or hin-
consciences,
drance to publish and exchange views on the compelling
themes of God and man, of duty and destiny, and whatever
else has to do with human welfare, what must all this have
meant? The question answers itself. Englishmen of the
worthier sort, observing this condition of things, must have
felt like captives, closely confined and breathing the foul air
of a prison, while their more fortunate fellows were out in
the open sunshine with liberty to come and go at will. Hol-
land was a school in which men of bright minds like Brew-
ster, whether going there as he did, or not, would learn
much and fast. The laws and institutions of Holland were
an object-lesson in civil and religious liberty ; and the Eng-
lish were not few who were instructed by the great and
obvious teaching.

It must not be forgotten, moreover, that this whole

movement which resulted first in the Puri-
Divine in-
tan, and later in the Pilgrim, was under
fluences a providential guidance. With the pene-
abroad tration and grasp of a true prophet, Lowell
sings :

"
We see but half the causes of our deeds,
Seeking them wholly in the outer life,
And heedless of the encircling spirit-world
Which, though unseen, is felt, and sows in us
All germs of pure and world-wide purposes."

The Spirit of God brooded over the minds of these men

as over the old chaos, and gave form to their thought and
direction to their aims. Their eyes were focused on the
advancing dawn, and beams of the new day were poured in
upon their minds. The Scriptures were illuminated to
their understanding, and they came to know the things of
life and duty at first hand. They had clear vision because
"
they had open vision, and saw things in the light of the
12 THE PILGRIMS
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

They had stout hearts because they were inwardly girded

by the Almighty. Abraham and the people whom he or-
ganized into a nation can be explained only by a call whis-
pered from on high. We shall never comprehend Moses
and the work of emancipation which he accomplished until
we interpret him by the burning bush. Paul is a riddle
which no man can guess until proper significance is at-
tached to the splendor which smote him to the earth and the
Voice which spoke to him there at the gate of Damascus.
The Pilgrim caught his deepest and finest inspiration from
God; and the key which unlocks and exposes the secret
of what he was and what he did is the complete way in which
he allowed the Spirit to enter all the chambers of his soul
and direct and dominate his life.

VI
Along with the forces and influences here specified, or
rather including both them and many others, there was a
temper of the times, slowly but surely emerg-
Temper of [ n g ou t f a]j tne passionate longings and
the times confused wrestling of the period, which was
in ill accord with the old traditions and
usages, and which clearly foretokened a new order of
things. There was " the sound of marching in the tops
" which indicated the
of the mulberry-trees approach of a
host to be reckoned with by the enemies of truth and
righteousness and a conflict which should shake the land.
Oliver Cromwell had not yet come in sight, but he was near
at hand, and the obstinate Stuart dynasty which had in-
herited the fatal legacy of lust of dominion and " divine
" from the
right of kings past was to topple to its fall.
The songs of Chaucer, as well as the sermons of Wycliffe,
long dormant and for a hundred years apparently forgot-
ten, were recurring with a fresh energy to the minds of men,
and " the brawney hunt-loving monk," " the wanton friar,"
" the '
pardoner with his wallet bret full of pardons, come
"
from Rome all hot,' were losing caste in the public
estimation.
 THE PILGRIMS 13
It was only natural that restlessness among the people
and opposition to the insufferable conditions then existing
should be more pronounced with reference to ecclesiastical
misrule and oppression than with reference to civil tyranny.
There had been democracy in Greece, and Rome was once a
republic in name, and central and western Europe had
known free cities, and a commonwealth fed and fostered
by the bracing air of Switzerland had sprung up in the
later times at Geneva; but a search of the centuries re-
vealed no great and commanding examples of civil affairs
directed by the people and for the people. There had been
eminently wise and patriotic heads of nations, like Alfred
and Charlemagne, though the achievements of these men
and their contributions to an enduring civilization were not
so well known in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as now;

but there were no illustrious sovereigns who had been made

sovereigns by the free and intelligent choice of their sub-
jects, and who, thus chosen, had administered public affairs
solely in the interest of their subjects, to whom it was pos-
sible to point in the assurance that their just and benefi-
cent reigns would stand out in marked contrast to the
prevailing customs of kings and emperors.
But so soon as the Bible was placed within reach of the
people, and men began to read and weigh its statements
for themselves, it was seen how wide had been the departure
in the management of ecclesiastical affairs from the primi-
tive ideas and methods. What a gulf of difference the com-

parison revealed between selfish and unholy priests, between

bishops and archbishops and popes with their greeds and
ambitious and countless political intrigues, and the divine
Master, surrounded and followed by the apostles whom he
called about him and sent out to do his work ! How unlike
in its spirit and rules and aims had the Church of the later
times come to be to the Church of the early times ! Peter
and Paul and James and John were not stall-fed bishops ;

and though they spoke with authority they did not attempt
to lord it over God's heritage. There came to be a convic-
tion, wide-spread, deep-seated, and which was all the time
increasing in intensity, that reform, even in spheres where
some measure of reform had been effected, was still de-
14 THE PILGRIMS
manded and must be made more radical and thoroughgoing.
The high business in which Wycliffe and Huss and Luther
engaged had not been carried on to completeness and so
;

long, on the one hand, as liberty of conscience was denied to

sincere and devout souls, and so long, on the other hand, as
the men who held ecclesiastical positions were so ignorant
and stupid that they could not teach, or were so extor-
tionate and shamelessly corrupt that their lives were a cruel
mockery of the faith which they avowed and a sore hin-
drance to the advance of Christianity, agitation must be
kept up and aggressive movements continued and vital
issues forced.
At the same time the prevailing discontent was not con-
nor did it all originate with men
fined to religious circles,
who wanted a better chance to show their loyalty to Jesus
Christ in worship and in work. The charter obtained from
King John at Runnymede was not only an inspiring mem-
ory but a living fact. Down to the reign of Henry VI,
that great instrument of liberty had been confirmed thirty-
seven times. Its three leading provisions— that no freeman
should be arraigned and imprisoned except in accordance
with custom or the law of the realm, that justice was
neither to be sold nor withheld, and that taxes were to be
imposed only by the consent and authority of Parliament
—
in the thought of the most intelligent and patriotic and

freedom-loving of the people had become foundation-

stones of the civil structure of the English nation. Man in
the dignity and power of his simple manhood was moving to
the front. The rights of man were acquiring new recogni-
tion and sacredness. The terrific struggle which had taken
place in Holland was a thought-breeder, and in elect souls
throughout Europe it kindled new or revived old aspirations
for freedom and self-government.
Hence the restlessness and discontent in both church and
state, and the launching of the controversy, which had its
origin in the religious dissatisfaction and aspiration of the
people, into the surging sea of national politics. At bottom
the question of Puritanism was spiritual and ecclesiastical ;
but because of the organic relation of church and state in
England it had to be wrought out and settled in the arena
 THE PILGRIMS 15

of party controversy. There was no wit or force to arrest

the conflict. The hour was ripe for a radical change in the
management of ecclesiastical and civil affairs alike, and a
step forward was necessary to the peace and prosperity of
the English nation and the progress of mankind.
 II

PERSECUTION A FACTOR IN MAKING THE

PILGRIMS
 It seems to be a law of human nature that no evil is arrested becomes
unbearable. — Charles W. Elliott.
till it

ye
,
>

And to consume the truth of God, I tell you

That every flame a loud tongue of fire
is
To it abroad to all the world
publish
Louder than tongues of men. — Henby W. Longfellow.

This is the secret of the opposition of the English Church to Puritanism

and Independence. The Church, like that of Rome, had virtually assumed
its own infallibility. ... It had interwoven the hierarchy with the whole
temporal Constitution of the realm. And the test of loyalty was undeviating
conformity to the canons of the Church and implicit obedience to the mandates
of the crown. — John Stetson Barry.

By no artifice of ingenuity can the stigma of persecution, the worst

blemish of the English Church, be effaced or patched over. Her doctrines,
we well know, do not tend to intolerance. She admits the possibility of
salvation out of her own pale. But this circumstance, in itself honorable
to her, aggravates the sin and the shame of those who persecuted in her
name. — Thomas Babington Macaulay.
Few people are wise enough to learn the economic value of justice.
Booker T. Washington.

So shall the world go on,

To good malignant, to bad men benign;
Under her own weight groaning; till the day
Appear of respiration to the just
And vengeance to the wicked.
— John Milton.
 II

PERSECUTION A FACTOR IN MAKING THE

PILGRIMS

story of themaking of the Pilgrims is yet to be

THE told. For what has gone before has to do simply

with the diffusion of the knowledge which would
enable men to proceed intelligently with the presentation
of motives to right and courageous action, and the blazing
of a path through the tangled thickets of superstition and
routine and corruption and every form of tyranny and in-
justice, out into the open world of truth and freedom. At
the risk of walking along avenues which will need to be
retrodden, and saying things which will have to be said
over again, we must pause here long enough to get a true
historical setting for our narrative, and a clear under-
standing of the exact points in dispute and the real causes
which led up to the fierce conflict between Conformity and
Dissent and issued in the Pilgrims in America.

The Reformation in England, it needs to be kept in mind,

was of a double nature. It was a religious reformation,
and it was a political reformation. The move-
Nature of ment to improve the condition of things in the
the Befor-
religious world began, as we have seen, with
mation in
Wycliffe, about two centuries before Luther.
England ^he movement to sever the government of
England from the domination of the papal
power took form and was pushed forward to a victorious
consummation, under Henry Vin. The measures adopted
by Henry were followed up and confirmed by Edward VI
and Queen Elizabeth.
 20 THE PILGRIMS
It will be recalled that Henry VIII, after his break with
Pope Clement VII over the question of his divorce from
Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn,
persuaded Parliament to permit him to declare himself the
head of the national church. Mary, who, on her accession
to sovereignty, did her best to undo and reverse what her
father Henry and her brother Edward had done for the
advance of Protestantism, secured the repeal of the measure
her father had induced Parliament to enact.
"
Concerning this repeal, however, Hallam, in his Consti-
tutional History," significantly remarks :
" Her Parliament,
so obsequious in all matters of religion, adhered with a firm
grasp to the possession of the church lands ; nor could the
papal supremacy be reestablished until a sanction was
given to their enjoyment." The pope at Rome might
have his way once more, if Mary had set her heart on
restoring to him this privilege, in matters of faith and cere-
mony ; but lands which had been confiscated from ecclesias-
tical ownership, and turned over to the possession of the

English aristocracy, were quite another matter; and it

would not do for Parliament to attempt to disturb rights so
sacred! When was a genuine Britisher, whether under
one flag or another, ever known willingly to give up a
square foot of mother earth? Besides, these confiscated
monastery lands comprised not less than one-fifth of the
whole area of the realm.
But as parliaments in those days, save in interests which
touched the pockets of the members, were little more than
instruments for registering the sovereign's will, Elizabeth
easily constrained her lawmakers to reenact the statute of
Henry. The authority in church matters previously vested
in the pope was now vested in the queen. The queen was
head of the church, and her power in all that concerned
the church was well-nigh limitless.
As Dr. Bacon has stated in substance, all the great ec-
clesiastical dignities and thousands of the humbler benefices
were at the disposal of the government. The people, ex-
cept in a few anomalous instances, were denied any voice
in the appointment of their parish ministers. There could
be no synod or convocation, general or diocesan, with a lay
 THE PILGRIMS 21

representation, to regulate matters of common interest.

Convocations, even of the clergy, could assemble only at the
command of the sovereign. When assembled, these convoca-
tions could engage in business only under the sovereign's
particular warrant.
It will not take long to see that the only advantage the
church, or rather, to speak more accurately, the Christian
people of the land, had under the new condition of things
over the old, was a pope near at hand, and not far away as
at Rome, and a chance to fight their battles for religious
freedom and the sacred rights of conscience on their own
ground and under their own cherished flag.

II

The outcome was just what might have been anticipated.

Here were the conditions of inevitable discontent and vigor-
ous protest. Discontent arose and protests
Discontent were uttered. With self-respect enough and
and
vitality enough in the church to hold it to-
conflict
gether, and keep it in any sort of mood for
bearing witness to the faith and pushing any
kind of religious activity, there would be sure to be some
voices to cry out against the woful lack of spirituality, and
the perversion of religious belief and the whole machinery
of a great religious organization to the ends of secular
ambition.
In this instance the voices were clear and loud. It was
not enough that the visible head of the church should be
changed, and that men should look, not to the Roman
pontiff, but to the head of the nation at Westminster, for
direction in things spiritual, but they wanted the old leaven
of Romish corruption, down to the last particle of it,
purged out, and every trace of superstition and idolatry
forever removed.
The Act of Uniformity which was passed soon after
Elizabeth ascended the throne, and which established the
Book of Common Prayer as the only form for the worship
of God by a religious assembly, and made it an offense
severely punishable for a minister to deviate from the
22 THE PILGRIMS
rubrics, gave fresh and alarming occasion for protest, and
furnished a battle-cry to all adherents of Puritanism, and
did much to cement them into unity. When the time had
come in the estimation of the politic queen for the rigid
enforcement of the Act of Uniformity, there was a spirit of
resistance abroad which was just as determined that the act
should not be enforced.
The Act of Uniformity was accompanied and supple-
mented by an Act of Supremacy. Under this law the Ec-
clesiasticalEstablishment of England was finally separated
from the See of Rome, and the queen was empowered to
set up a court, which came in time to be known as the
"
High Commission for Causes Ecclesiastical." It differed
little from other inquisitions save that it was English and
not Spanish, and was conducted, not by Catholics, but by
Protestants.
This " High Commission " had power to make inquiries
respecting heretical opinions, seditions, books, contempts,
conspiracies, false rumors or talks. It might punish per-
sons for absenting themselves from church. It could take
away their livings from ministers who held doctrines con-
trary to the Thirty-Nine Articles. It could put suspected
persons under oath and examine them. Often these exami-
nations were conducted by a series of questions so shrewdly
designed to trap their prey that Lord Burleigh, who,
though prime minister of England, was not in sympathy
with Whitgift, the primate and the chief agent in enforcing
thought the proceeding left the
this statute of persecution,

inquisitors of Philip II and the whole line of popes from

Paul IV to Clement VIII quite behind in cunning and
malignity.
Bancroft in his splendid chapter on " The Pilgrims,"
speaking of what was taking place at this time under the
"
jurisdiction of this commission, says: Subscriptions were
now required to points which before had been eluded; the
kingdom rung with the complaints for deprivations the ;

most learned and diligent of the ministry were driven from

their places and those who were introduced to read the
;

liturgy were so ignorant that few of them could preach.

Did men listen to their deprived pastors in the recesses
 THE PILGRIMS 23

of forests, the offense, if discovered, was visited with fines

and imprisonments. ... In vain did the sufferers murmur ;
in vain did Parliament disapprove. . . . The archbishop
would have deemed forbearance a weakness ; and the queen
was ready to interpret any freedom in religion as a treas-
onable denial of her supremacy."
The simple fact is that this law of Supremacy, as inter-
preted and enforced by the High Commission, was a horri-
ble despotism, and meant that no Nonconformist could
have shelter for his nonconformity under the English
Constitution.

Ill

Thesurprising as well as painful thing in all this is that

it occurred in the reign of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a
Protestant — or at least she was popularly
Elizabeth's to be. In the tremendous contest then
supposed
anomalous
waging in Europe all her larger interests were
attitude on -the side of Protestantism. We are not as-
tonished at anything Henry did after he had
fairly begun his strange career. Mary was likewise self-
consistent, and her actions were in line with what might
have been anticipated. But Elizabeth's conduct grieves
and shocks us. It was inhuman and it was incongruous.
The more we dwell on the record the more it excites our
amazement. For though a capricious piece of womanhood,
and even at this late day not easily to be classified, Eliza-
beth was a great and distinguished queen. It is impossible
to recur to the period of English history of which she was
the brilliant center without experiencing a glow of enthu-
siasm which sets all the pulses to beating more quickly and
causes the whole soul to swell with a pardonable pride.
It was the age of Shakespeare, Spenser, Bacon, Sidney,
and Raleigh. Who can foresee a day so bright that some
of these names will not shine like stars of the first magnitude
in the firmament of English literature? It was the era of
Hawkins and Drake. Nelson, Farragut, Dewey, and Togo
have since plowed the seas with their mighty battle-ships,
and smitten enemies with the fierceness of irresistible torna-
24 THE PILGRIMS
does, and wonvictories whose fame will make their names
immortal; but what victories will ever be so resplendent
that men will forget the glory of Cadiz in 1587, or the
dauntless courage with which the Invincible Armada was
met, and by the signal aid of God's providence, overthrown
and destroyed in 1588?
One must go back to the age of Pericles in Athens, when
every branch of industry was carried to perfection, and
commerce was flourishing, and elegance and magnificence
alike marked the life of the people, and the Parthenon was
rising in its beauty, and Phidias and Socrates and Sopho-
cles were dominating thought; or to the later age of Au-
gustus in Rome, when Virgil and Horace were lighting up
the world of letters with their genius and cultivation, and
skilled architects were transforming a city of brick into a

city of marble, and the marvelous prosperity and order

of a mild tyranny were reconciling the influential classes
to the loss of liberty, to find anything like a parallel to the
illustrious age of Elizabeth. Rather, perhaps, one must
move forward to the remarkable period of Victoria, with
the swift ships and cunning looms, the forges, the electrical
discoveries and appliances, and the Gladstones, Tennysons,
Darwins, Livingstones, and Florence Nightingales which
characterized and adorned the period, to find a suitable
resemblance to the splendor of the Elizabethan era. It
was a creative stage in the development of national thought
and life. It was a time when the minds of the people were
aflame with intense heats, and all hearts were big with
resolution, and a new spirit was taking possession of the
English world.
Nevertheless, through one of those perplexing inconsist-
encies of which, unfortunately, history reveals too many,
it was under the rule of Elizabeth, the Protestant queen —
and in the midst of mental activity so intense and excep-
tional in fruitfulness that the story of it loses none of its
attractiveness by the passing of and when the nation
time,
was making for itself a record of imperishable renown —
that the prisons of London were crowded with Protestant
believers, and the public executioners were busy with rope
and torch hurrying into eternity the souls of men who were
 THE PILGRIMS 25

cultivated, brave, true, and loyal, and whose only offense

was their earnest faith in Christ and their desire to wor-
ship God in the simplest and most direct way. When these
transactions were taking place the heroic vice-admiral of
England was humiliating Catholic pretensions and defeat-
ing Catholic schemes by winning his signal triumphs over
the Spanish fleet. Over in the Netherlands, in a conflict
which had all the nations of Europe for interested onlookers,
with Philip II and the Duke of Alva on one side, and
on the other the ever-famous Prince of Orange, Philip
" the
Sidney, whom the queen graciously called jewel of her
dominions," was sacrificing his precious life in protest
against Romish aggressions and in vindication of the rights
of conscience. But while Drake was overcoming the forces
of Catholic Spain, and Sidney was dying for the Protestant
faith for which it was fondly supposed Elizabeth and her
English people had come to stand, contemptible spies and
ecclesiastical courts not less contemptible, and jailers and

hangmen were doing all in their power to prevent men

and women from coming to Christ in the spirit and after the
method mapped out in the New Testament, and worshiping
God and meeting the grave responsibilities of discipleship
in a way to harmonize with the whisperings of the still,
small voice in the soul.
For no other crime than this John Copping and Elias
Thacker were confined in prison for seven years, and then
executed in the quiet old town of Bury St. Edmunds. For
no other crime than this Barrowe and Greenwood and Penry
were put to death in London.
There were others, not publicly executed, who were just
as truly martyrs to the faith. They were the men and
women who were dragged from their humble homes, and
shut up in " damp, vermin-haunted and fever-smitten dun-
geons," and compelled to remain there till their lives were
slowly worn out. Dr. Dexter gives a list of twenty-five
—
twenty men and five women
—
who in this way paid the pen-
alty of their convictions. What stories of cruelest wrong
the stones of old Tyburn and Newgate could tell had they
tongues !

The conflict was kept up through the entire reign of

26 THE PILGRIMS
Elizabeth, only to be continued with the same desperate
determination by both sides on the accession of James I to
power. The authorities were bound there should be no
Separatist assemblies for worship and the study of the
Scriptures and mutual edification, and the Separatists,
fully assured of God's approval, were bound there should be
such assemblies.

IV
How account for this strange attitude of the queen?
The explanation furnished by Arber in his " Story of the
" is the
Pilgrim Fathers only adequate one.
Explana- Backed by Froude, who in this instance seems
tion of to be right, he declares that Elizabeth had
queen's She was a
nothing of the Puritan in her.
strange " ' In
nationalist. Quoting Froude he says :

conduct hep birth, she was the symbol of the revolt

from Papacy. She could not reconcile herself
with Rome without condemning the marriage from which
she sprung; but her interest in Protestantism was limited
to political independence. .She would permit no au-
. .

thority in England which did not center in herself. The

Church should be a department of the state, organized by
parliament, and ruled by the national tribunals. . . .
There should be no conventicles and no chapels to be the
nurseries of sedition.'
"
Other considerations brought forward by Arber are illu-
minating and furnish clues to the mystery of the queen's
conduct.
To begin with, three-fourths of her subjects were Roman
Catholics. Out of the almost five millions of people who
made up the population of her realm, less than a million and
a quarter had broken with the church of which the pope
at Rome was the acknowledged head and exponent. This
was enough to put any Protestant ruler, though thor-
oughly sincere and earnest, at a serious disadvantage. A
ruler so wary, and in many respects so unscrupulous, as
this most brilliant of all the sovereigns who have occupied
the British throne from Alfred to Edward VII, would find
 THE PILGRIMS 27

in thisunequal division of her people on the lines of faith

abundant occasion for political trimming, and for much
that was more heinous than mere adroitness.
In addition to this, Elizabeth had living illustration close
at hand of what must have seemed to her the fatal conse-
quences of allowing religion to become the basis of internal
dissensions in her kingdom.
In France, the Huguenots, instead of being suppressed
at the outset and rendered harmless by annihilation, were
permitted to grow into a political power as well as a theo-
logical and church party, and thus to threaten the stability
of the government and the harmony of the state. This
unwise toleration, as she no doubt thought it, had fostered
sectarian antagonisms and civil feuds, had drenched the
land in blood, had arrested industry and checked the flow of
prosperity and the accumulation of wealth, and in every
way had detracted from the happiness and welfare of the
people and the dignity and power of the throne. In her
dominions, if she could help it, there was to be no repetition
of this French folly. Wheels within wheels were no part of
her idea of government.
The Netherlands presented the same warning spectacle.
Under one flag there were two hostile camps. It was Prot-
estant against Catholic and Catholic against Protestant.
Not only was the power of the nation weakened, but the
unity of the nation as well ; and every great national inter-
estwas put in jeopardy by these religious factions.
England must be kept clear of the peril of a divided
church. She was the head of the church, and her headship
must be recognized, and there must be no departure from
uniformity in the public worship of God.
Over and above —
all else the most weighty reason, in all
likelihood, for the course she pursued
— is the fact that

Elizabeth was constrained by circumstances to have Spain

evermore in her mind. At no time could she forget that the
" Sea-Girt
little Isle," over whose destinies she presided, had
a tremendous and an enemy of well-nigh irresisti-
rival
At no time could she forget
ble force right at her doors.
that this enemy, many-eyed and hundred-handed, was
watching every movement England made, and stood ready
28 THE PILGRIMS
at the first opportune moment to batter down her walls
and overrun her territory and despoil her wealth and
glory. The ambition of Spain was boundless. It was the
desire of her kings to become sole masters of the Western
world. Only England and the Netherlands could thwart
this scheme of wide and irresponsible sovereignty and

prevent one of the worst calamities which could have be-

fallen modern civilization and the progress of the race.
Whatever she did or left undone, Elizabeth felt that she
must throw herself with all her skill and resources across
the path of these aggressive Spanish monarchs. She must
outwit them in their cunning wiles and outfight them in
any battles they might see fit to wage. How successful
she was all the world knows, and will keep in memory to the
end of time.
These facts explain — in some measure they palliate —
the cruel deeds done by the queen in her dealing with Dis-
senters. They serve to mitigate the severity of our condem-
nation. Her procedure was not wise. Injustice is never
wise. There were other ways besides torturing and hanging
Protestant subjects by which she could have held the nation
loyal to her authority. The policy she pursued meant
sooner or later an Oliver Cromwell and a Charles without a
head. After all, Elizabeth, like the Pilgrims and the Puri-
tans, is to be judged by the standards of her own age, and
not by those of our age, and by the conditions under which
she reigned.

But persecution could not arrest the conclusions of rea-

son, or stifle the convictions of conscience. Men who think
for themselves will by and by act for them-
How injus- selves. Over against this background of big-
tice and t rv an(j oppression and hate, and all that the
oppression Henrys and Marys and Elizabeths and Jameses
helped could do to stay the march of events and keep
the moral sense in subordination to arbitrary
power, we have the magnificent story of Separatism. Under
this severe discipline of fire and blood heroic souls emerged,
 THE PILGRIMS 29
and feebleand harassed groups of disciples grew into
strong bodies of Independents with force enough in them
to make their influence for learning and righteousness, both
in home and foreign lands, a distinguishable and potent
factor in the best civilization of this modern era. The Pil-
grim was the joint product of the cruel injustice and the
high aspirations of his time. Faith in God and a well-
developed and vigorous moral sense on the one side, and an
over liberal supply of persecution by Tudors and Stuarts
on the other, called forth the Pilgrim and made him the
superb type of man he came to be. He is one of the best
of the many examples in history of

' '
The mystic harmony of right and wrong,
Both working out His wisdom and our good."

In church and state alike there was call for him, and bad
men turned and helped produce him. Counted insignifi-
in
cant by many, disdained and despised by those high in
authority, he was yet the hinge on which mighty events were
to turn. Society had reached a point in its progress where
his services were to have a unique and enduring value and ;

tyrants became his unwitting instructors, that he might

the better learn how to build institutions which should be
to the everlasting glory of God and the permanent welfare
of humanity.
 Ill

THE PIONEERS OP THE PILGRIMS

 Men
Christ. —thatThehave hazarded
Book of Acts.
their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus

There may have been others, but looking back through the dim mists of
time, the earliest pioneers of independent thought we come upon on English
soil are thirty weavers in the diocese of Worcester, who were summoned
before the council of Oxford as far back as a. d. 1165. —
John Bbown.

Those who gave earliest notice, as the lark

Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate;
Who rather rose the day to antedate,
By striking out a solitary spark,
When all the world with midnight gloom was dark.
William Wordsworth.

It was the glory of the Separatists that they had a vision of another
state of things, and struck out a new path, pronounced of course by all the
lovers of the old, to be revolutionary and dangerous. Dangerous it was not,
in the sense in which liberty of every kind has its perils, but revolution-
except
ary it undoubtedly was. The Separatists broke loose by one strong effort
of faith from all the restraints of antiquity and tradition. They were as
revolutionary as the men who framed the Constitution of the United States.
Where would the world be if it had not had from time to time men who have
dared to work out revolutions? —
J. Guinness Rogers.

Not for their hearts and homes alone,

But for the world their work was done;
On all the winds their thought has flown
Through all the circuits of the sun.
John G. Whittier.

Come out, then, from the old thoughts and old ways,
Before you harden to a crystal cold,
Which the new life can shatter, but not mould ;
Freedom for you still waits, still, looking backward, stays,
But widens still the irretrievable space.
James Russell Lowell.
 Ill

THE PIONEERS OF THE PILGRIMS

coasting along the shores of the section of history now
IN engaging our attention three prominent headlands
appear in three men who had marked share in quicken-
ing Puritan conceptions and aspirations, and in fixing the
grounds on which the great and inevitable struggle for
further reformation in religion should be fought out. These
three outstanding men also illustrate the courage and cost
required to carry the conflict through to a successful issue.
Or, to change the figure to one more common to our thought,
it may be said that this movement, which was first Puritan
and later Pilgrim, had three distinct and distinguished
pioneers.

Of these three the leading name is John Hooper. By

some of our writers Hooper is considered to have been the
first Puritan. Whether he was or not is im-
Hooperand ma terial. The things he stood for, and for
his martyr- wnich he died, make him a conspicuous figure
dom jjj t ne momentous
controversy for the emanci-
pation of religion from superstition and selfish-
ness, and impart to his services a peculiar value. Whatever
place is assigned to him in the glorious succession of open-
visioned men and martyrs to the truth he will hardly be too
much honored.
Hooper was born in Somersetshire about 1495. It was
a stirring time in which to begin life. Columbus had made
the discovery of America only three years before. Henry
VIII was his senior by barely four years. Martin Luther,
across in Germany, was a lad of fourteen. Leo X, down
3
34 THE PILGRIMS
in Italy, though already a cardinal, was a youth of little
more than twenty. Resolute spirits these, and the sure
prophecies of no little excitement and overturning in the
near future. The air, both in England and on the conti-
nent, was charged with electricity. It would not be long
before lightnings would flash along the sky and the earth
shake with the rumble of approaching thunder.
Hooper studied at Oxford but he was forced to escape
;

to foreign lands on account of his sympathies with new

ideas and movements. The battle had begun. The clatter
of onset near at hand and the dull roar of the distant can-
nonade were reaching his ear. To him, however, these
ominous reverberations were not so much the sound of war
as the rustling of the wings of the angels who were herald-
ing a fresh dawn to the world. Hence he could not
withhold expressions of approval and demonstrations of
gladness. Such expressions and demonstrations were in-
tolerable to the reigning powers. His safety lay in flight.
In the expectation that with the passing of Henry there
would be an end of persecution, he returned to England.
In 1550, under Edward VI, he was made bishop of Glouces-
ter. Subsequently he was appointed bishop of Worcester
as well. Five years later, in the crusade of murder for
opinion's sake, set on foot by Mary Tudor, he was
burned at the stake. Thus he was gathered into what we
now know as the glorious fellowship of Rogers, Taylor,
and Ferrar, of Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer, and made
one of the cherished immortals of history.
Hooper was not a Separatist. In the times of storm and
stress which had come upon the people of God, he en-

couraged the nourishing of spiritual life in the hearts of

believers by what we should call prayer and conference
meetings, though these had to be held in secret; but he
never advised action which looked toward a sharp and final
breaking away from the church in which he and others of
like mind had their membership. But he was positive and
firm in his Puritanism, as is made evident by the surrender
of his life in devotion to Puritan principles. It was only a
matter of vestments at which he hesitated; but these vest-
ments in what they represented, like the flag of a country,
 THE PILGRIMS 35
involved the whole question in controversy. In the protest
he uttered, and finally sealed with his blood, he showed clearly
that the civil and ecclesiastical authorities had forced an
" "
irrepressible conflict upon the people, and that there
was no alternative but to fight it out to the bitter end. His
death interpreted the situation, and from the moment of
his death good and brave men knew there must be no

flinching.

II

Thomas Cartwright is the second of the three men who

were turning-points in the mighty struggle. He was forty
years younger than Hooper, but he was old
Cartwright enough when Hooper ascended
through flame
and his jn ^-
glory to have caught the full significance
services f fa s death, and to have felt the thrill of it in

every pulse of his being.

Cartwright was born at a place not definitely located in
Hertfordshire in 1535. He was evidently a boy of unusual
promise, and at an early age began his studies at Cam-
bridge; but his life was launched on a tempestuous sea,
and from the beginning to the end of his voyaging he was
the victim of the wild tossings to which the changing winds
and cross-currents of his times would inevitably expose him.
A bright scholar, a popular professor, a vigorous thinker,
a skilful debater, and an influential leader, he was never
safe in his place, nor long at ease. He was now here and
now there ; at one and another stage of his career in high
favor at the university of his choice and love, at subse-
quent or intervening stages a refugee on the continent,
or sheltered from the assaults of his enemies under the wing
of eminent officials, but always in the thick of the fight.
Had he been a man of small mind, or of conservative tem-
perament, or of cool, calculating disposition, he might have
got on, as multitudes of others did, and been counted re-
markably successful and happy. But this was not his type.
He had a large brain. He was progressive in his instincts
and aspirations. While positive in his opinions, and intent
on having his own way for the reason that having thought
36 THE PILGRIMS
things through, as he supposed, his own way very naturally
seemed to him to be the best way, he was yet capable of
disinterested action. If he failed to maintain this charac-
ter to the end, it is to be remembered that, like the rest of
us, he was human.
Cartwright's merit is that in a few clear and simple words
he laid down the platform on which the reforming party
stood. He brought things to a point and enabled all men
to see what was the real and vital question at issue. He did
for both sides in the controversy what Abraham Lincoln
did for the country at large when he declared that the
nation could not exist half slave and half free. He ex-
posed the quivering nerve of the situation, and showed
exactly along what lines the contest must be waged. He
took the struggle out of the air and gave it definite out-
" To Thomas Cart-
lining and location. Dr. Dexter says :

wright must clearly be assigned the chiefest place in

bringing Puritanism in England to the dignity of a devel-
oped system." Another author in speaking of him writes :

"Although wanting in the judgment and self-command

essential to the leader of opinion and of party, he gave
system and method to the Puritanism of his day and must
be regarded as its most influential teacher during his
lifetime."
What was the platform announced by Cartwright? In
substance it was that the churches have rights in the matter
of self-regulation and in the choice of ministers which no
outside authority may override; and that ministers prop-
erly chosen and set apart to their work are to be teachers
and helpers and not lords over God's heritage. He wanted
to reduce ecclesiastical affairs to the simplicity of the early
days of the church, and to abolish archbishops and arch-
deacons with all that their names implied. His ideas of
church government were those which he had been taught
at Geneva, and which prevailed in Holland and Scotland.
Hooper, as we have seen, did not get over from Puritan-
ism into Separatism, though he gave his life in testimony
of his appreciation of a pure church. So Cartwright halted
this side of Independency. He recognized the rights of
the people, but he was not prepared to entrust to local
 THE PILGRIMS 37
churches the entire management of their own affairs. The
autonomy of individual churches was something from which
he shrank. He was unable to break with the illusion that
there must be some sort of vital and organic relationship
between the church and the nation. He would have kept
the church a national institution and under some measure
of civil authority, but he would have Presbyterianized it.
As has been well said " His ideal in relation to church dis-
:

cipline and organization was essentially Presbyterian ; and

this in direct conjunction with the civil power. That he
would have been willing to recognize any other form of
church government as lawful, or even entitled to toleration,
we find no evidence."
Be it so, he is not the first reformer, nor the last, who
builded better than he knew. If he advocated a system of
government for the churches which many of his original
followers could not accept, he yet lifted up a banner which
all eyes could see, and inscribed upon it a motto which all

intelligent people could read and understand. He made

the point of contention so plain and at the same time so
imperative that from the hour of his correspondence with
Whitgift men knew precisely where they were and what was
the end in view. If his followers outran their leader, it was
still their leader who
gave them inspiration and direction,
and indicated their true goal. If he was disposed to wait
for reform until it should come through the intervention of
government rather than through individual initiative and
the formation of independent bodies of believers, it is not
to be forgotten that in a memorable and masterly fashion
he gave intellectual alignment to the forces which were
to fight and win the coming battle. When Puritans were
asked to state the grounds of their contention, and what
would satisfy them, they had only to point to the platform
laid down for them by the Lady Margaret Professor of
Divinity in the University of Cambridge. For this invalu-
able service Thomas Cartwright is fairly entitled to the
everlasting gratitude of all free churches throughout the
world.
38 THE PILGRIMS
III

The third name in our list is Robert Browne. He was a

native of Tolethorp, Rutlandshire, and the time of his birth
is given as near 1550. He was of good stock.
Robert Facts Dr. Dexter show that for
gathered by
Browne — many generations back his ancestors were men
his merit f we alth and standing. His grandfather,
and his Francis Browne, " received, by special charter
tarnished from Henry VIII, the somewhat extraordinary
fame distinction of being allowed to remain covered
in presence of the King, and of all lords spir-
itual and temporal in the realm." His mother, Dorothy
Boteler, was of gentle blood. His brother Philip " was
surveyor of Queen Elizabeth's manors in Lincolnshire."
Lord Burleigh, who befriended him so effectively in his
hour of sore straits, was his kinsman. Like Cartwright,
he was a youth of excellent parts, and there was every
reason to expect that, coming to maturity, he would be a
man of power and influence. At the age of twenty, if in-
ferences and conjectures are correct, he entered Cambridge,
and in all probability he was a regular graduate from
Corpus Christi College.
In due time he became a minister but with the attempt
;

to induct him into his office and keep him within proper
conservative bounds the trouble began. With an eye to see
clearly and a mind naturally vigorous and trained to ac-
curate thinking, fully alive to the errors and corruption
everywhere in evidence, resolute, impulsive, he had the
courage of his convictions. Such men are very sure to
be heard from when there are burning questions to be settled
and grievous wrongs to be righted. The agitators and
reformers, especially Cartwright, had not been without a
large measure of success in their work at the university,
and when Browne appeared upon the scene Cambridge was
a hotbed of progressive ideas. There was enough con-
servatism to create friction; but things evil, though en-
trenched in tradition and law alike, were fiercely challenged.
Browne spoke out, and neither harsh dealings nor kindly
 THE PILGRIMS 39

treatment, neither the threats of those whose positions he

assailed nor the entreaties of his friends, could silence him.
Reform was a fire in his bones, and he had to be true to the
duty he felt.
But the story of Browne is a mixed and sad one. There
are few Congregationalists who do not wish it other than

it is.
For our present purposes, however, it is unnecessary to
give anything more than a brief outline of his strange and
pathetic record. As we have seen, he was a student at
Cambridge for several years subsequent to 1570. Having
left college, he was a teacher for three years in Southwark,
a district of London. After this, for a short and indefinite
period, he was a dweller once more under the roof of his
father's home. A little later he was back again at the
university for the further prosecution of his studies in
theology. For about six months, following this second
return to Cambridge, he was a vigorous, laborious, and
popular preacher in one of the Cambridge pulpits.
Some time in 1580, or when he was thirty years of age
and prime of his early manhood, he went to Norwich.
in the
A report had reached his ear that in this old Roman town
there was a group of people who were intent on improve-
ment in existing religious conditions, and he wanted to
see them, compare notes with them, and make observation
of their manner of life. Being on the ground, and accredit-
ing himself to them by his ability and determination, he
became the accepted leader of these people. He organized
them into a church on the simple Congregational basis.
He labored at Bury St. Edmunds also, and possibly at other
places in the region.
A year or so afterward he led this Norwich flock over the
sea to Middleberg in Zealand. There he spent his time in
ministering to them and in writing on matters of vital con-
cern. At the end of a couple of years devoted to this kind
of effort, and when the elements of the little church were
found to be incongruous, and irreconcilable differences of
a serious sort had made their appearance, he left Zealand
for Scotland. In this. wide parish to which John Knox had
ministered so long and so effectually, and from which he
40 THE PILGRIMS
had but recently ascended into the open presence of his
Lord, he became a restless declaimer of disturbing opinions
and a thorn in the side of Presbyterianism. Not far from
1586, he made his way to England again, and having
passed through various experiences at the hands of both
friends and foes, he turned his back on himself and his fol-
lowers, recanted and disowned his brave opinions, and,
humiliated and trembling under the excommunication of
the bishop of Peterborough, returned in an almost abject
submissiveness to the fold of the church in which he had
found so much error and corruption, and which he had
denounced so unsparingly.
After this most surprising change of attitude, he lived
on, a teacher for a brief season, and then an inconspicuous
rector of an insignificant parish, but an agitator effectually
silenced, for forty weary years. The end came at North-
ampton, about ten years after the Pilgrims had landed at
Plymouth Rock. His grave no man knoweth unto this
day.
These are the characters in which he figured ; these are
the stages in the course which he ran ; these are the outlines
of his life, from the hour when he emerged to public view
and took up what he conceived to be his work in the world
till death came to his release and the relief of those to whom

he had long been a humiliating and anxious burden.

It was a well-nigh incredible life for any man to have
lived. It opened with splendid displays of clear seeing and
courage. It was marked by eminent service to the cause
of pure and undefiled religion. It bid fair at one time to
be a life which, for its earnestness, its consistency, its superb
heroism and high devotion, would win and hold the admira-
tion of the centuries. Its ending was weak and pitiable.
It is not uncommon for a radical in the course of events
to become a conservative. Experience in trying to bring
about reforms in church and state not unfrequently tones
down, if it does not wholly destroy, enthusiasm for reform.
It takes a man of indomitable pluck and entire consecration
to stand up and go straight on in face of the discourage-
ments sure to be encountered in efforts to advance society.
But here was a reversal of view and aim so end for end
 THE PILGRIMS 41

and a collapse so utter that it seems not only mysterious

but ignominious. Like old Gonzalo's commonwealth in
"
Shakespeare's Tempest," the latter end of his life alto-
gether forgot the beginning. Browne was a radical of the
most radical type, but his final surrender to the very
authorities he had repudiated and denounced was so sur-
prising that it suggests a cowed braggart or an athlete
out of whom all spirit has been taken.
It is no wonder that a personality like this has been
found perplexing to students of history. The case presents
a nut for the psychologists to crack, or rather, it may be, for
the alienists. It is no wonder that self-respecting believers
used to be a bit chagrined when called by his name, and
vigorously insisted on some less compromising designation.
It is no wonder that members of the Congregational fellow-
ship, even in our day, find it hard to conquer their preju-
dices and entertain anything like reasonable respect for a
leader who brought his career to a close with such an ignoble
anticlimax.
Dr. Mackennal, in a paragraph in which he deals with
" Let me
him, breaks out somewhat impatiently and says
frankly confess
— :

I do not like Robert Browne ; I have not

the confidence in him expressed by Dr. Dexter and Dr. Dale.
He was a man offensive to his opponents and objectionable
to his friends ; he betrayed the cause to which he attached
himself; and I do not wonder at the heat with which
English dissenters have always repudiated the nickname
6
Brownist.' "
Dr. Brown of Bedford, in " The Pilgrim Fathers of New
England," though not disposed to admit all the claims which
have been advanced in his behalf, has this to say of him:
" The leader of the
Congregation alists in East Anglia was
Robert Browne, a man of ability and force of character,
and, so far as social position was concerned, of aristocratic
connections. By a strange irony of fate he is by one side
persistently described as the founder of Congregationalism,
and as persistently repudiated by the other. From having
advocated Congregational principles at one part of his
career, and withdrawn from them at another, he has re-
ceived scant justice from both sides. Ardent and impulsive,
42 THE PILGRIMS
but too unstable to stand the stress of the storm which gath-
ered about him year after year —
he was, he says, in the
course of his life in no fewer than thirty prisons, in some
of which he could not see his hand at midday —
he scarcely
seems to have deserved all the hard things that have been
said of him. No doubt he had more capacity for expound-
ing the principles of Congregationalism than for working
them out in his actual life but no one can dispassionately
;

read the five books he published between 1582 and 1584

without feeling that at that time at least he was an earnest-
minded man, of strong and clear convictions in favor of
popular government in the Church."
Dr. Bacon is perhaps the least sparing of all in his
criticism of Browne. He says that, though he " was re-
stored to good standing, not only in the church, but in the
" in a short time after his submission
priesthood," and
" this does not
received a benefice," imply that he recanted
his opinions, or made any profession of repentance for
what he had done —
it was enough that he submitted. He
had not even the desperate self-respect which prompted
Judas to hang himself but, like Benedict Arnold, he took
;

care not to lose the poor reward of his baseness. He was

the rector of a parish, and received his tithes, but never
preached. By his idle and dissolute life he disgraced his
ministry ;but, inasmuch as he could not be charged with
non-conformity, he retained his living. The quarrelsome
temper which had broken up his little church at Middleberg
vented itself upon his wife in acts of cruelty, and they could
not live together. In a quarrel with the constable of the
parish, he took the responsibility of beating that officer.
Arraigned before a justice for the unclerical offense, he
used such violence of speech that he was sent to prison for
contempt, and there he died, at the age of eighty, a mis-
erable and despised old man, but a beneficed minister of the
Church of England, and in regular standing."
After all, it seems to me that Dr. Dexter has given us
much the best explanation of Browne's eccentricities. Dr.
Bacon, in the estimate which he made of Browne in the
latter part of his life, followed Fuller. Dr. Dexter took
pains to sift the statements of Fuller, and see what grounds
 THE PILGRIMS 43

he had for his opinion. Trying his assertions by the test

of a careful examination into the facts on which they were
based, he found him not invariably trustworthy. Very
properly, therefore, he refused to follow Fuller in his judg-
ment of Browne unless he found something beside Fuller's
mere assertion to justify the judgment. According to his
"
summing up of the case Browne was not an" ambitious
" he
was not a " he was not
bigot ; contemptible sneak ;
" dishonest " and " a
corrupt he was not ; renegade and a
" but " he was an honest
reprobate ; man, whose sensitive
mind, under great stress of trial, made shipwreck on his
return to his native country who never became really him-
;

self again and who, for the longer portion of the last five
;

and forty years of his life, was in a shattered mental con-

dition, which in our time would be thought better placed
in a lunatic hospital than in the rectory even of an Estab-
lished Church of eighteen families." The facts brought
forward would appear to make this clear to any unpreju-
diced student. Weak in body, intense of brain, and of a
high-strung nervous organization, the man was overworked
and overworried into a species of insanity from which he
never recovered.
What, now, did Robert Browne do to entitle him to the
unique place which he holds in the history and development
of Congregationalism? He did three things:
(a) He stated the principles which underlie Congrega-
tionalism with a clearness and force which at once invested
them with a large measure of the authority of demonstrated
truths. Dr. Mackennal, in spite of his dislike of the man,
" He was a clear
freely concedes to him this merit : and
resolute thinker ; he gave himself to study the problems of
his time in the simple light of the New Testament, and he

produced an admirable and complete doctrine of the Church,

which at once determined the whole future of Congrega-
tionalism." Dr. Dexter makes the statement " It is :

very clear that Browne .

following
. the
. track of
thought which he had long been elaborating thor- . . .

oughly discovered and restated the original Congrega-

tional way in all its simplicity and symmetry."
( b) He put his theory in practise by organizing a church
44 THE PILGRIMS
on the basis of Congregationalism. This he did at Nor-
wich. It is a question in debate whether this church at
Norwich was really the first Congregational church set
up in England. Dr. Dexter, in a sentence immediately
following the statement just quoted from him, goes on to
" And here ...
say :
by his promptings and under his
guidance, was formed the first church in modern days of
which I have any knowledge, which was intelligently, and
as one might say philosophically, Congregational in its
platform and processes."
In a certain technical sense this may be true, —
it no
doubt is true; but all the later writers, such as Griffis,
Brown, and Mackennal, are a unit in the claim that there
were churches in England which were to all intents and
purposes Congregational years before Browne began his
career. The members of them were Protestants. They
were dissenters. They were affiliated in worship. Like the
smitten people of God in the olden times, they came together
in dens and caves ; or, like the disciples before the day of
Pentecost, they met for prayer and praise in upper cham-
bers; and while not Congregational in all that the term
has come to mean in the United States, they were yet in-
dependents, and were bound together in those bonds of
liberty and fellowship which are essential elements of
Congregationalism.
One of these early congregations, numbering not less
than two hundred, gathered in London, and called " Gos-
pellers," dates back to 1553. Four years later this hated
and hunted body of simple believers in Jesus Christ came
to grief. meeting-place was revealed to the authorities
Its
" a and dissembling brother," and
by false, hypocritical,
its minister and deacon were burned at the stake. This
minister was a native of Scotland, named John Rough, who
had heard of a " holy congregation of God's children "
somewhere in the great city, and had come to find and join
them. He succeeded, but in a little more than a month
after his arrival the assembly was discovered and broken
up, and he was compelled to suffer the pangs of martyrdom.
A
year before the death of Rough a minister by the name
of Rose was sent to the Tower. With a few of his fellow
 THE PILGRIMS 45

believers he was detected at a communion service in a pri-

vate house in Bow Churchyard, and for this offense was
thrust into prison. His congregation, however, was but
a small one, and was gathered, most likely, somewhat later
than the one to which Rough belonged.
Later than these organizations, but more than ten years
before Browne had formed his church at Norwich, there was
a very notable congregation of this sort in London. The
year quite generally assigned to it is 1567. Richard Fitz
was its minister. This was a church proper, with a pastor
to lead the flock, and officers to administer its affairs,
though it had no settled place for holding its meetings.
On the occasion when the officers of the law broke in upon
them, and arrested those whom they supposed to be the
leaders of thebody to the number of a dozen or more, these
people, who had by some process found their way back
into the simplicity of Christ, were assembled in Plumber's
Hall. In a paper signed by Fitz, in which what are claimed
to be the true marks of a church of Christ are set forth,
these three characteristics and aims are named :
" First
and foremost, the glorious word and Evangel preached, not
in bondage and subjection, but freely and purely. Sec-
ondly, to have the Sacraments ministered purely, only and
altogether according to the institution and good word of
the Lord Jesus, without any tradition or invention of
man. And last of all to have not the filthy canon law,
but discipline only, and altogether agreeable to the same
heavenly and almighty word of our good Lord, Jesus
Christ."
Dr. Mackennal in the little book to which reference has
already been made, and from which in the main the above
facts have been gathered, says
" There are certain
:
points
in which this London community had not attained to the

complete Congregational system afterward elaborated by

Browne and Barrowe ; but there is considerable advance be-
yond the position of the secret assemblies of Mary's time.
The church is in protest against the incomplete Reforma-
tion in a professedly Protestant nation ; — but most im-
portant of all is what is said about discipline. This is
regarded as the charge of the whole church; any church
46 THE PILGRIMS
where this is so is entitled to be called Congregational."
" a church is
The same author affirms that still in existence

whose connection with this persecuted company can be

traced —
the church of the Pilgrim Fathers in South-
ward" He suspects there may be other existing congre-
gations which had their origin in the same movement.
Unquestionably there were a good many of these dissenting
" "
believers abroad. Dr. Brown finds indisputable evidence
that a Congregational church was in existence in London
as early as 1571. He is inclined to think that this London
church may have been the school in which Browne learned
so well his Congregational principles. Be this as it may,
and be many other things which might be said on this
matter as they may, Robert Browne, by his presence and
influence and leadership, did organize this church at Nor-
wich, and he organized it on the basis of what are distinctly
Congregational ideas, and he gave it such shaping and in-
formed it with such a spirit and purpose that it has stood
out from the day on which it was organized until this pres-
ent hour as a clearly defined and, so far as its form and
method of administering its affairs are concerned, typical
Congregational church. Whoever may have preceded him,
or wherever he may have got his notion, this man did ac-
tually set up and minister to a church that was self-
consciously Congregational.
(c) He advocated the scheme of Separatism, and pushed
it to a successful issue. This was his supreme service ; and
it would have been a supremely excellent service for any-

body to render. In the perplexity and confusion of the

situation he saw clearly what ought to be done. When
others were taking counsel of their fears, and were uncer-
tain and hesitant, he boldly moved forward and beckoned
others to follow. The brave note which he sounded back
from Middleberg, so soon after reaching there with the
portion of the Norwich flock which had accompanied him to
the safe shelter of a foreign land, and which became the
rallying cry and word of command to the more radical of
the Nonconformists, put a new face on affairs and gave
him the right of leadership. He took the ground that he
and those of like precious faith had waited and debated
 THE PILGRIMS 47

long enough, had resorted to a sufficient number of ex-

pedients, and that the hour had struck for them to act
on their own convictions and meet the consequences. He
flung out the banner: Reformation Without Tarrying
For Any. Preachers were not to await orders from the
magistrates before undertaking the business of reforming
themselves and their charges, but they were to enter on
their tasks immediately —
immediately and vigorously
—
or stand exposed to the accusation of wickedness. The fore-
most men of the Puritan party were helplessly handicapped
by their vicious theory of the interdependence of church
and state. Cartwright, invaluable as his aid to the cause
had been, sat there enmeshed and helpless in the web of his
own weaving. With the rashness of a genius for clear
seeing and bold action, Browne hewed his way straight
out through all the entanglements in which the theorizers
found themselves involved and gained solid footing for
them all.

To sum it up in few words, it may be said that it was

given to Browne, as to no other, to set Puritanism forward

by defining the church in terms so intelligible and simple
that one saw in his statement a reproduction of the spirit
and method of primitive Christianity, and by announcing
the duty of the situation in language so positive and ring-
ing that out-and-out Separatism was made to seem to many
minds not only justifiable but imperative. At just the
moment when Separatism was of all words the word most
needed, Browne spoke it. He spoke it so clearly and loudly
that the echo of it has never died out of the world. Had
the close of his career been a thousandfold more disgrace-
ful than it was, this would have been a service forever to
his credit. He was clear-sighted and brave and true at
an exigency when these high qualities counted most for
the cause. He himself could not undo the good he had
done.
For circulating books in which these courageous views
were expressed and advocated some men lost their lives, and
Browne has been blamed for it. He remained safe, so it has
been charged, in his secure retreat in a foreign land, and
permitted others more fearless back in England to make
48 THE PILGRIMS
the last great sacrifice in penalty for the distribution of
his publications and the dissemination of his ideas.
But if Browne is to be reproached for this, then Martin
Luther must bear the blame for the blood shed in the
mighty which resulted from the changes which his
conflict
views set in motion. So, too, the cruel taking off of the
patriotic yeomen who fell at Lexington and Concord and

Bunker Hill must be laid as a crime at the doors of Samuel

Adams and John Hancock. Even though he did not bear
arms and expose his own breast on the field of battle, who
fails to applaud Benjamin Franklin for his stout advocacy
of the rights of the colonies in their revolt against
England?
There would have been no Civil War in this land —
at any
rate no Civil War in just the form in which it broke upon
the nation —with all its ghastly record of suffering and
slaughter, had there been no agitation against the economic
blunder and awful wrong of slavery. Some of these agi-
tators never shouldered muskets nor faced foes on fields of
blood ; but will not Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips and
Henry Ward Beecher and John Greenleaf Whittier be held
in lasting honor by all true patriots and philanthropists
for the bold and heroic part they took in exposing the mon-
strous iniquity of holding men and women in bondage, and
creating a public opinion which at length would insist on
striking every shackle from every limb and giving to all
alike a chance to breathe the air of freedom and to work
out the destiny of honest and intelligent citizens of the
Republic ?
Ideas concerning liberty and human rights have always
been explosive and revolutionary. They have been explos-
ive and revolutionary because they needed to be; and the
utterance of them has almost always awakened opposition
and endangered life. If the thinkers had only consented
to keep there would have been far less strife in church
still

and state, but a vast deal more bondage. Suppose Browne

had never written any books — or, having written books,
suppose they had never been taken back into England and
distributed and read, and gravely pondered by the men into
whose hands they fell — what then ? Would nobody have
suffered? Would no souls have perished for lack of knowl-
 THE PILGRIMS 49

edge, and would the Church have been as well off, and the
world as far along? There is a crime of silence as well as of
speech. As much harm may come from overprudence
as from uncalculating courage. Browne was right in what
he thought and in publishing his thoughts; for thereby
came appreciable gains to the cause of Christ.
 IV

THE PILGRIMS AT SCROOBY

 So many therefore of these professors as saw the evil of these things, in
these parts, and whose hearts the Lord had touched with heavenly zeal for
His truth, they shook off this yoke of antichristian bondage, and as the Lord's
free people, joined themselves — by a covenant of the Lord
— into a church
estate, in the fellowship of the gospel, to walk in all His ways, made known,
or to be made known unto them, according to their best endeavors, whatso-
ever it should cost them. —
William Bradford.

The principle is now almost universally recognized that, for the national
well-being as well as for religious prosperity, there must be self-regulating
Christian communities, interpreting for themselves the will of God, existing
—
within the state, but not using the civil power. Alexander Mackennal.

Back of these beginnings, it is true, we recognize the tremendous forces

of the Renaissance, of the Spanish and Portuguese discoveries in the West,
and of the intolerance of the Anglican communion. But, all said and done,
that a handful of men living in a small group of obscure villages in England,
one of them a postmaster, should have been chiefly responsible for a work
that was to be pregnant with the destiny of unborn millions of human beings,
it is not exaggeration to describe as one of the wonders of the world.

James Nevins Hyde.

Men and women chosen by Divine Providence to do a mighty work for

human whereof we, and all American people, and the innumerable
millions
liberty,
more that are to come — are the inheritors.
Edwin S. Crandon.

Men whom the Lord, and not the King, made great;
And who, themselves, were both a church and State.
John Pierpont.
 IV
THE PILGRIMS AT SCROOBY
church at Scrooby was gathered in 1606. Four
THE years earlier, or a year before Elizabeth died and
James succeeded her, a Separatist church had been
organized at Gainsborough, on the Trent, about twelve
miles away. So much opposition began to be encountered
by this Gainsborough flock, and so many of the members
were from Scrooby and the immediate vicinity, that it was
deemed advisable by these members, at the date just men-
tioned, to withdraw and form a second congregation in
their own community. In disregard of whatever failures
there had been in the past, and in defiance of whatever
dangers and hardships the future might have in store for
them, these brave souls took their stand for religious liberty
and the rights of conscience. This stand it was their sol-
emn purpose to maintain unto the end; and grandly did
they succeed. The tyranny which drove them from their
homes and despoiled them of their earthly goods, failed
utterly to drive them from their high resolve. They were
forced to change their local habitation and to plant and
nourish their institutions first in a foreign land, and then
on far distant shores which were under the jurisdiction of
their own sovereign; but they carried their independent
and self-governing church with them — never abandoned
it ; never dissolved it ; and, on the basis of the simple Chris-
tian democracy on which it was organized three hundred
years ago in that narrow hamlet of Scrooby, it still exists
in the Old Colony at Plymouth. Under stress of both
doctrinal and spiritual necessity this church at Plymouth
has been compelled, it is true, to become once more a Separa-
54 THE PILGRIMS
tist church, yet it still exists in an unbroken continuity
of life, and loyal to the same fundamental conceptions of
the Christian faith on which it was originally founded.

This gathering of the Scrooby church was a sign of the

times and in line with the drift of things. Rough and
Rose and Fitz had appeared on the stage and
A sign of done their work and gone hence. Browne fol-
the times lowed them with a ringing testimony, and then
went back on himself and his ideas but Separa-
;

tism, with unabated vigor and determination, kept moving

forward, and Separatists continued to increase. In no
wise discouraged by the strange collapse of Browne, Francis
Johnson came to the front. In 1592 he was chosen pastor
of a Separatist church in London. This body was notable
not only for its numbers, but for the ability and character
of the men whom it attracted into its fellowship. In proof
of this it is enough to cite the names of Greenwood and
Barrowe. These men would have dignified any cause.
Dates and numbers are difficult to fix. But in the later
eighties and early nineties Separatists were well in evidence
in London. They seemed to be springing up in all sections
of the city.
Dr. Dexter, in a passage whose facts need the exact
setting which his graphic words give them in order to be
" We
most impressive and effective, says : trace these people
in winter to as many as seven or eight different private
houses in various parts of the city ; and in milder weather
to a garden house near Bedlam, and to the woods of Dept-
ford and Ratcliff e, and the secluded gravel-pits of Islington.
We have glimpses of as many as twelve or fourteen different
expounders who appear to have labored with them. And
there is evidence that they were accustomed thus to assem-
ble to the number sometimes of sixty or one hundred ; while,
when the officers were very diligent in hunting them, so
many of them might be put in prison, that their meetings
would fall in attendance to a score or less. Sometimes they
 THE PILGRIMS 55

would be nearly all incarcerated at once, and then manage

to have a service together in prison perhaps, after the
little

midnight manner of Paul and Silas at Philippi. We

have
the names of twenty-four who — some of them after long
and wasting confinement — died in various dungeons,
the majority in Newgate. Fifty-nine who were at one
time in durance thus for conscience' sake in the Gatehouse,
the Fleet, Newgate, Bridewell, the Clink, the White Lion,
the Wood Street Counter, and the Poultry Counter, united
in signing a petition to the lord treasurer; stating that

they had endured great hardships, many of them having

been shut up for a year and a half, some in irons, some in
straits for proper food, and suffering from the miasmas of
their confinement; pleading that they might have a fair
public hearing, and be made examples of, if they were found
worthy of death or bonds ; but if not, that they might be
bailed out, so as to be in a condition to provide by honest
labor for the support of their families and themselves ; or,
if not that, that they might at least be shut up together, so
as to have some comfort and help of each other's society."
That the number of people who were of this way of think-
ing should multiply was inevitable. Men who were at once
intelligent and sincere could not help feeling that the
church, as it then existed in England, alike in its attitude
and aims, and in its spirit and method, had departed
widely from the simple faith and purpose of Him who had
founded the church and assigned to it the mission it was to
fulfil in the world. The queen was affording no relief.
Eyes were turned in vain to Parliament. The press was in
chains. There was no public opinion to which to make
There was nothing at hand but these secret
appeal.
assemblies — assemblies, however, which were no longer
merely secret, as in Mary's day, but distinctly and posi-
tively Separatist.
Outside of London there were also Separatist churches.
How many of them there were it is impossible to tell. It is
not surprising that such churches should spring up on the
east coast of England, but it is a bit strange that they
should be found in the western districts. But truth is con-
tagious. Right ideas will find lodgment wherever there
56 THE PILGRIMS
are intelligent, conscientious, and receptive minds. More
men than one might suspect were hungry for the bread of
life. They did not know how to obtain it, but they needed
it and wanted it. It will excite neither wonder nor suspicion
that Sir Walter Raleigh, near the time of the martyrdom
of Greenwood, Barrowe, and Penry, should express the
fear from his seat in Parliament that there might be as
many as twenty thousand Brownists in England.
But whether there were few or many of these assemblies
of believers, they found the lines fallen to them in any but
pleasant places. Wherever they appeared, whatever their
form of government or method of worship, be it under
Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, or James, as often as the members
of these congregations were discovered they were trans-
ferred to jails, and abused and punished as if they had
been criminals of the deepest dye. They were men and
women, however, whom threats could not intimidate nor
soft words cajole. By no pains and penalties could they
be tortured into playing false to their convictions, and by
no promises and gifts could they be bribed into disloyalty
to God. After a quarter of a century and more of persecu-
tion, these fearless dissenters were still determined to wor-
ship God and live their lives afterthe pattern set for them
on the Mount. Of this the church at Scrooby is abundant

proof.

II

Scrooby is situated about one hundred and fifty miles

north from London. It is within the borders of Notting-
hamshire; but it is also close to the counties
Scrooby f Lincoln and York. It is forty-five miles
from the east coast of England. It is an agri-
cultural town, limited in area, and with a population which
probably never exceeded one hundred and fifty. To my
eye, as it first lay open to view in 1888, and again on
that memorable day in July, 1891, when it was visited by
so many of the descendants of the Pilgrims and the ad-
herents of their faith and polity, it was fair to look upon
and exceedingly attractive. In a slight irregularity of
 THE PILGRIMS 57

surface, produced by elevations here and there in alterna-

tion with sweeps of meadow-land, in fertility of soil, in
wealth of grass and grain and vegetable, in sheep and cattle
and horses grazing in fragrant clover, in stacks of straw
and hay near the yards of the farmhouses, there is much to
remind one of some of the fairest and most fertile sections
of northern Illinois. There is this marked difference, how-
ever, between an agricultural landscape at the season of
growing or ripening harvests in England and the United
States — there one never sees any beautiful fields of Indian
corn. Without these fields no farm scenery ever appears
to me to be quite perfect. Indian corn in the spindle, or in
the tassel, or with the ripe yellow ears gleaming out
through the faded husks, is fit subject for painter or poet.
But Scrooby has associations which illuminate and sanc-
tify it. It would have been a strange eye which could see
no glory in those outlying fields and no peculiar radiance
in those overarching heavens. Those streets were once
trodden by the feet of men whose touch glorified Plymouth
Rock and made it a power forever. Those fields were once
cultivated by toilers whose hands, before seizing and guid-
ing the plow, had rested reverently in the hand of the
Master. On the vibrant waves of the sweet, tremulous air
devout songs and mighty cries once went up into the ear of
the Lord of Hosts. In the closets of those old homes heaven
and earth were brought very near together, and men and
women had the witness of the Spirit that they were the
children of God and heirs of the everlasting inheritance.
Impulses to fidelity to Christian truth and to Christian
living which will never lose their molding energy were
there received and coined into character. In that narrow
hamlet, along those roads and lanes, across those fields
and pastures, men walked with God and they caught the
rhythm of his step. His secret was there whispered to
their souls. There they saw Him who is invisible, and were
made strong to endure whatever of hardship might fall
to their lot in the coming years. Through quiet waiting
on God they came into those experiences which are evermore
the best equipment for effective service in moral spheres.
58 THE PILGRIMS
in
The meeting-place of this Separatist church at Scrooby
was in the old manor house in which William Brewster
lived. One can but think how sharp the con-
The old trast between these gatherings for prayer and
manor
praise and meditation and other gatherings
house which there had been at one time and another
within those same apartments.
As far back as the time of William the Conqueror the
estate in which this house was located belonged to the arch-
bishops of York. These lordly ecclesiastics often made the
house a hunting-lodge, or a place for a few weeks of pleas-
ant recreation. Besides, the little hamlet was on the line
of the great thoroughfare from Scotland by way of York
to London, and travelers going back and forth found it a
convenient station at which to stop for a little on the
journey. The mansion, too, was large, having really the
dimensions of a palace; and kings and princes with their
royal retinues could be easily accommodated under its roof
and within its ample rooms. In 1535, so we are told, there
were in this building not less than thirty-nine chambers or
apartments. Hence it naturally came about that persons
whose names are conspicuous on the pages of history often
tarried there for a night.
Within the first decade of the thirteenth century King
John had some association with the place, though the proof
of his actual presence there fades out into a pale inference.
Margaret, the sister of Henry VIII, and queen of Scot-
land through her marriage with James IV, and, as one
writer has noticed, the ancestress of every sovereign who
has since occupied the throne of the British Empire, once
rested there for a night. It was when she was on her

journey to her new happiness and her awaiting honors, and

the occasion was made one of great display and jubilation.
Henry VII, the father of Queen Margaret, in one of his
progresses, was a guest of the house. It was a place,
indeed, which seems to have had strong attractions for
royalty and the notables which are wont to bask in the
 THE PILGRIMS 59

smiles of kings. Henry VIII gave himself and his attend-

ants the pleasure of a day's stay at this house when making
a journey to the north. He was "so charmed by the spot "
by what he saw of it at this time or some other, that he
wanted it " for his own," and, as Dr. Dexter tells us, he
actually bought it a few years afterwards, though at a
later date it was sold back to the bishop who made provision
that at his death it should revert to the See of York. Eliz-
abeth coveted the estate, and sought to secure possession of
itunder a long lease, but Sandys, who was then the arch-
bishop, had the self-respect and courage to refuse the
request.
But of all the rulers and high officials who at one time
and another were guests or occupants of the old manor
house, the one who excites in our breasts the most lively
and pathetic interest is the man who for a decade and a half
carried the great seal of the lord chancellor of England,
and then had to surrender it, and, leaving civil affairs alone,
retire discredited to his archbishopric. Cardinal Wolsey,
when broken in health and spirit, and excluded from court
by the ambitious and unscrupulous king whom he had
served only too faithfully, found here an agreeable retreat.
He had a right to the retreat and to all the comfort which
the place could afford him; for it was under his control
as the highest ecclesiastic of York. How strange it must
have seemed to him to be there, and how different from the
" no man's " was " freed
days, not very far back, when pie
from his ambitious finger " How little he could have
!

imagined that, inside of his fourscore years, a new and ad-

vanced body of the " pernicious sect of the Lutherans "
whom he hated so bitterly, and whom he advised the king,
among the last written words which he gave to the world,
"
to depress," was to have housing and encouragement
within this ancient enclosure where he was finding refresh-
ment and repose! How little, too, he could have imagined
that in the simple but positive attitude which this " perni-
"
cious sect took, and in the few, yet apparently insignifi-
cant deeds which it did, it was to invest the spot with an
imperishable human interest !

But this is what had come to pass. The gates of this

60 THE PILGRIMS
manor house were open, and its doors were swinging back
at the touch of these simple folk —
the most of them plain
farmers —
who sought some quiet and secluded retreat
where they might join with each other in mutual consulta-
tion, and meet God in reverent and humble worship, and
make known their common desires at the throne of grace.
It was no longer mere recreation, nor aimless lounging, nor
boisterous revelry, to which the walls of that old building
were witness, but voices of thanksgiving and supplica-
tion and bendings of the knee to the Almighty. The house
of rest and refection had become a house of prayer, and
men were crossing its threshold and occupying its ample but
secluded rooms that they might hold communion with God,
and learn and obey his will, and have the exceeding comfort
of his presence.

IV
That of all men in the world William Brewster should
have been in the old manor house at this particular time,
is one of the marked providences of the situa-
A marked tion. Yet it all came about in a very natural
providence way. Through the system of leases under
which it was managed, the property fell under
the control of this wise and determined Separatist. For
purely business purposes the estate was for the time
being in his hands. From 1594 to 1607, or during those
years which covered tke most critical period in the early
and formative stages of the churches at Gainsborough and
Scrooby, William Brewster carried the key and opened and
shut the doors of this most convenient palatial residence. In
this simple circumstance what aid there was to a despised
and struggling cause How much there was in it to shape
!

destiny ! How different might have been the outcome of

the whole contest had some man other than William Brew-
ster held the lease to that estate during the eventful years
when these individual dissenters needed, not only a leader
of sagacity and resources, but just such an opportunity
as this building afforded to be welded into a united, com-
pact, and enduring body!
 THE PILGRIMS 61
M The threads our hands in blindness spin
No self-determined plan weaves in;
The shuttle of the unseen powers
Works out a pattern not as ours."

It is easy to imagine how these people gathered for medi-

tation and worship on the Lord's Day. The picture is
half pathetic, and yet pleasant to contemplate. No bell
summoned them, and no tap of drum and no palfrey bore
;

them easily and ostentatiously to their extemporized

sanctuary. On their guard against spies and informers,
they moved out from their homes with cautious steps and
minds alert. They were careful not to get bunched in
too large numbers lest they might attract attention and
awaken suspicion. One by one, or at most two by two,
they moved on quietly to the place appointed. If it was
necessary for one here or there to hurry his pace or to
slacken it in order to avoid making too large a group, the
thing was instinctively done. Instead of lingering about
the doorway and extending kindly greetings and asking
after neighbors and friends who might be ill, they all passed
in and were quickly out of sight. These simple but sincere
and intensely earnest men and women were William Brew-
ster's guests. They were in his home on his invitation,
and he treated them with an open-handed hospitality. Not
only did he open his doors to them and furnish them with
suitable apartments for their meetings, but he looked after
their bodily comfort and fed and refreshed them. " Long
afterwards, and far away, they remembered their meetings
'
in Brewster's home, and that with great love he enter-
tained them when they came, making provision for them to
his great cost.'
"
But the old manor house is gone. Long ago it became
a mere tradition. Inside of fifty years probably, after
Brewster and his associates in faith made it their gathering
place, it was taken down, and a farmhouse was erected
on or near the site of it. This is what one sees who visits
the spot now —
an ordinary English farmhouse.
Other facts and incidents of special interest in regard to
the town and manor house are given by Dr. Griffis in his
"
Pilgrims In Their Three Homes." But one who wishes
62 THE PILGRIMS
to make an exhaustive study of the subject, and to know
all which seems possible to know concerning the locality
it
"
and the house, will turn to The England and Holland of
"
the Pilgrims by the Dexters. The few details here sup-
plied, however, would seem to be enough to furnish a clear
notion of the historical setting and the natural environ-
ment of the little Pilgrim church at Scrooby. It is doubtful
if either the interesting story of the sharp contests of the

past which had taken place within their bounds, or the

soft, beautiful landscape in the midst of which their lives
were cast, had much influence on the minds and hearts of
the Separatists. Life with them was too strenuous for this
kind of indulgence or gratification. They were too much
concerned with the grave questions then and there confront-
ing them; too much on fire with zeal for a holy cause to
give thought to historical researches, or to yield to the spell
of esthetic attractions. How to recover and be secure in
their natural rights of walking with God in ways approved
by their own reason and conscience was what filled their
minds and controlled their actions.

It is here at Scrooby, in connection with the little Separa-

tist church which met in the old manor house, that we

make our first acquaintance, or, if we have
Names ot known something of them before, come into
leaders more intimate association with names which
are dear to the hearts of their descendants on
this side of the water,and some of which are destined to
endure as long as the Pilgrim story shall be told.

VI
Any enumeration of the men of influence who composed
the Scrooby church must begin with Richard Clyfton. He
was a Derbyshire man, and past fifty years
Clyfton f a g e wnen he openly identified himself with
the Separatist movement. Bradford in his
commendation of his ability and character links his name
with Robinson and Brewster, and says of him that he was
 THE PILGRIMS 63
" a
grave and revered preacher, who by his pains and dili-
gence had done much good, and under God had been the
means of the conversion of many." Considering how things
were going with the average minister in those days this
was high tribute, especially the avowal that " under God "
he was " the means of the conversion of many." Neither
Paul nor Edwards nor Finney nor Spurgeon would have
thought anything better could be said of himself and his
work.
For years he was settled at Babworth, seven or eight
miles distant from Scrooby. He was the minister whom
young Bradford used to go ten miles or more to hear, and
who helped the earnest lad into the light and joy of salva-
tion. This was while he was still a clergyman in the Es-
tablished Church. Just why and when he left Babworth —
abandoned a living for Separatism —
are questions on
which we have no light, except the inference that he was a
devoted and conscientious minister of the gospel, and could
no longer reconcile it to his moral sense to remain in a
compromising attitude. A man at once intelligent, faith-
ful, and sincere, his honest study of the Scriptures and his
earnest preaching of the truth as he found it, could hardly
have failed to convince him that his place was with the
despised and persecuted few who had come to see their duty
in the new light, which was, after all, only the old light
rekindled.
He was the first pastor of the flock which gathered from
Sunday to Sunday in the old manor house. This was only
natural; for he was an accredited minister, a man of
marked ability, of high character and deep conviction,
well known in the vicinity, and personally known, most
likely, to the larger number of the congregation, and well
fitted by age and experience to be a trustworthy guide
and comforter in those times of perplexity and trouble.
Hence he was one to whom this afflicted people would turn
in confidence. Whether he had been duly " called " and
" installed " in the office of
regularly pastor by the circle
of believers with whom he was associated is a matter of
small concern. Some things look as if there had been
no formal action of this kind, especially the fact —a fact
64 THE PILGRIMS
whose significance seems to have been overlooked by those
who have debated this question — that Robinson is known
to have been recognized as the pastor of this church while
yet in Amsterdam. Neither the people nor Robinson
would have consented to displace Clyfton had he ever been
formally established in this position. Still, though only
" "
acting pastor, as we should say, he was pastor ; and
the hungry sheep looked up to him and were fed.
Clyfton was one of the last of the Scrooby company to
reach Holland. He had remained behind evidently to aid
in covering the retreat. He was deeply interested in the
questions which were exciting and confusing the minds of
many of the Separatists at Amsterdam, and his pen had a
share in the discussions which the bitter controversy awak-
ened. He did not join in the removal from Amsterdam to
Leyden. He had a warm esteem for the Scrooby brethren,
and in turn he was warmly esteemed by them, but respon-
sibilities and anxieties seem to have aged him prematurely,
and he had no heart for further searchings for a home.
When Robinson and his adherents decided to journey fur-
ther, Clyfton sought and received a letter of dismission
from the Scrooby church and of recommendation to the
" Ancient
Church," of which we shall hear somewhat more,
in Amsterdam. This ended his connection — a brief, but
an honorable and helpful connection — with the Pilgrim
movement. In 1616, at the age of sixty-three, Clyfton
died. He died comparatively young, but he had fallen
into line with the providence of God, and his life was made
an effective force for the bettering of things in church and
state.
But the men who were most prominent in this movement,
and whose influence was the most commanding, and whose
shadows across the centuries, were
figures cast the longest
Brewster, Bradford, and Robinson.
 THE PILGRIMS 65

VII
William Brewster was at once a man of convictions and
of affairs. He knew how to bring things to pass. In natu-
ral sagacity, in trustworthiness, in courage, and in expe-
rience, he was eminently qualified to be a leader.
Brewster Both the place and time of his birth are mat-
ters of inference. The strong probabilities
are that Scrooby was his native town. Most writers assert
this without much hesitation. Indications point to 1566
as the year when he was born.
" Life of
Steele, in his
Brewster " makes the year 1560. In fixing on this date he
followed Morton, who was clearly in the wrong. Dexter
brought to light an affidavit made by Brewster at Leyden in
" about "
1609 in which he asserted that he was forty two
years of age. This would locate his birth in 1567. But
the " about
" in the
statement, and other considerations not
necessary to be named, justify the conclusion that 1566 is
the correct date. The month and the day cannot be
determined.
Young Brewster entered Peterhouse College at Cam-
bridge University in the latter part of 1580. There is no
evidence that he completed a full course of instruction. On
the contrary it is quite clear that he did not. But while
his opportunities for formal culture were limited, and
practical affairs rather than lectures and books were made
his teachers, it is to be said that in association with persons
of learning and eminence, in successfully meeting the grave
and delicate responsibilities which were thrown upon him,
and in chances afforded him to study the lives and char-
acter and to observe the manners and customs of people
other than the English, he soon came to have what must be
regarded as much more than the equivalent of an ordinary
liberal education of his time. He knew not a little of books,
and he knew a great deal of men. He was the providential
man of the hour. It is difficult to see howthere could have
been any Scrooby movement without Brewster to be the or-
ganizing and directing force of it. Touch these Scrooby
people anywhere, and it is the throb of Brewster's life that
5
66 THE PILGRIMS
is felt. Trace any of the streams of their most important
actions, and Brewster will be found to be the fountain from
which the streams flow.
How came William Brewster into this knowledge of men
and the varied experience which fitted him so peculiarly for
the service he was to render? He had native gifts, it is
clear, especially in the line of things practical, quite above
the average but how came he to know the world so well, and
;

to have an experience so much wider than the other Separa-

tists with whom he was identified? The answer is near at
hand and simple. It lies folded up in the career of William
Davison.
Davison, starting in public life as private
secretary to
Sir Henry Killigrew, an English ambassador, came to
hold a high position in the court of Elizabeth ;
Davison's an(j ? w hile he ultimately fell out of her favor
influence an(j jj a(j Q su ff er for ft, the queen had so
j.

on Brew- much confidence in his loyalty and tact, that

ster in the earlier period of his political life she
was wont to employ him in some of the many
difficulttasks of diplomacy in which she was always en-
gaged. It was this man who was sent by Elizabeth to
Scotland in 1583 to prevent the formation of a treaty,
offensive and defensive, which Catherine de Medici, acting
through her son, Henry III, who was the nominal, but only
the nominal, ruler of France at this time, was trying to
conclude with James VI, who was subsequently to appear
on the stage as James I of England. It was this man who,
a couple of years after having tried his skill at secret
negotiations in Scotland, was made the queen's envoy to
Holland to fix the terms on which the Dutch were to receive
the aid of England in their unutterably significant and
tremendous struggle with Spain. Thus Brewster was close
to the springs of action at a momentous hour in the history
of liberty and independent thinking and self-government.
To be associated with such a man at such a crisis in the
progress of church and state, was a rare opportunity for
getting into touch with men and movements.
Just when or where or on what conditions Brewster first
entered the service which in no long time brought him into
 THE PILGRIMS 67

close personal relations with Davison is not known. It

has been conjectured that on the mission of diplomacy
from the court of Elizabeth to the court of James, to which
reference has just been made, the envoy may have stopped
at the manor house, and had his attention attracted to
the boy — now well along toward young manhood —
by
some particular act of efficiency and courtesy, or by his
general intelligence and promise. It is possible, however,
that the two had never met at Scrooby, or, if they had,
had never had any intercourse, and that Brewster was
originally employed by Davison on the recommendation
of influential personages at York — bishops or their subor-
dinates— inasmuch as these men knew both the father
and son ; or by instructors of standing at Cambridge who
may naturally be supposed to have had a high idea of the
merits and prospects of their recent pupil.
But in whatever way it had been brought about Brewster
was with Davison, and he had all the advantages which
intimate association with him, at a time when he had im-
portant duties to discharge both abroad in Holland and at
home in London, could possibly afford. These advantages
were all the greater because of the special interest which
Davison took in the young man; for, from the outset,
Brewster seems to have had a warm place in the love and
confidence of his superior. Bradford tells us that this
high officer of state esteemed his assistant as a son rather
than a servant, and was so assured of his discretion and
fidelity that he gave him the preeminence among those
about him, and was wont to commit to him the handling of
matters which required special skill and secrecy. It im-
poses no strain on probability to imagine that the two
may have talked together of the things of God and the
soul as well as of diplomacy and war.
Indeed this is more than probable. " Davison," as Dr.
Griffis
" had lived in where his children
says, long Antwerp,
were born, and where he was an elder in the English Puri-
tan Church." He was a man of sufficient ability and intelli-
gence to understand thoroughly the underlying issues of the
great struggle between Holland and Spain, and likewise
the life-and-death contest which the forces of conservatism
68 THE PILGRIMS
and progress were waging in England and he was a man
;

of sufficient heart and moral earnestness to be deeply con-

cerned for the welfare of religion. He saw that a true,
vital faith and the interests of the people were bound up
in one bundle. Brewster, with his nature and training and
connections, could not sit at the feet of such a teacher and
listen to his sober and confidential opinions on current ques-
tions without getting a new conception of the import and
dignity of the problems which were pressing for solution,
and feeling the currents of a fresh enthusiasm pulsing in
his soul, and becoming in every way broader and larger.
Writers whose pages cover the Holland and London sec-
tions of the career of Brewster are fond of telling us how
the keys of Flushing — one of the cities assigned for the
time by Holland to England in pledge of the good faith
of the Dutch, and of their purpose to meet the obligations
of the new treaty made with Elizabeth —
were put into his
keeping, and that he slept with them under his pillow and
;

how the gold chain with which the Dutch States had hon-
ored Davison in testimony of their appreciation of his char-
acter and services, on their return and arrival in England,
was placed by the distinguished ambassador on his cher-
ished attendant, that thus decorated he might make his
progress up to London and be ushered into the presence of
the queen. It is no wonder. Such stories have their value
as showing the kind of men Davison and Brewster both were.
They show, too, the tender consideration with which the
older uniformly treated the younger and the genuine stuff
of which the younger was thought to be made.
—
—But the significant facts
are that Brewster was
the facts to be emphasized
in close association with a man
who had the intelligence and training, the commanding
character and standing among and the positive
his fellows,
Puritan convictions of Davison; that through Davison he
was made acquainted with the methods and initiated into
some of the mysteries of diplomatic circles and court life;
and that his residence among the Dutch in circumstances
which enabled him to get at both the inside and outside life
of the people must have given him a fresh sense of the worth
and practicability of religious freedom. These were the
 THE PILGRIMS 69

opportunities and influences extending through a year in

Holland and an indefinite though considerable time in Lon-
don, by which there came to him the wide experience that
made him a clear-headed man of affairs, and fitted him in
due time to be an intelligent and resolute Separatist leader.
Had this young Englishman been a dull student of history
and a purblind observer of passing events, he must have
learned something of consequence about civil and religious
liberty from this daily mingling with a people whose blood
had fertilized the soil they had wrested from the sea, in
whose homes there were innumerable sad yet proud memen-
tos of the patriotic devotion of fathers and sons, and whose
great leader had but recently paid the price of his great-
ness by falling at the hands of an assassin. He was, how-
ever, neither a dull student nor a purblind observer, but
an open-eyed onlooker, a man capable of rational reflec-
tions and sober conclusions, and we may be sure that he
came back to his native land with a new confidence in de-
mocracy for both state and church.
But after so much time spent with Davison, and all in
a way so satisfactory, why did Brewster return to Scrooby ?
The story is startling in the surprise of it, and
Why Brew- uncovers one of those
strange turns in provi-
ster left dence which seem so insignificant in themselves,
Davison but which are immeasurably important in the
final issues which they determine. For reasons
of state it was decided that Mary Stuart must be put out
of the way. This fair and fascinating woman was the
storm-center of her time. She was the occasion of innu-
merable plots and intrigues ; and so long as the Queen of
Scots was permitted to live, neither the throne on which
Elizabeth sat, nor the Reformation, nor the peace of the
realm, was thought to be secure. Held in imprisonment for
eighteen years
—first at Lochleven, and during the latter

part of the term in Fotheringay Castle, and, after many

schemes for rising to power and advancing the Catholic
cause, finally detected in what is known in history as the
Babington conspiracy to murder the queen
—Mary was
at length pronounced guilty by a commission of peers,
who tried her. There was a wide demand for her immedi-
70 THE PILGRIMS
" The streets of
ate execution. London," so Green says,
" blazed with
bonfires, and peals rang out from steeple to
steeple at the news of the condemnation." But Elizabeth
shrank from this last step. Only under a pressure which
she felt unable to resist did she consent to sign the death-
warrant. It fell to Davison, who, in virtue of his abilities
and character, had risen to be full secretary of state, to
have conspicuous connection with this transaction. For an
act in which he did exactly what she told him to do, the
queen, in the fury of one of her strange caprices, deprived
him of his office, and thrust him into the Tower. No en-
treaties of his friends could induce the unreasonable ruler
to restore him to his place, or remit his fine, which was
ruinously heavy. At length he appears to have been re-
leased from prison ; but he was a broken man and did not
long survive the unjust and bitter treatment. But as long
as he could be of service to his chief, Brewster did not desert
him. He stood by him in his humiliation and need. At
length there was no more which he could do and no further
occasion for his service. The young secretary was set
adrift, and there was left him, quite likely, no alternative
but to go back to Scrooby. Here in a short time he suc-
ceeded his father in the management, under lease from the
archbishop of York, of the estate on which the manor
house was situated. He was also appointed to the position
which we should call that of postmaster though the duties
;

of the office were not receiving and distributing letters, but

attending to the forwarding of despatches and facilitating
the movements of messengers. The position was one of
honor, and the salary was a liberal one for the time.
But the significant fact is that it was the beheading of
Mary, Queen of Scots, which took Brewster back to Scrooby.
As it seems to be evident from a study of the
The Queen f acts that Brewster was the
organizing spirit
of Scotsand f the Separatists of
Scrooby, and that, as has
Plymouth j^n SSi {^
already, it is
very doubtful if there
Bock ever wou i(j na ve been any Scrooby church and
any Scrooby movement had it not been for
Brewster and the manor house, so it is highly probable
that had it not been for the taking off of the head of this
 THE PILGRIMS 71

long-imprisoned and menacing Mary Stuart, Brewster

would not have been at Scrooby and in the manor house,
but would have remained in the service of the crown, so long,
at any rate, as Elizabeth continued to reign, and easily
risen to the place of a high secretary or ambassador to
foreign courts. Relief would have come in other ways,
doubtless, and from other sources, and the Separatist move-
ment would have found other hands to guide it and other
channels in which to flow ; but the stages of progress would
not have been just what they were ; and the connection — in
a certain sense so sternly logical — between the death of
Mary, Queen of Scots, and Plymouth Rock would not have
been so close and manifest. That death was a significant
link in the mighty chain of God's providence.

vni
William Bradford is a name that we speak with tender
reverence. In the rare group of men who stood at the
front and were largely influential in directing
Bradford the affairs of the New England colonies in their
initial stages, he was conspicuous for his lov-
ableness. Not so headstrong and overzealous as Endicott,
not so well qualified to conduct large business enterprises
and to take broad views of statesmanship as Winthrop, not
so self-willed and aggressive as Williams, not so acute as
Haynes, nor so philosophical and profound in his thinking
on fundamental principles as Hooker, not so poised in mas-
sive common sense and old-world dignity as Eaton nor so
brilliant and eloquent as Davenport, he was yet the supe-
rior of them all in sweetness. He had the charity which
covers a multitude of sins and the fine patience which avoids
mistakes by making haste slowly. He could be firm when
occasion called for firmness, and he was never known to be
false to his convictions; but he was always kind and con-
siderate. His heart was a fountain of sympathies from
which men in need could draw at will.
The place where Bradford was born is Austerfield, a
little hamlet lying just beyond Bawtry, and about two miles
72 THE PILGRIMS
directly north of Scrooby. The church in which he was
baptized was the small bit of ancient architecture called
St. Helen's, in the same town. But neither the day nor the
month nor even the year in which this child with so large and
fruitful a future came into the world is certain ; though it is
probable that his birth occurred in the early part of 1589.
If this guess is right, Bradford and Endicott were of the
same age. Winthrop was a year older, while Roger Williams
was little more than an infant in arms when Bradford
was compelled to leave England for Holland. Brewster
was at least twenty-two and possibly twenty-three years
his senior. Very closely, however, were the hearts of the
two men knit together in mutual respect and in loyalty to
a common cause. From first to last, in England and Hol-
land and America, they lived in an unbroken and beautiful
"
fellowship. My dear and loving friend " is the language
with which Bradford characterized him when the faithful
elder had laid aside the burden of his fourscore years and
passed on to share in the rewards and glories of the world
beyond.
For meeting the storm which was about to break upon
them, Brewster had the advantage in maturity of mind and
in knowledge of affairs and in varied experience ; but Brad-
ford had come into the faith at a time in life and in a way
to kindle his whole soul with enthusiasm and make him both
daring and efficient. It is worth much to any man to have
had a sharp and definite initiation into the divine life. This
man was born early into the kingdom and after a pro-
nounced struggle.
Affliction was the schoolmaster which brought him to
Christ. His father died when he was less than two years
of age, and not long after this bereavement he was deprived
of his mother. At six he lost his grandfather; and the
future care and training of the lad fell to the charge of
his uncles. Before he was twelve he was visited with a severe
illness. Bodily pain and suffering did for him what his
uncles had neither the disposition nor the ability to under-
take. The Bible was opened to his understanding, the
privileges which all souls have in the Redeemer were re-
vealed to him, and through the ministry of the Spirit and
BRADFORD COTTAGE, AUSTERFIELD

THE CHURCH IN AUSTERFIELD

 THE PILGRIMS 73
the counsel of faithful friends —
more especially the counsel
of the Rev. Richard Clyfton, who was then pastor of the
church at Babworth, and afterward for a brief time pastor,
or at any rate acting pastor, of the church at Scrooby —
he came under the power of the endless life, and in a little
time identified himself, heart and soul, with the Separatists.
Efforts were made to dissuade him from his course; but
" neither could the wrath of his
uncles, nor the scoff of his
neighbors, now turned upon him as one of the Puritans,
divert him from his pious inclinations." He had had such
a well-defined experience of the love of God in Christ and
of his forgiving grace, he had such regard for truth, he
saw the way of duty so clearly, and he was so convinced of
the transcendent value there is in a divinely enlightened
and approving conscience, that he preferred the loss of all
things, and even life itself, to the surrender of his faith. It
is this kind of experience which makes men lion-hearted,
and gives to the Cromwells of the world the invincible
Ironsides with which to fight their battles. In the adhe-
sion of Bradford to the Separatist cause Brewster was re-
enforced not only by a choice man, but by a man who had
seen the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending
and descending, and who had been inwardly girded by the
Almighty.
Eminent for his sweetness of dispositionand his many
lovable traits, must not be thought for a moment that
it
Bradford was in any wise a weak man. On the contrary,
he had aptitudes, and a combination of qualities which made
him very strong. His immediate ancestors seem to have
had some local distinction. He inherited a little property.
There are indications that he moved in the best circles of
the community. But the talk of which he was likely to
hear most was of farming operations and prospects, while
his school privileges were necessarily limited. He had the
inclinations and tastes of a scholar, and the versatility which
would have given him success in any one of the departments
of learning then open to students, and he may have longed
in his youthful days to go up to Cambridge, as Brewster
had done ; but there was no one to send him, or to lend him
encouragement in his aspirations. But in quickness of
74 THE PILGRIMS
apprehension, in moral integrity, in every-day wisdom, and
in capacity for culture, there were few to surpass him.
Above all, he was a man of weight. When he, with his
sound judgment and unimpeachable character, was put into
the scales, it took an immense amount of avoirdupois on the
other side to send him to the beam.
Cotton Mather, a writer full of conceit, it is true, and
given to extravagance in his estimate of men whom he ap-
" He was a
proved, has this to say of Bradford :
person
for study as well as action ; and hence, notwithstanding the
difficulties through which he passed in his youth, he attained
unto a noble skill in language. The Dutch tongue was
become almost as vernacular to him as the English. The
Trench tongue he could manage. The Latin and Greek he
had mastered. But the Hebrew he most of all studied;
because, he said he would see with his own eyes the ancient
oracles of God in their native beauty. He was also well
skilled in history, in antiquity, and in philosophy. And
for theology, he became so versed in it, that he was an
irrefragable disputant against the errors
—especially those
of Anabaptism which, with trouble, he saw rising in his
colony. Wherefore he wrote some significant things for the
confutation of those errors. But the crown of all was his
holy, prayerful, watchful and fruitful walk with God,
wherein he was very exemplary." Considering the differ-
ence in the standards of learning by which men were judged
two hundred and fifty or two hundred years ago and those
by which conclusions are now reached, this opinion of
the author of " Magnalia Christi Americana " cannot be
thought to be far out of the way.
Bradford had not reached his majority when he was
forced, with his associates, to leave his native land; but
the boy was father of the man, and the stand he took thus
early was prophetic of his future fidelity and usefulness.
 THE PILGRIMS 75

IX
John Robinson had a large, well-trained mind, and a
clear perception of the situation. His courage was un-
flinching, yet not noisy. The spirit of con-
Eobinson ciliation and self-sacrifice marked his conduct ;

but nothing could induce him to surrender his

loyalty to truth and duty. His character was admirable
alike for its purity and simplicity, and its capacity to stand
hard strains. Never impulsive and rash, he could be
counted on in emergencies. Possessing and illustrating
these qualities, he naturally became the most commanding
figure in the circle of the exiles. He was not a reformer
like Luther; he was not the originator of a system of

theology like Calvin ; he was not a determined and aggres-

sive preacher like Knox; he lacked the organizing genius
of Wesley ; but for all this he was a great man as well as
a good man, and multitudes in England and America rise
up and call him blessed.
It comes to be monotonous to have to make the same
statement over and over again concerning the men who were
at the forefront in the Puritan and Separatist movement;
but it is a fact in regard to Robinson, as well as many
others who have been named, that both the time and place
of his birth, after all efforts made to discover them, still
remain in obscurity. All that can be affirmed is that he
was probably a native of Gainsborough, and that his year
was either 1575 or 1576. If the Cambridge University
records are followed, his birth must be assigned to the
former of these dates ; but if the Leyden register is right,
then the latter date is the correct one.
In fairness, however, it ought to be said that a part of
this confusion and uncertainty may be attributed to the
unsettled state of chronology at this period. There was
not only the double way of Old Style and New Style em-
ployed in reckoning time, but the year began on different
days in different countries. In Holland, in the seventeenth
century, the year began with January first ; but in Eng-
land the legal year began on the 25th of March, Some of
76 THE PILGRIMS
these differences in dates may have their explanation in
this fact.
Robinson entered Corpus Christi College in 1592. He
took the full course, graduated, and in due time, in virtue
of his scholarship and promise, secured a
A Cam-
fellowship. This was no small distinction,
bridge Whatever his origin and social standing, this
man predestined leader of thought and guide of
action was not only a man of ability but of
learning. Congregationalists come legitimately by their
traditional interest in schools and Three of these
Scrooby men
— colleges.
Clyfton, Brewster, and Robinson had —
studied at Cambridge University, and two of them had
graduated. Smyth of Gainsborough was also a Cambridge
graduate. To put a low estimate on education is false,
not only to one of the most cherished aims of the Puritans
of the Bay Colony, but to the memory of the most eminent
Pilgrim of Scrooby and Leyden, and others associated with
him.
Having completed his studies at Cambridge, Robinson
took orders in the Established Church. His conversion
and no doubt his decision to be a minister of
Took orders Jesus Christ were
largely due to Rev. William
in Estab- who was the public catechist of his
Perkins,
lished and a warm evangelical preacher of
college
Church
great power. It goes without saying that a
clergyman of this spirit and purpose must
have been a Puritan; but he was a conforming Puritan.
About the close of the old and the beginning of the new
century Robinson left Cambridge and went to Norwich,
or the immediate vicinity. But he was a new
Saw duty
century man. Cambridge in comparison with
in new Oxford was a new century university. Nor-
light wich was a new century town. The same in-
fluences that had stirred the soul of Browne in
both these centers of new century thinking, and confirmed
him in his Separatist notions, powerfully affected Robinson.
He was in a strait betwixt two. Should he sever his rela-
tions with the great body of believers with which he was
connected —cut loose finally and forever from its compan-
 THE PILGRIMS 77

ionship, its employments, and its promotions, and join for-

tunes with a few bruised and scattered people who had not
yet risen to the dignity of a sect, but who were hunted day
and night by the subservient tools of ecclesiastical and civil
authority; or should he remain where he was, hampered
in his plans, vexed of soul, and with a conscience ill at ease,
but hoping still to do some little good under the limitations
which fretted him and which must fret all sincere and ear-
nest souls ? At the end of four years a sharp turning-point
was reached in the road which he was traveling. He had
made such progress in Puritanism, and was so bold in
proclaiming his opinions, that his bishop could no longer
tolerate him, and he could no longer remain in the position
he then occupied. He withdrew from the State Church,
gave up his fellowship, and stepped out into the world to
meet and bear whatever might await him. It was all with
reluctance and pain but the step was taken —never to be
retraced. One can but admire and pity him as he is seen
pressing his way through the deep waters of this bitter
inward conflict.The story is so interesting that he must
be allowed to tell it himself. This is the revealing passage.
It is taken from Robinson's elaborate and very able treatise
on " Dissuasion Against Separatism Considered."
" I do indeed confess to the
glory of God, and mine own
shame, that a long time before I entered this way, I took
some taste of the truth in it by some treatises published in
justification of it, which, the Lord knoweth, were sweet as
honey unto my mouth ; and the very principal thing, which
for the time quenched all further appetite in me, was the
over-valuation which I made of the learning and holiness
of these, and the like persons, blushing in myself to have
a thought of pressing one hair-breadth before them in this
thing, behind whom I knew myself to come so many miles
in all other things ; yea, and even of late times, when I had
entered into a more serious consideration of these things,
and according to the measure of grace received, searched
the Scriptures, whether they were so or not, and by search-
ing found much light of truth ; yet was the same so dimmed
and over-clouded with the contradictions of these men and
others of the like note, that had not the truth been in my
78 THE PILGRIMS
heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, I had never
broken those bonds of flesh and blood, wherein I was so
strictly tied, but had
suffered the light of God to have been

put out in mine own untruthful heart by other men's

darkness."
This is large and manly ; but the record of a severe
it is

struggle. Awed and bound by the names of living men

whom he revered, and by the names of dead men whose
memory he honored, he was yet able to stand on his own
feet and reach and rest in his own conclusions. Command-
ing as some of these names were which were cited against
him, he had the courage to say, in a sentence immediately
" I neither think them
preceding the passage just quoted,
so learned but they might err; nor so godly, but in their
error they might reproach the truth they saw not." A
wholesome stand this for any man to take; but to take it
and hold it requires a good deal of moral fiber.
After the struggle was over, and he was no longer a
Puritan merely, but a Separatist, Robinson went north.
But to what place? Dr. Dexter thinks he went
Became a " must have been
to Gainsborough and, in what
Separatist an impressive scene," offered himself for mem-
bership in a body of disciples who called them-
" the Lord's free
selves, in the language of their compact,
who had "
people," and become united by a Covenant of
the Lord, into a Church Estate, in the fellowship of the
Gospel, to walk in all His ways made known, or to be made
known, unto them, according to their best endeavors, what-
soever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them." On
" We are not aware of
the contrary, Arber says :
any evi-
dence tending to prove, in the slightest degree, that Robin-
son was ever a member of Smyth's church." His claim is
that the Gainsborough church was not established until
1606 — the same year in which the Scrooby people formed
their church. Hence he declares that " if Robinson went
north in 1604, he must have gone to Scrooby." The differ-
ence of opinion is of little consequence, since Robinson
surely found his way to Scrooby, became fully identified
with the Scrooby church, and there began his pronounced
and influential Separatist career. But whether it was with
 THE PILGRIMS 79

the church on the Trent, or the church on the Ryton, that

he first became connected, he subscribed to the same cove-

nant, and entered into the same vows, and staked all on
" Whatsoever it should cost " was the
the issue. spirit and
pledge in which he took the step.
It is not clear just when Robinson came into the pastor-
ate of the Scrooby church. But be the time when it may
and the place where it may, the mutual respect
Beloved an(j affection entertained Robinson and his
by
pastor of Bradford says
people Were very marked. :

Scrooby « Such was the mutual love and

reciprocal
church
respect that this worthy man had to his flock,
and his flock to him, that it might be said
of them as it once was of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius
and the people of Rome, that it was hard to judge whether
he delighted more in having such a people, or they in
having such a pastor. His love was great towards them,
and his care was always bent on their best good, both for
soul and body; for besides his singular ability in divine

things, wherein he excelled, he was also very able to give

directions in civil affairs, and to foresee dangers and in-
conveniences ; by which means he was very helpful to their
outward estates, and so was every way a common father
unto them."
So far, however, as residence and work at Scrooby are
concerned, it was only a very brief and limited opportunity
which Robinson had for aiding the people and that the
people had for receiving benefit from his presence. The
same bitterness of intolerance and hate and the same in-
genuity and persistence in persecution with which Separa-
tists were followed in London and Norwich, and wherever
else they were known to exist, were measured out to them
in this quiet little hamlet of Nottinghamshire. It was at
a later period that his associates in exile and the members
of his flock came to know him in the fulness of his manly
qualities, in the tenderness and fidelity of his ministry, and
in the patience and wisdom which fitted him so admirably
to be their leader. The question has been debated whether
in the migration from Scrooby the leadership belonged to
Clyfton or Robinson. The real question is not this, but
80 THE PILGRIMS
whether it belonged to Brewster or Robinson. After the
flight from England
the question ceases to be debatable.
The impression made by the whole narrative, and all the
side-lights of the story, is that from the hour when he
reached the full pastorate, whether at Scrooby or Am-
sterdam or Leyden, until the hour of his lamented death,
Robinson was both the nominal and the actual head of the
company. This will become more and more evident as the
story unfolds.

The four persons considered in the preceding paragraphs

were the chief men in the Scrooby fellowship. Unfortu-
nately they are the only ones of whom we have
Other much knowledge. Even in these instances we
exiles have seen at how many points important in-
formation is lacking. There were others —
the followers of these leaders and their associates in faith
and suffering —
brave men and true ; but in regard to the
most of them we know little or nothing. Dexter names
Richard Jackson, Robert Rochester, Francis Jessop, and
Gervase Neville, as members of the Scrooby company to
whom " brief allusions " are made. These " brief allu-
sions," however, cover at most only a very few facts ; and
the knowledge to be gained of them from delving in dusty
archives, and deciphering deeds and certificates and family
registers and records of one sort and another is provok-
ingly meager. The large majority of them were obscure
people. They were without wealth, without learning, and
without social, political, or ecclesiastical standing. They
would have lived and died in an obscurity so utter that no
antiquarian, not to say historian, would ever have thought
of seeking to know so much about them as their names even,
had they not identified themselves with a great cause, and
by heroic struggles and fortitude demonstrated to the world
the inherent nobleness of their natures.
 THE PILGRIMS 81

XI
Here we come upon the secret of these Scrooby men.
This is where we get our measure of their real qualities.
It is not in things outward, but in things in-
The expla- —
war d 9 ideas, intuitions, aspirations, high
nation of resolves. It cuts no figure that they were
these men farmers — "
plain farmers," as we should say.
There wereother farmers in England, plain,"
"
and "
gentlemen,"
—others then, and others before and
" "
afterwards. But farmers who had ceased to be plain
and become " gentlemen " farmers do not seem in virtue of
that fact to have counted for any more in the great political
and moral conflicts of the age. It is the " plain " farmers
rather than the other kind who have often been the signifi-
" "
cant factors in hard contests. Was it not plain farmers
" "
embattled," who fired the shot heard round the world,"
of whom Emerson sings ?
The wonder is often expressed that men with so little learn-
ing as the larger section of these people had should have
comprehended the issue so clearly and been so splendidly
equal to the emergency. Why wonder? If learning is so
essential and so assuring of right views and attitudes, why
were not the great masters of learning and the great centers
of learning on the right side in the controversies of those
stormy days ? The leaders were educated, and it was of all
consequence that they should be ; but both the leaders and
their followers were dominated by other influences than mere
learning.
It is no ground of surprise, either, that men without social
recognition should have taken so bold a step and accom-
plished so much. Social recognition would have been more
likely to make them acquiescent and contented with things
as they were. The aristocracy of the realm came and went
and made no sign. It was nothing to them that the machin-
ery of state and church was running badly that the water
;

was low in the stream, that the bands were loose, that cog
and mesh were not a fit, and that the finished products were
of a low grade. They were at ease; why fret about such
6
82 THE PILGRIMS
trifles as injustice to the masses, freedom cramped and hin-
dered, manhood crushed, and liferendered abortive?
The world ought long ago to have learned that it is pre-

cisely from such people

as these at Scrooby — people with
intelligent, well-instructed,
and unselfish leaders, while they
themselves are sufficiently informed and have enough resolu-
tion to follow their leaders
— that such movements as the
Pilgrim movement may be expected to originate. These
men opened their minds and hearts to God. They set their
consciences to the key of the Ten Commandments. They
listened to the voice which spoke to them out of the cloud.
They read the Sermon on the Mount, and applied its great
teachings to their daily lives. They interpreted their own
instincts and longings in the interest of the rights of man.
They put Christ above bishops and the moral law above
kings. Their thoughts and aims and aspirations exalted
them. They were a humble body of yeomen ; but they were
wiser than James I. In an hour that was big with fate
they saw into things more clearly than did Parliament.
They had a keener and more vital understanding of the
Scriptures than did the foremost ecclesiastics of the land.
It is three centuries since Scrooby ; but in the management
of church affairs, in adequate provision for public schools,
and in overcoming class distinctions and prejudices, Eng-
land is not yet up to that little group of rustics who used
to meet for worship in the old manor house, and whom a
foolish and headstrong Stuart
" harried out of the
king-
dom." The fact to be noted is not that these exiles from
their native shores were ordinary men, about equal to the
average or a little above; but that ordinary men, under
proper stimulation and guidance, are capable of great
thoughts and heroic deeds.
 V
THE ESCAPE TO HOLLAND
 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for
theirs is thekingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall reproach
you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for
my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven
: :

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Sermon on the Mount.

The Pilgrims separated Church and State. They believed in the right
and power of Christian people to govern themselves, and they believed this
when, even in England, it was dangerous to breathe such an idea. They
were hunted out of their home-land into the Dutch Republic, where con-
science was free. —
William Elliot Griffis.

We can hardly realize a condition of society in which law itself was

struggling for existence; in which everybody and everything was governed
by the King's will, and was subordinate and contributary to the royal —
satisfaction. — Edward Arber.
Why did they suffer the spoiling of their goods, arrest, imprisonment,
exile ? Their only crime was that, while they rendered to Caesar the things
that were Caesar's, they would not render to Caesar the things that were
God's. They had caught from the Bible the idea of a church independent
alike of the pope and the queen, independent of Parliament as well as of
prelates, and dependent only on Christ. It was their mission to work out
and organize the idea and, in so doing, they wrought and suffered for their
posterity in all ages
;

and for the world. — Leonard Bacon.

And that it cost them something this ensuing history will declare.
William Bradford.
 THE ESCAPE TO HOLLAND
is difficult minds a condition of affairs
to picture to our

IT in any country in which a group of people like

civilized
these Separatists at Scrooby should not have been
congratulated on their exemplary living, solicited to re-
main and pursue their several callings without let or hin-
drance, and surrounded with influences fitted to promote
their welfare and happiness, instead of being forced to
forsake their homes, abandon scenes and associations which
were so sacred to their hearts, and give up their most
cherished worldly prospects. It is still more difficult to
ourselves that this state of things existed, not
persuade
in Turkey, but in England —
the home of our state-build-
ing ancestors, and the fountainhead, in spite of all the
tyranny and injustice and persecution which have stained
the pages of its history, of many of the noblest conceptions
of justice and fair play, and the best inspirations to liberty
which the modern world has known.
But peaceful though they were, and diligent, clean-
handed, and upright in character, an honor to the sturdy
yeomanry of the land and an appreciable asset in the wealth
of the nation, reverent and loyal to the king, and scrupu-
lously law-abiding in all things save that, like Daniel of old
and the apostles, they wished to worship God with a sin-
cerityand earnestness which were offensive to those of the
realm who were in charge of religious matters, their lives
were made intolerable to them. The authorities demanded
that they should cease to obey their own intelligent and
conscientious convictions in the concerns of the soul, and fall
in with forms prescribed for them. They must listen to
86 THE PILGRIMS
preachers imposed upon them by the state, even though
these preachers were often too ignorant to preach and too
immoral to be respected. They must follow rubrics and
rituals out of which, for them at least, all vitality had been
lost,and which stood for nothing but superstitious mum-
meries, lifeless and void. It is not pathetic alone, but an
occasion for the hottest kind of righteous indignation, to
think of the sore straits to which these men and women
were driven, for no other reason than that they wanted to
come more completely under the power of the endless life,
and be more like Him who is the supreme expression of the
divine purity and love.
Had these devout souls gathered at the manor house
Sunday after Sunday for purposes of pleasure and revelry
they would have been unmolested. Civil functionaries, high
ecclesiastics, and subservient parsons would have seen noth-
ing out of the way in the proceeding. To come together to
hold communion with God, to be instructed in the Word, to
find strength to bear their burdens and comfort to soothe
their sorrows, to enter into a more intimate fellowship with
their Lord and to lift their lives to higher levels of faith,
and a completer comprehension of truth, to learn how
to be better and braver and more worthy to be called the
children of the Father, was quite another affair, and a stop
must be put to it ! Hence public officials were turned into
spies and charged to be alert and unsparing in doing the
bidding of bishop and crown. Culprits like these must be
run down and punished to the limit. Nonconformists must
be browbeaten into conformity, or suffer the consequences.
Laws had been made to stifle soul-freedom ; and these laws
must be enforced. There was no relief, save in flight, and
even against flight bars the most cruel had been erected.
 THE PILGRIMS 87

Bradford has a number of passages in which he sets

graphic fashion, the kind of treatment which
forth, after his
was accorded to persons who had found their
How the wav int the truth of Christ and were trying
Scrooby j n their lives and
worship to be conformed to
Noncon- y fl wilL
formists The first one is general and has application
were to men and women of this manner of living and
treated
doing wherever they might be discovered.
"When as by the travail and diligence of
some godly and zealous preachers, and God's blessing on
their labors, as in other places of the land, so in the north
parts, many became enlightened by the word of God, and
had their ignorance and sins discovered unto them, and be-
gan by His grace to reform their lives, and make conscience
of their ways, the word of God was no sooner manifest in
them, but presently they were scoffed and scorned by the
profane multitude, and the ministers urged with the yoke
of subscription, or else must be silenced ; and the poor peo-
ple were so vexed with apparators, pursuants, and the
commissarie courts, as truly their affliction was not small;
which, notwithstanding, they bore sundry years with much
patience, till they were occasioned (by the continuance and
increase of their troubles and other means which the Lord
raised up in those days) to see further into things by the
light of the Word of God."
For years, and in all parts of the kingdom where they
appeared, there was no liberty and no peace for those who
" base and "
sought to discard the beggarly ceremonies
which were imposed upon them by the ecclesiastical authori-
" the
ties, and who refused to submit to lordly and tyrannous
of the as
" unlawful and antichristian."
power prelates,"
The passage which is to follow has more particular refer-
ence to the state of affairs at Scrooby, after the brethren
had been associated for a twelvemonth, and were on the eve
of making their desperate venture to get away.
" But after these
things they could not long continue in
88 THE PILGRIMS
any peaceable condition; but were hunted and persecuted
on every as their former afflictions were but as flea-
side, so
bitings in comparison of these which were come upon them.
For some were taken and clapped up in prison, others had
their houses beset and watched night and day, and hardly
escaped their hands; and the most were fain to fly and
leave their houses and habitations, and the means of their
livelihood. Yet these and many other sharper things which
afterwards befell them, were no other than they looked for,
and therefore were the better prepared to bear them by the
assistance of God's grace and Spirit. Yet seeing themselves
thus molested, and that there was no hope of their continu-
ance there, by a joint counsel they resolved to go into the
Low Countries, where they heard was freedom of religion for
all men ; as also how sundry from London, and other parts
of the land, had been exiled and persecuted for the same
cause, and were gone thither, and lived at Amsterdam and
in other places of the land. So after they had continued
together about a year, and kept their meetings every Sab-
bath in one place or the other, exercising the worship of
God amongst themselves, notwithstanding all the diligence
and malice of their adversaries, they seeing they could no
longer continue in that condition, they resolved to get over
into Holland as they could, which was in the year 1607 and
1608."

II

This resolution cost these about-to-be exiles many a

sharp and bitter pang. It is to be remembered that the
Puritans, so Mather tells us, who arrived in
Resolution Salem in 1629,on leaving the homes in which
to leave
they had been nourished and all the associa-
and hin- tions of their former years, so far forgot their
drancesmet
sufferings and persecutions that they were
" Farewell
ready to exclaim, not, Babylon !

Farewell Rome!" but "Farewell, dear England!" To

these Pilgrims who were the forerunners of the Puritans
in their flight from the home-land to America, England,
we may be sure, was " dear " England. " To leave their
 THE PILGRIMS 89

native soil and country, their lands and livings, and all
" much "
their friends and f amiliar acquaintance," was ;
"
and by many it was thought to be marvelous." But there
were embarrassments far more practical than any spring-
ing from mere sentiment. In going into Holland they
were going into a country of which they were all —with the
exception of Brewster —
totally ignorant, save what had
come to them through hearsay. They must learn a new
language, get their living they knew not how, pay far
more than they had been accustomed to do for whatever they
bought, and expose themselves to all the miseries of war.
No wonder " many thought " this " an adventure almost
desperate, a case intolerable, and a misery worse than
death." " But these things did not dismay them though
;

they did sometimes trouble them for their desires were set
;

on the ways of God, and to enjoy his ordinances; but

they rested on His providence, and knew whom they had
believed."
It required two systematic attempts, and then a good deal
of effort of the promiscuous sort, to accomplish the final
transfer of the Scrooby church from exposure to the cruel
storms of England to the kindly shelter of Holland. It
was a strange situation. The irony of it was that the Dis-
senters and Separatists, though an intelligent and devout
and exceptionally worthy people, were allowed neither to stay
nor to go in peace. Or to state it in the exact and pathetic
"
language of Bradford :
Though they could not stay, yet
were they not suffered to go but the ports and havens were
:

shut against them, so as they were fain to seek secret means

of conveyance, and to bribe and fee the mariners, and give
extraordinary rates for their passages." For there was a
law of England that no one could go out of the country
without license from the king. There was also a law —
from 1593 to 1598, a specific statute, after that a purpose
in influential and official circles quite as potent as written
enactments — to the effect that incorrigible Nonconform-
ists must leave the realm. The alternatives were sub-
mission to all ecclesiastical requirements or quitting the
kingdom. At the same time here was this other law for-
bidding going abroad without permission from the king.
90 THE PILGRIMS
The firstplan of getting away was for a large company
of them to embark from old Boston, a seaport town, on the
Witham, fifty or sixty miles distant. This was in the au-
tumn — probably October
— of 1607. A suitable ship was
chartered, agreement was made with the master to be ready
on an appointed day, and preparations went on in accord-
ance with this arrangement. The Idle, one of the two
rivers near the manor house, was navigable for a part of
the way and it is quite likely that the women, children, and
;

luggage were sent by water as far as Gainsborough. At

any rate, this is Arber's conjecture. The men, or so many
as were not needed to accompany the boat down the Idle,
might easily reach their destination on foot. All went as
planned with the exiles. But the vessel was not at hand
at the appointed date. The party had to wait — with what
anxiety it is easy to imagine
— for a long time, and to be
at heavy extra expense in consequence of waiting. At length
the captain appeared ; under cover of darkness the would-be
emigrants got themselves and their stuff on board the ship ;
and then, when morning broke and they thought the way
clear for the successful carrying out of their project, they
were betrayed by the miserable scoundrel with whom they
all
had conducted their negotiations and whom they trusted.
It would be an injustice to the reader, who may not have
ready access to Bradford's book, not to reproduce his ac-
count of this affair: "But when he had them and their
goods aboard, he betrayed them, having beforehand corn-
plotted with the searchers and other officers to do so; who
took them, and put them into open boats, and there rifled
and ransacked them, searching them to their shirts for
money, yea, even the women further than became modesty :

and then carried them back into the town, and made them a
spectacle and wonder to the multitude, which came flocking
on all sides to behold them. Being thus first, by the catch-
pole and stripped of their money, books, and
officers, rifled
much other goods, they were presented to the magistrates,
and messengers were sent to inform the lords of the Council
of them, and so they were committed to ward. Indeed the
magistrates used them courteously, and showed them what
favor they could, but could not deliver them, till order came
 THE PILGRIMS 91

from the Council-table. But the issue was that after a

month's imprisonment, the greatest part were dismissed, and
sent to the places from whence they came ; but seven of the
principal were still kept in prison, and bound over to the
Assizes."
Who these "seven" were is not known, save that Brewster
was one, and that Robinson and Bradford were likely to
have been two others. But whoever they were, these "seven"
were worthy to be enrolled along with another " seven " of
whom we read in the Book of Acts, who were " men of good
report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom."
To have been baffled and turned back in this way must
have been a severe disappointment to these people, and their
pecuniary loss must have been great but they remained as
;

trustful in God, and as brave and determined as ever.

In the spring —April, it is thought
—
of the following
year, 1608, a second effort was made to escape from the
trials and persecutions to which Separatists were exposed
in their own home-land. This time another program was
adopted. Instead of trying to work out by way of Boston
and the mouth of the Witham, the leaders seem to have con-
cluded that there was more chance of success by going in the
direction of Hull and the Humber. Women and children,
with the goods, were to be placed, as before, on some sort of
transportation craft, and floated down the Idle, as far as
Gainsborough, to the Trent; there they were to be trans-
ferred to a small bark, but suitable for the purpose, and
taken down the Trent to its confluence with the Humber,
thirty miles away, and then down the Humber and along
the coast to a point settled upon, and now believed to be the
haven of East Halton Skitter. The men of the party were
to walk, and to meet the women and children at the time
and place designated.
This apparently was the scheme. The attempt to execute
itinvolved these earnest souls in a fresh disaster. The bar-
gain was made with a Dutch master of Zealand, found in
the port of Hull, who owned the ship he sailed, and who
gave satisfactory assurances that he would keep his word
and meet their expectations. We have seen what the plan
" "
was. But," as Bradford tells us, it so fell out, that they
92 THE PILGRIMS
were there a day before the ship came, and the sea being
rough, and the women very sick, prevailed with the seamen
to put into a creek hard by, where they lay on the ground
at low water. The next morning the ship came, but they
were fast and could not stir until about noon. In the mean-
time, the ship master, perceiving how the matter was, sent
his boat to be getting the men aboard whom he saw ready,

walking about the shore. But after the first boat full was
got aboard, and she was ready to go for more, the master
espied a great company, both horse and foot, with bills and
guns and other weapons ; for the country was raised to take
them. The Dutchman seeing that, swore his country's oath
— '
sacremente ' —
and having the wind fair, weighed
anchor, hoist sails, and away." Thus were the hopes of
these smitten Pilgrims blasted once more, and their well-
wrought plans brought to naught.
Immediately the plight of both parties —
those in the
vessel and those on shore —
became pitiable in the extreme.
The men were taken out to sea but instead of a quick and
;

safe voyage into port, the ship ran into a terrific storm.
One who has had any experience of rough weather on the
German Ocean can well understand what that must have
meant. In a passage in an excellent steamer, only a few
years since, from Newcastle to Bergen, when the winds were
only moderately severe, and the waves were far from being
mountain high, the captain was heard to exclaim at dinner :
"
Well, this is a fine show Eighty on board, and only five
!

" Had
at the table ! he delayed his remark for about one
minute, the number he named would have been not five, but
four. The storm into which the ship which bore so many of
the men of the Pilgrim company ran lasted for seven days,
and it took fourteen days to reach land. During half this
time, or the days upon which the storm was upon them,
"
They neither saw sun, moon, nor stars, and were driven
near the coast of Norway; the mariners themselves often
despairing of life ; and once with shrieks and cries gave over
all, as if the ship had been foundered in the sea, and then

sinking without recovery." Bradford himself, to whom the

world is indebted for the facts, was on board of this ship,
and in those days and nights of fearful hardship and peril,
 THE PILGRIMS 93

when he and others of like faith were driven to their knees

in prayer, he must often have thought of Paul and his ex-
periences of shipwreck and deliverance so long ago in the
tumultuous waters of the angry Mediterranean.
But if those who were borne out to sea were forced to en-
counter darkness and the fierce assaults of swollen waves,
those who remained behind fared but little better. The
"
great company of both horse and foot, with bills and guns
and other weapons," whom the master of the ship saw bear-
ing down on them, soon had the most of these surprised
exiles in their grasp. Some of the men — those in all prob-
ability who knew would be fatal for them to be caught
it —
made good their escape but others of them, with the women
;

and children, were apprehended. Once more it shall be left

to Bradford to tell the tale
" Pitiful it was to see
: the heavy
case of these poor women in this distress what weeping and
:

crying on every side, some for their husbands that were

carried away in the ship, others not knowing what should
become of them and their little ones others again melted
;

in tears, seeing their poor little ones hanging about them,

crying for fear, and quaking with cold. Being thus appre-
hended, they were hurried from one place to another, and
from one justice to another, till in the end they knew not
what to do with them for to imprison so many women and
;

innocent children for no other cause but that they must go

with their husbands, seemed to be unreasonable and all
would cry out upon them; and to send them home again
was as difficult, for they alleged, as the truth was, that
they had no homes to go to, for they had either sold, or
otherwise disposed of their homes and livings. To be short,
after they had been thus turmoiled a good while, and con-
veyed from one constable to another, they were glad to be
rid of them in the end on any terms; for all were wearied
and tired of them. Though in the meantime they —
souls — poor
endured misery enough and thus in the end neces-
;

sity forced a way for them."

94 THE PILGRIMS
III

This was the last attempt made by the Pilgrims to cross

over from England to Holland in a body. A
few of the
men, after their perilous voyage of fourteen
Effort to
days, were there already. It was deemed wiser
reach Hoi- for the others to follow them in the same fashion
land sue- m
wnich they had been wont to go to their
cessful
gatherings in the manor house
—
not in
groups, but one by one, or by twos and threes.
In this way they would escape observation and accomplish
their purpose. So it was.
" And in the
end, notwithstand-
ing all the storms of opposition, they all got over at length,
some at one time and some at another, and some in one
place and some in another, and met together again ac-
cording to their desires, with no small rejoicing."
A fresh reading in its details of the exodus of the Pil-
grims from England to Holland only serves to deepen the
surprise and indignation which was expressed in the open-
ing words of this chapter. There are no words hot and
sharp enough to express the folly and wickedness of ex-
pelling such a people from the land. But how sublime the
faith, how superb the courage, how lofty and complete the
devotion which would lead men and women to endure all
these hardships and make all these sacrifices, and yet not
flinch, but go straight on in testimony of their regard for
conscience and their loyalty to God! So long as pain
excites pity in the human breast, and tyranny arouses pro-
test and resistance, and exhibitions of resolute courage and
heroic self-sacrifice stir enthusiasm, what these men and
women did in turning their backs on the homes of their
childhood, and the land they cherished, and giving up so
large a part of their possessions and escaping across the
sea to a foreign country, will be found worthy of the con-
stant and everlasting remembrance of a grateful and rev-
erent posterity. Robinson has his memorial in the church
at Gainsborough and the tablet at Leyden. Congrega-
tionalists in Great Britain and America ought to unite in
erecting a suitable monument to the exiles at Scrooby.
 VI

EXPERIENCES AT AMSTERDAM
 The splendid empire of Charles the Fifth was erected upon the grave
of liberty. It is a consolation to those who have hope in humanity to watch,
under the reign of his successor, the gradual but triumphant resurrection
of the spirit over which the sepulchre had so long been sealed. From the
handbreadth of territory called the province of Holland rises a power which
wages eighty years' warfare with the most potent empire upon earth, and
which, during the progress of the struggle, becoming itself a mighty state —
finally dictates its decrees to the Empire of Charles.
John Lothbop Motley.

This small territory, invaded first by different tribes of Germanic races,

subdued by the Romans and by the Franks, devastated by the Danes and the
Normans, and wasted for centuries by terrible civil wars —
civil freedom and liberty of conscience — preserved its
against the formidable monarchy
of Philip II and founded a republic which became the ark of salvation for
the freedom of all peoples. —
Edmondo De Amicis.

Holland was the anvil

upon which religious and civil liberty was beaten
out in Europe at a time when the clang was scarcely heard anywhere else.
We can never forget our historical debt to that Country and to these people.
Puritan, Independent, Huguenot, whoever he may be, forced to flee for con-
science's sake, will not forget that in the Netherlands there was found in his
time of need the asylum where conscience, property and person might be
secure. — Thomas F. Bayard.

The Dutch were the first to permit, and to acknowledge religious tolera-
tion. — J. E. T. Rogers.
 VI
EXPERIENCES AT AMSTERDAM
was the only country to which the Pil-

HOLLAND
grims
It was the
in their sore straits of persecution could flee.

only country near enough to be easily

accessible ; andwas the only country which was open to
it

their approach. They were less than fifty miles from the
coast, and when once on the shore nothing but the North
Sea separated them from a people who had fought out the
fight of freedom, and were living in the enjoyment of civil
and religious liberty. Under the Dutch flag, as has been
said before, one might think his own thoughts, utter his
own opinions, or do this more freely than in any other of
the leading nations, and worship God in any way, provided
he kept within proper ethical limits, which met the demands
of his own reason and moral sense.
To men whose efforts to reform their lives and put con-
science into their conduct, and shape their characters ac-
cording to the standards of the Master, exposed them to
the scoffs and scorn of the " profane multitude," a people
with such a spirit and a land with such laws must have
made a strong appeal. Still stronger must have been the
appeal when the attempts of these same men to get together
for the study of the Word, and for mutual edification in
worship rendered them obnoxious to enactments of Parlia-
ment and liable to arrest and imprisonment by " apparators
and pursuants and the commissarie courts." When the
stress of necessity was upon them, it was only natural that
this little company of ill-used and persecuted disciples of
our Lord should seek the shelter of a state in which the
emphasis of legislation was placed so largely on the civil
and religious rights of the individual. Holland was at once
a refuge for the oppressed and a school of instruction for
those who would be experts in the practise of freedom. The
7
98 THE PILGRIMS
victims of injustice and intolerance, whether in Catholic
France or Protestant England, found here the opportunity
which they sought for unmolested worship. Descendants
of the Pilgrims and citizens of our Republic may well hold
the Dutch in most grateful remembrance.

Why the exiles, driven from their native land, went

to Holland has just been stated. But why
Reasons for fofi choose to settle at Amsterdam
they
going to m preference to any other town or city
Amster- which they might have selected? There were
dam several reasons for this choice, and all of these
combined easily determined their action.
Amsterdam, in all probability, was better known to the
Pilgrims than any other city of Holland. It had been a
city of growing importance for more than
Amster- three hundred and fifty years. It was admitted
dam well t membership in the United Provinces in 1578.
known Soon after this it became the foremost com-
mercial center of Europe. For upwards of a
century it continued to hold this leading position. News
traveled slowly in those days, and knowledge of what was
going on in the world was limited; but Brewster and the
others who were at the front in this band of exiles were
well informed concerning the wonderful metropolis on the
Amstel.
Amsterdam, at the time when the Scrooby Separatists
were obliged to seek shelter in a foreign land from the fierce
storm of persecution which had broken upon
Amster- them in the home-land, was conspicuous for its
dam was
hospitality to men of all creeds and nation ali-
tolerant ties. The toleration for which Holland stood
was here exemplified in its most advanced
stages. Commerce and trade had quickened the intelligence
of the people, widened their interests and sympathies, and
made them in all best senses more liberal. Intercourse with
all sorts and conditions of men had given them a keener

appreciation of soul-liberty as well as civil liberty. There

 THE PILGRIMS 99

was an element of business shrewdness in it. Merchants

and manufacturers had found it to their pecuniary advan-
tage to let industrious, God-fearing workmen come within
their borders. It was not all selfishness, however. The
spirit of a wise catholicity and a broad statesmanship was
behind the policy and dictated it. One of the long-honored
officialsof the city, so Dexter tells us, took the ground that
" no
magistrate has authority in matters of faith," and
insisted that
" the wisest course would be ' to disturb no
" This was asserted to
man on account of his conscience.'
be an " ancient custom
" of the Dear old Andrew
city.
Marvell, who thought this wide religious toleration a fine
theme for satire, was paying a higher tribute than he knew
when he wrote:
"Hence Amsterdam, Turk-Christian-Pagan-Jew,
Staple of sects, and mint of schism grew;
That bank of conscience, where not one so strange
Opinion but finds credit, and exchange."

It is no wonder that the exiles sought the shelter of a com-

munity so eminently hospitable to free thought.

II

Amsterdam, being a city of much wealth and

of wide
and increasing business activities, would be
likely to fur-
nish better chances for earning a living than
Amster- anv other place to which they might go. They
dam held were fleeing to a foreign land, and were to
out promise cas t their lot among strangers. No one of the
of a liveli- The most of them were
company was rich.
hood
poor. All of them, no doubt, had made sacri-
fices in the sale of their properties, while many
of them must have been despoiled of no small portion of
" "
their earthly goods by the officials who were harrying
them out of the kingdom. They could not afford to lie idle,
and they had no disposition to do so. To become objects
of charity would have been an offense to their self-respect.
They were without the capital and the necessary experience
to enter into successful competition with those who were
well established in business. Necessity was upon them to
100 THE PILGRIMS
do something. With their own hands they must secure
and clothing. It was wise to pitch their tents
shelter, food,
where opportunities to meet their pressing needs were most
abundant. This is what they did. No other place was so
promising.

in
A further attraction of Amsterdam, we must believe, was
the considerable number of English-speaking people who
were already on the ground. The facts just
More recited — the accessibility of the place, the
English- wjd e reputation it enjoyed for hospitality to
speaking a n f aiths, and the exceptional facilities it
people al- afforded for earning a livelihood — had been
ready in controlling influences in determining the choice
Amsterdam f this
city as the refuge to which persecuted
Englishmen should escape. At an earlier
it had been Antwerp and other continental towns
period
to which men, hunted and bruised for the opinions they
held, hastened for safety. In the more recent years it had
been this wide-awake and tolerant Amsterdam. Not a few
of the choice subjects of Elizabeth and James within the
last decade and a half had crossed the German Ocean and
found here the precious freedom for which they longed and
prayed.
The presence of these earlier comers who held the same
views and cherished the same aims, who had passed through
the same trying experiences and paid the same bitter cost
for their liberty, and who spoke the same mother tongue,
added to the considerations already named, would be an
argument of much weight in the minds of the Scrooby exiles
for settling in this renowned mart of trade. In tak-
down
"
ing up the
life in midst of a people of strange and uncouth
and of different
" manners and customs," and
language,"
" to which
of " fashions and attires they were not used,
"
though these were not the things they much looked on,"
it must have been a comforting thought that there were
others beside the members of their own immediate party
with whom they could hold familiar intercourse, and
THE LITTLE STREET OF THE BROWNISTS, AMSTERDAM

IN AMSTERDAM
 THE PILGRIMS 101

through whom
— some of them having been long enough
in the country to learn its
speech
— they might talk to
the native-born of the land and both understand and be
understood.
As has just been intimated, there was a pretty large con-
tingent of English-speaking people, who had been driven
from their homes for conscience' sake, at this time in Am-
sterdam. The movement in this direction had been going
on for a dozen years or more. In 1595 a section of Francis
Johnson's church at Southwark had found its way from
London to this city. It took two years to accomplish the
journey, for the start was made in 1593. The members
of this advance detachment were poor. They set out from
prisons, though they had been locked up, not for their
crimes, but for their faith and their way of expressing it.
The doors of confinement were opened to them on condition
that they would leave the realm. Their first attempt at
settlement after crossing the North Sea was at Campen.
From there they went to Naarden. In both towns the local
magistrates had to render them pecuniary assistance. At
length the pioneer contingent reached Amsterdam. In
course of time the pastor, released from prison and ban-
ished for life, joined those of his flock who had reached the
city before him.

IV

Afterthis manner a smitten and exiled company of

believers was brought together in this foreign land. With
Johnson still its pastor, and Ainsworth, who had been
serving as pastor until Johnson arrived, chosen to be its
teacher, it kept up its continuity for years and passed into
" Ancient Church." At
history as the length this Amster-
dam church disappeared. But it is an interesting fact
that the section of the original church in London which
remained on the ground, though scattered and peeled, be-
came the nucleus of a new church which persists unto this
"
day. They were the hidden ones who had maintained
their fidelity to the cause through years of persecution."
"
They were what remained of that martyr church which,
102 THE PILGRIMS
after giving Greenwood, Barrowe, and Penry to the gal-
lows, had been driven into exile." Henry Jacob — a man
who had passed through many inward and outward con-
flicts incoming to the conviction that he ought to be a
Separatist
—
gathered this dispersed people and others
along with them together and became their pastor. It is
known to-day as the church of the "Pilgrim Fathers."
Some time in 1606, or about a couple of years before the
Scrooby exodus occurred, John Smyth led the major part
of the Gainsborough Separatists over to Amsterdam.
These were well known to the more recent comers. They
had been their near neighbors and associates in worship.
It must have been good to meet them once more and talk
over their common experiences and hopes.

With so things apparently in their favor and to

many
their liking in the stirringand tolerant city to which they
had migrated, why did the Pilgrims think it
Why the wiser to leave Amsterdam and go to Ley den ?
Pilgrims With old friends about them, with fellow-suf-
left Am- ferers for associates, with full liberty to wor-
sterdam snip q 0(j as their own consciences, enlightened
by the Scriptures and quickened by the Spirit,
directed, and with ample chances for self-support, what
more could they want? Were they getting restless? Were
the excitements of a fresh removal necessary to their hap-
piness? Far fromit. These men were impelled by two
good and motives to the step they took.
sufficient
The first was a desire to be secure in the enjoyment of
peace. They had inward peace
—
the peace that passeth
all understanding; but they wanted outward
To be secure
peace. It became evident that they could not
in enjoy- have it where they were. Bradford has made
ment of this clear in his statement of the reasons for
" When
peace their removal. they had lived at Am-
sterdam about a year, Mr. Robinson, their
pastor, and some others of the best discerning, seeing how
Mr. John Smith and his company was already fallen into
 THE PILGRIMS 103

contention with the church that was there before them, and
no means they could use would do any good to cure the
same, and also that the flames of contention were like to
break out in the ancient church itself (as afterwards
lamentably came to pass) which things they prudently
;

foreseeing, thought it was best to remove, before they were

any way engaged with the same; though they well knew
it would be much to the prejudice of their outward estate,
both at present and in likelihood in the future —
as in-
deed it proved to be."
As this quotation indicates, sharp differences of view
and alienations had already cropped out in the group of
Separatists which had gathered at Amsterdam. This is
only what might have been expected. Moral reforms have
a wonderful fascination, not only for careful, intelligent,
and earnest well-wishers of their kind, but for a certain
type of sincere but impulsive and unmanageable people.
Every movement for bettering conditions in church and
state and social life is sure to attract to itself more or less
adherents who are best characterized by the designation
" cranks."
They are not fools. They are not knaves.
They are honest, and athrob in every fiber of their being
with good intentions, but their minds are not well ballasted.
They have more enthusiasm than judgment. They easily
degenerate into fanatics, and do more harm than good to
the cause they espouse. They lack perspective and fail
to distinguish between points of little consequence and points
of all consequence. They become either quarrelsome or
quixotic, and sometimes both.
The Separatists of Scrooby were remarkable for their
freedom from the plague of opinionated and eccentric char-
acters. They were as strong in their purposes as fate,
but they were sane and sensible. Incidental matters did not
disturb their poise and divert them from their main end.
The Separatists who preceded them to the Low Countries
and settled in Amsterdam were not so fortunate. Their
leaders were neither so clear-headed nor so well-balanced
as Robinson and Brewster and the young but wise Brad-
ford. Hence, small jealousies and open antagonisms and
104 THE PILGRIMS
the promise of anything but harmony. This is the pity
of it ; for some of these men had fine qualities and records
to command admiration.

VI
Francis Johnson was a marked personality, and his
story is one of thrilling interest. He was a Yorkshire
man, born at Richmond in 1562. He studied
Francis a t Cambridge and became a fellow of Christ's
Johnson He entered the but soon
College. ministry,
came to hold advanced views on the subject
of church government. Indeed, while a young man of only
twenty-eight, he preached a sermon on this subject, which
gave such offense to the ecclesiastical authorities that he
was arrested and cast into prison. He promised to take
back what he had said and was liberated. The retraction,
when publicly made, was not satisfactory to the officials,
and the offender was expelled from the university and re-
turned to prison. A strong petition by influential friends
at Cambridge secured his release. He crossed over to
Middelberg and became the pastor of a Puritan church.
But though zealous for Puritanism, he was still a Puri-
tan and not a Separatist. So far was he from being a
Separatist that he was *ready to do all in his power to
thwart the aims of those who felt it to be their duty to
come out from the Established Church and stand by them-
selves. A treatise written by Barrowe and Greenwood
while imprisoned in the Fleet, in defense of their views and
attitude, was being printed on the continent. The work,
while in press, fell under the eye of Johnson. He took it
for granted that the book was full of error, and secured
the authority of the magistrates to commit the entire edi-
tion to the flames. Two copies of the obnoxious publica-
tion escaped. One of them he had the curiosity to read.
He became convinced that the position taken by the authors
was right. To make assurance doubly sure he went back
to England, sought an interview with the authors while
they were still in jail, took the side they advocated, joined
the despised and ostracized fellowship in London of which
 THE PILGRIMS 105

the two imprisoned writers were members, and was chosen

pastor of the flock. It was in this way that he became a
Separatist, and later, and after various experiences, an
exile at Amsterdam.
This brief outline of his career is enough to make it
evident that Johnson was a man of honest mind, quick
impulses, brave heart, and deep convictions. He was obedi-
ent to the heavenly vision. But he was impatient of re-
straint, inclined to have his own way, and not wise enough
to avoid humiliating and disastrous quarrels. He could
not get on well with his brother George, and he allowed
the style of his wife's dress to drift into discussion and
become a divisive element in the church.
Hardships, trials,
imprisonments, banishment, the loss of earthly goods and
the alienation of cherished friends wrought no changes in
his ideas and purposes. At the same time he was sure to
be a storm-center in all current controversies and a dis-
turber of the equanimity of his friends as well as his foes.
He had the insight and courage of a reformer, but not
the skill and patience to be a successful leader.
Besides, the proper form of government for a church
interestedJohnson at Amsterdam as it had at Cambridge,
and his notions on the subject were of a kind and so pro-
nounced that he and Robinson would hardly have been able
to see eye to eye. He claimed independence for the local
church, but he thought the local church ought to be under
the control of a body of elders. He rejected the Congre-
gational theory of Browne and adopted the Presbyterian
theory of Barrowe, his teacher in Separatism. Thus all
the tendencies of his mind were in a direction which diverged
more and more from the path along which the Scrooby
exileswere moving. Take it all in all, a discerning eye
could discover a large stock of material for future con-
troversy in the habit and temper of this one man.
106 THE PILGRIMS
VII

John Smyth is supposed to have been a native of Gains-

borough, but neither the place in which he was born, nor

the date of his birth, is definitely known. He
John was graduated at Cambridge and became a
Smyth fellow of Christ's College. He had many fine
qualities. Bradford declares that he " was an
eminent man in his time, and a good preacher, and of other
good parts." But the same kindly author felt obliged to
add: " His inconsistency and unstable judgment, and being
so suddenly carried away with things, did soon overthrow
" Dissuasions
him." Robinson, in his Against Separatism
" devotes two lines to him but these two lines
Considered ;

have in them not so much the benumbing effect of a blow

as the sharp thrust of the sting of a bee.
" His
instability
and wantonness of wit is his sin and our cross." It is not
easy to characterize such a man and keep steadily in mind
his commendable traits and real services. He had a fertile
brain, a conscience quickly responsive to what he conceived
to be truth and duty, and pluck to match. Nothing daunted
him. But while he saw some things clearly he had only
confused and distorted notions of some other things. He
was unselfish. His sincerity was never called in question.
His career, however, was tortuous. He was one of those
minds which seem to be more attracted by a plausible con-
jecture than by a solid argument. He led his followers
out of bondage to a corrupt church and a cruel govern-
ment; but he did not stop there. He kept leading them
until he had them all in the bogs and quicksands of un-
reasonable conceits. His scholarly attainments were con-
siderable. He became an author early in life. His writ-
ings show both capacity and earnestness, but the tendency
of fanaticism was strong in his nature, and it appears to
have been easy for him to wander off into all sorts of
strange vagaries. Consistency was no jewel in his esti-
mation. Dexter says of him that he " was unusually hos-
pitable to plausible new views of religion, and had an almost
chivalric willingness to adopt them, wherever they might
 THE PILGRIMS 107

lead, which amounted to little less than recklessness. In

England he had vacillated so that Ainsworth said he had
'
published three sundry books wherein he hath shewed
himself of three several religions ; and in another book
had so contradicted himself that there was little need of
another man's sword to pierce the bowels of his error, when
his own hand fighteth against himself.' "
First and last, Smyth fathered many a strange notion.
Some of his conceits were worthy of the genius of insanity.
He began his caprices by charging that it was a sin to use
the English Bible in worship. Nothing but the original
Hebrew and Greek would satisfy him. From this he ad-
vanced to the opinion that it was improper and wrong to
have the Scriptures open before the eye while preaching,
or the psalm while singing. The open book, so he con-
tended, destroyed the spirituality of the worship. To be
acceptable everything must be from the heart and by heart.
This position was assumed and this controversy was sprung
upon the Separatist churches only a short time before the
arrival of the Scrooby people in Amsterdam.
A greater surprise was in store. Shortly after the com-
ing of the Pilgrims to the city Smyth changed his views
on baptism. He also concluded that the Church had been
so out of the way in the past and was so corrupt that it
was not worthy to administer the rite. Hence his church
was dissolved and a new start was made. Smyth baptized
himself— became a Se-Baptist. From a basin he " dipped
up water in his hand and poured it over his own forehead
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost." After
this ceremony he baptized the others who were of his way
of thinking and ready to follow him. Then he had a church
to suit him, for he had made it himself. Alas, no ! for his
next discovery was that he and his associates had been rash
in their action, since there could be no valid
" administra-
tion of baptism and other ordinances
" until the church was

duly officered. So things went at rapid pace from bad to

worse until in no long time, as might have been foreseen,
Smyth's church came to an end and his impracticable and
foolish schemes melted into thin air. He died a couple of
years or so afterwards, and found his grave in the city
108 THE PILGRIMS
of his adoption. Unfortunately he is not the only man in
history of pronounced ability and irreproachable character
over whom we are obliged to mourn because his career was
wrecked through lack of common sense.

VIII

Henry Ainsworth, a third man who was prominent in the

who preceded the Pilgrims in going
circle of Separatists
to Amsterdam, was a choice soul. Until re-
Henry cently his birthplace, his age, the institution,
Ainsworth [f anV) at wnich he studied, were all matters
of conjecture. More thorough investigations
have brought to light the fact that he was born in Swanton-
Morley, in Norfolk, in 1569. He studied for a year at
St. John's, Cambridge. At the end of this period he left
St. John's and entered Gonville and Caius. He was then
eighteen years of age. He did not graduate, but the proba-
bilities are that he spent not less than three years at this

college. It is not true, therefore, as has been generally

supposed, that he had only limited educational advantages.
On the contrary, he was well educated in the schools. This
is shown in the eminence he won as a Hebrew scholar and

expositor of the Hebrew Scriptures. His notes on the

Pentateuch gave him a place in the front rank of commen-
tators on these books of the Old Testament. The latest
Revisers found his
" Annotations " " a valuable
help in
their work." Very high praise has been bestowed on his
translation of the Psalms. He prepared a copy of the
Psalms for singing. As seen in his " Counterpoyson," his
controversial writings were clear and strong. Johnson,
Smyth, and others among the Amsterdam exiles, were
scholars, but when it seemed advisable to turn their Con-
fession of Faith into Latin, Ainsworth was the one chosen
for the task.
Independent of his training, or rather as the basis of his
training, Ainsworth was a man of exceptional abilities.
He had a penetrating insight and clear apprehension. His
reading along theological lines and church history was
 THE PILGRIMS 109

wide, and his knowledge was varied and accurate. More-

over, he was a man with a will brought into conformity to
the divine will, and a mind illuminated by the mind of the
Master, and a disposition, naturally sweet, softened and
sanctified by the indwelling of the Spirit. He was as true
as but he was loving and lovable. His belief that
steel,

they were right in their contention, and his sympathy with

them in their trials and imprisonment and poverty, led him
to identify his name and fortune with the section of the
Southwark flock which migrated to Holland. Still, amidst
all the confusion and wrangling which went on in the
churches of Johnson and Smyth, he seems never to have lost
his head, nor to have fallen from the grace of good temper.
His very excellences, however, drew him into the strife
and made him the leader of a party. He had the sanity
which attracted men of sanity to his side, and in a storm,
the few who were not panic-stricken felt safer with the
helm in his hands. As we have seen, Ainsworth was the
pastor of the Ancient Church during the first years of its
location in this foreign city. When Johnson arrived he
dropped back into the place of teacher. But when the
split came he was put at the head of the disaffected party.
Still, though he was positive in his opinions and true to
them in all emergencies, he carried himself serenely through
the heats of these sharp controversies and retained his
sound judgment and his unsullied character unto the end.
He had the confidence and love of the Scrooby Pilgrims from
first to last, and he lived on and bore his testimony until
two years after they had reached the shores of America.

Richard Clyfton was drawn into some of these contro-

versies, but though he remained behind when Robinson
and his associates went to Leyden, he appears
Richard neither to have said nor to have done anything
Clyfton to forfeit the high esteem in which he was held
by those who knew him best. Had all been of
the good sense and good temper of Ainsworth and Clyfton
there would have been no trouble.
Events, however, were ordered otherwise. Human folly
as well as human wisdom was to play a part in the progress
110 THE PILGRIMS
of mankind. Once more the wrath of man was to be made
to praise the Lord and to promote the interests of his
kingdom. Separatists
— men who stood out and made all
kinds of sacrifices in protest against the evils and corrup-
tions of the Church, and who insisted on the right and
power of self-government for the people of God
—were
to make a spectacle of themselves before the world by
their ideas and their scandalous wranglings. It was no
place for our Scrooby exiles. If they wanted peace they
must gird up' their loins and journey on again.

IX
A second motive which influenced the Pilgrims in their
purpose to leave Amsterdam and go to Leyden was the
strong desire they felt to keep together and
Strong de- maintain the separate identity and unity of
sire to keep t h e i r little
company.
together jn j-his d es i re we discover two factors, one
conscious and the other unconscious. They had
their own thought, clear and definite, in the matter; and
this thought they held to with a striking tenacity. But
over and above this, so we find it well-nigh impossible not
to believe, they were in the hands of a Providence which was
shaping their ends, giving form to their plans, and in a way
quite above their immediate discerning was opening paths
along which it would seem wise for them to walk. It has been
" when
said by another that they took a step they took it
with a view to every step that would follow, and they fixed
their eyes not on any diversion by the wayside, but on their
ultimate destination." This is true. It is true, however,
not because these men in the light of their own understand-
ing saw the end from the beginning, but because the divine
Forecaster saw it, and directed affairs after such fashion
that the choice made by them of a course to pursue in each
crisis of their common life should have wise reference to
their final triumph. They were warp and woof in God's
loom. Unseen hands had shaped the pattern and were
throwing the shuttles. The finished web was to be what
 THE PILGRIMS 111

the world would admire through all the generations. But

it took the two factors of a human purpose and a divine

guidance working together to bring it about.

Having said so much, it hardly needs to be added that
the Scrooby exiles did not unite with either of the two
churches which were on the ground before them,
Maintained \yni adhered to their own
organization and kept
their own [t intact. united with the Ancient
They
organiza- Church in worship, and appear to have
tion been edified by the services, but they did not
disband and join them. As might have been
expected, Johnson's followers contained some unworthy
members. Still, Bradford bears testimony to the fact that
"
among them there were many worthy men," and that in
the best days of the church they displayed a " beauty and
order" which were admirable. The same thing was true
of Smyth's church. There were in it not a few " honest
and godly men." There can be no doubt that a large
majority of the members in both churches were of this sort
— " honest and
godly." Had they been wisely led the
story of their careers would have been a widely different
one. Such, however, was not the case. Both flocks were
badly shepherded. In view of the disturbances which had
already taken place, and of others likely to occur in the
near future, and especially in view of the subtle something
in their own souls which controlled and guided them at every
critical juncture in their lives and kept them true to their
sublime destiny, they stood aloof from the other organiza-
tionsand preserved their own identity.
On these two grounds, therefore —the peace of their
own members and the unbroken continuity of their fellow-
ship
—
the Scrooby exiles decided to remove from Am-
sterdam to Leyden.
112 THE PILGRIMS

These Pilgrims, however, wise and considerate beyond

the men of their day, were not willing to intrude themselves
upon a community which was not willing to
Petition for receive them. When it had been settled by
leave to them that it was better to leave Amsterdam
settle at an(j g elsewhere, and when Leyden had been
Leyden fixed upon as the most eligible place to which

they could move, they drew up an application

and sent it to the authorities of the city in which they made
known their desire to become residents of the town, and
respectfully asked if they might do so, and if, in doing so,
" have the freedom thereof in
they might carrying on their
trades." The answer of these sturdy Dutch burgomasters
was what might have been anticipated. They declared it
to be their policy to " refuse no honest persons free ingress
to come and have their residence" in their city; but they
added a clause which bristled with significance, and which
it would be well if all cities could incorporate in their im-
"
migration laws, provided that such persons behave them-
selves, and submit to the laws and ordinances." However,
the applicants had their request granted, and in most
" The
gracious language :
coming of the memorialists will
be agreeable and welcome." This kindly permission must
have put heart into the Pilgrims and confirmed them in
their purpose and the wisdom of it. They soon left, a
hundred strong, " or thereabouts," prophetic of the hun-
dred strong " or thereabouts," who at a later date were
to cross the Atlantic in the Mayflower, and, turning
their backs on the city which had been to them a city of
refuge in their dire distress, and of whose hospitality they
were never unmindful, they set their faces towards the other
city, which had become a renowned center of liberty and
learning, and within whose walls they were to receive the
training necessary to fit them to become the founders of
a free church and a new state in a recently discovered
world.
 VII

THE PILGRIMS AT LEYDEN

 Leyden was at last relieved by William of Orange, who from his sick
bed had arranged for the piercing of the dykes and letting in enough water
to swim his ships and rout the Spaniards. Out of tribulation comes good.
For this constancy and endurance in the siege the Prince offered the people
of Leyden one of two benefits —
exemption from taxes or the establishment
of a university. They took the university. —
E. V. Lucas.

Here, then, in the beautiful city of Leyden, with its famous university
and its heroic past, the wanderers, in 1609, found a home. They were few
in number, and mostly of obscure origin, so that their story in the land of
their adoption would have no historic importance except for the influence
exerted on the world by their descendants in America. In view of this
influence, however, every detail of their prior life becomes of interest.
Douglas Campbell.

That Leyden afforded not merely hospitality and freedom, but the best
school in the world for the training of men in the principles of liberty, and
in endurance for the sake of liberty, is beyond question.
Alexander McKenzie.

Probably the Pilgrims cared little about conspicuous prosperity or social

eminence in Holland. Could they have secured moderate material comfort
and an assured opportunity of desirable moral and spiritual development
they could have been content in Leyden.
Morton Dexter.
 VII
THE PILGRIMS AT LEYDEN
with a sense of satisfaction that we contemplate the
is

IT Pilgrims at Leyden. They have reached a place of

safety. They can live in peace. They can get their
bearings. With time and opportunity for sober reflec-
tion, forcomparison of views, and for looking at the ques-
tion in allits aspects, they can find out whether the steps
taken by them seem to have been wise, and whether it is
better to hold fast to their purpose and go straight for-
ward, or to change front and beat a retreat.

Leyden is a city of remarkable interest. Bradford calls

" fair and
it beautiful, and of a sweet situation." Motley,
it willbe remembered, describes the place in
Leyden terms of enthusiastic admiration. One of the
French chroniclers says " The city of Leyden
:

is, without contradiction, one of the grandest, the comliest,

and the most charming cities in the world." An Italian
writer of eminence, within the last quarter of a century,
" the ancient Athens of the
speaks of it as North, the
Saragossa of the Low Countries, the oldest and most
glorious daughter of Holland." One who has walked its
streets, strolled along its canals, and wandered at leisure
through its public parks, sat under the shade of its lindens,
observed the extreme neatness which everywhere prevails,
and passed through the halls of its renowned institutions,
can join heartily in these words of praise. At the time
of the Pilgrims it had a population of about forty-five
thousand.
116 THE PILGRIMS
The city islocated in South Holland, on the Old Rhine,
a little more than six miles from the North Sea. It is in
the midst of towns justly renowned for their
Location historic events and associations. Less than
thirty miles, directly east, is Utrecht. Some-
thing over twenty, a few points to the east of north, is
Amsterdam. Going a bit west of south for a half-dozen
miles or so one reaches The Hague ; while only a little fur-
ther away, and more nearly south, is Delft. Not quite
so far away as either Utrecht or Amsterdam is Rotterdam,
the birthplace of Erasmus. About as far north from
Leyden, as Rotterdam is south, is Haarlem a city which—
lends the attractiveness of a great past to the circle of dis-
tinguished communities in which it is located. It would not
be easy to match the region in the center of which the Pil-
grims made their temporary home for heroic achievements.
In the days when the story of the Pilgrims was unfold-
ing, these cities were the centers of trade and commerce,
the seats of vast and important industries, and
Centers of the homes of art and learning. They were the
interest and
spheres of subtle diplomacy and far-seeing and
influence
courageous statesmanship, and their battered
walls bore witness to mighty sieges and battles,
to awful onsets and heroic defenses. The influences which
the people of these Dutch towns contributed to the progress
of civilization were not only potent, but enduring. They are
felt to-day wherever industry and thrift are at a premium,
and scholarship and esthetic skill are held in honor, and
civil liberty and religious freedom are cherished. Travelers
who would set foot on spots of permanent and fruitful his-
toric interest cannot afford to omit Leyden and the cities
which cluster about it from their European itineraries.
" from the
Leyden gets its name, so Dr. Griffis tells us,
old Celtic word Lugdun,' which means the looking place,
*

or outlook, referring to the great mound as

Origin of being placed anciently at the junction of the
name t wo branches of the Rhine to command both

waterways." In the Middle Ages it was called

Leithen. Whether Leyden is really identical with the old
Lugdunum Batavorum has been called in question. But
 THE PILGRIMS 117

this is a matter of small consequence. Without doubt,

Batavians, whose spirit of independence and indomitable
pluck stirred such enthusiasm in the mind of Motley, and
whose prowess the embattled legions of the Eternal City
found it so hard to match, once dwelt there. These self-
respecting and sturdy tribes, then the Romans, and after
these the representatives of the German race were the his-
toric peoples who, in succession, occupied the site of this
old and intensely interesting town. The original attrac-
tion of the place, whoever may have settled there first, was
very clearly its strategic situation. By the erection of this
"
burg," which served the double purpose of a point of
observation and a strong defense, the citizens of the place
were enabled to detect from afar the approach of an enemy,
and thus to make a timely and effective stand against
invasion.

II

Early in the history of Holland members of the ruling

and aristocratic classes made Leyden their place of resi-
dence. This brought wealth to the town and
History of gave it social and political standing. Manu-
the town
facturing interests were fostered. The skill of
its artisans was celebrated far and wide. Its
textile products — more especially its woolens —were in
high repute throughout Europe, and commanded the best
prices in the market. The upper classes were not only rich,
but they were characterized by genuine liberality and an
Democracy had not come to its
full fruitage —
intelligent public spirit.
far from it but there was a sense of obli-
;

gation to the community and a disposition to aid which

were highly commendable. Dr. Griffis says once more:
"
Already, in the Middle Ages, the city was noted for
its splendid churches, for its hospitals, its orphan asy-
lums, and its schools, where the poor received instruc-
tion free of charge, the schools being supported by public
taxation."
The famous St. Peter's Church, the largest church in the
city, alike the tomb and the monument of many illustrious
118 THE PILGRIMS
dead, and made still more attractive, if not more famous,
in the estimation of Congregationalists throughout the
world by bearing on its walls a memorial to
St. Peter's John was built and
Robinson, as
dedicated
Church
early as 1121. Inasmuch as the edifice was re-
built and greatly enlarged two centuries later,
there is confusion about the true date of its construction,
and the time is set by some, as above, at 1121, and by
others at 1315. One of the features of the building in the
early centuries of its existence was its lofty and imposing
West Tower, but this fell in 1512.
One has only to go into the museum of the town, and
make a little study of the relics and trophies there gathered,
to understand how severe have been the strug-
Rehcs and have been the triumphs
g] es an(j \low S pl endid
trophies
through which the old city has passed in the
many centuries since it was founded.
There was something, too, in the intellectual and social
atmosphere of the community which not only bred self-re-
spect and thrift and a high type of courage,
A rt
-
but was especially favorable to the development
of the art instinct. Leyden has been fitly called
the " teeming mother of painters." A
renowned group of
masters of the brush appeared on the scene about the time
of the occupancy of the city by the Pilgrims. Rembrandt
was a child three years old when these wanderers for prin-
ciple's sake entered the town. Gerard Douw, a famous
pupil of the most famous master of the brush which Holland
ever produced, was a boy of only seven summers when
Brewster and Bradford and their associates left the shelter
of the Dutchland for the shores of America. Jan Steen
was born the year after Robinson died. Other distinguished
artists were natives of Leyden, but these three, particularly
when the surpassing excellence and world-wide renown of the
first of the three is taken into consideration, are enough to
confer imperishable honor on any city.
 THE PILGRIMS 119

in
But the Leyden at the time the Pilgrims
special pride of
were there, and itsglory ever since, was its magnificent
university. For a twofold reason it might
The uni- wen \ye This university was much in itself, and
versity ft h a(i ^g^ given to the city, on recommenda-

tion of William the Silent, in recognition of the

utter self-denial and superb heroism the citizens had shown in
resisting the siege of the Spaniards in 1573-74, and starv-
ing and dying by hundreds rather than open the gates and
surrender to the enemy. This took place only a little more
than thirty years before the English exiles made the city
their temporary home; and the story of it must still have
been a burning theme on many a lip. The walls of this
school of learning would be a perpetual reminder both to
native inhabitants and strangers of the awful experiences
through which the people of the city had only recently
passed, and of the magnificent appreciation exhibited by
their great and martyred leader of these services and sacri-
fices. Further on there will be occasion to say more concern-
ing this institution. Only here and now, and once for all, it

may be said that the University of Leyden was at the front

alike for the learning of its teachers and the number and
character of the students who thronged its halls. There was
a time when neither Oxford nor Cambridge was in such high
repute. The names of Scaliger, Arminius, and Grotius
would make any school famous. Andrew D. White, in his
" More than
autobiography, in speaking of Grotius says :

ever it is clear to me that of all books ever written — not

claiming divine inspiration
—the great work of Grotius
on ' War and Peace ' has been of most benefit to mankind."
Our own John Quincy Adams was once a student in this
institution.

IV
On reaching Leyden, the first thing for the exiles to do
was to find houses to shelter them. Fortunately, as we have
seen, the application made by Robinson and his associates
120 THE PILGRIMS
for permission to become residents of Leyden was favorably
received, so that the little party
—
about a hundred of them
in all —
was able to enter the town, not only
Finding from suspicion and prejudice, but with the
f ree
homes in fu n
approval of the authorities. This good
Leyden opinion of them which was entertained by the
Leyden officials, when they were permitted to
come and dwell among them, was never changed.
The probabilities are that the first home of the Pilgrims
in Leyden was on St. Ursula Street, in a section which had
recently been annexed to the city. This new section lay to
the northwest of the old portion of the town, and, like addi-
tions to our thrifty and growing American cities, it no
doubt afforded better promise to newcomers with small
means, and especially to a group of newcomers who wished
to keep close together, of finding roofs to cover their heads,
than the older and more thickly settled quarters.
By the end of a twelvemonth, however, these Pilgrims
had pulled themselves together, and gotten the situation well
in hand. A
rare property, in a choice location, was put
upon the market and they bought it. This purchase was
on Kloksteeg, or Bell Alley. The property consisted of a
house and garden, only a few steps across the lane from
St. Peter's Church, and close to the university and the

City Hall. Their new location, therefore, put them at

the center of things, and they had a fair chance to work
out their destiny. For this estate, secured through the
agency of Robinson and three associates, the Pilgrims gave
eight thousand guilders. Two thousand guilders were
paid down, and the balance of the obligation was secured
by mortgage, and met by the payment of five hundred
guilders annually. Who among these people had ready
cash, or how all of them combined, even by pooling their
assets, could get this sum of money together, is not quite
clear; but this is what they did. The house purchased
appears to> have been quite large ; and it became the resi-
dence of Robinson and the meeting-place of the little flock
of which Robinson was the shepherd. Smaller dwellings
to the number of twenty-one were soon erected on the vacant
part of the lot they had bought, and in a little while the
 THE PILGRIMS 121

Pilgrims were clustered about a common court in a compact

and homogeneous colony. This is the place that was made
historic by the residence of the Pilgrims in Leyden. As
long as there are lovers of liberty and of the Congrega-
tional Way in the world — this spot will be a shrine to be
visited with grateful and sacred awe.

Very naturally, on their arrival at Leyden, the means

by which they should obtain a livelihood became a question,
and a very pressing one, with the Pilgrims.
Settling
Though not utterly without resources, as we
down to have seen, were in straitened cir-
just they yet
work cumstances, and must needs secure their subsis-
tence by toil of some sort. What could they do
and what was open to them? They were not professional
men. They were not trained scholars. They were not
skilled artisans. Of those who came from Scrooby to
Leyden no one, except William Brewster, would appear to
have had much business experience. They were a rural
people, familiar, all of them no doubt, with ordinary agricul-
tural pursuits, and some of them, too, with such small trades
— carpentering and smithing, for instance
—
as would
naturally grow up in a country community. But to what
pecuniary advantage could this knowledge be turned in a
city? There was nothing for them but to fall in with the
ways of the people, and learn to do what they were doing,
and turn their hands to whatever remunerative employment
circumstances might offer.
Speaking in general of the difficulties which confronted
them when they first "came into the Low Countries,"
Bradford says that " they saw many goodly
Difficulties "
an(j fortified cities," and heard a strange and
in the uncouth language," and beheld " manners and
way customs " so different from those they had been
used to in " their plain country villages " that
" come
it seemed as if they had into a new world." " But,"
he adds, " these were not the things they much looked on "
— " for
they had other work in hand, and another kind of
;
122 THE PILGRIMS
war to wage and maintain. For they saw fair and beautiful
cities,flowing with abundance of all sorts of wealth and
riches, yet it was not long before they saw the grim and
grisly face of poverty coming after them like an armed man,
with whom they must buckle and encounter, and from whom
they could not fly; but they were armed with faith and
patience against him, and all his encounters; and though
they were sometimes foiled, yet by God's assistance they
prevailed and got the victory." Speaking more particularly
of the material outlook at Leyden when the Pilgrims reached
"
that city, the same author says Wanting that traffic by
:

sea which Amsterdam enjoys, it was not so beneficial for

their outward means of living and estate. But being now
here pitched, they fell to such trades and employments as
they best could; valuing peace and their spiritual comfort
above any other riches whatsoever. And at length they came
to raise a competent and comfortable living, but with hard
and continual labor." While it is true that Leyden was
" "
wanting in the traffic by sea which Amsterdam enjoyed,
it is to be borne in mind that Leyden was a hive of
industry,
and in the multiplied forms of manufacturing which it car-
ried on it opened many doors to men who were more than
willing to earn an honest living by honest toil.

VI

As a matter of course, therefore, these men with a con-

science, and with the and high purpose sure
self-respect
to be associated with a well-trained and vigor-
Vocations ous mora l sense, went to work at such simple,
chosen
every-day tasks as others in like stress of need
were engaged in, and as were offered them by
the employers of manual labor. In the sweat of their faces
they earned and ate their daily bread. Some became car-
penters others took up the trade of weavers
; others still
;

learned to lay bricks, or to spin twine, or to make furniture,

or glass, or candles, or clocks, or pumps. For some there
were openings in other directions, and they became bakers,
brewers, coopers, or tailors. Bassett carried a hod Cush-
;
 THE PILGRIMS 123

man and Masterson carded wool ; Jessop and Collins made

bombazine, or a twilled fabric of silk and worsted; Cuth-
bertson and Lee made hats ; Bradford, Fuller, Southworth,
and Wilson manufactured fustian, or a twilled cloth whose
constituents were cotton and linen; Morton, Butler, Jen-
nings, and Pickering turned to merchandizing; Brewster
taught English at first, and later ran a printing-press.
Others who came in and joined the colony at subsequent
periods distributed themselves through these and like depart-
ments of industry. Judged by the standards of the world
these exiles were a lowly people, and they were content to
earn their living in humble occupations ; but it is to be said
to their everlasting credit that they did with their might
what their hands found to do, and, what is still more to their
credit, they did honest work, and conducted themselves after
a fashion to meet the hearty approval of the community
among whom they dwelt.
On the removal of the Pilgrims from Leyden, slanders
were set afoot by their adversaries to the effect that the
State had grown weary of them and driven
Warmly them out.Bradford, in a spirit of calm and
com-
pardonable triumph, mentions two or three
mended facts to show the groundlessness of these re-
"
ports. First, though many of them were
poor, yet there was none so poor, but if they were known
to be of the congregation, the Dutch, either bakers or others,
would trust them in any reasonable matter when they wanted
money. Because they had found by experience how careful
they were to keep to their word, and saw them so painful and
diligent in their callings ; yea, they would strive to get their
custom, and to employ them above others in their work, for
their honesty and diligence." To this somewhat conclusive
evidence of the respect in which the Pilgrims were held in
"
Leyden the same author adds Again, the magistrates
:

of the city, about the time of their coming away, or a little

before, in the public place of justice, gave this commend-
able testimony of them, in the reproof of the Walloons who
were of the French Church in the city. ' These English,'
said they, • have lived amongst us now this twelve years,
and yet we never had any suit or accusation against any of
124 THE PILGRIMS
them ; but yourand quarrels are continual.' " As if
strifes
to settle the question beyond controversy, Bradford cites
the further fact of the marked esteem in which Robinson,
the head of their colony, was held by the professors in the
university, and the responsibilities to which he was advanced
by the Calvinistic wing of them in connection with the great
controversy of the time. But this will come into review a
littlefurther on ; yet it called for notice here because of the
slander it was brought forward to refute. History fur-
nishes no counter-note to the claim that the Pilgrims, while
in Leyden, showed themselves to be an eminently honest, in-
dustrious, thrifty, law-abiding, and God-fearing people.

VII

The additions to the numbers of the exiles from the out-

sideduring the years of their Leyden life were not so many
as might have been expected. The persecuting
New-
spirit still remained active under James in Eng-
comers
land, and loyalty to conscience was still a char-
and intelligent section of
acteristic of a large
the English people. But not many were disposed to cast in
their lot with this band of Separatists at Leyden. Bradford
"
says :
Many came to them from divers parts of England,
so as they grew a great congregation." But he was speak-
ing in comparative terms. Men of importance to the colony
came to them and the one hundred more or less who first
;

entered Leyden grew to be three hundred, or thereabouts.

Under the circumstances this seemed to the good governor
a remarkable increase; but the increase was large only
relatively
—
not actually.
However, there were accessions to the colony from the out-
side, and quite a number came to them whose coming was of
great advantage. Of these John Carver, Edward Winslow,
Thomas Brewer, Robert Cushman, Isaac Allerton, Samuel
Fuller, and Miles Standish deserve special mention.

John Carver appears to have been a man of well-balanced

mind, of marked practical sagacity, of deep and earnest
 THE PILGRIMS 125

convictions, and of solid character. He was wise, consid-

erate, kind, and he possessed in no small measure those
elements of manhood which inspire and justify
Carver confidence. In addition to these personal quali-
which fitted him so peculiarly for the service
ties
he was to render, he was evidently a person of some means,
and was sufficiently familiar with business and business
methods to command the respect of men of affairs. From
what county in England he came to Ley den is not known.
Nor is there any record of the time of his joining the exiles.
But he was in the city and a member of the colony as early
as 1617, for both himself and his wife are entered in the
register of marriages as witnesses to a marriage ceremony
within this year. He was made a deacon in the church.
When the time came for entering seriously on negotiations
for the transfer of the colony to the New World he was one
of the agents to whom the difficult and delicate business was
entrusted. The fact that Robinson addressed him in terms
of confidence and love in a personal letter, and also made
him the organ through which he communicated his words of
tender counsel to the whole body of the Pilgrims on their
migration, and that he was selected to be the first governor
of this historic company, shows how commanding was his
personality,how judicious and dignified his bearing, and in
what high esteem he was held by all his associates. These
Pilgrims were but a little band, and they make but a beg-
garly showing compared with the hosts of voters who now
assemble at the appointed places on election day to determine
who shall be the chief executive officer of any one of our
leading commonwealths ; but it was no small thing to be the
man first named by these founders of a democracy to pre-
side over the destinies of the new state they were building.
No statue of him may be chosen to adorn our modern
temples of fame; representatives of more conspicuous
abilities and service may crowd him out; but he occupies
a niche in history from which he can never be dislodged.

Concerning Winslow Dr. Brown makes this interesting

" Edward
statement : Winslow, an able and educated young
English gentleman from Droitwich, being on his travels,
126 THE PILGRIMS
happened to come to Ley den in 1617, and was so struck
with the Christian life of the brotherhood that he cast in his
lot with them, and not only became a member of
"Winslow the fellowship, but went with them afterwards to
New England, his name standing third among
those who signed the compact on board the Mayflower."
Carver, Bradford, Winslow, Brewster, is the order in which
the names of the leaders appear on that great and ever-mem-
orable document. Winslow took up the trade of printer,
and by this kind of work maintained himself at Leyden.
He became a writer as well, and the productions of his pen,
like those of Bradford's, are an invaluable source of first-
hand information touching the history of the Pilgrims.
Students of these early days would deem it a great loss were
they deprived of the help to an understanding of the state
of affairs found in his " Good News from New England,"
"
Hypocricy Unmasked," and other contributions made by
him to the history of the times. In 1633, 1636, and again
in 1644, Winslow was chosen governor of the Plymouth

Colony. In the interest of the colony he was often sent to

England. Cromwell had a high opinion of his merits, and
appointed him on commissions which called for the exercise
of great good sense and judicial fairness. He once had the
honor of an imprisonment for several months in London at
the instigation of Archbishop Laud for having presumed,
while only a layman, to teach in the church, and in virtue
of his office as a mere magistrate to perform marriage cere-
monies. Dr. Morton Dexter says of Winslow
" He
:
ap-
pears to have been the only member of the Pilgrim Company
who gained an eminence recognized at the time in England
as conspicuous."

Thomas Brewer was a man of property — a landowner

in Kent — with the distinction in society which belonged
to an owner of land in England in those days.
Brewer came to America, but he played an
jj e never
important part in the life of the Pilgrims in
Holland. He was one of the three members of the Separa-
tist Church at Leyden who entered as students in the uni-
versity. Speaking of Brewster, and of what he did in
 THE PILGRIMS 127
" He also had means to set
Leyden, Bradford says :
up
printing, by the help of some friends." Thomas Brewer
was the " friend " who put capital into the business, and
enabled the good elder to publish, on a somewhat surprising
which were in accord with the
scale, ecclesiastical treatises
minds of the Dissenters. " We
Arber says :
suppose that
we may rightly call that printing organization, which two
members of the Leyden Church carried on — Thomas
Brewer, the sleeping partner, finding the money, and ap-
parently asking no questions ; and William Brewster, the
working partner, organizing and managing it
— The Pil-
grim Press."
Brewer occupied a house near Robinson's, in Bell Alley,
and it was in the garret of this house that the printing
materials were kept and the type was set. The sheets of the
various publications were run off at the presses of some of
the Dutch printers to whom they were sent. This was easily
manageable so long as the publications were not too explo-
sive. At length, however, there was an outbreak of sov-
ereign wrath across the channel which compelled attention.
—
Two books by David Calderwood both issued in 1619 —
one entitled "Perth Assembly," the other, "A Brief Account
of Discipline in the Scotch Church," brought such a storm
of protest from King James that the university authori-
ties were obliged to call a halt and seize the type from
which these books were set up and printed. This incident
gave occasion for voluminous diplomatic correspondence
between the English officials on the one side and the Dutch
and university officials on the other side. The result was
that the English officer was permitted to take Brewer to
London on pledge of the government that he should be
returned in safety. The fact is that Brewster was the
man whom James wanted. Had he been able to lay hands
on him it would have gone ill with the good elder. For
more than a year he was kept in safe hiding. But though
Brewer escaped this time, he was forced to suffer many
persecutions and endure a long imprisonment afterwards.
The record is that for a period of fourteen years — or
from 1626 to 1640 — in addition to a heavy money pay-
ment, he was confined by the bishops in the King's Bench
128 THE PILGRIMS
Prison. He was released by petition to the House of
Lords, but he lived only about a month after his liberation.

Of Isaac Allerton one hesitates to write. He was a man

who gave promise of being of eminent service to the colony.
He had marked ability, executive force, and at
Allerton the outset he met the expectations of his as-
sociates ; but at the end he failed them in a
way which was much to his discredit, and his career was
disappointing. Trusted in the beginning, and chosen to
conduct many important negotiations, he became untrust-
worthy before he was through, and involved the colony in
much distress. At one time the richest man in the colony,
he lapsed into poverty ; and he died, pitied but distrusted
"
by his brethren. It has been said of him that he was
almost the only one of the original Pilgrim body, and the
only one eminent among them, who failed to maintain a
good reputation."

Robert Cushman was a man whose action as agent of the

exiles at a certain important juncture in their affairs ex-
posed him to sharp criticism at the time, and
Cushman h as been the occasion of no little controversy
since. His management of the business with
the Adventurers created grave uneasiness in the minds of
those whom he represented and caused serious dissatisfac-
tion. In the series of mishaps which befell the little band
in starting out on their long voyage he was thought by
some to have shown the white feather. Bradford, sweet
and charitable as he was by nature, did not hesitate, many
years afterwards, to put this intimation on record. The
intimation may have had warrant in the misgiving and
alarm of the hour; but a character so pure and disinter-
ested as Cushman possessed, and services so valuable and
conspicuous as those which he rendered to the Company
with which his name is evermore to be identified, ought not
to be allowed to rest under a cloud because of a momentary
failure of heart. In the final changes, made at the last
moment, in the articles of agreement between the Pilgrims
and the Company with which they were negotiating, Cush-
 THE PILGRIMS 129
man did exactly the right thing. He took responsibilities
which he ought to have taken. He had both the courage
and the wisdom to rise to the situation. He had received
his orders from headquarters; and ordinarily it would
have been his duty to carry them out both in spirit and
letter but he was like a general sent into a distant coun-
;

try to try conclusions with a shrewd and powerful enemy,

and on coming into close range with him and discovering
his actual condition and temper, knows better what to do
than a dozen far-away ministers of state. At the psychical
moment Cushman and his prompt action saved the
acted,
enterprise. Fault was found with him for doing what he
did; and technically he was to be blamed; but from the
higher standpoint of accepting responsibility and doing his
larger duty he was splendidly right. It is to the credit of the
Pilgrims that they came to respect and love him once more.
It ought to be said further concerning Cushman that to
him belongs the unique honor of having been the author of
the first printed discourse ever delivered in New England.
Elder Brewster had been holding forth to the Pilgrims in
the rude enclosure in which they had been accustomed to
worship for the better part of a year when Cushman
"
came over and gave his address on " Self -Love but ;

Brewster's sermons were not put in print. Cushman pref-

aced his publication with a brief account of the country
and the state of the Indians. This gave an added historic
value to the discourse, and justly entitles it to be consid-
ered, as it generally is, the beginning of our American
literature. To the great grief and cost of the colony,
Cushman died in the same year in which Robinson, the able
leader, the wise counselor, and the beloved pastor, went to
his reward.

Samuel Fuller was a lovely character. In the hearts of

all who know anything of him the mention of his name never
tender emotions. It is not known
fails to stir
Fuller where he was born, but he appears to have gone
from London to Leyden. He was a deacon in
the Leyden church, and to the colony a physician beloved.
Like others of the Pilgrims, Robinson included, he could
9
130 THE PILGRIMS
in a direct and pungent way when there was
put things
call for so doing, as seen in the letter sent to Carver and
Cushman — the agents of the exiles in London — to which
his name, followed by the names of Winslow, Bradford, and
Allerton, is affixed. But he was wise and true and tender,
and his presence among the people must have been a per-
petual benediction. It was this good Dr. Fuller, who,
under the direction of Governor Bradford, responded so
promptly to the appeal of Governor Endicott when he
sought help in a time of severe sickness among the people,
and whose incidental services as a peacemaker drew from
the Salem governor these words, addressed to the Plymouth
governor, of gratitude and joy: "I acknowledge myself
much bound to you for your kind love and care in sending
Mr. Fuller among and rejoice much that I am by him
us,
satisfiedtouching your judgment of the outward form of
God's worship. It is, as far as I can yet gather, no other
than is warranted by the evidence of truth, and the same
which I have professed and maintained ever since the Lord
in mercy revealed himself unto me; being far from the
common reports that hath been spread of you touching
that particular." By his timely visit he not only healed
the bodies of men afflicted with scurvy, but he healed minds
which had been distempered by the tongue of slander,
and made the relations between the two colonies sweet and
In a group of choice spirits, like Carver and
'

healthy.
Bradford and Brewster and their fellows, Samuel Fuller
was one of the choicest.

Miles Standish, the redoubtable captain, will always stand

out as one of the conspicuous personalities of this little band
of our forefathers. One almost smiles at the
Standish
apparent incongruity of such a man in such
a fellowship. He was of " small stature and
"
choleric temper ; but self-reliant and of dauntless cour-
age, fertile in resources and prompt to act when action was
called for, true-hearted and always to be trusted in what
he promised, sound of judgment on practical matters and
a man of great and indispensable service to the colony
with which he became identified.
 THE PILGRIMS 131

He was certainly the most picturesque figure in the

whole group. This is the way Longfellow has sketched
him in the opening lines of his
" "
Courtship :

" In the Old

Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims,
To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling,

• «.......•
Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather,
Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.

Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic,

Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron;
Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already
Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November."

Hubbard " A
says of him : little chimney is soon fired ;
so was the Plymouth Captain, a man of very small stature,
yet of a very hot and angry temper. The fire of his pas-
sion soon kindled, and blown up into a flame of hot words,
might easily have consumed all, had it not been seasonably
quenched." But Justin Winsor, commenting on this, adds
the proper corrective " The account thus given by Hub-
:

bard has been considered, and rightly too, as graphic, but

flippant and unjust." This is the right view. Unques-
tionably, he was of a temper to excite some apprehension
in sober minds ; but he was a man of force and unswerving
loyalty to duty. When there was work to be done he did
not stay to count the cost nor to take account of dangers.
Prince bears high and worthy testimony to his character
"
by calling him one of those heroes of antiquity who chose
'
to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the
'
pleasures of sin for a season,' and who through faith sub-
dued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire,
escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made
strong, waxed mighty in war, and turned to flight armies
of aliens.' "
Nevertheless he was not the kind of person whom we
should naturally expect to find voluntarily associating
himself with the Pilgrims.
For, to begin with, he originated in a Roman Catholic
family, and was brought up, so it is supposed, under
Roman Catholic influences. Duxbury Hall, Lancashire,
132 THE PILGRIMS
was his birthplace and early home. The date of his birth
isnot known, but inferences locate it somewhere in the year
1584. With Roman Catholic blood in his veins, and with
a Roman Catholic home training, to say nothing of the
standing of the circle into which life introduced him, it
seems not a little strange to find him in close affiliation
with these Reformers of Reformers and Protestants of
Protestants.
Then he was a man of war. The fact that he was a man
of war, and connected with the division of the English
army which was sent over into the Netherlands to assist
in the terrific conflict which this heroic people was waging
against the aggressive despotism of Spain, goes far, no
doubt, to explain his break with the faith of his fathers,
and his revolt against all forms of tyranny.
Behind all it seems that grievous financial wrongs had
been done him by members of his family. In his will he
bequeathed to his son, Alexander Standish, certain landed
properties in England. These properties he specified, and
added that they had been given to him as right heir by
"
lawful descent, but which had been surreptitiously de-
tained
" from him. This practical robbery forced him
to earn a livelihood as best he might. Like many of the
high-bred and strenuous youth of his time he went into
the army and made soldiering his vocation.
This decision is what took him into Holland. Quite
likely he was one of the contingent retained in the Low
Countries by England to garrison the towns which were
delivered into her keeping by Holland and Zealand in
pledge of the payment of the troops which Elizabeth sent
over to aid them in the struggle against Philip. If this
conjecture be correct, the soldier would have had abundant
opportunity for forming acquaintance with his fellow
countrymen who were living in exile in Bell Alley.
Just the same it seems somewhat queer to findthis pro-
fessional soldier, not known to have been a member
who is

of their church, and who appears never to have shrunk

from a fight, though he never provoked one, enrolled in
the fellowship of these peace-loving Pilgrims. Robinson
not have felt this still he was not with-
may incongruity ;
 THE PILGRIMS 133
out some distrust of the
" " of Standish.
military spirit
In one of the last communications received by the Ply-
mouth brethren from their beloved pastor at Leyden, and
"
addressed to his loving and much beloved friend," the
" the
governor, he expresses a keen sorrow over killing of
" at
those poor Indians Wessagusset by Standish, and ven-
" How
tures to add :
happy a thing had it been, if you had
converted some, before you had killed any " ; for besides
being a good thing in itself this desire is strengthened by
the further consideration that " when blood is once begun
to be shed, it is seldom staunced of a long time after."
This is a pretty good all-around anti-war argument.
But the pacific and humane pastor made his criticism still
"
more pointed by saying :
Upon this occasion let me be
bold to exhort you seriously to consider of the disposition
of your Captain, whom I love, and am persuaded the Lord
in great mercy and for much good hath sent you him, if
you use him aright. He is a man humble and meek amongst
you, and towards all in ordinary course. But now if this
be merely from an humane spirit, there is cause to fear
that by occasion, especially of provocation, there may be
wanting the tenderness of the life of man (made after
God's image) which is meet."
This " military spirit " was no doubt born in Standish ;
and it had been developed and trained, as we have seen, by
actual experience. It was well for Bradford and his asso-
ciates to be on guard against it. But for all this, and in

spite of the misfit which, at first flush, he seems, Standish

was of immense value to the Pilgrims. Both by instinct
and discipline he was thoroughly fitted for the part he
was to play in the unfolding drama of the life and purpose
of this epoch-making company. They do well to guard
with sacred care " the sword of Damascus " which he
" "
fought with in Flanders among the priceless heirlooms
at Plymouth. It was also a fit thing to rear a monument
to his memory in the town which bears the name of his
ancestral seat, and on the hill near which he lived and died,
and that longer than the monument will commemorate the
rank and fame of this heroic military leader.
134 THE PILGRIMS
VIII

What the exiles were doing, aside from earning their

daily bread, during the years they spent in Ley den, has in
part been intimated already. Brewster, with
Books Brewer to back him through what Arber has
printed and ca ll e d The
Pilgrim Press, was printing books,
controver- Attention has been called, on a previous page,
sies stirred t ^ wo of these
books which were published, and,
UP
by the indirect and secret methods then neces-
sary, distributed to the consternation and
wrath of the powers that then were over in the dominion of
King James. These English Separatists consented to put
in type copy brought to them by Scotch Presbyterians for
the reasons that the bodies had a common foe. Puritanism
under whatever banner was forced to fight for its rights;
and assaults made anywhere were assaults in which all
lovers of truth were vitally concerned, and victories gained
anywhere were victories in which all lovers of truth could
rej oice.
To a couple of the first books issued by Brewster he gave
his name in the imprint. After this, for obvious reasons,
his name was withheld. It has to be by other means, there-
fore, than information given on the title-page that the
sources from which the books were sent out into the world
by The Pilgrim Press can be determined. In all there were
probably not less than fifteen different publications which
found their way into the hands of eager readers through
the agency of Brewster at Leyden. But in this business
great care had to be taken, even under the shelter of Dutch
toleration, to avoid detection. At length, as has been
stated, the university authorities had to yield to remon-
strances from London and put a stop to this issuing of
books so distasteful and so threatening to the authority of
kings and the supremacy of bishops. By royal and
ecclesiastical dignitaries alike, outside of the Netherlands,
Brewster was regarded as a dynamiter who at any moment
might scatter thrones and priestly assumptions into a
thousand fragments. The Stuart sovereign and Arch-
 THE PILGRIMS 135

bishop Laud were not wholly without warrant for their

fears. Give truth free course and in the end it is sure to
blow up all lies and pretensions. Get justice fairly into
the minds of men and injustice goes to the wall.

IX
Robinson was drawn into a service more open to the
world. In addition to preaching and exercising pastoral
care over his flock, he came into close relations
Bobinson w ft n Leyden's distinguished educational insti-
in great
tution, and through this relation secured a
debate memorable prominence. As Thomas Brewer
had done several months before him, and as
John Greenwood did a decade after him, Robinson was
matriculated in the university, though this step was not
taken till he had been in Ley den six years. This gave him
a place at the front and launched him into the thick of a
strenuous wrestle. Soon after it was founded, Arminius
took a course of six years at this seat of learning, and
the closing six years of his life were devoted to the duties
of a professorship in this same great school. Arminius
died only a few months after the Pilgrims arrived at
Ley den, and while the controversy over his views was still
hot. But Episcopius, the favorite and faithful pupil of
Arminius, was in the full flush of his manly vigor and the
stout defender of the doctrines of his venerated teacher.
Professor Poliander was the sturdy champion of the oppo-
site view. Robinson held to the Calvinistic side in the
controversy, and in virtue of his ability, which had now
secured recognition in intelligent and influential circles,
he was put forward by Poliander, the foremost of the fol-
lowers of the great Genevan in the university and in the city,
to defend their positions. Robinson entered on the de-
bate with the advantage that he was familiar with the
teachings and methods of both instructors
— Episcopius
and Poliander. As was natural, the divinity section of the
school was divided into two hostile camps. Things had
come to such a pass of prejudice and bitterness, so Brad-
136 THE PILGRIMS
" few of the " of one
ford tells us, that disciples professor
" would hear the other teach." " But Mr. Robinson . . .

went constantly to hear their readings, and heard the one as

well as the other by which reason he was so well grounded
;

in the controversy, and saw the force of all their arguments,

and knew the shifts of the adversary, and being himself

very able none was better fitted to buckle with them." It

ought to be said in justice to his modesty that Robinson was
not overforward for this conspicuousness, but was pressed
into the service.
" He was
loath, being a stranger," to
advance to such a dispute, " yet the other " — Poliander —
" did and told him that such was the abil-
importune him,
ity and nimbleness of the adversary, that the truth would
suffer if he did not help them." In continuing the account
Bradford adds " So he condescended, and prepared him-
:

self against the time; and when the day came, the Lord
did so help him to defend the truth and foil this adversary
as he put him to an apparent non-plus in this great and
public audience. And the like he did two or three times."
This skill and success in debate " caused many to praise
God that the truth had so famous victory." It further-
more secured for the hero of the contest " much honor and
respect from those learned men and others which loved the
truth."
This incident in the career of Robinson was brought
forward by Bradford, it will be remembered, to refute the
slander that the Dutch wanted to get rid of the exiles.
Most admirably does it serve that purpose; but it also
goes to show what the wise and able leader of the exiles
was doing during a portion of the Leyden period, and on
what profound themes he was exercising his mind. He
was alive to the burning questions of the hour; and both
his abilities and his attainments were of an order to make
a deep impression on thoughtful men.

But the appearance of Robinson in public debate on a

religious question immediate
of and absorbing interest
simply suggests rather than tells the story of his intellec-
JOHN ROBINSONS HOUSE, LEYDEN, HOLLAND
 THE PILGRIMS 137

tual activity. Through all those years in Holland he was

doing many things in the same line. In earnest brain work,
as well as in heroic and self-sacrificing deeds,
Further ac- ne was f ac ing the religious issues of his age,
tivity of an j doing his best to throw light on the prob-
Bobinson i ems i Q \y e so lved. If we turn to the chronolog-
ical index of his works, it will be seen that more
than half of the three volumes which comprise his pub-
lished works was given to the world within the years
1609—1619 inclusive. All of the second volume on " Jus-
tification of Separatism from the Church of England," and
the larger section of the third volume, including such im-
portant contributions to the vital thought of his times as
" Christian "
Fellowship," Religious Communion," the
" Exercise of and a " Just and Necessary
Prophecy,"
Apology," fall into this decade. While the members of his
little flock were busy at their humble tasks day by day
earning a livelihood for themselves and their wives and their
children, their faithful and beloved pastor was in his
study, pondering the deep things of God and trying to
" more " which had broken in
get the light upon his own
mind from the divine Word to shed its illumination into
their minds.
Wethink of Robinson as genuinely conscientious and
sincere, as loving and considerate, as wise with the wisdom
which is born of a high moral purpose and
Bobinson's tenderness of
heart, and withal as never want-
high order [ n g m
loyalty to truth and the courage of his
of mind convictions. But he was more than this. He
was a man of rare intellect. He had large
mental faculties. He saw things ; he knew things ; and he
was master of the art of putting things in that rugged
English of his day so that others could see and know them.
Not yet have even his followers, to say nothing of the
world at large, come into a full and proper appreciation of
this rare man. Dr. O. S. Davis has rendered a valuable
service to religious literature and to the faith and polity
of which the Pilgrim pastor was the exponent, in his book
on " John Robinson." But his closing chapter on
" The Man and His Place in History " can hardly be ac-
138 THE PILGRIMS
cepted as an adequate estimate of the high intellectual abil-
ities of Robinson. He was larger-brained than the type
of man there drawn. He was remarkable for the whiteness
of his soul, and the sweetness of his disposition, and the
high order of his courage, and the superb dominancy of
his conscience; but he was also remarkable for the lofty
qualities of his mind. His fine character and his patient
submission to a lowly lot in life have largely obscured the
vision of writers dealing with him to his superior intel-
lectual capacities. Both in natural endowments, however,
and in the keen edge which he put upon his mind by study
and reflection, this quiet pastor of a small flock deserves
eminent rank. His thinking was pitched to a high key for
the reason that his thinking powers were of a high sort.
He reached logical results because he had a mind capable
of moving straight on from sound premise to sound con-
clusion. It is time that suitable recognition were ac-
corded to his intellectual gifts, and the world made to
see that in mental as well as moral endowments this
English Separatist
— forced into exile by the heartless
tyranny of the civil and ecclesiastical rulers of the
country he loved
— was fitted to represent and direct a
movement which meant so much at the hour, and which
with each unfolding century has come to mean more and
more to religion, to political freedom, and to the progress
of Christian civilization throughout the world.

XI
But in addition to what has been indicated already
what were the Pilgrims doing at Ley den?
For one thing they were establishing, or reestablishing,
their simple homes and cultivating their domestic virtues.
They were marrying and giving in marriage,
Marriages an(j to the best of their ability bringing up
their children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord. Accepting the results obtained by painstaking
examinations of original and official documents, made by
such competent investigators as George Sumner, a brother
 THE PILGRIMS 139
of Charles Sumner, Hon. Henry C. Murphy, at one time
United States Minister at The Hague, Dr. Griffis, and
the two Dexters, who put a large amount of time and not
a little expense into these researches, it is found that from
1609, in the spring of which year the Pilgrims reached
Leyden, to 1620, the year of the departure — both years
included — forty-six marriages were registered. This, as
one of these authors has said, " is a pretty fair record for
a church company never at any one time numbering over
"
probably three hundred communicants to make for itself
in a little more than ten years. Children were born into
these homes of the Pilgrims. It has been conjectured that
there were not less than twenty children in the company
when the removal was made from Amsterdam, and that
" about one hundred were born or lived a
longer or shorter
space in Holland." Family life, like the church life, went
on in an orderly and happy way, and the rewards of
industry and economy were enough to give these strangers
in a strange city a tolerable measure of prosperity and
comfort.
Within the dates just named —
1609-1620 —
thirty-
three members of the colony became citizens of Leyden.
Doubtless there were two motives for this step.
Citizenship Q ne was that these men, or some of them at
least, wanted to be in closer affiliation with the
people about them than was possible if they simply stood
off and maintained an alien attitude. They were under the
shelter of the government, and they were more than will-
ing to show their appreciation of the liberty and protec-
tion they were enjoying by becoming subjects of the
government. Another motive was self-interest. Manu-
facturing along various lines was carried on extensively in
Leyden. The Pilgrims had learned trades by which to
make their living. Much
of manufacturing business was
in the hands of guilds. The
guilds of those days were in
some respects the labor unions of our days. One had to
belong to them to get on. But to be a member of a guild
it was necessary to be a citizen. The bearing of this is
obvious. With their shrewdness, their self-respect, their
determination, and in their circumstances of need, these
140 THE PILGRIMS
exiles naturally availed themselves of any help which

promised to make it easier for them to earn an honest

living.
The Pilgrims must have taken a warm interest in the
religious questions which were then agitating the minds of
the people of Holland. They were religious
Warm in- men< They were where they were because of
terest in their religious convictions. We know the topics
religious which were uppermost in the thoughts of Rob-
questions inson, and the extent to which he became in-
volved in the theological controversies of the
times. It was Protestantism against Catholicism; it was
Calvinism against Lutherism; it was rigid Calvinism
against moderate Calvinism; and the whole land was a
battle-ground of warring opinions. In the circle of their
homes, at their daily tasks, when they met by the way, on
the Sabbath, these subjects were in their minds and on
their tongues. Meditating on these great themes day and
night, and discussing them constantly one with another,
they became clear in their views and strong in their con-
victions, and at the same time broader and more tol-
erant in their sympathies. It admits of no question that
Robinson made progress with the years, and that he was
further on and more catholic in his ideas of Christian fel-
lowship at the end than at the beginning of his leadership.

XII
But there was something else of much importance which
these Pilgrims were doing at Leyden. They were getting
their ecclesiastical polity out of gristle into
Church bone. They were defining to their own minds
polity w ftn
an increasing distinctness the system of
church government which they had adopted,
and habituating themselves to the use of this system in the
practical management of church affairs.
At Scrooby these Separatists had taken their stand for
independence and self-government. It was once for all.
Come what might in cost or pain, there was to be no flinch-
 THE PILGRIMS 141

ing. At Plymouth they were to work out their scheme on

a large and demonstrate by a success beyond dispute
scale,
the practicability of this method of maintaining order and
promoting fellowship and securing efficiency in churches.
But at Leyden the task was to perfect the system and get
it thoroughly domesticated in the minds of this little

group who had become adherents of the Congregational

Way.
This was an undertaking not altogether easy. At the
outset Robert Browne had a clear conception of the sys-
tem both in respect to the autonomy of the local church
and the fellowship of the whole body of churches similarly
organized and conducted. He had difficulty in working
the plan ; but his notion of the plan was lucid.
The very simplicity of the idea, however, seemed to make
it hard for some people to apprehend and apply it. It
involved the use of too little machinery and implied too
much confidence in the sanctified common sense of the laity.
The notion advanced by Cartwright and taken up by
Barrowe and adopted in one modification of it by Johnson
and in another by Ainsworth, that church government is
incomplete and liable to end in serious disaster without the
balance-wheel of the eldership, seemed to be pretty thor-
oughly ingrained in the thought of large numbers of the
Separatists. It fell to the lot of Robinson and his asso-
ciates in the faith to work clear of this notion, and show to
the world that elders are not essential factors in the man-
agement of churches, and that order and prosperity in
churches do not depend on the incorporation of these offi-
cials into the system of church government.
There was one elder in the Leyden church; but so far
as appears there was only one. When Brewster went to
America, he left the eldership vacant and no successor to
the office was ever chosen. Nor was his function as elder
so much to rule in an authoritative way over the people of
God as to be what Dr. Morton Dexter has called a moral
leader and adviser. Bradford speaks of him as
" an assist-
ant " to Robinson, and it was for this reason that he was
chosen to be an elder. In this office, no doubt, he con-
" an
tinued to be assistant," and not an authoritative
142 THE PILGRIMS
ruler. Under the circumstances, to cut loose from the idea
of a select body of men in whom the power to control the
church is to be lodged was a large achievement.
But this is what the Leyden Separatists under the guid-
ance of Robinson succeeded in doing. Alien elements were
eliminated from the system, or put in the way
Attempt f and Congregationalism in its
elimination,
successful was set up and operated; and when
simplicity
Brewster and Bradford and the rest of them
came to America they brought with them not only a theory
of self-government for churches, but an actual experience
of self-government for churches on which they could fall
back with confidence.
They could fall back on this experience with the more
confidence because the system had worked so well. How
beautiful is Bradford's testimony to the peace and orderli-
"
ness of that little Leyden flock. Being thus settled, they
continued many years in a comfortable condition, enj oying
much sweet and delightful society and spiritual comfort
together in the ways of God under the able ministry
and prudent government of Mr. John Robinson and Mr.
William Brewster. ... So as they grew in knowledge and
other gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, and lived to-
gether in peace, and love, and holiness . .and if at any
.

time any differences arose, or offenses broke out (as it

cannot be, but some time there will, even amongst the best
of men) they were ever so met with, and nipped in the head
betimes, or otherwise so well composed, as still love, peace,
and communion was continued ; or else the church purged
of those that were incurable and incorrigible, when after
much patience used, no other means would serve, which
seldom came to pass. . Such was the true piety, the
. .

humble zeal, and fervent love of this people (while they

lived together) towards God and his ways, and the single
heartiness and sincere affection one towards another, that
they came as near the primitive pattern of the first
churches, as any other church of these later times have
done, according to their rank and quality."
To the same effect is the splendid tribute paid by Robin-
son himself to the wise self-control and high Christian char-
 THE PILGRIMS 143

acter of this ecclesiastical democracy in his extinguishing

" If ever I
reply to Richard Bernard : saw the beauty of
Sion, and the glory of the Lord filling his tabernacle, it
hath been in the manifestations of the divers graces of God
in the church, in that heavenly harmony and comely order,
wherein by the grace of God we are set and walk ; wherein,
if your eyes had but seen the brethren's sober and modest

carriage one towards another, their humble and willing

submission to their guides in the Lord, their tender com-
passion towards the weak, their fervent zeal against scan-
dalous offenders, and their long-suffering towards all, you
would, I am persuaded, change your mind, and be com-
pelled to take up your parable, and bless, where you pur-
posed to curse."

XIII

Life at Leyden was hard, but it was educational. Under

the severe discipline of it the Pilgrims were confirmed in
their purpose to maintain their views, hold
Life at
together, and go straight on. Without the
Leyden experience of those testing years in Holland
helpful "
they would not have been fitted for the great
"
and honorable actions of the subsequent years
in America, which had to be
" both enter
prised and over-
come with answerable courages." They were stronger,
they were wiser, they were in every way better for their
sojourn and intercourse with the Dutch. From the incep-
tion of themovement at Scrooby to the consummation of
it at Plymouth, the providence of God is nowhere and in
nothing more marked than in leading the advocates of a
free church and founders of a free state through a land
whose people had illustrated the loftiest heroism and made
every sacrifice demanded of them in order to rid their
country of ecclesiastical and civil tyranny.
 VIII

LEAVING LEYDEN
 Coming events of serious importance began to cast their shadows before
during 1617. Gradually it was becoming evident to the Pilgrims that
Holland did not, and could not, afford the sort of refuge and opportunity
which they desired. Reluctant though they were to emigrate again, and
uncertain though they were where to go, they seem to have decided this
year that their very existence as a church, and even as a body of English
people, depended upon some such step.
—
The Dexteks.

I persuade myself, never people upon earth lived more lovingly, and
parted more sweetly than we, the Church at Leyden, did. Not rashly, in a
distracted humour; but, upon joint and serious deliberation, often seeking
the mind of God, by fasting and prayer: whose gracious presence we not
only found with us; but his blessing upon us from that time to this instant:
to the indignation of our adversaries, the admiration of strangers, and the
exceeding consolation of ourselves.
—
Edwabd Winslow.

So they left the goodly and pleasant city, which had been their resting
place near twelve years ; but they knew they were pilgrims, and looked not
much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest
country, and quieted their spirits. — William Bradford.

Now sails are ready as the wings

Of rising bird, outstretched for flight;
Around the keel the water sings,
And breezes to the sea invite.
Now, gathered here,
The Pilgrims kneel in prayer.
Isaac Bassett Choate.
 VIII
LEAVING LEYDEN

Pilgrims, through their daily employments, had

THE close connection with the people of Leyden, and there
can be no doubt that they derived much satisfaction
and help from the sweet Christian fellowship which they
were permitted to enjoy with them while residents of their
city ; but they were English
— English to the core
— and
they never struck any very deep roots in Dutch soil. They
were among the Dutch, but they were not of them. Their
"
thoughts were long, long thoughts." They were not at
home in their feelings, and they were not satisfied to re-
main where they were. They were not quite able to inter-
pret it, but there was a voice of destiny sounding in their
souls. The spirit of prophecy was upon them. Their
young men saw visions, and their old men dreamed dreams.
Something afar beckoned them. They knew they were
pilgrims, and they kept girded for their journey. They
could not escape the service for which God had raised them
up. They were very grateful for the shelter which the free
institutions and the liberty-loving spirit of the citizens of
the Netherlands afforded them from the storm which beat
so furiously upon them in the home-land, and for the op-
portunity cheerfully granted to earn their daily bread and
worship God according to the dictates of their own con-
sciences; but they could not think of a final abode in
Holland. As a matter of fact no very serious efforts were
ever made looking to this end.
148 THE PILGRIMS

As early as 1617, or three years before the migration

actually occurred, the Pilgrims began to look the question
of removal squarely in the face. Other ques-
Removal tions, of course, such as the country to which
contem-
they should go, and the auspices under which
plated theirchange of residence should be attempted,
were mixed in with this preliminary one of
going or not going; and the discussion would necessarily
assume, not only an earnest tone, but a wide range. But
the leading question was whether they — those English
exiles —
should stay where they were, and work out their
destiny as best they might, or go elsewhere. This question
was soon settled. There were various opinions on the sub-
ject. It was a matter, however, between themselves; and
matters between themselves, through prayer and confer-
ence and mutual love, were amicably and in general
promptly adjusted. The obstacles to removal, the sacri-
fices which would have to be made and the hardship which
would have to be endured if a removal were attempted, were
clearly and impressively stated. "It was answered," so
Bradford tells us, " that all great and honorable actions
are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both
enterprised and overcome with answerable courages. It
was granted the dangers were great, but not desperate;
the difficulties were many, but not invincible. . . True it
.

that such were not to be made and under-

was, attempts
taken without good ground and reason — not rashly or
lightly, as many have done, for curiosity and hope of gain.
But their condition was not ordinary their ends were good
;

and honorable, their calling lawful and urgent, and there-

fore they might expect the blessing of God in their pro-
ceeding. Yea, though they should lose their lives in this
action, yet might they have comfort in the same, and their
" it was
endeavors would be honorable." Hence fully con-
cluded by the major part to put this design in execution,
and to prosecute it by the best means they could." It was
a brave conclusion, and one which called for heroic self-
denial, resolute purpose, and a mighty faith in God; but
 THE PILGRIMS 149

it was an act in line with the history and prophetic of the

future of these dauntless Pilgrims.
These statements are general, and have to do with the
matter of removal in all its bearings. Before reaching.

them, however, in his history, Bradford puts on record

the reasons for the action of the Pilgrims on this one
specific question of going or not going. For substance,
these reasons are as follows:
First, they could not hope to grow to any considerable
extent in the circumstances in which they found themselves
" The hardness of the
in Leyden. place and
No chance " were such " as few in
country comparison
for growthwould come to them, and fewer that would bide
it out, and continue with them. For many that
came to them, and many more that desired to be with them,
could not endure the great labor and hard fare, with other
inconveniences which they underwent and were contented
with."
Second, the leaders in the movement were getting old —
some of them prematurely so in consequence of their hard
toils and if the body they represented was
;

Securing a to be kept together, and the influence of their

future
protest in behalf of religious freedom was to
be perpetuated, there must be removal. In no
other could their future be secured. " The
way people
generally bore all these difficulties very cheerfully, and with
a resolute courage, being in the best and strength of their
years, yet old age began to steal on many of them, ... so
as it was not only probably thought, but apparently seen,
that within a few years more they would be in danger to
scatter, by necessities pressing them, or sink under their
burden, or both."
Third, there was the thought of the moral and spiritual
safety of their children. A wise solicitude for those who
are to succeed them and bear their names in
Welfare ^e WOrld has always been a characteristic of
of their The words of Bradford show
godly parents.
children now tender and profound was the interest which
these devout fathers and mothers took in their
" For
off spring. many of their children, that were of best
150 THE PILGRIMS
dispositions and gracious inclinations, having learned to
bear the yoke in their youth, and willing to bear part of
their parents' burden, were oftentimes so oppressed with
their heavy labors, though their minds were free and will-
ing, yet their bodies bowed under the weight of the same,
and became decrepit in their early youth, the vigor of
nature being consumed in the very bud, as it were. But
that which was more lamentable, and of all sorrows most
heavy to be borne, was that many of their children, by these
occasions, and the great licentiousness of youth in that
country, and the manifold temptations of the place, were
drawn away by evil examples into extravagant and danger-
ous courses, getting the reins off their necks, and departing
from their parents. Some became soldiers, others took upon
them far voyages by sea, and others some worse courses,
tending to dissoluteness and the danger of their souls, to
the great grief of their parents and dishonor of God. So
that they saw their posterity would be in danger to de-
generate and be corrupted."
The statement in the foregoing paragraph that " some
became soldiers " had a special significance at the time and
in the circumstances in which it was made. On
War at
hand
^ one h an(j the truce between the Dutch and
tne Spaniards, which had been in force since
1609, was approaching its termination, and
might break out again with all the old fierceness
hostilities
at any moment after 1619. On the other hand, the long
and bloody conflict, which was to be known in history as
the Thirty Years' War, had already begun, and was ra-
ging with the cruelty and destructiveness of an irresistible
conflagration in Bohemia. The signs were ominous. The
clouds in the political sky were black with threats. The
hour seemed to be hastening when Protestantism and Ca-
tholicism throughout Europe were to be involved in a death-
struggle. All up and down the lands young men would
be sucked into the vortex of battle, and their lives would be
sacrificed, or their morals would be corrupted, and their
whole future blighted. With the smell of powder in the
air, and the tramp of approaching armies and the thunder
of guns falling on their ears, it is no wonder that those
 THE PILGRIMS 151

Leyden exiles, who laid so much stress on pure and upright

character, and to whom their cause was so sacred, should
think of their sons and their future welfare.
Fourth, the ardent desire these exiles had to spread
abroad a knowledge of Christ and to aid in building up
his kingdom. Or, to give this, too, in Brad-
Building ford's own words
"
:
Lastly (which was not
up the least), a great hope and inward zeal they had
kingdom Q f laying some good foundation, or at least
to make some way thereunto, for the propa-
gating and advancing the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ
in those remote parts of the world; yea, though they
should be even as stepping-stones unto others for the per-
forming of so great a work."
These were the reasons advanced in justification of the
action proposed and taken. Well might they be called by
the wise man who formulated them
"
weighty and solid."
A distinguished ex-governor of Massachusetts has been
at pains to say repeatedly, when addressing assemblies
on Forefathers' Day, and on other occasions when the
Pilgrims were under consideration, that these men came to
our shores in part, at least, as a business venture. Of
necessity there was a business side to their movement.
There had to be. There had to be just as there had to be
a business side to the movement of Carey when he went to
India, or of Livingstone when he went to Africa, or of the
Iowa Band when it went out into that new state beyond
the Mississippi.
But the overmastering passion of these rare souls was
religion. In their actions they were controlled by loyalty
to God and loyalty to humanity. They crossed the water
in obedience to an unselfish purpose ; and to attribute any
lower motive to them is to misread their lives and misinter-
pret their aims.
152 THE PILGRIMS
II

It having been definitely settled that they were to leave

Leyden, the next question to which the Pilgrims had to
give serious attention was the country on
Deciding which they should fix for a permanent home,
where they As might have been expected, these men of
should go q. oci began their conference on this grave
" "
matter with " humble prayer for divine di-
rection and guidance."
Two preferences were expressed.
One was for Guiana, or other fertile spot in the hot
countries. Guiana was named most likely because Raleigh,
twenty years before, had published a book in which the
attractions of this region were set forth in glowing colors.
" romantic
As another has said, he made it appear to be a
paradise ... a fair, rich, and mighty empire, where the
trees were in delicious groves, where the deer came at call,
where the singing birds were singing a thousand charming
tunes to gentle airs in the forest, and where the very stones
beneath their feet promised gold and silver." It was a
fascinating picture well fitted to capture the imagination
of men whose courage was not tempered by sober judg-
ment, and whose ruling motives were not godliness, but
gain.
Substantial reasons were advanced, as they well might
be, for going to Guiana ; but still more substantial reasons
were urged for not selecting this country. It was admit-
" the
ted that country was both fruitful and pleasant ;
and might yield riches and maintenance to the possessors
more easily than the others; yet other things considered,
it could not be so fit for them. And first, that such hot
countries are subject to grievous diseases and many
noisome impediments, which other more temperate places
are freer from; and would not so well agree with our
English bodies. Again, if they should there live and do
well, the jealous Spaniard would never suffer them long;
but would displant or overthrow them, as he did the
French in Florida, who seated further from his richest
 THE PILGRIMS 153
countries ; and the sooner, because they should have none
to protect them; and their own strength would be too
small to resist so potent an enemy and so near a neighbor."
The men who were wise enough to take these positions
did not need to go to school to subsequent events to learn
the true inwardness either of Spain or South America.
They knew beforehand what all the world knows now.
Holland was a good place in which to absorb practical
knowledge of the spirit of Spanish rulers.
The other preference was for Virginia.
The idea of migration to America had long been in the
English mind. Ahome in the wilderness on the other side
of the Atlantic was a favorite dream with men who were
restless and wished more scope for the exercise of their

powers, or for men who were oppressed and desired to

escape the hard conditions imposed by unjust laws and
tyrannical rulers. As early as 159&, or more than a quar-
ter of a century before the event with which we have to do,
a petition for liberty to form a Separatist colony to go to
this new land was presented to Queen Elizabeth. It was
only natural that the Pilgrims should have thought of
going across the waters. If a change of residence was to
be made, it must be some country outside the country of
their birth. America, with all its hardships and perils,
some of which were never so much as imagined till they
were realized in experience, seemed to be the only country,
with doors wide open, and liberty ample enough to permit
them to go in and out unhindered in the enjoyment of their
own faith, and in the service of God and man.
But the arguments against the selection of Virginia
To go there would be to establish them-
were conclusive.
selves within easy reach of the persecuting power from
which they had fled, while at the same time they would be
out of reach of effective help from those who were favor-
ably disposed towards them.
" At the conclusion was to live as a distinct
length, body
by themselves under the general government of Virginia;
and by their friends to sue His Majesty that he would be
pleased to grant them Freedom of Religion and that this
;

might be obtained, they were put in good hope by some

154 THE PILGRIMS
Great Persons of good rank and quality that were made
their friends." The highest kind of practical sagacity
again! For at the end of all these years who can see
what wiser course was open to them?
But let it not be forgotten that these men began their
consultation over the question of Whither with " humble
" for " direction and
prayers divine assistance." Is it
possible to doubt, or, if it is possible, is it reasonable to
" direction
doubt, that they received the and assistance "
for which they prayed?

ni
The Pilgrims had a whole line of questions to settle. So
soon as they had disposed of one in a satisfactory way
they were confronted by another. They had
How obtain decided to go;
they had decided where they
means to would go; but how reach their destination?
carry out t^ auspices and terms under which they
their plan would make their brave venture of establish-
ing new homes and planting churches and
laying the foundations of a free state across the sea
presented a problem vastly more difficult of solution than
either of the others which they had considered. Where
were the means to come from, and who would stand
sponsor for the successful carrying out of an undertaking
so formidable?
There were two Virginia companies organized in
England. One was called the London Company, the other
the Plymouth — though the latter, like the former, did
its business in London. Both received their charters
from James I in 1606. Neither company prospered. The
London Company became bankrupt in 1624, and was
forced to close its books. The Plymouth Company held
on until 1635 ; though for the last fifteen years of its
existence it appears to have been merged into and known
as The Council for New England. But while these com-
panies were financial disappointments to their promoters
and members, they were important intermediaries in the
settlement of the English colonies.
 THE PILGRIMS 155

As soon as it had been definitely decided to leave Leyden,

which, as we have seen, was three years before the migra-
tion took place, approaches were made to the London
Company. The object in view in approaching this com-
pany was twofold: first, to secure a patent, or lease,
which would enable the colony to make their settlement
under due legal authority; and second, to conciliate the
favor of the king. There were good grounds for hoping
to secure both of these ends. It was the business of the
Company to further colonization. As was said in a pre-
ceding paragraph, in association with the Company, or in
close affiliation with those who were associated with the
" "
Company, there were certain Great Persons who might
be expected, since they were avowed friends of the Sepa-
ratists, to aid them in gaining their ends. These " Great
Persons " were Sir Robert Naunton, secretary of state
to James, and Sir Edwin Sandys, one of the best specimens
of the best Englishmen of his time. The agents sent over
to conduct the business were John Carver and Robert
Cushman. Others, like Elder Brewster, had a hand in the
affair ; but Carver and Cushman were the chief factors in

conducting the negotiations.

In both the particulars in which they had hoped to suc-
ceed, the Pilgrims were disappointed. Naunton did his
" to move His
best Majesty, by a private mo-
Outcome of tion, to
give way to such a people, who could
negotia- no t so comfortably live under the government
tions f an other state, to enjoy their liberty of con-
science under his gracious protection in Amer-
ica; where they would endeavor the advancement of His
Majesty's dominions, and the enlargement of the Gospel,
"
by all due means." The king admitted that this was a
good and honest motion." When told that the immediate
profits likely to come from the endeavor would be the prof-
its arising from " fishing," he
replied, with his
ordinary
" so
asseveration, God have my soul 't is an honest trade
! !

It was the Apostle's own calling." Up to this point the

outlook was promising. But later, and when further
pressed on the subject, the king informed his secretary
that these applicants must make their appeal to the
156 THE PILGRIMS
bishops of Canterbury and London. These bishops were
George Abbot and John King. While Abbot was able,
liberal-minded, kindly, and disposed to sympathize with
the aims of Puritanism, and would have had, no doubt,
the controlling voice on his side in any conference with the
agents of the Pilgrims, yet the Pilgrims had had enough
to do with bishops to make them distrustful of any help
to be obtained from that source. Still their case was
laid before the archbishop by some of their friends. It
was of no use. Both as respects the head of the nation
and the head of the Church, securing the favors sought
u " a
proved," in the quaint, terse language of Bradford,
harder piece of work than they took it for; for though
many means were used to bring it about, yet it could not
" this made a
be effected." As might have been expected,
damp in the business, and caused some distraction." Yet
something was gained. For in sounding the mind of James,
" that he would connive at
it was found them, and not
molest them provided they carried themselves peaceably
; ;

but to allow, or tolerate them by his public authority, under

his seal," he would not. This was something of an advance
on the old platform of harrying them out of the kingdom
if they refused to conform, and then arresting them if they

attempted to leave.
On this turn in affairs the Pilgrims through their agents
applied more directly to the London Company. Practically
nothing came of this application. The Company was found
to be very desirous to have them go out under its auspices.
A patent would be granted them with as ample privileges
as they had, or could grant to any body of colonists. In
" to
addition to this the company stood ready give them
the best furtherance they could." It was in vain. The
business dragged on through almost two years. At length
the promised patent was granted — granted not directly,
but to an individual in trust for his associates; but this
patent was never used. It came too late. It came when
the London Company was nearly worn out with working
at cross-purposes and quarrels, and when it had no funds
to use in aid of transportation.
 THE PILGRIMS 157

IV
Meanwhile the thoughts of the Pilgrims were turned in
another direction. In the midst of their perplexities, when
their hopes of help in influential quarters were
Solicita- a ]i failing them and discouraging accounts of
tions and j-he ill success of other companies who were
offers by
trying to make settlements in the New World
the Dutch were reaching them, " some Dutchmen made
them fair offers about going with them." The
industry, the thrift, the self-respect, the sturdy honesty,
the faith in God, the mutual love and peaceableness of these
English exiles, had made a deep impression on the Dutch;
and those of the people who were interested in trade, or in
the extension of the territorial boundaries of the nation,
knew well what a stable and promising element these men
and women would furnish to any colony. Their overtures
were negatived, though what might have come from them
under further prosecution can only be conjectured; but as
it was, attempts to draw the Pilgrims into a settlement
under Dutch auspices came to an abrupt ending by the
opening of a door in another direction.

Thomas Weston was a " Merchant of London." He

appears to have been well acquainted with some of the
leading members of the Leyden church. Brad-
Thomas f or(j S peaks of him as one who had rendered
Weston them assistance in some of their previous
and the starts. He was an enterprising rascal and in
;

Merchant
consequence of his rascality he died a poor,
Adven- and miserable wretch. But at this
despised,
turers time he talked bravely, and had the confidence
of Robinson and his associates. He appeared
on the scene at Leyden while the negotiations with the
Dutch were still in hand. At his instance these negotiations
were broken off, and an entirely new plan of migration was
158 THE PILGRIMS
formulated. Weston and his friends among the merchants
would aid the exiles, so he gave them to understand, to any
extent necessary to the carrying out of their project of
removal. Using their own means so far as they might,
" and neither
they were to make ready for the voyage,
fear want of shipping nor money ; for what they wanted
should be provided." The offer was accepted. This was
probably in February of 1620; and was what had come
to pass after nearly three years of negotiations.
Who were the " friends " of Weston on whose backing
he so confidently counted? They were the Adventurers.
Who again were the Adventurers ? We are indebted to the
" Letter Book " of Bradford for their names, or the names
of most of them ; and to Captain John Smith's " Gen-
eral History," published in 1624, for such particulars as
are available concerning them. It would appear that
Weston had brought them together and secured their co-

operation in this enterprise of transporting the Pilgrims

to the shores of America. In number they were about sev-
" Gentlemen
enty. Some of them were ; some, merchants ;
some, handicraftsmen." They were not a corporation,
but a body bound together by voluntary consent, with-
" whose aim was to do
out constraint or penalty, good and
plant religion." Some of them had large estates and much
interest in the undertaking. Others had less wealth and
less willingness to make advances. It is altogether probable
that a majority of the body were chiefly concerned with the
financial outcome of the venture. Still a sum by no means

insignificant was invested in this movement of the adven-

turers. According to Smith, inside of three years they
had put £7000 into the general stock. That reduced
to dollars, and to the purchasing power of dollars at the
present time, would not be less than $140,000. These
were the men, with Weston at their head, who had come to
the rescue, and were to further the Pilgrims in their great
historic migration.
 THE PILGRIMS 159

VI

At once, and while Weston was still in Leyden, articles

of agreement were drawn up and the undertaking was set
in motion. The basis of this enterprise was
Articles of that of a joint stock company. Shares were
agreement ten pounds each. An adventurer who contrib-
between u t ec ten pounds to the common treasury was
l

the Pil- entitled to one share, and an additional share

grims and foreacn ten pounds invested. Each colonist,
Adven- wno was sixteen years of age or upward, was
turers rated at ten pounds, and received one share of
the stock. A
colonist who made provision for
himself to the amount of ten pounds was given an addi-
tional share. There were minor details and provisions
for contingencies; but the general principle on which the
undertaking on its business side was to be operated was as
"
here stated. The partnership thus instituted, except some
" should " cause the whole com-
unexpected impediment
pany to agree otherwise," was to continue seven years ; and
then was to come the division of whatever had been accumu-
lated.
It is not to be questioned that the terms of the agreement
are expressed in a way to create doubt of their exact mean-
ing. But the ruling idea of it was men and means, colo-
nists and capital, in an even balance. The final division was
to be in two parts —
one-half to go to the Adventurers
and one-half to the colonists ; and each owner of stock
was to receive from the half in which he had ownership
according to the number of his shares. After reaching this
conclusion by an independent study of the transaction, it
was gratifying to find the contention supported by Dr.
" Their " were " associ-
Ames, who says :
respective bodies
ated as but two partners in an equal copartnership, the
interests of the respective partners being (probably) held
upon differing bases
—
contrary to the commonly pub-
lished and accepted views."
In the original agreement —
the agreement which was
made and assented to by the Pilgrims before they left
160 THE PILGRIMS
Leyden, and under the terms of which they decided to go
forward, there were two wise and humane provisions made
for the benefit and encouragement of the colonists. First,
it was stipulated that
" the
houses, and lands improved,
especially gardens and home-lots, should remain undivided,"
and belong exclusively to the colonists. Second, it was
"
stipulated that the colonists, especially such as had
families," should have two days in a week for their own
private employment. This was " for the more comfort
of themselves and their families."
In justification of the propriety and advantage of these
"
stipulations, Robinson remarks :Let this especially be
borne in mind, that the greatest part of the colony is like
to be employed constantly, not upon dressing their particu-
lar land and building homes, but upon fishing, trading, etc.
So as the land and house will be but a trifle for advantage
to the Adventurers, and yet the division of it a great dis-
couragement to the Planters, who would with singular care
make it comfortable with borrowed hours from their sleep.
The same considerations of common employment constantly
by the most is a good reason not to have the two days in a
week denied the few Planters for private use, which yet is
subordinate to the common good. Consider also how much
unfit that you and your like must serve a new apprentice-

ship of seven years, and not a day's freedom from task."

VII

Here, in order to give unity and completeness to the

account of the transaction with which we are now dealing,
it seems better to anticipate a modification in
Dishearten- ^h e
pl an j us t given which was made at the last
ing change moment, and of which the colonists knew noth-
in the ar- jn
g until they reached Southampton,
tides of With the liberal agreement, originally en-
agreement tered into and already stated, some of the more
avaricious of the Adventurers became dissatis-
fied, and when the Pilgrims had gone too far to back out,
save at serious loss to no small numbers of them, and humili-
 THE PILGRIMS 161

ating disaster to their cause, quite a contingent of the

moneyed men of the enterprise balked, and declared that the
stipulation yielded too much to the colonists, and must be
changed to allow all incomes and properties to go to swell
the common possessions, or they would withhold payment
for their stock and have nothing more to do with the under-
taking. Alarmed by these threats, and solicitous, so he
claimed, lest the whole movement should come to naught,
Cushman gave in, and on his own responsibility consented
to an alteration in the articles of agreement in the two
particulars specified. Under the modified articles, the
colonists were not to have the " two days in a week for their
own private employment " on which they had set their
hearts. Moreover " all profits and benefits " which were
obtained by the " trade, traffic, trucking, working, fishing,
or any other means " of any of the colonists were to be made
over to the common stock. This swallowed up the houses
which they had hoped to build and occupy and call their
own, and the little garden-plots which in imagination they
had seen enriching and beautifying their rude homes in the
wilderness.
It is no wonder that this change in the terms of the
agreement occasioned disappointment, grief, and even
anger; and that it led to the interchange of language
which it is charitable to call simply sharp. The wonder
would be, had there been no hot indignation on learning
these facts. It was indeed a hard bargain, and it was sub-
mitted to by the Pilgrims because there was no other way
in which they could carry out their high and valiant pur-
pose. But while hard, it is difficult to see what other
rational course was open to Cushman. He had to deal with
business men, on what business men are fond of calling a
business basis and he saw clearly that it was better to go
;

under hard conditions than not to go at all. If, as has been

said in a previous chapter, Cushman is to be blamed for
what he did, it is nevertheless clear that he was used of
God for the fulfilling of a great design.
The blame lies at another door. Thomas Weston was
both the mover and the marplot in this affair of the part-
nership between the London Merchants and the Leyden
11
162 THE PILGRIMS
Separatists. If indignation is to be felt towards anybody
this selfish schemer should be the object of it. In a letter
to Carver and Cushman, when the outlook seemed desperate,
Fuller, Winslow, Bradford, and Allerton expressed their
" in
latent distrust of Weston by using this expression :

whom we hope we are not deceived." In this communication

these men affirm that it was at his suggestion they entered
on the undertaking of going to America, and in full assur-
ance that if he had not seen means of finishing the business
he would not have begun it and they hope that in their ex-
;

tremity he will so far help that their confidence in him may

be justified. Alas for their expectations! Alas, too, that
there will be further occasion for speaking of this Weston !

Meantime to give effect to these negotiations and carry

out their plans, two ships had been secured for the trans-
portation of passengers and goods across the
Ships water. One was the Mayflower which had been
secured hired for the voyage. The other was the
Speedwell which had been purchased, and was
to remain and be at the service of the colonists when they
had become established in their new home. It was a wise
scheme, but destined not to be realized.

VIII

Incidentally, and at the outset of the negotiations, whose

story has now been told, views and characteristics were
brought out which were greatly to the credit
Side-lights f the Pilgrims, and which ought to magnify
thrown on them evermore in the estimation of
posterity,
the Pil-
First, there was a document drawn up by
grims them, called the Seven Articles, in which the
faith and form of government of the Leyden
church were set forth in explicit statements. The object
of these articles was to reduce to lowest terms consistent
with honesty the differences between themselves and the
Church of England. This, again, was to satisfy the more
reasonable and kindly of the officials and adherents of the
king, and likewise to soften the heart of the king himself.
 THE PILGRIMS 163
These articles were sent by the Leyden church to the
Privy Council of England. For while the agents of the
Pilgrims were making every effort possible to interest the
London Company in their behalf, at the same time, and
most likely through all the negotiations, such influence as
they could command was brought to bear on the council to
further their aims. It has already been shown how Naun-
ton worked for them.
In these articles complete assent was avowed to the
Confession of Faith of the Church of England; frank
acknowledgment was made of the good effects of these
doctrines as held and taught " to the begetting of saving
faith in thousands in the land," and the desire was ex-
" to " with
pressed keep spiritual communion both " Con-
formists and Reformists," as with brethren ; thorough-going
loyalty was declared to the king; the right of the king to
appoint bishops was admitted; so, too, the authority of
bishops, so far as this authority came to them from His
Majesty, was admitted; that "no Synod, Classes, Convo-
cation, or Assembly of Ecclesiastical Officers, possessed any
power or authority," save as imparted to them by the
" to
magistrate ; and lastly, a declaration of intent give
to all Superiors due honor, to preserve the unity of the
Spirit with all that fear God, and to have peace with all
men," in so far as it was in their power. These articles
carried the signatures of John Robinson and William
Brewster ; and the contents of them gave great satisfaction
to all friends of the Leyden church.
In these articles it will be observed that nothing is said
about the setting apart of men to the ministry. Critical
eyes noticed this omission. But nothing could have induced
these conscientious and determined Separatists to locate
the authority for making ministers anywhere else than in
the Church. Neither pope nor potentate might assume
this sacred prerogative. They held that the call to the
ministry comes from God, but that the acknowledgment
and ratification of this call resides in the Church.
Bearing date a few weeks later, there was another com-
munication, signed by the same leaders, Robinson and
" instances of
Brewster, called by the writers inducement,"
164 THE PILGRIMS
in which their faith, their habits, their motives, and their
such an enterprise as the one on which they hoped
fitness for
soon to enter, were declared to Sir Edwin Sandys in the
frankness and love which the friendship of this large-souled
man had inspired in their breasts. It is important to

reproduce these statements entire and just as they have

come to us ; for here we have thoughts which are apples of
gold in words which are baskets of silver.
"
First, we verily believe and trust the Lord is with
us; unto whom, and whose service, we have given our-
selves inmany trials; and that He will graciously pros-
per our endeavor, according to the simplicity of our hearts
therein.
"
Secondly, we are well weaned from the delicate milk of
our mother country; and inured to the difficulties of a
strange and hard land; which yet, in great part, we have
by patience overcome.
"
Thirdly, the people are, for the body of them, indus-
trious and frugal, we think we may safely say, as any
company of people in the world.
"
Fourthly, we are knit together as a body, in a most
strict and sacred bond and covenant of the Lord; of the
violation whereof we make great conscience and by virtue
;

whereof, we do hold ourselves strictly tied to all love of

each other's good, and of the whole, by every one ; and so
mutually.
"
Lastly, it is not with us as with other men whom small
things can discourage, or small discontentments cause to
wish themselves at home again. We know our Entertainment
in England, and in Holland. Weshall much prejudice
both our arts and means by removal. If we should be driven
to return, we should not hope to recover our present helps
and comforts; neither indeed look ever, for ourselves, to
attain unto the like in any other place, during our lives;
which are now drawing towards their periods."
Neither soundness of faith, nor pure and devoted lives,
nor loyalty to the sovereign, nor avowals the most earnest
and sincere of love for their native land, nor loftiest Chris-
tian aims, nor all of them combined, availed to secure to
these men the simple privileges which they sought. God
 THE PILGRIMS 165

had something better for them, and a higher place in the

reverence and affection of the generations which were to
follow, than the favor which could come to them through
the patronage of bishops and kings. In the design of a
beneficent Providence it was meant that all the credit of
their great achievement should go, not to those who sat
in the high places of the earth and exercised authority and
wielded the mighty power of church and state, but to these
exiles themselves.

IX
At length the time came when preliminary points had all
been settled. Not far from three full years had been con-
sumed in conferences and negotiations. It was a long and
tedious business, with many ins and outs to it, and many
disheartening setbacks
—
this getting ready to go. Often
it looked as if all their attempts were to be thwarted and
their hopes brought to naught. It was not so to be. They
were to make their venture and at the same time make
a glorious chapter in human history.
But who were to go ? Who were to be the advance agents
of this new movement in the progress of mankind? Not
could leave.
all Some, we may well suppose,
Who were we re in no
physical condition for the undertak-
to emi- jn
g Some who were willing to join in the
grate
migration could not get ready in time. Means
were limited, and only a part of the company
could be provided with transportation at that time. No one
was constrained to go, but only those who voluntarily
chose to do so joined in the migration. Both sections of
the company, those who remained and those who went, de-
sired to have their beloved pastor with them ; but it seems
to have been mutually agreed that he was to identify him-
self with the larger body; and as those who stayed were
more than those who went, Robinson, " who for other rea-
sons could not then well go," kept on at Leyden. But he
remained in hope —
in hope that he, too, in a little while
might follow on and join those who had gone before. It
was a hope never to be realized. In less than five years
166 THE PILGRIMS
from this historic midsummer when the first instalment of
migrating Pilgrims westward, Robinson was
set their faces

not, for God had taken him. This arrangement made it

expedient, if not necessary, for Brewster to go.
How many left Leyden and embarked on the Speedwell at
Delfshaven for Southampton is not quite clear. At any
rate the authorities differ in their estimates.
Humber j) r Ames publishes a list of sixty-six of the
who left
Leyden people whom he thinks must have been
Leyden on board the Speedwell when she left Delfs-
haven. But in setting forth the reasons for
his conclusions in each individual case, the word " proba-
" "
ble or probably," has to appear so frequently that one
rises from the examination quite uncertain in his mind. Yet
he cannot be far out of the way for the numbers must have
;

been considerable, or Winslow would not have been justified

in saying that
" the difference " between the number of
those who went and those who remained " was not great."
The reference by Winslow was made no doubt on the basis
of the membership of the church; and this was not large.
But Brewster — beyond question
—
Bradford, Winslow,
Fuller, Howland, and Standish, were on the vessel; and
when these men were weighed in the balances of what they
were to do in the years to come, they made a large party.

On the day before the departure was to take place the

church came together, and spent the hours from morning
till night in communion and fasting and
A tender
prayer. It is better, however, to let those who
religious were sharers in these sacred experiences tell
service th e s tory of both the departures —
this from

Leyden and the subsequent one from Delfs-

haven. This is the account given by Bradford " So being:

ready to depart, they had a day of solemn humiliation,

their pastor taking his text from Ezra 8. 21 And there at
the river, by Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might
humble ourselves before our God, and seek of Him a right
 THE PILGRIMS 167

way for us, and for our children, and for all our substance.
Upon which he spent a good part of the day very profitably,
and suitably to their present occasion. The rest of the time
was spent in pouring out prayers to the Lord with great

fervency, mixed with abundance of tears."

What a day this must have been! How it would linger
— an inspiring and sanctifying influence — in the mem-
ory of all who had any part in its sacred privileges! How
the words of their beloved pastor, as intelligently and ten-
derly he expounded to them the passage which sets forth
the duty of God's people to humble their souls and seek from
on high the right way for their own walking and for the
walking of their children, must have melted into their
souls, and become a vital portion of their lives ! It was a
wonderful season of fellowship with God and with each
other. It easy to imagine that as their fervent supplica-
is

tions were offered, and their Psalms were sung, and their
earnest expressions of friendship and love were exchanged,
the thoughts of many must have run back to the scenes of
the upper chamber when our Lord and his disciples were
together for the last time before the crucifixion.
Twenty-four miles from Leyden, not as the bird flies,
but by lines of travel, is the seaport of Delfshaven. Here
lay the Speedwell. This was a craft of sixty
Fellowship tons > burden. Thither, on the
day following
at Delfs- t ne (j a y f conference and fasting and prayer,
haven ^he little band of Pilgrims, who were to take
passage in the Speedwell for Southampton,
there to join the Mayflower, took their journey. Most of
their friends and associates accompanied them to the place
of embarkation.
" "
So," says Bradford, continuing the narrative, they
left the goodly and pleasant city, which had been their

resting-place near twelve years ; but they knew they were

pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lift up
their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country and quieted
their spirits. When they came to the place they found
the ship and all things ready ; and such of their friends as
could not come with them followed after them, and sundry
also came from Amsterdam to see them shipped and to take
168 THE PILGRIMS
their leave of them. That night was spent with little sleep
by the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian
discourse and other real expressions of true Christian love.
The next day, the wind being fair, they went aboard, and
their friends with them where truly doleful was the sight
of that sad and mournful parting; to see what sighs and
sobs and prayers did sound amongst them, what tears did
gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each heart ;

that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the quay

as spectators, could not refrain from tears. Yet com-
fortable and sweet it was to see such lively and true expres-
sions of dear and unfeigned love. But the tide — which
for no man — them away that were thus loath
stays calling
to depart, their reverend pastor falling down on his knees —
and they all with him — with watery cheeks commended
them with most fervent prayers to the Lord and his bless-
ing. And then with mutual embraces and many tears,
they took their leaves one of another ; which proved to be
the last leave to many of them."
" Brief Narration " has also described
Winslow, in his
the scene of this historic departure. His account is short ;
but he adds one or two touches to the picture which both
freshen the sense of its reality and increase the vividness
" And after
of its coloring. prayer performed by our
pastor, where a flood of tears was poured out; they ac-
companied us to the ship ; but were not able to speak one
to another, for the abundance of sorrow to part. But we
only going aboard, the ship lying to the key, and ready to
set sail ; the wind being fair, we gave them a volley of small
shot, and three pieces of ordnance; and so lifting up our
hearts for each other to the Lord our God, we departed
and found His presence with us, in the midst of our mani-
fold straits He carried us through."
 a be
E S
E S
B I

W ^

ft

1 Q
a w
6 w
a.
 IX
CROSSING THE OCEAN
 All Englishmen must feel pride in, and cherish as a precious possession,
the memory men who were true to their consciences, let the cost be what
of
it might, and who pursued their aim undaunted, though the difficulties were

well-nigh overwhelming.
—
G. Cuthbert Blaxland.

Their faults were those of their age, and the rudeness of the culture of
many of them ; their virtues were their own —
such as they were in native
worth, and such as God's grace, mainly in their severe discipline of furnace,
anvil and sledge by which the Divine hand has been wont to forge its most
useful implements and weapons for the service of earth, had made ihem.
Henry Martyn Dexter.

Brave souls were they

Who dared embark,
And sail away
Into the dark
And pathless night.

Brave souls and great !

They crossed the sea

To found a state
Where men were free
Forevermore !

Rev. J. P. Trowbridge.

This is the solitary number, who, for an undefiled conscience, and the
love of pure Christianity, first left their pleasant and native land, and en-
countered all the toils and hazards of a tumultuous ocean, in search of some
uncultivated region in North Virginia where they might quietly enjoy their
religious liberties, and transmit them to posterity.
—
Thomas Prince.

No home for these too well they knew

!

The mitred king behind the throne ;

The sails were set, the pennons flew,

And westward ho for worlds unknown.
!

Oliver Wendell Holmes.

 IX
CROSSING THE OCEAN
was reached on the fourth day,
probably, after leaving Delfshaven. Nothing worthy
SOUTHAMPTON
of note occurred on the passage from the Dutch to
the English port. Bradford simply says of it " Thus
:

hoisting sail, with a prosperous wind, they came in short

time to Southampton, where they found the bigger ship "
— the Mayflower — " come from
London, lying ready,
with all the rest of the Company." On arriving at the
"
landing there were joyful welcomes and mutual congrat-
"
ulations," and other friendly entertainments."
Beyond this, too, one cannot help feeling that the hearts
of these exiles, shut out as the most of them had been for
twelve long years from the sight of their native land, must
have thrilled with a peculiar gladness as they set foot on
the shores of England. The thought of the tyranny of
the rulers — —
ecclesiastical and civil which had driven
them forth, and of the losses and hardships they had been
forced to endure, would distress them; but to walk once
more under English skies and on English soil, and to hear
their mother tongue in the streets, and to look on people
whose dress and manners had been so familiar to them in
years gone by, would be sure to afford them a strange
pleasure, albeit a pleasure mixed with melancholy.

But something besides warm greetings and friendly at-

tentions, and setting foot once more on the soil of their
native land, awaited the Pilgrims on their reaching South-
172 THE PILGRIMS
ampton. They had to encounter severe disappointments,
to submit to vexatious delays, and to suffer embarrassing
losses. As has been related in a preceding
Disappoint- chapter, the agreement between the Pilgrims
ment, an(j the Adventurers under which the migra-
delay and tion was effected, on demand of some of the
loss
moneyed men who were backing the undertak-
ing, and by consent of Cushman, was changed
in some very important particulars. This change was
contrary to explicit orders given to Cushman by the
Pilgrims; and it was not known to them until they ar-
rived at Southampton. Anew turn like this given to
affairs disturbed the whole party. The leaders refused to
ratify the modified articles, and sailed without doing so.
The irritation was increased by the presence and arro-
gant behavior of Weston. Very naturally he had come
down from London to see the colonists off, but he was
there not so much to express a sympathetic interest in
their welfare as to secure their signatures to the contract
which had been changed to their disadvantage. When he
found it was impossible to get the written consent of these
men to the modified articles of agreement, he became top-
" He was much
lofty and indignant. offended, and told
them they must look to stand on their own legs." This
was his parting shot, as he turned on his heel and went
back to London.
This disagreement brought delay and not a little em-
barrassment. Expenses had already run up far beyond
their calculations. The attitude of Weston and some of
the other merchants whose interests in the colony were
mercenary rather than sympathetic, left the Pilgrims in
sore straits for funds with which to prosecute their jour-
ney. Each day that they lingered in port diminished their
resources and added to their burdens. Something like a
hundred pounds in addition to what they had was needed
" to clear
things at their going away." With Weston, the
prime mover in this scheme of migration, and those of his
ilk offended, there was no one to whom the distressed com-
" So
pany could turn for help. they were forced to sell off
some of their provisions to stop this gap." They sold so
 THE PILGRIMS 173
"
had scarcely any butter left, "
much, in fact, that they
" no " not a
oil," mend a shoe," " nor every man a
sole to
"
sword to his side, wanting many muskets," much armor,"
and other things essential to their comfort and defense.

II

At length, however, difficulties had been overcome, differ-

ences had been smoothed over if not satisfactorily adjusted,
the two ships had been loaded and put in trim
Ready to for sea? the passengers had been assigned to
sail the vessels in which they were to sail, " a Gov-
ernor and two or three assistants for each
ship had been chosen, to order the people by the way, and
see to the disposing of their provisions, and such like,"
and all things were in readiness for the voyage. There
were no such scenes to be witnessed, and no such ceremonies
of farewell in connection with the going away from South-
ampton as there had been back at Delf shaven. There were
no such wailings and sobbings, no such heart-breaking inter-
"
views, no such salt-dropping dews of vehement affection,"
" Wonder-
as, according to Johnson in his Working Provi-
dence," signalized the departure from this same port a
few years later of a large company of the Puritans when
"
they shipped for the service of Christ in the Western
World."

Ill

But in the midst of these final preparations, and when

near to the hour of sailing, there was pause for a service
which was at once touching and memorable.
Robinson's j^ was ^he
reading of a letter from their be-
letter loved pastor. This letter had followed the
Pilgrims from Leyden, and was written by
Robinson out of a full heart and in the spirit, not only of
a fatherly love, but of a profound wisdom, and it was
designed, no doubt, to be read at precisely the place and
time selected for its reading.
174 THE PILGRIMS
In this letter Robinson declared his tender love for his
migrating brethren, and assured them how willingly he
would have borne with them his part in this first brunt had
he not been held back by strong necessity. Proceeding then
to the points of counsel which he thought it
fitting for him
to communicate to them, he besought these " Loving Chris-
tian Friends
"
day by day to renew their repentance to-
ward God in order that they might have great " security
and peace in all dangers, sweet comforts in all distresses,
with happy deliverance from all evil whether in life or in
death." He urged them, in addition to this " heavenly
peace with God and their own consciences," " carefully to
"
provide peace with all men," so far as they might, espe-
" " To this end he assured
cially with their associates."
them that " watchfulness must be had " that they " neither
in themselves" should
" " nor
give," easily take offence,
being given by others." He reminded them that many of
them were strangers one to another. The Leyden brethren
might be expected to know each other well; but these
brethren who had sojourned at Leyden for years were
joined at Southampton by others of like precious faith who
had never left England ; and it might well be thought that
the two parties would need to exercise not a little patience
with each other, if they were to get along smoothly to-
gether. Because they were strangers, and because their
" intended course of civil " would " minister
community
continual occasion of offense, and be as fuel for that fire,"
he warned them that they must not fail in the exercise of
"
brotherly forbearance." He added the injunction that
" common "
in their employments they were to have a
"
common thought for the general good," and to avoid as
" a " of both their " common and
deadly plague special
comfort " all plotting for individual advantage. In con-
"
clusion, he charged them, that inasmuch as in the body
politic," which they were to become, they had no " persons
of special eminence above the rest," they must elect to
office only such men as would
"
entirely love and promote
the common good," and when such men were duly elected,
then all the members of the "body politic
" must
join in
u unto them all due honor and obedience in their
yielding
 THE PILGRIMS 175

lawful administrations." For however ordinary a person

might be before his election to office, after election, so he
taught them, he became a minister of God for good to the
people; and the power and authority of the magistrate
must be recognized.
Bradford called this a " large " letter. It is indeed in
more senses than one; and the good governor might well
add that it was " fruitful in itself, and suitable to their
occasion." It is no surprise to us that, when read, it " had
good acceptation with all, and after fruit with many."
About the fifteenth of August, or somewhat more than
three weeks after leaving Delfshaven, the two companies
in the two ships said farewell to native land and set their
sad but determined faces westward.

IV

This, after all, was not to be their final leave-taking.

Through the exercise of the perilous skill by which cow-
ardly and treacherous men come to know so
Further we \\ jlow no t to do what they do not wish to
hindrances
fo^ certain defects in the Speedwell were used
and disap-
practically to force the ship to spring a leak,
pointments The vessel, while still in Holland waters,
had been overmasted; and consequently all
that the " cunning rascal," the characterization which
Arber gives to Captain Reynolds, had to do when he found
" to
this out was clap on, all possible sail," and this would
be sure to bring about the result desired. This is Brad-
" The leakiness of this
ford's explanation of the disaster :

ship was partly by her being overmasted and too much

pressed with sails."
This, however, is not the whole story. It will be ob-
served that Bradford says
"
partly
"— it was
"
partly
by her being overmasted." There was a treachery "in the
case worse than this. Not only was the vessel over-
masted," but she was tampered with and helped to a leak
which simple overmasting would hardly have caused. In
a letter written at Dartmouth, after the ship had put
back to that port, and while they were still lying in the
176 THE PILGRIMS
dock waiting for the completion of repairs on the Speed-
" We
well, Cushman says :
put' in here to trim her
; and
I think, as others also, if we had stayed at sea but three
or four hours more she would have sunk right down. And
though she was twice trimmed at Hampton, yet now she
is open and leaky as a sieve ; and there was a board a man
might have pulled off with his fingers, two feet long, where
the water came in as at a mole hole." It is true that Cush-
man was sick, discouraged, and in every way out of sorts
when these words were penned ; but he says explicitly that
there was an opening in the side of the ship through which
the water was coming in as through " a sieve," or " at a
mole hole."
If there is still doubt in any mind on this matter, here
is a further statement made by Bradford in close connec-
tion with his other statement just quoted: "But more
especially, by the cunning and deceit of the master and
his company, who were hired to stay a whole year in the

country, and now fancying dislike and fearing want of

victuals, they plotted this stratagem to free themselves ;

as afterwards wasknown and by some of them confessed."

There was evidently something more than " overmast-
" " " of
ing to be put to the credit of the rascality Captain
Reynolds. At any rate, precious time and fair winds were
lost, and much additional expense was incurred, by this
misfortune. But after not less than eleven days spent in
making repairs and getting ready to sail once more,
anchors were weighed and the ships put out to sea. It
must have been with not a little misgiving on the part of
those of the company who knew the causes of the delay,
and who, in the circumstances, could not have quieted their
uncomfortable suspicions.
Appearances, however, were favorable. This time it
really looked as if this goodly fellowship of men and
women were to be permitted to reach their destination
without further hindrance, save such as might arise from
adverse winds and baffling waves. After proceeding on
their way a full three hundred miles, the convenient leak
came to the rescue of those who had no heart for the un-
dertaking, and there was another return.
 THE PILGRIMS 177

It was Plymouth in England which was to have the

unique honor of saying the last good-bye and Godspeed to
a devoted band who were to make Plymouth in America
" " for all
holy ground coming time.

This fresh mishap occasioned a detention of another

precious fortnight. Still this return brought some com-
pensation to the oft-baffled exiles ; for as we
Off at last are told i n tne « Journal," they were " kindly
entertained and courteously used by divers
friends
" who dwelt at
Plymouth. Sympathy, apprecia-
tion, hospitality and words of encouragement from per-
sons of mind and heart like their own must have meant
much in the distressing circumstances in which they were.
The Speedwell was abandoned. As much of her cargo as
seemed advisable was transferred to her worthier consort.
The timid and disheartened of the party were permitted to
withdraw. The Mayflower, with a passenger list of one
hundred and two, again pointed her prow to the New
World. This was the third attempt, made almost two try-
ing months after the embarkation at Delfshaven. But
spreading their canvas to the breeze, and committing them-
selves and all they held dear to the God who rules on the
waters as on the land, and who guides the destinies of indi-
viduals and nations alike, these sturdy souls pressed on over
the billowy seas and through tempests fierce and wild,
towards troubles they could not have foreseen, and a glory
surpassing all the anticipations of the most extravagant
enthusiasm.

VI

Here, leaving our good ship for a while to plow her way
through stormy waters to her destined haven, it is in place
to note some of the accessions which were made to the
colony on reaching England.
Some of these were poor sticks — such stuff as rascals
12
178 THE PILGRIMS
rather than saints are made of. In speaking of John
Billington, who, in a little less than ten years after the
landing of the Pilgrims, was tried and exe-
Accessions cuted for the murder of John Newcomen, or
to the Newcomin as he is called in the Brad-
History,
colony on savs « He and some of
f or(j .
had been often
his
reaching punished for miscarriages before, being one
England f £ ne profanest families amongst them.
They
came from London, and I know not by what
friends shuffled into their company." This " profanest
" consisted of the and
family husband, wife, two sons. Of
other accessions, two, Trevor and Ely, were hired sailors,
and went back to England at the end of their engagement.
Edward Dotey and Edward Lister came in the service of
Stephen Hopkins. To two young bloods belongs
these
the distinction of having been the first and last couple
in the Plymouth Colony to fight a duel. Each was slightly
wounded; but both were punished by sentence that their
heads and feet should be tied together, and that they should
be constrained to lie in this ignominious position, without
food or drink, for twenty-four hours. A
very little of this
medicine was enough to cool their hot heads ; and their
pathetic pleadings for pardon, and their solemn promises
to do better in the future, softened the hearts of the au-
thorities, and the rest of the severe penalty was remitted.
Lister left the colony and died early. Dotey never got
over his fiery temper; but he became an energetic and
thrifty citizen, and lived on until 1655. James Otis, who
seems to have reproduced some of his characteristics, traced
his ancestry back to Dotey. Besides these, there were
Prower, Langemore, and Robert Carter, who were enrolled
as " servants," and who died early.
There were others of more distinction, or who, if they
were not in the forefront at the outset, came, in the course
of time, to be of great importance to the colony. Four of
these call for special mention.

Christopher Martin was from Billerica in Essex. He

was supposed to have been about forty years of age at the
time of his connection with the Pilgrims. He was one of
 THE PILGRIMS 179

the agents appointed especially, it is believed, to represent

the English contingent of the Pilgrim company, and to
act in consort with Weston, Cushman, and
Martm Carver, who conducted the negotiations with
the Adventurers. He was himself an Adven-
turer. At a later date, these other Adventurers, Collier,
Hatherly, and Thomas, joined the colony ; but Martin and
Mullins are the only Adventurers who sailed in the May-
flower. He was made treasurer of the company, and thus
was charged with the duty of receiving and paying out
money in connection with the migration, and keeping an
accurate account of all business transactions. He was
also elected
"
Governor " of the ship. This array of facts
goes to show in what esteem he was held by a majority of
his associates up to the time of the final sailing of the
Mayflower. At the last moment, however, serious dissatis-
faction with the man and his methods cropped out. He
was deposed from his governorship and remanded to a
subordinate place. What was the trouble? Dr. Azel
Ames in his valuable treatise, " The Mayflower — Her
Log," makes short work in answering this question. He
hardly ever mentions his name without expressing an
opinion of him which is by no means flattering. He opens
on him by saying " He was no credit to the Company,
:

and his early death probably prevented much vexation."

He follows this up by declaring that " he seems to have
been at all times a self-conceited, arrogant, and unsatis-
factory man." For substance, these statements are no
doubt true. The man was hot-headed, impatient of oppo-
sition and restraint, and most likely fond of having his own

way. But, to say nothing of Weston, was Cushman a

model of patience? " If I speak to him," so Cushman
" he flies in
complained of Martin, my face." But with
all his excellences could not Cushman show heat on oc-
casion and strike back? When one thinks of the quick
tempers of Weston and Cushman and Martin, and the
delicacy of the business they had to transact, and the
many difficulties under which they all labored, one can but
feel an increased admiration for Carver, who had to meet
it all, and yet see that the enterprise was not wrecked by
180 THE PILGRIMS
the jealousies and squabbles of the agents. But Martin
was not so bad a man as Dr. Ames represents him. He
may have been hard to get along with; not so careful
as he ought to have been in his bookkeeping; far from
conciliatory ; and overbearing in his assertions of author-
ity. Unquestionably he was. But he had principles, and
he was ready to stand by them. He withstood ecclesias-
" cost what it
tical authorities, might." He threw himself
heart and soul into the Pilgrim cause. He staked his
life and his all on the issue. What he might have been
had his life been spared can be only conjectured. The
end, however, came early. He himself, his wife, and his
two servants, Prower and Langemore — the whole house-
hold — " died in the first sickness." He went hence from
the Mayflower in less than a month after the landing at
Plymouth.

William Mullins, as recent investigations have shown,

was from Dorking, in Surrey, near London. He was a
tradesman by occupation. He was one of the
Mullins most trustworthy and devoted of the Adven-
turers. His wealth has been said to have been
considerable, and he was one of the heaviest subscribers
to the fund of the Adventurers' Company. His investment
in the enterprise is said to have been five hundred pounds.
But his career was a brief one. In a little more than two
months after reaching Plymouth, he passed away. As
the end drew near, Governor Carver was sent for, and
going aboard the Mayflower, he received by word of mouth
the will of the dying man. Soon after this he folded his
hands and fell asleep. William White went to his reward
on the same day. It was an inexpressible bereavement for
the little colony to lose two such members within the same
twenty-four hours. The burial was a solemn occasion.
His wife soon followed him. His wife, his son Joseph, and
" the first sick-
Carter, a man-servant, all fell victims to
ness." A part of the family still remained in England,
but Priscilla Mullins was the only one who was left of the
circle on this side of the water. It was given to this fair
maiden to play an important part in the future of the
 THE PILGRIMS 181

colony, and into her life-story there was woven the web
of one of the most charming romances in our literature.
" Beautiful with her
beauty, and rich with the wealth of
her being," she will never cease to be the fairest type of
the Puritan maiden.

Stephen Hopkins was a man of weight in the colony.

Like many another man he had the faults of his virtues.
He was intelligent, robust, enterprising, prac-
Hopkins tical, quick to see the point, and fertile in
expedients ; but he was a bit touchy and not
at all averse to a set-to with anybody who crossed his
path. For several years he was a member of the govern-
or's Council. He built the first wharf which was erected
by the Plymouth people. He was interested in shipping,
and a comparatively large owner of cattle when he died.
He was one of the sturdy company to venture out and act
as adviser in the first search for a suitable place for settle-
ment. It was at his house that Samoset was lodged over
night when he first appeared with his
"
Welcome " to the
Pilgrims, and when, on his showing a determination to
remain longer and the water being too low to take him
out to the ship, it was thought necessary to entrust him
to watchful eyes and strong hands. To some in the colony
it was no doubt a nerve-shaking business ; but Hopkins

was never wanting in resolution and courage. It was

Winslow and Hopkins, with Squanto for guide and inter-
preter, who were sent through the forests to see Massa-
soit. A man weak and timid would surely have shrunk
from such a service.
But his vigor and pluck had their reverse sides; and
there were occasions when one could wish that his strong
will had not been quite so strong, and his daring not quite
so near to recklessness. While holding office in the govern-
ing body of the little state, he allowed his anger to get the
upper hand of his discretion and betray him into an
assault on a man, for which he was duly tried and heavily
fined. Eleven years before the Mayflower sailed on her
famous voyage, Hopkins had been sentenced to death by
court martial, and would have swung from the yard-arm
182 THE PILGRIMS
of a British ship had not his family interceded and saved
him from the ignominious fate. As Goodwin tells the
story, Hopkins was lay reader to the chaplain of his ship
when, in 1609, Governor Gates sailed from England for
Virginia. The ship was driven out of her course and
wrecked at Bermuda. Our future Pilgrim, always noted
for the energy of his opinions and the fidelity with which
he adhered to them, insisted that landing in Bermuda
instead of Virginia broke the contract under which he em-
barked, and that therefore he was free to go as he pleased.
Governor Gates thought otherwise. He called his conduct
treason, with results as just stated. All through his life
— near the end as at the beginning — there was this
tendency to be a law unto himself.
Still he was a man of much value to the colony. He
died in the same year that Brewster passed on. In his

posterity he has been greatly honored. One of his great-

grandsons was a signer of the Declaration of Independence,
and another was the first admiral of our navy. If as
admiral he did not fulfil all the expectations which the
brilliant opening of his career had awakened, it may be
that along with some of the eminently praiseworthy quali-
ties of his energetic great-grandfather he had also in-
herited some of the drawbacks which ran in his blood.

John Alden was a young man of twenty-one when the

Pilgrims, on arriving at Southampton, found and hired
him to enter their service for a year. He was
Alden a valuable discovery. Whatever his ancestry,
or training, or previous associations, he soon
became flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone, and
when the time for which he was employed was up, instead
of going back to his native land he was ready to cast in
his lot with them, and take his full share of the hardships
as well as the triumphs of the Pilgrims.
Alden was a cooper, and his function was an important
one to the colony. At first flush it may seem strange that
this little company should have needed a cooper. But it
has been discovered by those who, like Dr. Griffis, have
investigated the matter that there was a law on the statute-
books of England to the effect that whoever exported beer
 THE PILGRIMS 183
should give bonds obliging him to bring in as many staves
as would make good the amount of material which had
gone into the beer casks which had been taken out. The
"
Clapboard," of which more will be heard further on,
were these staves. A cooper in those days, as in the latter
days of New England, was a man who could make barrels
not only, but also " rive " the forest timber into strips
suitable formanufacturing into barrels. It was given to
me my boyhood frequently to witness both of these
in

processes
—
though the casks which were constructed
from the staves thus made were not for beer, but for pork
and molasses and mackerel.
Goodwin pays this fine tribute to Alden " The colo-
:

nial cooper soon became a leader. He was assistant to

every governor but Carver, serving at least forty-three
years ; he was the colony's treasurer some thirteen years,
and was eight times deputy from Duxbury —
sometimes
holding two of these positions at once. He is credited
with martial tastes, and in the early days was Standish's
close attendant. Alden's male descendants have furnished
a continual succession of noteworthy soldiers and sailors;
and the females, to a striking extent, have had husbands
of like character." In confirmation of this statement, it
may be said that two presidents of the United States,
John Adams and John Quincy Adams, were descendants
of John Alden. He was the last of the signers of the
Mayflower Compact to start on his pilgrimage to the
Great Beyond, and it was not until he was well-nigh four-
score and ten that he entered into the peace which re-
maineth unto the people of God.

vn
Coming back from our excursion among recent acces-
sions to the Pilgrim Company in the list of passengers
on board the ship, it will not be out of place,
'
rtie while she is still pressing on to her destina-
Mayflower tion, to look a little into her record and say a
few words about the Mayflower.
The story of the vessel is of special interest. The
Speedwell, as we have noted, had been purchased by the
184 THE PILGRIMS
colonists both for the present exigency and for future
use ; but the Mayflower was chartered for this particular
service. It is, however, about the hired vessel, and not
the one they owned, that historic interest gathers and the
charm of a stern but fascinating romance evermore lingers.
Poets will never cease to illuminate their verse, orators and
essayists to round out their periods, and students of the
past to emphasize their lessons with the name of this ship.
No war-ship which ever sailed, bearing splendid heroes to
splendid victories, shines with such a glory.
It is a singular fact that neither the name of the May-
flower nor the Speedwell is ever mentioned in the narratives
of Bradford and Winslow. With these writers the desig-
" "
nation is the larger lesser
" vessel. It is not
and the "
until we come upon it in the
" New England Memorial "
of Nathaniel Morton, which did not appear until 1669,
that we find the larger ship called the Mayflower. This
has led more than one writer to ask for the authority on
which these names of the two ships rest. Morton's au-
thority would be enough; fpr he caught up and handed
on what must have been a trustworthy tradition. But
there is a testimony too convincing to be questioned. It
is found in the official records of the Old
Colony. In 1623,
allotments of land were made to the colonists. In one
of the headings of these allotments which were made to
the several groups of the colonists we have this clause,
" which came over in the
Mayflower" This is an official
record, made in 1623; and it settles the question of the
name beyond any peradventure.
The Mayflower was small —
measured by modern
standards, surprisingly small; yet she was a hundred and
eighty tons burden. Her capacity, therefore, was much
greater than that of many of the craft used by the in-
trepid and hardy mariners of those and earlier days in
making their passages from continent to continent.
As early as the reign of Henry VII, or not far from
four centuries ago, a vessel was built in England with a
tonnage as high as one thousand. But this was an extraor-
dinary achievement. The vast majority were not only
smaller, but very much smaller. The Santa Maria, in
 THE PILGRIMS 185

which Columbus sailed at once to this new world and to

an undying fame, is estimated to have been of not over
a hundred tons. The Nina and the Pinta were of con-
siderably less capacity. Like Columbus, Martin Frobisher
had three ships when he set out on his first voyage of
discovery ;but the Gabriel, which was' the largest, regis-
tered only thirty-five tons. The largest of the three vessels
with which Cartier undertook the second and most fruit-
ful of his voyages in 1535, and which he took as far
up
the St. Lawrence as the marvelously picturesque locality
which was subsequently to be known as Quebec, was not
more than a hundred and twenty tons burden. Of the
two ships which bore Pontgrave, the Breton merchant,
and the beloved Champlain, the founder of Quebec and the
father of New France, and their associates in what Park-
man calls an " adventurous knight-errantry," across the
Atlantic in 1603, one was of fifteen and the other of only
twelve tons capacity. As size then ruled, the Mayflower
was not an exceptionally small vessel, but was, in fact,
larger than any other here mentioned, since the big ship
of Henry's time.
But as has been well observed by other writers, these
ships of Columbus and Frobisher and Cartier and Cham-
plain were officered and manned by crews who knew the sea
and the hardships and perils of the sea, and were not
daunted by wind and storm and tossing billows. On board
the Mayflower were not only men, but women and children
— women to the number of twenty-nine, and children, male
and female, to the number of twelve —who were unused
to a seafaring life, and to whom their limited
variety of
food and their crowded quarters must have become ex-
tremely irksome. For though their ship, as we have seen,
was comparatively large, yet when to a passenger list of
one hundred and two there were added not less than twenty-
five who belonged to the
ship, it will be readily inferred
there could have been only narrow space for each in-
dividual.
186 THE PILGRIMS
VIII

All went well until the good ship was half-way across
the Atlantic. The wind had been fair, the weather fine,
and the only discomfort worth mentioning
Trying ex- h ac been the inevitable seasickness of some
i

periences Q f the passengers.

and inter- g u ^ sm0 oth sailing was not to continue,
esting in- Fierce storms arose. The wind blew a gale,
cidents »phe wa ters were lashed into fury. The vessel
was strained. " One of the main beams in the
midship was bowed and cracked, which put them in some
fear that the ship could not be able to perform the voyage."
The officers were put on their mettle. The
The strained l ea k s we re
threatening. The sailors muttered,
beam an j their discontent and evident anxiety must
have occasioned not a little misgiving and
alarm on the part of the more timid of the company. The
strongest hearted of them all could not have been without
grave apprehensions. Mishap after mishap had overtaken
them; was their brave little craft now to founder and
carry them all to the bottom of the sea ? At first there was
excitement and difference of opinion; but after careful
examination the master and others said they knew the ship
to be strong and firm under water
" and for the
; buckling of
the main beam, there was a great iron screw the passengers
brought out of Holland, which would raise the beam into
its place." Fortunate was the man — fortunate for him-
self and fortunate for his associates — who thought of the
screw and brought it along! God was in the thought as
He was in the storm. Dr. Ames is of opinion that the
bent and cracked beam could have been lifted up and
restored to its place by a system of wedges. Possibly. But
the simple quick-working screw was much better. It could
be operated effectively in the storm ; and at that critical
moment, when the question of going forward or returning
had to be settled, the screw may have saved the day for the
"
future of the Pilgrims. They committed themselves to
the will of God, and resolved to proceed." Storm followed
 THE PILGRIMS 187

storm. Sometimes for days together " the winds were so

fierce and the seas so high " that no sails could be spread,
and the ship had to be left to drift under bare poles. It
made no difference. Through fair weather and foul, guided
by a definite purpose and drawn by an unseen attraction
the Mayflower held steadily to her westward course.
In one of the severe storms which the vessel encountered,
John Howland came near losing his life. In a lurch of the
ship he was thrown into the sea ; but " it
Howland so Bradford " that he
pleased God," tells us,
overboard caU ght hold of the top-sail halliards, which
hung overboard, and ran out at length; yet
he held his hold, though he was sundry fathoms under
water, till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of
the water, and then with a boat hook and other means got
into the ship again, and his life saved; and though he was
something ill with it; yet he lived many years after, and
became a profitable member both in Church and Common-
wealth." Very true. For John Carver would have lost
a valuable assistant, the Mayflower Compact a sturdy
signer, Elizabeth Tilley a devoted and faithful husband,
and a very numerous and reputable posterity would have
"
been without an ancestor had not young Howland held his
" " of
hold," and been pulled out of those sundry fathoms
waters and " boat-hooked " into the
seething ship.

IX
There were two deaths on the way over. One was that
of a seaman. His going evidently made a deep impression.
Bradford calls it " a special work of God's
Shadow " a
providence." He was proud and very pro-
and sun- fane young man." He seems to have taken a
shine
peculiar delight in taunting and tormenting
those who were seasick. If they remonstrated
he swore at them. Nor did he hesitate to tell them that " he
hoped to help cast half of them overboard before they came
to their journey's end." But " before they came half seas
"
over," this boisterous young fellow, with his lusty, able
188 THE PILGRIMS
" "
body," and his haughty spirit, and his tongue given to
" " a
cursing," was smitten with grievous disease," from
" and so was himself the first that
which he failed to rally,
was thrown overboard." It is not strange that this tale
was made to yield a moral.
The other death was one of the company. William
Butten, a servant of Samuel Fuller, passed away when only
a few days out from land. As if, however, it was a special
purpose of Providence to maintain the count of these pious
voyagers unbroken to the end, a son, who, in the name
Oceanus, was to carry with him as long as he lived a strik-
ing reminder of the circumstances in which he had first
opened his eyes to the light, had been born into the family
of Stephen Hopkins; and thus the number, one hundred
and two, which, like certain numbers to the Jews, ought to
be held sacred by Congregationalists, was kept good.
Singularly enough, when this number had been increased
by the birth, on board the ship while she lay at anchor, of
Peregrine White, the first English child born in New
England, to one hundred and three, it was quickly and
painfully reduced to one hundred and two through the
death by drowning of Dorothy Bradford, the wife of
William Bradford, while he was away with the last explor-
ing party.

Up to the point where signs of land began to appear the

Mayflower had had some rough experiences. To many of
the passengers the voyage must have seemed
Off As we have seen, violent
Cape long and trying.
Cod smote them, accidents befell them, and
gales
the days and weeks wore on wearily. Still, in
what happened to the ship and her freight of men and
women, both as respects length of time in crossing the sea
and roughness of weather, there was nothing exceptional.
The vessel, which nineteen years later bore Madame de la
Petrie and her Ursuline companions in a service to which
they had dedicated themselves and their all, and the young
nuns who had been sent out to found the hospital which a
 THE PILGRIMS 189

famous niece of Richelieu had endowed, was seventy-two

days in making the passage from Dieppe to Tadousac.
Fogs and storms and icebergs conspired to hinder prog-
ress and once it seemed as if the little boat must
;
go down
and carry all to a watery grave.
Comparisons, however, while moderating ideas and
checking exaggerated statements, do not lift burdens nor
soften pangs. We know that the passengers on board the
Mayflower had to go through a severe and courage-test-
ing ordeal in their late autumn trip across the Atlantic.
It must have been like the dawning of a new, bright day
after a night of sullen darkness and tempest to discover
tokens of land, and to realize that the shores of the New
World which were beckoning them to its freedom and its
opportunities were not far away.
Early on the morning of Friday, November twentieth —
so, after having corrected evident mistakes made by some
of the chroniclers of the event and reconciled conflicting
statements, the best authorities have concluded — the
wished-for coast was sighted. The ship was off Cape Cod.
The captain probably knew where he was. Indeed, Brad-
ford says, " The which being made and certainly known
to be it, they were not a little joyful." Other masters,
Gosnold and Smith, Waymouth and Hudson, and many
besides, had sailed these waters, and given such descrip-
tions of the headlands and bays, that an experienced sea-
faring man could not well mistake the locality.

XI
But this was not thought to be the right spot at which
to make the landing. The plan was "to find some place
about Hudson's River for their habitation."
Where to Hence "
after some deliberation had amongst
land themselves and with the master of the ship
they tacked about and resolved to stand for
the southward." At the start the weather was good and
the wind was fair and had these conditions continued the
;

run to the mouth of the Hudson could not have been a

190 THE PILGRIMS
long one. But the ship, already strained and weakened,
was on a treacherous coast in a treacherous month of the
year. At the end of a half day the wind failed, and the
"
captain and his company found themselves amongst
dangerous shoals and roaring breakers and they were so
;

far entangled therewith as they conceived themselves in

" " and
great danger." They put about bore back again
"
to the cape, and thought themselves happy to get out of
those dangers before night overtook them, as by God's
providence they did."
It has been asserted on early authority, and generally
Captain Jones was bribed by the Dutch to see
believed, that
to it that the Pilgrims did not land at the mouth of the
Hudson River. Nathaniel Morton, in his
" New
England's
Memorial," issued in 1669, asserts, and he repeats and
"
emphasizes the assertion, that Jones was fraudently
" " to
hired dissappoint them in their going thither."
" Of this " he
plot betwixt the Dutch and Master Jones
"
avowed that he had late and certain intelligence." This
statement, so positive and unqualified, has been widely
accepted by subsequent writers. Without going very much
into the controversy it seems to me only just to say that
my judgment falls in unhesitatingly with the conclusion
reached by those who have affirmed " that the Dutch could
not have bribed Captain Jones."
There is more plausibility in the suggestion, or rather
positive avowal of Ames, that there was a conspiracy in
which, not the Dutch, but Sir Ferdinando Gorges and
Captain Jones were the principal parties. Gorges was a
man of intelligence and of positive and commanding influ-
ence. He was deeply interested in New England affairs.
Master Jones was " the very willing and subservient ally
and tool of Gorges, and had been such for years." The
Dutch had absolutely no motive for trying to prevent the
Pilgrims from settling in what was popularly supposed to
be their territory. Gorges and his associates had every
motive for attracting settlements farther north. The pur-
" if there was a " to secure these
pose was, conspiracy,"
" for their own lands.
planters as colonists Gorges and
" " had failed in their
his Council for New England f
 THE PILGRIMS 191

attempts to found colonies in the New World. Failure was

inevitable in view of the material used — "a somewhat
notable mixture of two of the worst elements of society —
' " These
convicts and broken-down gentlemen.' Leyden
people were of another sort and would not fail them. Hence
"
the bold scheme by which the Pilgrim Colony was to be
stolen bodily
" and set down in the wilderness where it would
do the conspirators the most good.
The proofs brought forward to establish this contention
are hardly convincing. It is easier to accept the facts
which lie open to view on the face of the statements made
by those close at hand and most deeply concerned in the
issue. Captain Jones was no saint. He was not over-
charged with the milk of human kindness. He was not
crossing seas and facing storms in the spirit of a philan-
thropist. He was an old sea-dog patterned after the type
of his day. It is no doubt true that his record was not to
his credit. But when we think of the real perils of the sit-
uation there in the shoals off Monomoy, and what a prud-
ent master would surely do, and when the statement made
by Bradford, who had amplest opportunity at the time of
"
writing his History," to know all that was to be known in
a matter of this kind, are carefully weighed, there seems to
be no solid ground on which to base the charge so long
lodged against Jones of having conspired with the Dutch,
or with Gorges, or anybody else to defeat the aims of the
Pilgrims. It may be that this was another of the many
instances where the wrath of man is made to praise the
Lord; but it is perfectly evident that whether through
treachery, or by accident, or under the direct providence of
God, the landing was made where, though the immediate
outlook was stern and forbidding, the best opportunities
for individual action were open, and the largest results of
freedom and righteousness were possible.
192 THE PILGRIMS
XII
On Saturday, November twenty-first, the valiant but
weather-beaten ship rounded Long Point and
Safe at \ ei
gQ her anchors within what is now the
anchor harbor of Provincetown. She was safely shel-
tered at last.

"And there the Mayflower, folding up her wings,

Like a tired sea-bird, round her anchor swings."

Not quite, but almost, four months had been exhausted

in getting from their starting-point in Holland to the
borders of the country they sought. Another month of
which we are to take note must pass in prayer and eager
watching and wearisome exploring and earnest consulta-
tion before a site for settlement could be definitely fixed.
Still it was much for these Pilgrims to have their backs
turned on the wide swelling ocean, and their feet again
planted on the
" firm and stable earth —
their proper
element." Whatever troubles might be in store for them
in the days to come, the book of their past troubles was a
closed volume. They were in a new environment, and they
were to live their lives under new conditions.
When it was all over, and their sails were furled, and the
winds from the shore were bringing them the refreshing
odors of pine and juniper and sassafras, it is easy to
imagine the exceeding and grateful gladness in which the
hearts of these devout souls swelled, and the promptness
with which they fell on their knees and thanked God. One
can easily imagine the intense fervor with which they
acknowledged the guiding hand and protecting care of the
Almighty, and expressed their thanks for signal deliv-
erances from dangers and miseries. They did not wait
" " before
until they trod the wintry strand sounding their
notes of recognition and praise; but ere they set foot on
the coveted shore, " with prayer and psalm they wor-
" God.
shiped
 X
AN EVENTFUL MONTH
 And the heavy night hung dark
The hills and waters o'er,
When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.
Felicia Hemans.

New Plymouth was not built and peopled by persons wholly indepen-
dent of each other. .
They came there a united body of men, bound
. .

together by solemn compact, men of one heart and one mind, intent on the
same purpose, and that a holy one.— Joseph Hunter.

Such men make not only the true church but the true state.
John D. Long.

In the cabin of the Mayflower not only was the foundation-stone of

republican institutions on this continent laid, but the first New England
town-meeting was held and the first elective officer chosen by the will of a
majority.
— William T. Davis.

In New England the Puritan theocracy died almost at birth but the free ;

government of Plymouth, Dorchester, Massachusetts, Maine, and finally of

all in one, blossomed into the free republic that has become the first great

power in the world.

—
Curtis Guild, Jr.

O noble commencement of the foundations of an

enterprise,
like which
the world never saw before, nor probably will ever see again Within half
!

an hour's sail of the ..

place where they were to abide all the rest of their
.

pilgrimage, they moored at the island, and would not again set sail that day,
or take an oar in hand, or do aught of worldly work, because it was the
Lord's Day. — George B. Cheever.

It is on account of the virtue displayed in its institution and manage-

ment, and of the great consequences to which it ultimately led, that the
Colony of Plymouth claims the attention of Mankind.
John G. Palfret.
 AN EVENTFUL MONTH
was a month to a day from the time the Mayflower
IT dropped her anchor within the shelter of Cape Cod to
the time the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. The
month was a strenuous one, full of labors, anxieties, watch-
ings, searchings, sorrows, baffled hopes, and final triumphs.
The things said and done within this period make an
illuminating chapter in the history of our forefathers. The
way they had in emergencies of falling back on fundamen-
tal principles, their habit of sturdy application to what-
ever business might be in hand, the courage with which
they faced dangers and rose superior to disappointments
and and their unflinching loyalty to divine institu-
griefs,
tions and commands, have splendid illustration in the
record of those few weeks, and deserve careful study.

This eventful month opened with the drafting and sign-

ing of the Mayflower Compact. The transaction took place
down in the narrow cabin of the ship on the
The May- forenoon of the day on which the harbor was
flower entered and sails furled. When the anchor
Compact was dropped the Pilgrims had a civil constitu-
tion and a government. They were an incon-
siderable people, small in numbers, without wealth or stand-
ing, and remote from all civilized nations ; but they were a
state. They had an organic law, written out and sub-
scribed by their own hands, chosen rulers and a policy.
Some day this state, insignificant and unknown as it then
was, might be heard from, back on the other side of the
196 THE PILGRIMS
waters! Possibly George III, when his turn should come
to sit on the throne, might have to take note of it !

There were two reasons for drawing up and adopting

this compact.
The was that there were ominous whis-
first
Why the
perings and muffled threats of insubordina-
compact tion and a break-up of the colony. This is
was Bradford's explanation of the transaction. It
formed was " occasioned partly by the discontented and
mutinous speeches that some of the strangers
amongst them had let fall from them in the ship. . That . .

when they came ashore they would use their own liberty."
These " strangers amongst them " were some of the acces-
sions to the colony which had been made at Southampton.
Having joined the company in the expectation that they
were to land at the mouth of the Hudson, they may have
claimed that landing somewhere else absolved them from
their obligation to the company. It will be recalled that
this was the ground taken by Hopkins when he had shipped
to go to Virginia and was cast away on the island of Ber-
muda. Hopkins was one of the Southampton contingent,
and he was not a man to hide his light under a bushel;
but even though he himself had kept still about it, others
might have known of his opinions and conduct. Billington
was powder which any little spark would inflame. At any
rate, it was well to nip insubordination in the bud.
The second reason was that, unless something of this
sort were done, the colony would be left without law. Until
this compact was adopted there was no authority to which

appeal could be made to preserve order and enforce justice.

" For none had
This again is Bradford's explanation :

power to command them, the patent they had being for

Virginia, and not for New England, which belonged to
another government, with which the Virginia Company had
nothing to do." Hence the instrument. For these astute
statesmen concluded that an act of this nature, drawn
up and signed by all the responsible persons of the com-
pany, especially when all circumstances were duly consid-
"
ered, might be as firm as any patent, and in some respects
more sure." John Pierce, one of the Adventurers, held a
 THE PILGRIMS 197

patent in the interest of the colonists; but this patent

was from the London Virginia Company ; and the charter
of this company covered no rights to territory on which
the Pilgrims were about to land. On the contrary, this
whole region was under the control of the company of
which Ferdinando Gorges was the leading spirit. This
company had been known as the Second or Plymouth
Virginia Company; but it had been changed or merged
" The Council for New
into England." It is this fact that
the territory to be occupied had been granted to the com-
pany with which Gorges was so closely identified, which
lends color to the charge strenuously maintained by Dr.
Ames that the bribing of Captain Jones was not by the
Dutch, but by Gorges. As has been said already, it does
not seem to me that Jones was bribed at all. Be that as it
may, however, the Pilgrims knew of no authority which
they could invoke, and that if they had any law they must
make it for themselves. This is what they did —made a
law for themselves.
The Mayflower Compact is an immortal document. It
is justly counted one of the most important contributions
ever made to the civic thought of the world.
Text of the The tender reverence in which it ought to be
compact. read will be increased if we remember that of
the forty-one who affixed their names to it,
twenty were dead before the end of the following March.
Carver was not one of the twenty, but he soon followed.
" In the name of
God, Amen. We, whose names are
under-written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign
Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland ; Defender of the Faith, etc.
"
Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advance-
ment of the Christian Faith, and honor of our king and
country, a voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern
part of Virginia; do by these presents solemnly and mu-
tually, in the presence of God and one of another, covenant
and combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic,
for our better ordering and preservation and furtherence
of the ends aforesaid ; and, by virtue hereof, to enact, con-
stitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances,
198 THE PILGRIMS
acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall
be thought most meet and convenient, for the general good
of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission
and obedience.
" In witness whereof we have hereunder
subscribed our
names. Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year
of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, King James, of Eng-
land, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth ; and of Scotland,
the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini, 1620."
This narrow cabin was indeed the " Cradle of a Com-
monwealth ; " and it was more. Bancroft declares that
" " had
popular constitutional liberty its
Meaning y^ [n t h e Mayflower Compact. Goldwin
of the Smith says " It is true that this covenant was
:

compact no t a political manifesto; it is not less true

that it heralded a polity of self-government,
and may take rank among the great documents of his-
tory." This distinguishes precisely between what the in-
strument was and what it was not, and characterizes it with
a nice accuracy. It was not a " political manifesto," such
as a scheming cabal, or a league of true and patriotic revo-
lutionists might issue but it was a
"
; polity of self-govern-
ment." These men were imposing equal laws on all and
giving to all an equal chance. They were setting up
Democracy. They were organizing society on the basis of
common rights. They were enacting political equality.
They were insuring the stability and order of government
by making each subject a part of it. They were conquer-
ing their prejudices and delivering a fatal blow against
class distinctions. It has been claimed that age and not
social standing was the determining factor in the signa-
tures made
to the compact. Age, as in all the relations
and transactions of life, had to do with the signing, of
course, but those signatures, one after another, were a
thrust straight in the face of social pretensions. It was
man for man, and the simple manhood in each man was
what counted. It was a recognition, clear and simple,
that man
"... has a right because he is a man,
And not because he is a kind of man."
 THE PILGRIMS 199

Some were better than others some were more intelligent

; ;

some were richer; some surpassed others in wisdom and

experience and capacity to rule their little state; but all
were recognized, and their rights were duly protected. The
liberty of which poets through the ages had been dreaming,
and about which philosophers had been speculating, and
over which tyrants had been striding with ruthless disdain,
and for which patriots had been dying — the liberty which
is regulated by law, but which under the regulation loses

none of its sweetness or vitality, had here emergence and

" Is he mas-
gracious crowning. The question ceased to be,
" and became, Is he a man? " Car-
"
ter, or is he servant?
ver and Howland, Winslow and Soule, Hopkins and Dotey,
[Fuller, the beloved physician, and Alden the cooper, sub-
scribed to the compact on the basis of a common standing.
The central idea of it all was mutual rights and obliga-
tions —the right of each to his own individual liberty,
and to a voice in regulating affairs which were common to
all alike and in determining the public policy; and the

obligation of each to use his liberty as not abusing it, and

to subordinate his mere selfish aims to the common good,
and to make of their body politic a genuine human brother-
hood. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.
Those obscure statesmen down in the cabin of the May-
flower were beginning to write, and to teach the world to
write Man with a capital letter.

II

The ship was at anchor and in a safe harbor. There

was no imminent danger to be feared from storms and
raging seas.
Seeking a Nevertheless, the situation was forlorn. It
site for js
only in a dull or selfish mood that one can
settlement
escape the pathos there is in Bradford's words
as he describes the state in which they were at
the critical hour when the voyage was behind them, but all
was dark and uncertain before them. " But here I cannot
but stay and make a pause, and stand half amazed at this
200 THE PILGRIMS
poor people's present condition. They had no friends
. . .

to welcome them, nor inns to entertain or refresh their

weather-beaten bodies, no houses or much less
The imme- towns to
repair to, to seek for succor. . . .

diate out- jt was winter, and they that know the winters
look of the country know them to be sharp and vio-
lent, and subject to cruel and fierce storms, dan-
gerous to travel to known places, much more to search an
unknown coast. Besides, what could they see but a hideous
and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men?
What
multitudes there might be of them, they knew
.

not.
. .

Which way
soever they turned their eyes —
save up-
ward to the heavens they
—
could have little solace or
content in respect to any outward objects. All things
stared upon them with a weather-beaten face; and the
whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a
wild and savage hue." These words outline the situation
exactly as it was. It is to be remembered, however, that
they were written many years after the event. At the
time there was no inclination on the part of these deter-
mined pioneers of religious and civil freedom to indulge in
vain sentimentalism or to count up obstacles to success.
They had crossed the ocean for a high and holy purpose;
and the opportunity to realize this purpose was now before
them, and they went about it.

It was well on in the day on which the harbor was made,

before any of the passengers could land. On account of
the shallowness of the water the ship was
The first
obliged to come to anchor three-quarters of a
afternoon m
;i e f rom shore. This made incon- landing
venient and involved besides a good deal of
peril to health. For the people " going on shore, were
forced to wade a bow-shot or two; which caused many to
get colds and coughs." But so near to it, there was both a
need and an eagerness to set foot on solid earth. The ship
was out of wood, and there was a strong desire " to see
what the land was, and what inhabitants they could meet
with." So " fifteen or sixteen men, well armed, were set
ashore." They saw no persons and they came upon no
habitations. But they got some idea of the lay of the land,
 THE PILGRIMS 201

of the nature of the soil, and of the kind of trees of which

the forests were composed.
" All wooded with
oaks, pines,
sassafras, juniper, birch, holly, vines, ash, walnut," was
the report. At night these fifteen or sixteen returned,
with a boat loaded with " juniper, which smelled very
sweet and strong." This was the kind of wood they " burnt
the most part of the time " they remained at the cape.
Sunday was holy time to the Pilgrims, and they made it
a day of rest. Of this there will be more to say in another
paragraph.

Ill

It was not until Wednesday that things were in readiness

to enter upon the serious business of finding a place for
settlement.
The first was devoted to getting the shallop
explo- —Monday
« a
sloop-rigged craft of twelve or fifteen
ration
tons," which had been brought in the ship —
out of the narrow quarters in which she had
been stowed, that the carpenters might begin at once to put
her in trim for needed service. This, by the way, proved to
be a much longer job than was expected, " sixteen or seven-
teen days." More of the people went on shore — the men
and young folks " to refresh themselves," and the women
" to wash." Fresh water with which to do
washing must
have been a special boon to these English dames, who, in
addition to their own fine instincts, had had a dozen years
of Dutch teaching in the art of cleanliness. Meantime, on
this and the following days, swords, muskets, and corslets
were put in order for an expedition of discovery.
On Wednesday the work of exploration was taken up in
an earnest and orderly fashion. Sixteen men, of whom
Standish was leader, and to whom Bradford, Hopkins, and
" were "
Tilley joined for council and advice were sent forth,
or rather, not so much sent forth, as according to the ac-
count given in " Mourt's Relation," permitted in their im-
patience to go forth, in search of a fit spot on which to
settle. Two days were spent in diligent investigation of the
adjacent country.
202 THE PILGRIMS
The party, on landing, proceeded along the shore across
the site of what is now Provincetown to Negro Head, and
thence past East Harbor, and on by a pond,
The route named Fresh Water Pond, until they reached
followed Pamet River. Here they doubled on their
tracks, and returned by nearly the same course
as that on which they had come. All the movements of
these explorers were guarded and cautious. The first night
out they built a barricade, and by turns of three kept watch
till morning. The second night they threw what protec-
tion they could about themselves, and arranged and posted
their sentinels, but the rain poured down, and they were
exceedingly uncomfortable.
Some interesting discoveries were made. On the first
day they saw a half-dozen Indians; but they could not
get near them. Later they came upon Indian
Discoveries
graVes. Not knowing what they were they
made uncovered them. On ascertaining that these
mounds held the bones of the natives of the
forest, they reverently covered them.
They found a considerable quantity of maize. Goodwin
has reproduced the story in this fresh fashion " Not far
:

away was a heap of sand which had been re-

Corn found C Examination
ently patted over with hands.
and taken showed it to contain a small old basket of
shelled corn, while farther down was a large
new basket, round and narrowed at the top, holding three
or four bushels of maize, including thirty-six whole ears,
some yellow, some red, and some mixed with blue, such as
one sees often in the Cape Cod granaries of to-day." Near
" found a
to the Indians' store of corn there was also great
kettle which had been some ship's kettle, and brought out of
Europe." These two discoveries were too much for the
Pilgrims. Here was the corn which they sorely needed, and
which they were to need still more sorely in the near future,
especially the corn, which was still unshelled and was there-
fore the more suitable for seed. Here, too, was the kettle
in which to carry the corn. The question was two-sided.
On the one side was self-preservation; on the other was
right. Was the demand for self-preservation so clear and
 THE PILGRIMS 203

imperative that it could be reconciled to the right to take

what did not belong to them? This is the way they rea-
" We were in
soned :
suspense what to do with it, and the
kettle; and, at length, after much consultation we con-
cluded to take the kettle and as much of the corn as we
could carry away with us. And when our shallop came,
if we could find any of the people, and come to parley with

them, we would give them the kettle again, and satisfy them
for the corn. So we took all the ears, and put a good deal
of loose corn in the kettle, for two men to bring on a staff.
Besides, they that could put any into their pockets filled
the same. The rest we buried again ; for we were so laden
with armour that we could carry no more." The ethical
quality of this act has been sharply debated. It has always
seemed to me something to be regretted that the kettle
and the corn were taken.
Besides the things already noted, four springs of water
were discovered ; fowl were found in plenty ; and deer were
seen. Indeed, Bradford, to the great amusement of the
other members of the party, was caught by a simple, bent-
sapling deer-trap, such as the Indians knew well how to
construct. With the future governor's f amiliarity with the
Scriptures, he must have thought of the passage in one of
the greatest poems ever written:

".For he is cast into a net by his own feet,

And he walketh upon the toils.
A gin shall take him by the heel,
And a snare shall lay hold on him.
And a noose is hid for him in the ground,
And a trap for him in the way.'

At much tramping and a variety of inci-

length, after
dents, and some rather exciting experiences as well, tired
and hungry, with clothes soiled and torn from crossing
creeks and pushing through tangled thickets and climbing
over fallen timbers, the explorers returned to the ship.
They had gathered some facts, and knew a little more of
their environment yet the better part of three days given
;

to the search had disclosed no fit place for a settlement.

204 THE PILGRIMS
IV
Before venturing on a second exploration, it was thought
wiser to wait until the repairs on the shallop were finished ;
or so nearly finished as to admit of the use of
The second the boat. As has been said
already, making
explora- these repairs was a much more tedious piece
tion f WO rk than had been anticipated. She had to
be " cut down," whatever that may mean, " in
" she was much
bestowing her betwixt the decks." Then
opened with the peoples lying in her." Naturally it took
considerable time to make a craft in this condition sea-
worthy. In consequence of this delay, it was not until the
tenth day after the first exploring party had come in that
another was ready to go out.
This second exploring party was larger than the first
one had been, and it was differently organized. The cap-
tain of the ship was getting impatient. He wanted to
hoist sail and weigh anchor for the home voyage. It is
evident, moreover, that he thought the Pilgrims were dilly-
dallying, or were too fastidious in their selection of a place
for residence. Hence he offered to go himself on the
hunt for a site. His offer was accepted, and these shrewd
colonists made him the leader in the search. There were
thirty-four in all in this second company of explorers
—
Captain Jones, with nine of his sailors, and twenty-four
picked men of the Pilgrims.
On Monday morning, with bodies refreshed by a Sab-
bath of rest, and spirits quickened by a Sabbath of worship,
this large company started on their important
racing a quest. It wasin sooth a holy grail — a home
snow-storm n
j ^he wilderness, liberty to live in the world
and work out their true destiny and move for-
ward on the line of the will of God unmolested, which they
sought and the seekers were a band of chaste knights. It
;

was late in November, and the day was one to give more
than a hint of what might be expected in the rapidly
" It blowed and did snow
approaching months of winter.
all that day and night, and froze, withal." Six inches of
snow fell. The shallop could make no headway against the
 THE PILGRIMS 205

fury of the winds. She had to seek shore and this she did
;

only a little distance from the ship, where she waited

through the night for better weather. In this instance the
long boat appears to have been drafted into service to aid
the party in reaching land. But from both craft the
explorers had to wade in order to reach the shore. Getting
to shore, they plodded on for miles and for the remainder
;

of the day and the night took care of themselves as best

they could.
The next day the storm had abated. The party returned
to the shore, and were met by the shallop and carried
along to the Pamet River. This is the point
Exploration which was reached
by the preceding party of
continued
explorers. It was clear that opinion, to some
extent at least, was gravitating to this locality
as a fit spot on which to make a final stand. Setting out
from here a wider circuit was traversed, and a more thor-
ough inspection of the place was made than on the previous
visit. They went up the longer of the two branches of the
Pamet, followed by the shallop, for four or five miles.
Some of these resolute, home-seeking Pilgrims would have
stood it longer, and gone further, though all of them
" were tired with
marching up and down the steep hills,
and deep valleys, which lay half-a-foot thick with snow."
But the order to halt came from their leader. " Master
Jones, wearied with marching, was desirous we should take
up our lodging." The captain could meet the challenge of
a howling tempest at sea, and stand undaunted at his post
on shipboard in midnight darkness but threading his
;

way through forests, tramping up and down hills, wallow-

ing in snow, and climbing over underbrush, very soon
dampened his ardor for exploration, and made him quite
willing that the people who were intimately concerned
with the business should do the searching for a settlement
site. In other words, he was a hardy old tar, but a poor
"
sort of landlubber. So," as one who was of the party
" we made there our rendezvous for that
puts it, night
under a few pine trees ; and, as it fell out, we got three fat
geese and six ducks to our supper, which we ate with sol-
diers' stomachs, for we had eaten little all that day."
206 THE PILGRIMS
In the morning, after this day of hard and fruitless toil,
the resolutions, even of those who had been most ready the
night before to go on and prosecute the search,
More corn seemed to fail them. Instead of
pushing into
found and
places they knew not, they took as direct a
carried off course as they could towards those " heaps of
sand " where they had found and taken and
also left corn, when they were there before — left it
because there was more than they could carry away.
Besides the pits which they had uncovered and found stored
with the precious grain on the previous visit, they discov-
ered others as well; and in all, that is, on both occasions,
" about ten bushels." This
they managed to get together
" And sure it was
was an ample supply for seed. God's
good providence," as one of their writers has left on record,
" that we found this corn for else we know not how we
;

should have done." For the moment they seem to have for-
gotten the story of Elijah and the ravens. It would have
been better to buy before taking possession.
Jones had not discovered a site, but he very soon discov-
ered that he had had enough of this exploring experience.
The weather was threatening, and he thought
Jones went ft
prudent to go back to the shelter of the ship,
back to g ne wen t " home," and with him were sent
the ship « weakest
-tne
people, and some that were sick
and all the corn."
Eighteen, or just three-quarters of the Pilgrims of the
" to make further
party, remained, discovery." They spent
the night in this vicinity. The next day they
Eighteen made their way five or six miles into the woods,
remained
They found more mounds, and opened them.
Curious things greeted their eyes in one of
these graves; a piece of board three-quarters of a yard
"
long, finely carved and painted," and bowls, trays, dishes,
"
and such like trinkets." It was the grave of one of the
captives of a French vessel which had been wrecked a few
years before on Cape Cod, and whose officers and crew had
fallen into the hands of the Indians. They also stumbled
upon some wigwams, whose structure and rude furnishings
they examined with care. Along with other things in these
 THE PILGRIMS 207

Indian dwellings, they found wooden bowls, trays, dishes,

earthern pots, baskets —some curiously wrought in black
and white, with pretty patterns, and others made of crab-
shells; also vessels full of parched acorns, silk-grass,
tobacco and other seeds, and stuff to be woven into mats.
Some of these things they took away with them; but
through haste in leaving the ship they had failed to bring
along some of the articles with which they had hoped to
conciliate their favor and open up trade with the Indians.
This was left for another time.
Thursday night, succeeding the Monday on which they
had started, found the second exploring party back and
snugly housed in the ship. So far as the
An earnest mam object of these two explorations was con-
discussion
cerned, the planters were no further along
than when they began their search — no fur-
ther along save that they had discovered one place, if no
more, where they did not wish to begin a settlement. As
has been said before, opinion to some extent had been grav-
itating toward the region round about the mouth of the
Pamet River as a suitable locality for pitching tents and
making their homes.
As was the custom of the Pilgrims in matters of moment,
the question was threshed out in a free interchange of opin-
ion. No doubt the debate was a somewhat warm one. The
known impatience of the captain of the ship, and his eager
desire to have a decision speedily reached, would be likely
to give point to the different views as they should be
expressed by one and another. Those in the affirmative
said: that the mouth of the river afforded a convenient
harbor for boats, though too shallow for ships ; that lands
in the vicinity were good for corn ; that the waters about
the cape were full of fish ; that the locality beyond question
would prove to be healthy that the winter was close upon
;

them that their supply of rations was running short, and

;

that the ship might slip away from them on short notice
and leave them to shift as best they might. It was a pretty
substantial array of arguments, and the inference that it
behooved them to act promptly and fix on some spot to
which they could repair and begin the work of home-build-
208 THE PILGRIMS
ing, does not seem illogical. Those in the negative said:
that according to reports which had reached them while
still in the old country, there was a much better place off

twenty leagues to the north of them ; that probably there

might be a much more eligible place near by which a little
further search would disclose that the water for drinking
;

in the locality for which the others were contending was

not satisfactory, and that in general the mouth of the
Pamet River would not meet the requirements of the col-
ony. For these reasons, those who stood on the negative
side in the debate thought it wise to continue the search,
and not decide on a locality which did not suit them until
they were obliged to do so. This view prevailed; but it
was the understanding, or rather agreement, that the
search should be confined to the region of the bay, and on
no account be extended as far as Agawam, now Ipswich,
which was the point twenty leagues away. This was
progress by elimination. So, after all, some headway had
been made.

After these days given to discussion, and when the con-

clusion just mentioned had been reached, the third explor-
ing party went forth. There were eighteen in
The third ajL Ten of them were Pilgrims. These ten
exploration « were appointed," but they "were of them-
" to
selves willing go. This is the shining list :

Standish, Carver, Bradford, Winslow, John Tilley, Edward

Tilley, Howland, Warren, Hopkins, and Dotey. There
were two seamen who were in the service of the colonists —
Allerton and English. Two of the captain's mates, Clarke
and Coppin, also accompanied the explorers, and added
greatly to the efficiency of the company. Besides these, the
master gunner and three sailors went along. It is easy to
see that this party was organized on the basis of something
to be done.
Rather day on the Wednesday next after the
late in the
Thursday on which the second exploring party had re-
 THE PILGRIMS 209
turned to the ship, the third party set out. Repairs on
the shallop had been at length completed, and the boat was
in good trim for the rough work she was about
The party to undertake. This time there was a definite
setting out
p 0m t in view, though the knowledge of where
that point might be was exceedingly vague.
Coppin, one of the two mates just mentioned, had been
on this coast before, and he told of a great river and
good harbor lying over against Cape Cod, and not much
more than eight leagues away. His recollections of local-
ities were hazy, but he was sure that somewhere in the near

region there was an inviting harbor and a good place to

settle. The mate remembered this place from a little inci-
dent which was associated with it, though the incident
stood out in his mind with a good deal more vividness than
the locality itself. When he was there on a previous occa-
" one of the wild
sion, men, with whom they had some
"
trucking, stole a harping iron," or harpoon, from them,"
"
and hence they called it Thievish Harbor." This was
none other than Plymouth Harbor; and it was the point
beyond which the explorers were not to go.
The weather was severe and the winds were high. The
oarsmen had a hard struggle in getting past Long Point.
Before they could hoist sail and make the smoother water
of a lee shore, Edward Tilley and the gunner were both very
It was so " cold
ill.
" that " the water froze on the clothes
of the party, . . .and made them many times like coats of
iron." Men not in the best physical condition, or not hard-
ened to this kind of exposure, were little fitted for such
arduous undertakings. But when once under some meas-
ure of shelter from the fierce wind that was blowing, the
boat made tolerable headway, and keeping as near the
coastline as the shallow water would permit, steered by the
mouth of the Pamet River past the entrance to Wellfleet
Bay, and on for twenty miles or more to a point off from
what is now Eastham. Here the party landed — though it
was by the usual method of much wading, and encamped for
the night. Indians had been seen on the beach, cutting up
a stranded grampus, and special precautions were taken
against surprise or attack under the cover of darkness by
14
210 THE PILGRIMS
the savages. In the morning the explorers divided their
force — some going by boat and some on foot, for exam-
ining the harbor facilities of the bay of Wellfleet and the
adjacent country. Nothing satisfactory was discovered.
At the close of the day, faint with hunger and wearied
with their long tramping, both divisions of the party
returned to nearly the same spot where they had rested
the night before. The next day had in it some thrilling
adventures. In the middle of the night the sentries had
heard an alarming sound, and the company was aroused
from sleep. A couple of shots were fired, and nothing
more was heard of the invaders. But early in the morning,
while eating their breakfast, the Indians fell upon them,
and they realized that " showers of arrows " might be
something other than a figure of speech. However, as this
story of the attack and repulse falls into another chapter
— a chapter in which the mutual relations and dealings of
the Pilgrims and Indians are to be fully narrated, no fur-
ther reference need be made to it in this connection.
After this encounter the whole party boarded the shal-
lop, and set out for the destination which was vaguely in
the mind of Coppin — though with the intention of
stopping short of that harbor should they come upon a
satisfactory landing-place on the way. As the wind was
favorable, they decided to sail along the coast, and ex-
amine the country with as much care as they could. But
while the wind was still from the right quarter, after an
hour or two it began to snow and rain. In the middle of
the afternoon the wind increased, and the sea was very
rough. With such a storm upon them, and darkness rap-
idly approaching and in utter ignorance of the coast, it is
no wonder that all the canvas the boat could carry was
spread, and that the craft was crowded to the limit. But
the storm and the crowding brought a double disaster:
" the
hinges of the rudder broke," and two men had to do
what steering they might with oars, and to add to the diffi-
" the mast was
culties, split in three pieces." The danger
was imminent. The coast along which the furious winds
were driving them was one which has no mercy for stranded
seafarers.
 THE PILGRIMS 211

If, however, the wind was contrary, the tide was on the
side of the struggling explorers, and bore them into the
harbor. But inside they were in as much peril as they had
been outside, for the mate, who had been piloting them, soon
discovered that he was mistaken in thinking he knew where
he was. Instead, he was as much in the dark as any of
them; and had his directions been followed and had the
boat been borne " up northward," they had surely been lost.
" But a
lusty seaman which steered, bade those who rowed,
if they were men, about with her, or else
they were all cast
away the which they did with speed. So he bid them be
;

of good cheer, and row lustily for there was a fair ground
;

before them, and he doubted not but that they should find
one place or other where they might ride in safety. And
though it was very dark and rained sore, yet in the end
they got under the lee of a small island, and remained there
all night in safety." In another account written by the
same hand, but at an earlier date and when the sense of
help from on high was somewhat fresher in his mind, this
is the setting which is given to the facts :
" Yet still the
Lord kept us ; and we bare up for an island before us ; and
recovering that island, being compassed about with many
rocks, and dark night growing upon us, it pleased the
divine Providence that we fell upon a place of sandy
ground, where our shallop did ride safe and secure all that
night."
What a feeling of relief these simple statements bring
to the reader! There are passages in the account which
Bradford gives of this fearful struggle with storm and
darkness which almost take one's breath away, the danger
is so threatening and utter destruction seems so near.
But under the guidance of God, and through the counsel
of a " lusty seaman " who kept a well-poised head on his
shoulders, and by aid of the stout rowing of the men at the
oars, they had escaped the perils of engulfing waves and a
rock-bound and treacherous coast, and were at rest in a
place of safety! They were not relieved from fear of
Indians, and the hours of that cold and anxious night must
have dragged heavily but the boat had reached the shore,
;

and they were in no immediate danger of shipwreck. With

212 THE PILGRIMS
what grateful hearts they must have welcomed the morning ;
and how sweet the sunshine must have been to eyes that
had grown weary peering into the storm and trying to
penetrate the mystery of the enshrouding darkness. No
life had been lost. The boat had been damaged, but not
beyond repair. Very soon, too, they discovered that they
were where they could tarry for a while unmolested, and
refresh their tired bodies and their jaded spirits. In what
a temper of thanksgiving and deep yet quiet joy the story
"
is told
:
Though this had been a day and night of much
trouble and danger unto them, yet God gave them a morn-
ing of comfort and refreshing
— as usually He does to
His children — for the next day was a fair sunshining
day, and they found themselves to be on an island, secure
from the Indians, where they might dry their stuff, fix
their pieces, and rest themselves." Exactly this is what
they did. Saturday was given to resting from the fatigue
and excitement of the preceding twenty-four hours, thaw-
ing out and drying their garments, repairing their shal-
lop, and making up their minds what to do next.

VI
There was one other thing which these Pilgrims did on
that Saturday. They made preparations for the due ob-
servance of the Sabbath. This single sentence
A signifi- covers what Bradford has to say about it in
cant ob- " " " This
his History:
being the last day of
servance of ^ ne we
ek, they prepared there to keep the
the Sabbath Sabbath." In " Mourt's Relation " the record
" On the Sabbath
is even briefer :
Day we
rested." Here is the announcement of preparation for
rest on the Lord's Day, and of the fact that the rest was
taken. That is all. But what a wealth of meaning this
announcement holds, and what a testimony it bears to the
emphasis which these men placed upon the value of the
Sabbath to the toiling millions of the world, and also to
their sense of obligation to honor what God honors, and
to be obedient to divine command. It was an act which
 THE PILGRIMS 213
mounts to the sublime. It had in it the calm self-restraint,
the lofty heroism, and the unflinching loyalty to principle,
which we are wont to associate with martyrdom. It is
impossible to contemplate it without a feeling of awe.
In this remarkable instance of Sabbath-keeping on the
part of the Pilgrims three facts, each of which is to their
glory, and all of them combined to their surpassing glory,
are made conspicuous: first, that they had a fixed princi-
ple of Sabbath observance; second, that this fixed princi-
ple had become hardened into a controlling habit; and
third, that under no temptation of bodily ease or material
gain could they be betrayed into breaking their established
rule. To obey is better than sacrifice, and these men
obeyed. All through and everywhere they were consistent.
Their action there on Clark's Island in remembering the
Sabbath Day to keep it holy was a pattern cut from the
same web as the action on the first Sunday at Cape Cod.
Both were woven in the loom of conscience. Both showed
the profound respect they had for the known will of the
Almighty.
We do not, however, get the full significance of this rest-
ing on the Lord's Day, and devoting the hours to quiet
meditation and communion with God, until we recall the
situation, and weigh well the circumstances. On both occa-
sions— the first Sabbath at the cape and this on the
—
island time was pressing. From the moment the ship
came to anchor there was need of the utmost despatch by
the colonists in determining on a place for their home.
Each passing day increased the urgency. The arguments
which had been advanced at the outset, and repeated over
and over again for the speedy selection of a site some-
where, grew more and more imperative with each succeed-
ing sunset. The winter which had been approaching so
rapidly was now upon them and increasing hourly in
its intensity; rations were scant and fast diminishing;
many of their number were ill and some were dead and the
;

master of the vessel was increasingly impatient of delay

and in no mood to tolerate inaction and listen to long par-
leys. Besides all this, the land which they had come to
explore lay spread out before them and within easy reach;
 214 THE PILGRIMS
they had had the sunshine and warmth of Saturday in
which to recuperate and put everything in order for the
further pursuit of the object on which they were abroad;
there were no crowds of onlookers to be injured by their
example ;and every hour of the twenty-four in which they
lingered after they were ready to move, meant more than
gold to them. If there ever was a body of men on
earth who were under constraint to lay religious scruples
aside, and for once to play false even to deepest con-
victions, it was these Pilgrims on that Sunday on Clark's
Island.
But this is the record " On the Sabbath Day we rested."
:

They knew the reasons there were for haste and felt the
full force of them. They ached from the sting of the cold
as others did. They were conscious of the impatience and
suffering back in the ship. They were aware of the value
of time to them, and permitted no moment which they felt
at liberty to call their own to go to waste but appropriat-
;

ing sacred time to their own worldly ends was quite another
thing. God had said " Remember the sabbath day to
:

keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy
work but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy
:

God; in it thou shalt not do any work." That God had

said it was enough. Nothing could induce them to violate
a plain precept of the Word. In reverent obedience to the
divine law they paused and rested. As Dr. Cheever has
well said
" It was a most wonderful
: consecration of all
New England to God, this religious keeping of the first
Sabbath Day spent upon its shores." Only, he might
better have said, not New England alone, but the nation ;

for what the Pilgrims did, as the event has proved, was not
confined in its influence to the little group of states on our
northeastern border, but has carried its blessing to the
entire republic. It is eminently fit that members of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, in appreciation of an
act which was to be at once so memorable and suggestive,
should have cut into the face of the huge boulder which
lies near the middle of the island, and under whose shelter
tradition affirms that the Pilgrims conducted their simple
worship, the simple but ever-to-be-cherished inscription:
 THE PILGRIMS 215
" Onthe Sabboth Day wee rested." Few deeds in all his-
tory are more worthy of commemoration by monument.
To many it may seem to have been an exhibition of over-
scrupulousness to keep the Sabbath as these men did on
that day on Clark's Island. Perhaps it was. But who is
to gainsay the suggestion that God kept the Pilgrims be-
cause the Pilgrims kept God's laws? One day in seven,
in which the tools of industry are dropped and the noise
of mills is hushed and traffic ceases, and thoughts are given
to the matters of God, and the soul and the hungers of the
higher life are fed, seems to be wrought into the consti-
tution of things as well as to lie at the heart of the economy
of right living which has been outlined for us in the revela-
tions which we have of the divine will. It may be that
these men, after all, were under the guidance of a Spirit
which makes no mistakes, and that in virtue of what some
would call their hard-and-fast interpretation of the com-
mandment they reached their end sooner than they would
have done by an easy-going interpretation. The Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Yes.
But what was man made for? It is barely possible that
when we have got a right idea of the true end and aim of
man, we shall see that a somewhat stricter observance of
the Sabbath than is at all popular of late, will better accord
with the real interests of both individuals and communi-
ties. These men kept the Sabbath and God kept them. It
will be wiser for us to think there may be some very inti-
mate connection between the two facts. In the matter of
Sabbath-keeping, latter-day tendencies, it must be confessed,
are not encouraging. There is need of the tonic of Pilgrim
loyalty to the letter of the law. The spirit would be better
observed if a little more regard were had to the letter. As
the Mayflower Compact held in it an import and value
touching the equal rights of men and the common duties
of citizens quite beyond, it may be, any conception which
the signers of that instrument entertained, so it may have
been in the purpose of God that the striking observance
of Sunday on Clark's Island by those Pilgrim explorers
should be a great and unique object-lesson, not alone for
the few people who could be crowded within the walls of a
 216 THE PILGRIMS
small ship, but for their descendents and the world in all
after times. Say what we will, better the strictness of the
fathers, than the laxness of the children.

VII

Having observed the Sabbath in the way just indicated,

on Monday morning, bright and early, the Pilgrims started
out, though we may be very certain it was not
Setting foot un til, as was habitual with them, they had had
on the fa- their morning devotions, in the search for a
mous rock s {i e f or their habitation. In the discussion to
which reference has been made in a preceding
paragraph concerning the essentials of a desirable location
for settlement, it developed that these several conditions
were thought to be necessary: a good harbor; enough
cleared land to insure a crop of maize the first year; a
plenty of pure water; general healthfulness ; the promise
of sea food; and a place easy to be defended and main-
tained in security. The question was soon to be decided
whether the locality in which they then were, met all or
the most of these requirements. This is Bradford's account

i of what was discovered " On Monday they sounded the

:

harbor, and found it fit for shipping; and marched into

the land and found divers cornfields, and little running
broods —a place, as they supposed, fit for situation ; at
least it was the best they could find, and the season and
their present necessity made them glad to accept it."
Goodwin, who knew every foot of ground in that region,
" The '
says :
harbor, if not excellent, was truly the best
'
they could find between Cape Cod Harbor and Boston
Bay there were the broad cornfields left by the Patuxets
;

only three years before

— the only cleared land known to
have been thereabouts ; while a deliciously pure water filter-
ing from the sandy background danced across the fields
to the sea, forming the only group of brooks around
Plymouth Bay; the site was protected on the east by the
harbor, on the south by a great brook in a ravine, on the
west by an abrupt hill of a hundred and sixty-five feet
 THE PILGRIMS 217

elevation, and on the remaining side was an open field ready

for a palisade which would be covered by cannon on the
hill."

Recalling the passage from Bradford, it is to be noticed

that no mention is made of any rock on which they landed,
or crossed in making their landing. But the evidence both
from documents now in existence and from well-authenti-
cated tradition make itclear that the exploring party in
going ashore, on December 21, 1620, set foot " upon
a large rock," and that the rock on which they stepped
was the Plymouth Rock of undying fame. It is the land-
ing on this rock which is now celebrated as Forefathers'
Day.
The rock has had a curious history. As the town grew
and shipping increased, wharves began to encroach on the
site of the rock, and there was danger of its being cov-
ered over. To prevent this an attempt was made to raise
the rock. This was in 1775, and the effort resulted in
splitting the boulder. The upper section was taken to the
town square, and, as this occurred just as the Revolution
was breaking out, it was deposited at the foot of a liberty
pole, from which floated a flag that expressed the purpose
of the colonies to have liberty or death. After remaining
in that place for about sixty years, it was taken on one
Fourth of July and carried in procession, and set down in
front of Pilgrim Hall. Forty-six years later this detached
piece of the rock was taken back to its rightful place and
reunited with the larger piece, and the whole rock is now
covered by a canopy, which rests on four columns, and is
constructed of granite. This famous rock now presents,
as it is supposed, very much the appearance it had when
Standish and his associates walked across it on that ever-
memorable morning when they rowed over from Clark's
Island to the mainland. But though it is not mentioned in
their writings, and in stepping upon it they were utterly
unconscious of anything save getting to shore the best
way they could, yet that rock has been made the symbol
of all that the Pilgrim movement stood for in their own
and in after ages.
Only a single day was spent by the party in exploring
218 THE PILGRIMS
in the region. They saw enough to convince them that
somewhere in that immediate vicinity a proper location for
their settlement could be found. The long search was
ended. It simply remained to enter and occupy.

VIII

On Tuesday the explorers returned to the ship. They

had been absent since the preceding Wednesday. But it
was cheering news which they brought. They
From Cape na(j suffered and their lives
great hardships,
Cod to na(j been m but unlike the two parties
peril,
Plymouth wno nacj g ne before them, they had found a
which they could recommend for settlement.
site
It was Plymouth. They did not have to name the place.
That had been done for them. Fifteen years before, Cham-
plain had sailed into the harbor and christened the local-
ity. His christening was a passing incident. Later, only
a half-dozen years before the coming of the Mayflower,
Capt. John Smith explored the whole coast from eastern
Maine to Cape Cod. He entered this same harbor. One
of the results of his explorations was a map, drawn by him
and said to be remarkably accurate, on which, set over
against the spot where the exiles landed, was the name
" Plimouth." Grateful for the kindness which they re-
ceived at the last port from which they sailed, the Pilgrims,
we may be sure, were only too glad to adopt the name they
found already given to the place, and call their settlement
New Plymouth.
But though the party brought back good news, they
were greeted with ill tidings. For during their absence
death had entered their little circle and claimed
Sorrow upon wo Two
t victims. days before the explorers
sorrow Edward Thompson had died. On the
left,

morning day of their departure, Jasper

of the
Moore had followed Thompson to his long home. Both
were humble members of the colony. The next day after
the party had left, Dorothy Bradford, the wife of the
future governor, fell overboard and was drowned. The
 THE PILGRIMS 219

following day, James Chilton passed away. Here were

four deaths in quick succession, and two of them occurred
during the absence of the party which had just come back
from the discovery of Plymouth. It was enough to make
bronzed faces turn pale and stout hearts quiver with pain.
It was a bitter foretaste of still bitterer experiences to
follow. But there was no drawing back from their self-
appointed and divinely directed task.
The master of the ship had declared that he would not
leave the anchorage in which they then were until a safe
harbor had been discovered. The report
Weighing brought back by the last exploring party
anchor satisfied him and met the views of the colo-
nists. Hence as soon as all were ready, which
was not until Friday, the anchor was lifted and sails set
for the passage to Plymouth. Winds were adverse and
the harbor was not made until the next day. But on
Saturday, December 26, 1620, the Mayflower came to her
moorings in Plymouth Harbor, and the Pilgrims, now at
the end of their long journey, were face to face with a
little section of the world which they were to sanctify by
their presence and immortalize in history.
 XI
THE FIRST WINTER AT PLYMOUTH
 As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath
shone to many —
yea in some sort to our whole nation.
William Bradford.

Next to the fugitives whom Moses led out of Egypt, the little shipload of
outcasts
world. — who landed at Plymouth are destined to influence the future of the
James Russell Lowell.

Of all migrations of peoples the settlement of New England is pre-

eminently the one in which the almighty dollar played the smallest part,
however important it may since have become as a motive power. It was
left for religious enthusiasm to achieve what commercial enterprise had
failed to accomplish. —
John Fiske.

I regard it as a great thing for a nation to be able, as it passes through

one sign after another of its zodiac pathway, in prosperity, in adversity, and
at all times —
to be able to look to an authentic race of founders, and a
historical principle of institution —
the extent and permanence of whose
influence are of a kind and power —
to kindle and feed the moral imagi-
nation,
world. —move the capacious
Rufus Choate.
heart, and justify the intelligent wonder of the

Wild was the day, the wintry sea

Moaned sadly on New England strand,
When first the thoughtful and the free,
Our fathers, trod the desert land.

They little thought how pure a light,

With years should gather round that day:
How love should keep their memories bright;
How wide a realm their sons should sway.
William Ctjllen Bryant.

The
sadness and pathos which some might read into the narrative are
to me The triumph of a noble cause even at a great price is
lost in victory.
theme for rejoicing, not for sorrow, and the story of the Pilgrims is one of
triumphant achievement.
—
Roger Wolcott.
 XI
THE FIRST WINTER AT PLYMOUTH
outward incident and impressiveness the landing
the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock differed in no
IN of
essential particular from many another attempt at
colonization which history records. Yet this act was
epoch-making. It was a turning-point in the progress of
mankind. It gave new impulse and direction and hope to
the struggling masses of humanity, and made it evident that
men who are determined to be free can somehow find a way
to accomplish their object. From the hour when that land-
ing became a demonstrated success, the hatefulness of the
tyranny which persecutes for fidelity to intelligent and
honest convictions, has seemed more hateful and the hero-
;

ism which is willing to make all sacrifices and endure all

hardships for the sake of conscience has seemed more
heroic. Ever since that event, now lacking less than a
score of years of being three centuries ago, when the
beacon lights of faith and liberty were kindled anew on
the bleak shores of New England, the wisdom of stand-
ing by principle and taking wide views of duty, and
then trusting to the future for vindication, has had a
warmer commendation in the sober judgment of thought-
ful minds.

When the Mayflower reached the harbor of Plymouth

nothing was settled except that somewhere in that locality
the Pilgrims were to build their homes and lay the founda-
224 THE PILGRIMS
tion of their state. They were through with
their wide
explorations ; but it was to be determined whether
still
their settlement should be in the vicinity of
Choosing a t ne rock across which the previous
landing
site for na(j Deen ma(Je, or elsewhere. Hence further
building examination of the region was necessary.
The
ship reached the harbor, it will be re-
called, on Saturday. On the Sabbath they rested. The
same reasons for haste as on the preceding Sabbath still
existed, and the same eager desire to see what was before
them and be at their work ; but —
they rested.
On Monday the master of the ship, aided by three or
four sailors, took a party —
presumably all of the men who
were able to go —ashore. This party went westward, fol-
lowing along the coast but keeping within the woods, for
seven or eight miles. They found " four or five small run-
ning brooks of very sweet fresh water," but no navigable
river. The soil they judged to be rich. In the forests
there was a great variety of trees and many kinds of herbs.
Clay of an excellent quality seemed to be in abundance;
and what they never failed to magnify —
" the best water
that ever we drank." It is evident that these searchers, on
this as on former occasions, had a quick eye for every-
thing about them. The days were short but night found
;

the party weary, and once more aboard the boat.

The next day the same region was explored still more
thoroughly. The party, some by land and some in the
shallop, pushed their way as far as a stream, which, in
honor of the master of the ship, they named Jones River.
They went up this stream a number of miles. It was so
shallow, however, that they saw it would be of no use to
them except at high tide. The place was what is now
Kingston; and it had many features to commend it to
the colonists. But it was at considerable distance from
good fishing-ground; was deeply wooded, and thus would
expose them to attacks by the Indians and clearing up
;

the land and getting it ready for planting was a task quite
beyond their strength at that time.
On the same day it appears that the thoughts of some of
the party turned to Clark's Island; and a fresh examina-
 THE PILGRIMS 225
tion was made of its advantages. The attractions of the
" a
island were that it was place defensible and of great
security." It was at a safe distance from the mainland.
It was well wooded. It was too well wooded, in fact ; for
as in the locality of Kingston it would be difficult to clear
enough for a crop of corn. Another objection was that
there was no fresh water, and they feared what might hap-
pen to them in the heat of summer.
Night found them all in the ship again. Two days
given to this kind of exploration and comparison of
localities seemed to them enough ; and there was a general

understanding that on the next day they would conclude

the business by fixing definitely and finally on some point
of settlement.
Wednesday dawned upon them. It was to be a moment-
ous day. As was their custom, these Pilgrims " called on
God for direction." Then they went ashore. Three places
were in their minds — the island, though this place seems
to have been practically ruled out before leaving the ship,
the region of Kingston, and the vicinity of the rock.
Which should it be? The question was to be submitted to
vote. The majority were to rule. The conclusion was
reached " by most voices to set on the mainland, on the
first place, on a high ground, where there was a great deal
of land cleared," which had already been
"
planted with
"
corn three or four years before, and through which
there ran " a very sweet brook," and in which there were
"
many delicate springs of as good water as can be
drunk." This place also afforded " a harbor " for their
"
shallops and boats," while the brook promised them
" much
good fish in their season." The urgent question
— the question which had been in the minds of some of the
leaders for years, and which for the last few weeks had
been almost a life-and-death question with all of them, was
fully decided. The spot where the Pilgrims were to fix
their habitation and work out their destiny was forever
settled. Years later, when the affairs of the colony were
thought to be in a crisis, the question of removing or
remaining where they were was to be a subject of debate;
but there was to be no change. The decision given by the
15
226 THE PILGRIMS
" most voices " on that
Wednesday morning had in it the
force of a divine decree and was final.
The reasons why the island and the region of Kingston
were ruled out have already been given. The reasons, too,
why the locality close to the rock carried the day have
been incidentally put in evidence. The
" "
high ground
" delicious the
" sweet " deal of
the springs," brooks," the
land cleared," the good " harbor," the " much fish " to be
taken in their season, the command their " ordnance "
would have " all round about," the outlook the place
afforded " into the Bay," and the ample elbow-room, land-
ward and seaward, which they would have if they pitched
their tents and drove down their stakes on that spot, were
all factors in the determination of their choice. That they
chose wisely has been the verdict of after-times. Had the
coast been thoroughly explored, better harbors and better
soil might have been discovered; but for the Pilgrims,
when all things are considered — their weakness, the fatal-
ity which had overtaken the Indians in their immediate
vicinity, the lands all ready for planting, and the little
there was in their situation and surroundings to excite
cupidity, there was no better place in all the world than
Plymouth.

II

Wednesday, December 30, the day on which the deci-

sion was reached to settle at Plymouth, operations were
commenced. About twenty of the men who
Beginning ^ a j come over in the morning to vote on the
to build
question of a site, determined to go to work
at once and remain on the ground over night.
Rude preparations were made, or rather attempted, for
the security and comfort of the party ; but what could
be done in so short a time proved wholly inadequate to
their needs. In the morning, all who were well enough
to leave the ship and join in the labor of building were to
go ashore and lend a hand. A violent storm arose, and
those who were in the boat could not get to land, and those
who were on the land could not reach the boat. It was a
 THE PILGRIMS 227

trying time. The men in the ship were impatient to be

doing something, and those on the land were wet and cold
and hungry, for their shelter had been very poor, and
they were without food. Toward noon, however, " the
shallop went off with much ado." She carried " provis-
ions
" to the famished and frozen men who had
well-nigh
volunteered to stay on shore. Something to eat must have
been very welcome. But this was not the end of the em-
barrassments. The wind was so strong that the shallop
could not return to the ship. All the next day the storm
continued in such fury that there could be no intercourse
between those on board the vessel and those on land. It
was not until Saturday that weather conditions moderated
sufficiently to permit going back and forth between the
ship and the shore. Then as many as could went ashore,
and began to cut down and carry timber and gather ma-
terials for building.
How simple the narrative of the doings of these men!
How matter-of-fact it all seems It was just the drudgery
of the common laborer — hard, wearisome
!

toil day in and

day out. It was worse, for there were no beasts of burden

Altogether unpoetic were their tasks
— dosave
to their hauling.
that there is always a strain of poetry in the
humblest duty faithfully done. For the most part they
were wholly unconscious, too, of what they were actually
doing. Using their short days, and catching what sun-
shine there was between those fierce winter storms, they
thought they were just building themselves a few houses
in which to dwell. They were doing this, but how much
more! In the first tree they felled, they were opening out
a resplendent highway for civil as well as religious liberty.
The first shovelful of earth they lifted was so much prep-
aration for laying broad and deep the foundations of a
vast and beneficent republic. They were not thinking of
wealth, but of a shelter from the storm, and a hearthstone
around which they might gather, and a quiet retreat, far
from the strife of tongues, where they might commune with
each other and worship God unmolested. They were think-
ing just as little of wide political influence and power;
though they were not without hope at times that something
228 THE PILGRIMS
helpful to the Kingdom might grow out of their move-
ment and example. But God, who was behind them and
around them and in them, was thinking of many things.
Beyond the horizon which shut in their narrow human
vision He saw a mighty empire emerging —
an empire
with laws and institutions and customs and life informed
and dominated by such a spirit of equal rights and justice
as was never before seen in any nation on earth. They
" felled and carried timber " to " stuff
provide themselves
" but
for building ; they were building more stately man-
sions than they knew.

HI
Before they began erecting their houses, the Pilgrims
had a general idea of the way in which their little town
was to be laid out, and of the order in which
Plan of their successive buildings were to be put up.
the town The immediate exigency of the settlement
seemed to call for nineteen, or as some say,
eighteen houses ; for by assigning the single men to the
circles which could most conveniently receive them, the
whole colony could be accommodated by this number of
families. Astreet running back from the water to the hill
was marked out, and the houses were to stand on either side
of the street. Each family was to build its own house,
and the location of each was to be determined by lot. The
street is still there, and it is now known as Leyden Street.
In addition to these residences for the several families,
the plan on which the Pilgrims were proceeding required
"
the construction of what they called a common-house."
It seemed advisable to put this up at once, in order that
there might be a place for shelter and storage of goods.
What with inclement weather and sickness and accidents
by fire, though it had been in partial use before the end of
that time, it took a month to get this small rough struc-
ture of twenty by twenty ready for service. To complete
their outfit of buildings, there was to be a platform on the
hill — a platform and then a fort
first —
on which their
guns could be mounted. Glimpses which were caught now
 THE PILGRIMS 229

and then of Indians prowling about, and evidences which

they had of their nearness to them on occasions when they
were not seen, naturally hurried work on this military
defense. In a little more than two months two large
cannon, one weighing fifteen hundred pounds and the other
" another "
twelve hundred, and still piece that lay on shore
whose weight is not given, with two smaller pieces weighing
each about two hundred pounds, were placed in position,
and made ready to do execution in the hour of need.

IV

Only seven of the nineteen houses were built, and the first
one of them to be completed was turned into a temporary
hospital. For, in spite of all they could do,
Sickness tides of disaster and desolation kept rolling
and death { n on these devoted Pilgrims. The refrain of
their story from the closing days of December
tillthe closing days of March, when the sun began to
mount higher in the sky, and the buds to swell, and the air
to have some softness in its caress, was death. Brave,
sweetly patient, faithful, at times not quite assured of
what the outcome of it all was to be, but confident in God,
it was yet but a dirge-like music which rolled through the
souls of the men and women of this little stricken com-
munity. December saw six of them fold their hands and
go hence January eight February seventeen and March
; ; ;

thirteen. Governor Carver followed in April, and Mrs.

Carver in June. Before their first year was ended, so
many of those who had set out in the Mayflower for the
voyage to America had gone to their final account that
the obituary list was carried up to fifty-one — just one-
half of the hundred and two. Arber, in his classification,
adds the two children, Oceanus Hopkins and Peregrine
White, who were born before the Mayflower reached Ply-
mouth, to the passenger list with which the vessel left
England, and in this way increases the number to one
hundred and four. But he puts the record of deaths at
fifty-three, which leaves the survivors at fifty-one, as just
given.
230 THE PILGRIMS

How explain a death-roll so startling? What were the

causes of this wide-sweeping and fatal malady? The an-
swer lies on the surface, and yet no single
Causes of statement covers the case,
sickness First f a n { t must be rem embered that the
colonists were quite unused to the kind of life
they had to meet on shipboard, and to the exposures and
hardships which they had to encounter on landing on an
uninhabited shore. For twelve years the work of the most
of them had been indoors ; and they had been wholesomely
fed and well sheltered from storm and heat and cold. To
be thrust from comfortable homes and quiet employment
in Holland into the unexplored wilds of North America
in the winter season was a change ominous of disaster.
Then the long voyage, the narrow accommodations which
their small ship must have offered to so large a company,
and their limited diet, predisposed them to serious dis-
tempers and ailments. On reaching Cape Cod, a large
majority of the company must have been in condition to
invite disease. Nor must we overlook in our search for the
causes of so much fatal sickness the wading from boat to
shore and back again, which was necessary through all of
the first month after landing, the hard tramping, often
when faint from hunger, through rain and sleet and snow ;
the camping-out and sleeping in wet clothes on the cold,
damp earth, with little or no protection against wind and
storm, and the anxiety which would inevitably grow out
of the situation in which all were placed. If to this list
there be added the lack of
" houses and other
comforts,"
such as suitable remedies and convenient places for min-
istering to the sick, and delicacies to nourish the feeble
and tempt the appetites of the convalescent, the explana-
tion of the illness which befell the Pilgrims during the first
winter of their life at Plymouth becomes so impressive that
one wonders how any of them survived.
Here is a passage copied from a paragraph in " Mourt's
" which throws a flood of
Relation light on our immediate
 THE PILGRIMS 231

question. It has reference to experiences while the May-

" The discommodious-
flower was still lying at Cape Cod.
ness of the harbor did much hinder us, for we could
neither go to, nor come from, the shore but at high water;
which was much to our hindrance and hurt. For often-
times they waded to the middle of the thigh, and often to
the knees to go and come from land. Some did it neces-
sarily, and some of their own pleasure; but it brought to
—
most, if not to all, coughs and colds the weather proving
suddenly cold and stormy
— which afterwards turned to
the scurvy, whereof many died." Another passage, relat-
ing to what happened to the explorers when out in search
of a site for settlement, is to the same effect. " So we
marched some while in the woods, some while in the sands,
and other while in the water up to the knees." A sample
" It blowed
of frequent statements is : and did snow all
that day and night, and froze withal. Some of our people
that are dead took the original of their death there."
Recall the incident of the twenty men, who, after the ques-
tion of a site had been determined, resolved to stay on
shore and go at once about the work of building. Night
overtook them before a shelter could be made ready. To
increase the discomfort, the rain began to pour, and there
was no relief for them until the storm had worn itself out.
True the women and children were not exposed to these
nights abroad in the woods and the pelting storms and
these freezing turns in the weather. But what they gained
by not being out in rain and sleet and storm and where the
air was stinging cold, they lost by being closely confined
in the ship. The deaths among the women show that they
suffered even more than the men from the prevailing
scourge.
The two diseases which were so fatal were scurvy and
lung troubles. Pneumonia was no doubt the cause of not
a few of these deaths. Rheumatic tendencies were seriously
aggravated by what had to be endured. Bradford came
near dying in consequence of an acute attack of this sort.
But the fatal diseases were scurvy and consumption.
232 THE PILGRIMS
VI
The startling death-roll, however, does not tell the whole
story. A half-hundred died, but of the half-hundred who
lived many were brought nigh unto death. In
Sufferings t h e i r time of "most distress," so Bradford
of sur-
relates, there were but six or seven persons left
vivors wno were j n condition to care for the sick and
"
helpless. There, in the depth of winter," with
their scant resources and their fearful exposures, " infected
with the scurvy and other diseases " which their long
voyage and lack of suitable accommodations had brought
upon them, members of the colony were passing through
the Valley of the Shadow, " sometimes two or three of a
day," with their nearest and dearest ones too ill to minister
to them in their closing hours, or even to wave them fare-
well as they were borne forth on their long journey. Two
of those who were so tenderly helpful that they furnished
" a rare
example and worthy to be remembered," but who
were " so upheld of the Lord " that they were not " in-
fected either with the sickness or lameness
" were William
Brewster and Miles Standish. Well was it for the colony
that God spared them.
Of the seventeen wives surviving after the death of Mrs.
Bradford, only four were left to answer to their names
when a twelvemonth had passed. Thirteen out of the
twenty-four married men were gone. Single men, male
servants, sons or other relatives, contributed twenty-one
to this first year's death-roll. Five of the twelve children
succumbed to disease. Four households escaped the infec-
tion, but four were completely wiped out. Each of the
remaining sixteen lost one or more of its members. They
had made no covenant with the inhabitants of the land,
and, if they had not broken down their altars, they had in
no sense bowed to them; yet through all the months of
that desolate and awful winter, Plymouth was a veritable
Bochim. Had it not been for their firm resolve, their faith
in God, and the help they received from on high, the Pil-
grims must have wept themselves into utter despair. The
 THE PILGRIMS 233
dead were buried, not on Burial — Hill the spot now so
sacred to such a large number of devout and patriotic
Americans — but on Coles Hill. This is a little elevation
of land not far from the rock. In fear lest the Indians
should discover what inroads had been made on their ranks,
and how ill-prepared the remnant of the little band must
be to resist an attack, the graves were made level with the
ground, and the whole plat was smoothed over and sown
with grain. This is tradition, but the tradition is well
authenticated.

VII

It was exceedingly mournful. Still this was only the

common fate of colonies seeking to make a permanent
lodgment within our harsh northern latitudes.
A common Ba.ck in 1535-36, Car tier and his associates
experience [ n self-exile
attempted to stem the rigors of a
of colonies co \^ season in Canada. This is Parkman's
account of it : "A malignant scurvy broke
out among them. Man after man went down before the
hideous disease, till twenty-five were dead, and only three or
four were left in health. The sound were too few to attend
the sick, and the wretched sufferers lay in helpless despair,
dreaming of the sun and the vines of France. The ground,
hard as flint, defied their feeble efforts, and, unable to bury
their dead, they hid them in snowdrifts." Of the seventy-
nine men who remained at the mouth of the St. Croix
under De Monts, in 1604—05, thirty-nine died before relief
could reach them, and many more were near to death.
Champlain in his first winter at Quebec, 1608-09, when he
laid the foundation of the town, had twenty-eight men with
him. The middle of May found twenty of these men dead,
with only four of the remaining eight in condition to do
anything. Even in Virginia it was not otherwise. Of the
one hundred and five who were landed at Jamestown in May
of 1607, and left there to be the nucleus of a settlement by
Captain Newport when he sailed back to England, more
than half, so says Fiske, were dead before the end of Septem-
ber. Here it was heat rather than cold and a bad location,
234 THE PILGRIMS
which did the mischief. It is still true, however, that more
than half the colony succumbed to disease and went hence
inside of four months after reaching the New World.
In each of these instances, save that of De Monts at St.
Croix, the ratio of the dying to the living was greater —
in some far greater — than at Plymouth, while at St.
Croix the dead, as among the Pilgrims, was almost exactly
one-half of the whole number. But the remarkable fact
is that in the cases here cited the groups were made
up en-
tirely of men, and not of men, women, and children. Being
made up wholly of men, and chiefly of men used to the sea, it
is reasonable to suppose that they were accustomed to hard-

ship and privations, and could better stand the brunt of

storm, and the icy touch of the hand of winter or the torrid
heats of summer, than artisans drawn from the quiet re-
treats of a Dutch city, or toilers from the rural districts
of England. Still this did not prove to be the case. It
cannot be otherwise than that the moral quality of the
Pilgrims must have counted for much in the disheartening
struggle against disease and death. Be this as it may,
however, and laying no emphasis on comparisons, these
are all records to bring a pallor to the cheek, and show us
what first things in conquering nature and building up
the institutions of civilized society really cost. It is never
anywhere a May-game business, but an undertaking to
put faith under bonds, and challenge courage
— an under-
taking to tax head and hand, heart and soul, to the
utmost.

VIII

is, indeed, over against this dark background of

It
pain and sorrow and disappointment and death that we
must study the Pilgrims if we would under-
Shows stuff stand them and
appreciate their faith and
of which
pluck.
the Pilgrims R u fus Choate, in one of his famous orations,
were made nas a passage in which he sets in contrast the
courage and fidelity to duty of this little band
of colonists, there on the remote edge of the storm-beaten
 THE PILGRIMS 235

coast of New England, and the enthusiastic and deter-

mined devotion of Leonidas and his small following of
three hundred warriors at the pass of Thermopylae, face
to face with the Persians. The Greeks were trained sol-
diers. Discipline had made their sinews like steel. They
were in a temper to front the force of any attack which
might be made upon them. Heroic traditions of the past
inspired them. The conscious gaze and applause of their
fellow-countrymen nerved them to the limit of capacity.
In addition to this, their struggle was to be short and
sharp. The Pilgrims were a promiscuous company of men,
women, and children. They were smitten, bereaved, and
before the first year was over reduced to one-half of their
original number by disease. They were remote from the
world and alone in their desolation. The eyes which were
upon them and the hearts which sympathized with them
were few, and no one was far-sighted enough to see the
end of their hardships. The contrast is to the advantage
of the obscure and neglected colony. Well it might be.
History is not without many striking instances of con-
secration to worthy causes and fortitude under trials, but
the past affords no exact parallel to the patient and sub-
lime endurance of these God-filled souls.

IX
The Pilgrims had their chapters of mishaps and narrow
escapes, as well as their volumes of tragic experience and
sorrow.
Mishaps Qf the f our men sen t ou t to cu t w [\^ g rass
and narrow f or thatch, as the common-house approached
escapes the stage for roofing, two, Peter Brown and
John Goodman, strayed off into the woods and
were lost. Diligent search was made for them by the other
two, but they could not be found. Report of what had
happened was made to the colony. It was raining, but
Carver took several men with him and continued the hunt.
No trace of the missing men could be discovered. The
night which followed was an anxious one, for all feared
236 THE PILGRIMS
that the lost men might have been captured by the Indians.
The next morning a much larger company, well armed,
renewed the search. The effort was fruitless. Meantime
the two men, who had not fallen into the hands of the
Indians, but had been led astray by a pair of dogs they
had with them catching sight of a deer and following it
off into the woods, wandered about in hopeless bewilder-
ment until night set in and arrested further attempts to
ascertain their whereabouts and get back home. At dusk
the rain turned to sleet and snow. There was no shelter.
The men were in a pitiable situation. Soon wolves began
to howl about them. In case of an attack by these wild
beasts, there was no help for them but climbing a tree.
The dreaded attack was not made. The wolves drew off.
Then the poor fellows might venture to move. As this
was the only way they could keep from freezing, they
spent the night walking about. When morning came, they
renewed their endeavors to find out where they were and
make their way back to the settlement. It took them all
day. When they did return they were in a sad plight.
Goodman's feet were frost-bitten and badly swollen, and
he suffered from lameness. " It was a long while after,
ere he was able to go." The experience was a sorry one,
and it subtracted a unit from the working force of the
colony at a time when every man counted.
Following close on the heels of the anxiety occasioned
by the failure of Goodman and Brown to turn up when
they were expected, there was another scare. This was on
Sunday morning. As the search for the wanderers on the
preceding Friday afternoon and all day Saturday had
been in vain, the fear was general that the two men had
fallen victims to the craft and cruelty of the savages.
Tidings of what had happened on shore, and of the grave
apprehensions which were felt there, had been brought to
the ship on Saturday night by returning laborers. It is
not difficult to imagine the consternation which filled all
breasts in the little company, the talk that went on,
and the dreams which disturbed the broken slumbers of the
night. In apparent confirmation of all they most dreaded,
the early risers on the vessel, looking across the waters of
 THE PILGRIMS 237
the harbor, saw common-house
the in flames. Only one
inference could be drawn — Indians had
the set the build-

ing on fire. Emboldened, so the reasoning ran, by their

success in capturing a couple of their white invaders, they
had made a determined assault on the settlement, applied
the torch to the half-completed structure, and led away
or killed all the members of the company who were on
land. What a relief it must have been to ascertain that
the fire originated, not in the malice of savage hearts, but
by an accidental spark, and that the damage, though the
winds were high and helping hands were few and feeble,
was only slight. It had been planned to have as many as
possible go ashore and worship in the common-house on
this Sabbath, but the fire prevented the carrying-out of
the arrangement. Still, as they thought of their two com-
panions back again, of the groundlessness of their fears
of Indian treachery and assault, of the safety of their
property, and of precious lives preserved, the heart of
every Pilgrim must have swelled with gratitude; and
"Thank God" must have been the warm ejaculation
which went up like a song of grateful praise from every
lip. A
week later, on the last Sabbath and the last day
of January, all who were able gathered on shore, and for
the first time held their worship in the common-house.
In connection with this fire in the thatch of the common-
house at that early hour on Sunday morning, when the
wind was blowing a gale, one trembles at thought of a
possible loss which would have been more serious than the
loss of any number of buildings. When those flames broke
out the floor was covered with beds. Carver and Bradford
were lying on a couple of them critically ill. Who else
was there in the same sore straits we are not told. To add
to the peril from flames and sickness, the loaded muskets of
the company were in that room. Stored in the same room,
too, most likely, was a part of their supply of powder.
But the two leaders somehow made a hurried escape, the
fire did not reach the guns and ammunition, and there
was no explosion. Well might Winslow say " Blessed be :

God, there was no harm done." For one cannot contem-

plate such a disaster as might have befallen Carver and
238 THE PILGRIMS
Bradford then and there, without feeling that the sud-
den death of these men, in the circumstances in which they
then were, would have brought the whole enterprise to
an end.

There are other matters of grave importance as well as

of permanent interest which, in their incipiency at least,
naturally fall into place in the story of the
The return
experiences of the Pilgrims during their first
of the winter at Plymouth. But as these topics are
Mayflower to have an independent and orderly treat-
ment in the pages which follow, no further
reference to them seems to be necessary in this connection.
There is one event, however, whose record belongs here and
nowhere else. It is the sailing away of the May-flower on
the homeward voyage. Pew incidents in the history of
the colony are more tenderly pathetic; few show the
resolute purpose, the high courage, the steadfast faith,
and the moral elevation of the colonists in a better light.
The ship got off on Thursday, the fifteenth of April.
She had been lying at anchor in the harbor of Plymouth
since Saturday, the twenty-sixth of December. This
was almost four months. The sight of her must have
become a familiar and cherished object to the anxious
toilers on the shore. But why did the vessel not take her
departure at an earlier date? The impatience of Captain
Jones with what seemed to him the fastidiousness of the
Pilgrims in choosing a site for settlement, and his im-
plied, if not open, threat to dump the whole party and
their goods down anywhere on the shore and sail away
and leave them to their fate, if they did not act promptly,
will be recalled. What made him willing to lengthen out
his stay to more than a hundred days after a
"
place for
habitation " had been found and occupied? These reasons
are given by Bradford:
It was near the end of December before the colonists
were in condition to take any of the freight of the ship on
 THE PILGRIMS 239
shore. The fire in the thatch of the common-house delayed
preparations for receiving goods on land, and drove some
who were weak and ill back to the ship for shelter. Very
soon sickness began to increase among them to an alarm-
ing extent, and the people were practically helpless. Con-
sidering the facts
— so many smitten by disease and so
many already dead — the governor and his advisers
thought it wise to retain the ship until they could see how
matters were to turn with them. The Indians were a
menace which they were not able to dismiss from their
minds, and until they could get things on shore in a posture
for defense, it seemed necessary to have the vessel near at
hand for a safe refuge, even though this precaution would
add a considerable sum to the cost of transportation.
Besides — a most conclusive reason for delay —
the
diseases which had seized and prostrated so many of the
passengers, laid hold on the men, with the result that
many had died, and many who had not passed away were
sick and weak, and the captain was afraid to put to sea
until his men were better and the weather signs were more
auspicious.
But the time came at length when the ship which had
brought them sa?fely across the sea, which had been their
home for so long, within whose narrow walls many earnest
councils had been held, plans formed, an immortal state
paper adopted, the sick nursed, children born, the eyes of
the dead tenderly closed, and the last tributes paid to
departed associates, was to lift her anchor, spread her
sails, catch a favoring breeze, drop over the eastern
horizon, and fade out of view. Should she set her prow
to the dear old home-land with only the master and his
remnant of a crew aboard? Did Carver and Bradford,
both of them worn with sickness and care, and the governor
unconsciously close to the border line of life, did Brewster
and Winslow, did Standish and Hopkins, think it better
to let the vessel go and leave them there, cut off from all
chances of retreat, from all resources save those which were
found in themselves, to keep up the struggle for a foot-
hold on that bleak shore? If the leaders were still brave
and persistent, was there no one in the rank and file of
240 THE PILGRIMS
their followers who had become faint-hearted and ready to
quit ?
Early and late the faith and pluck, the high resolve and
absolute consecration of the Pilgrims were put to many
and severe tests. Few of them could have been more trying
and severe than standing there on the uplands on that
mid-April day, with the graves of their beloved at their
feet, with an unbroken forest behind them, with no white
neighbors within a sweep of hundreds of miles, and seeing
the ship in which they might all of them have embarked
sailing away and leaving them to a duty from which there
was no escape.
That act set the seal to their purpose to do and die in
furtherance of the holy project for which they had crossed
the sea.
James Russell Lowell looked on this scene with a poet's
eye, and he caught the significance of it, and
set it forth
as the crowning testimony to the valor and unconquerable
of the He " if the
determination Pilgrims. says :
Surely,
Greek could boast hisThermopylae, where three hundred
men fell in resisting the Persians, we may well be proud of
our Plymouth Rock, where a handful of men, women, and
children, not merely faced, but vanquished winter, famine,
the wilderness, and the more invincible storge that drew
them back to the green island far away. They found no
lotus growing upon the surly shore, the taste of which
could make them forget their little native Ithaca ; nor were
they so wanting to themselves in faith as to burn their
ships, but could see the fair west wind belly
the homeward
sail, and then turn unrepining to grapple with the terrible
Unknown." Not a Pilgrim went back on the returning
Mayflower*
 XII

MAKING A LIVING
 With great difficulty we have preserved our lives ; insomuch as when I
look back upon our condition, and weak means to preserve the same, I
rather admire at God's mercy and providence in our preservation, than that
no greater things have been effected by us. But though our beginning hath
been . . raw, small, and difficult,
. .
yet the same God that hath hitherto
. .

led us through the former, I hope will raise means to accomplish the latter.
Not that we altogether, or principally propound profit to be the main end of
that we have, undertaken, but the glory of God, and the honor of our Country.
Edward Winslow.

The London partners sent out no provisions and very few goods. A
scarcity of food, often extreme, continued to a greater or less extent for the
first four years. The agricultural arrangements of the Colony were as yet
very imperfect, and the chief dependence during all that period was on
corn purchased of the Indians. . . The clams with which the harbor of
.

Plymouth abounded were also an essential resource. At certain seasons

fish were plenty ; but for some time the Colonists were so unprovided as to
have neither nets nor other tackle with which to take them, nor salt to pre-
serve them. — Richard Hildreth.
They worked against tremendous odds there on that barren coast;
but they wrung a living from it almost from the first, and year by
year patiently learned to succeed at the hard thing they had undertaken.
Woodrow Wilson.

The first years of the residence of Puritans in America were years of

great hardship and affliction ; it is an error to suppose that this short season
of distress was not promptly followed by abundance and happiness.
George Bancroft.
 XII

MAKING A LIVING
the fateful winter was over, and the precious

WHEN dead were buried, and the Mayflower had sailed

away to the home-land, the surviving Pilgrims,
bating no jot of heart or hope, but still determined to push
their enterprise right on to a successful conclusion, found
several very serious and pressing problems on their hands.
To begin with they had to make a living.

Governor Carver and his wife, and a few others, did not
die till after the departure of the ship early in April. But
at the end of the first year, as has been shown,
The supply there remained
only fifty-one of the colonists,
producing This group of fifty-one was made up of eleven
force men wno na d been married, though seven of
them were now widowers, six single men, four
wives, ten sons or male relatives, seven daughters or female
relatives, five male servants, one female servant, and seven
children of whom five were boys and two were girls. In
scanning this easy to see that the supply-producing
list it is
members of the company were not many. On these few
devolved the task of supporting the whole body. Day by
day, through summer and winter, and year after year,
these workers with absolutely no experience in the larger
part of the activities in which they were to engage and the
life they were to live, with few available resources, and with
small succor to reach them from abroad, were to secure food,
244 THE PILGRIMS
clothing, shelter for themselves and all dependent upon
them, and whatever might be necessary to the mainte-
else
nance of self-respect and propriety in their domestic and
social relations. It was an arduous task to face.
To the colonists who had lived through the winter the
opening of spring brought improved health, fresh encour-
agement, and a fair chance to get on their feet.
The cheer
They planted corn, and though the yield was
of spring
small, yet with the meal which this first crop
furnished, and the fish which they caught, and
the ducks, and " the great store of wild turkeys," and the
deer secured, they " had all things in good plenty." Letters
full of satisfaction and hope were sent back to friends in

England. The outlook was bright. Houses enough to

answer the needs of all for shelter had been built. They were
comfortably clothed. The seed brought over in the ship,
and from which they expected to raise " wheat and peas "
" came not to "
good ; still they had sufficient food in store
or in prospect for the coming months, and they looked for-
ward to the approaching winter without misgiving. Their
hearts could not have ceased aching; and there were mo-
ments, no doubt, when tides of memory swept over their
souls and they were in the deep waters; but
they were
steadfast and confident. Each succeeding sunrise was a
fresh prophecy of brighter mornings to dawn.
Things were
coming their way.

II

Not yet, however, had these rare spirits been sufficiently

disciplined in the school of disappointment and bitter, bewil-
dering sorrow. The skies, so bright in those
More disci- m€ U w autumn days, were again to be shrouded
pline in n the gl 00 m of night, and charged with fierce
j
store electric storms. The day was not yet at
hand.
On November 21 —
just a year to a day after the
Mayflower had come to anchor in the harbor of the future
Provincetown, the Fortune arrived at Plymouth. She came
from the Merchant Adventurers, and brought Robert Cush-
 THE PILGRIMS 245

man, who was over on business, and thirty-five new settlers.

The voyage had been an extraordinarily long one —
between four and five months —and all on
The arrival board were reduced to a sore
plight. Instead
of the f bringing anything, except a little clothing,
Fortune to help the colonists, the coming of this ship
meant simply thirty-five more mouths to be fed
and thirty-five more heads to be sheltered, and thirty-five
more bodies to be covered. In concluding his account
of this accession to the colony, Bradford makes the very
natural comment " The plantation was glad of this ad-
:

dition of strength, but could have wished that many of

them had been in better condition, and all of them better
furnished with provisions." To add to the perplexities of
the case, the newcomers had in them very little of the spirit
and purpose of the Pilgrims. " For most of them were
lusty young men, and many of them wild enough, who little
considered whither, or about what they went." Good raw
material, it may be; but not just the kind of stuff to
measure up to the present situation.
So soon as the Fortune had sailed away, account of stock
was taken, the fear of famine was looked squarely in the
face, and the best preparations possible were
Famine made to avert it. " The Governor and his asso-
threatened ciates having disposed these late comers into
several families, as they best could, took an
exact account of all their provisions in store, and propor-
tioned the same to the number of persons, and found that it
would not hold out above six months at half allowance, and
hardly that. And they could not well give less this winter-
time till fish came again. So they presently put to half
allowance, one as well as another, what began to be hard,
but they bore it patiently under hope of supply." With
all their care, however, in allotting food to individuals and
limiting the amount each was to receive, starvation pressed
the colony hard and threatened its utter annihilation.
Month by month through the long, trying winter the cords
of want were drawn closer and closer about them. May
found the handful of meal in the barrel well-nigh spent, and
the little oil in the cruse exhausted. It was a sorry con-
246 THE PILGRIMS
dition, and one which must have taxed to the utmost the
faith of the Pilgrims. They strained their eager eyes in
vain, trying to catch sight of a ship sailing to their relief.
Oh, Weston, Weston, was there no pulse of sympathy beat-
ing in thy bosom, or was thy heart altogether a heart of
stone ! How vain their " hope of supply."

Ill

Help came to them from an unexpected source. An utter

"
stranger, one Captain So and So," the captain of a vessel
which was one of a fishing fleet trying the
Help ob- waters off at the eastward of them, sent them
tained warm Christian salutations and a wholesome
warning against possible assaults by a savage
foe. Edward Winslow took boat and went back with the
messenger who brought the kindly note, and laid the distress
of the colony before this
" " and his
gentill-man associates,
and made an appeal for provisions. "
By which means he
got some good quantity and returned in safety." But this
" "
good quantity was after all only a small quantity in
" Yet
comparison with their needs. by God's blessing it
upheld them till harvest. It arose but to a quarter of a
pound of bread a day to each person ; and the governor
caused it to be daily given them, otherwise, had it been
in their own custody, they would have eaten it up and then
starved. But thus, with what else they could get, they made
pretty shift till corn was ripe." Another sharp corner was
turned. Another milestone was reached on the wearisome
journey to assured success.
But there were other sharp corners to be turned, and
other wearisome stretches of road to be travelled, before
these sorely-smitten but resolute colonists could
Corn crop dismiss anxious forecastings from their minds,
light
They had reached the corn harvest of the
second year; but the yield was so slight, and
some of the more reckless of their number —
mainly the new-
comers most likely —had stealthily invaded the fields and
made such free use of the unripe ears, that what was gath-
 THE PILGRIMS 247

ered gave but small promise of security against pinching

" Now the welcome time
hunger in the days near at hand.
of harvest approached, in which all had their hungry bellies
filled. But it arose but to a little in comparison of a full
year's supply." Gaunt famine still stalked ahead of
them
and darkened the way. It looked as if the sad experiences
of the past winter were to be repeated in the coming winter
— only with less and less of strength and fortitude to en-
dure them.
" Behold now another
providence of God a ship comes
:

into the harbor, one Captain Jones being the chief therein."
This ship had beads and knives to sell. Extor-
prices were charged for the articles, and
TJnexpected tionate
help again
only the lowest prices were offered for beaver ;

but the straitened colonists were glad to make

the exchange on almost any terms. The beads and knives
they could readily dispose of to the Indians for corn. They
bought the trinkets and immediately sold them for the food
they so much required; although on their importunity
they felt constrained to share this bit of good fortune with
Weston's people at Weymouth. In this way they added to
their small store enough to carry them over into the next
year. Nevertheless the struggle was a sharp one, and their
scant supply had to be eked out by every economy possible.

IV
After the first winter, when their sufferings were not so
much from want of food as from sickness, although they
were in great need of proper food, until they
The trying were securely established and had bread enough
period ancj ^ S p are , the period between seed-sowing
and ingathering seems to have been the most
trying one for the Pilgrims. Supplies were exhausted, and
the earth had not yet yielded her increase for the suste-
nance of man. Game was obtainable at certain times in the
year, and wild berries ; but the tribes of the waters and the
mollusks of the shores were the chief resources open to them
in the early summer months. They had but poor equipment
for successful catches, but against starvation fishing was
248 THE PILGRIMS
the ready alternative to which they turned. It was fishing,
with a hand given also to clam-digging and hunting, to
which they had recourse in the present extremity.
Only Bradford, however, can tell the impressive story
"
in suitable fashion. They having but one boat left and
she not over well fitted, they were divided into several com-
panies, six or seven to a gang or company; and so went
out with a net they had bought, to take bass and such like
fish, by course, every company knowing their turn. No
sooner was the boat discharged of what she brought, but
the next company took her and went out with her. Neither
did they return till they had caught something, though it
were five or six days before, for they knew there was nothing
at home, and to go home empty would be a great discour-
agement to the rest. Yea, they strove who should do best.
If she stayed long or got little, then all went to seeking
shell-fish, which at low water they digged out of the sands.
And this was their living in the summer time, till God sent
them better, and in winter they were helped with ground
nuts and fowl. Also in the summer they got now and then
a deer ; for one or two of the fittest were appointed to range
the woods for that end, and what was got that way was
divided amongst them." Those were hard times. Well
might people who were suffering this measure of depriva-
tion and hardship be comforted by such fit words as these :

" Let it not be

grievous unto you that you have been in-
struments to break the ice for others to come after with less
difficulty, the honor shall be yours to the world's end."

The embarrassments were by the coming to

increased
Plymouth from time who were in want of
to time of persons
everything, but had nothing. They brought
Embarrass- mouths to be fed, but no food.
They added to
ing acces- the volume of hunger, but they made no contri-
sions butions to the supplies.
Recall how it was with the thirty-five who were landed
from the Fortune. On another occasion, when " in a man-
 THE PILGRIMS 249

ner their provisions were wholly spent," seven men from one
of Weston's fishing craft, " wanting victuals
" were thrown
"
on the hospitality of the colonists, and they gave them as
good as any of their own." On still another occasion,
though warned to the contrary by Cushman, who at length
had come to understand the utter rottenness of the man's
character, after Weston had openly broken with the colony,
and they all knew how untrustworthy and contemptible
he was, they took in " about sixty lusty men " whom he
had asked them to receive, and gave them " friendly enter-
tainment." For " the most part of the summer " they
housed them, and with the best means and tenderest care the
"
place afforded ministered to their many sick." When
those of this Weston company who were able went away to
lay the foundation of their settlement, they left their sick
at Plymouth till houses were ready for them. But the
sturdy and self-respecting Pilgrims refused to accept any
food from them, " though they were in great want." Nor
would they take " anything else in recompense for any cour-
" saw
tesy done them." They they were an unruly com-
pany," and the less they had to do with them the better.
These obscure and feeble planters were after all a canny
folk,and they had lots of long-distance wisdom.
But shrewd as they were, they were always kind. They
were kind even to Weston long after his dishonest and
scheming nature had been revealed to them. He himself
came to them in great distress, and they helped him. They
took him into their bosom and warmed him. In return
he gave them a viper's sting. " Let favor be showed to the
wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness : in the land of
uprightness, will he deal wrongfully."

VI

The return of the third spring found the colony prepared

to operate on a new system. Hitherto the organization of
their industry had been on a communistic basis. It was
each for all and all for each by constraint. The plan was
tried in some measure by the early disciples. It was tried
250 THE PILGRIMS
very thoroughly by the Pilgrims. If there were ever sets
of men and women in the world who might have been ex-
pected to work the scheme successfully, it was
Abandon- these —
these and these later
early disciples
ing plant- disciples who hadin them so much of the spirit
ing in the Master, and whose sense of brotherhood
f
common was so yital and controlling, and whose motives
for coming out ahead were so imperative. But
even under these conditions the policy failed. It failed
because it could not help failing. It failed because it cuts
across the grain of human nature and is at war with human
instincts.
"
So, ... on the approach of seeding-time, .
they
. .

began to think how they might raise as much corn as they

could, and obtain a better crop than they had done before."
" After much " in all
debate," it was decided that, while
" "
other things they were to go on in the general way as
before," the growing of corn was to be turned over to in-
dividuals. With this end in view parcels of land were as-
signed to each family, according to the number of each;
and all were allowed and encouraged to plant and raise
what they could. The new plan succeeded. It appealed to
self-respect. It stirred ambition and provoked industry.
It allayed discontent and made it an object to do the best
one might. It stimulated a healthy rivalry in toil. The
more prudent and thrifty could not help feeling a fresh
satisfaction and pride in their work. It supplied an ade-
quate motive to the strong to put forth their strength and
show what they could do. " Much more corn was planted
than otherwise would have been. . . The women now went
.

willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them
to set corn."
But though a larger acreage than ever before had been
devoted to the cultivation of corn, and the chances were
apparently good for an abundant harvest, the
Supplies crop was not yet matured. Through the latter
very low weeks of spring and the long summer the
pressure of extreme want was upon them ; and
"
their living was literally just from hand to mouth. By
that their corn was planted, all their victuals were spent.
 THE PILGRIMS 251
and they were only to rest on God's providence; at night
not many times knowing where to have a bit of anything
the next day." When the Anne and the Little James, about
midway between sowing and reaping, brought an addition
of sixty to Plymouth, " the best dish " which the colonists
could set before them " was a lobster, or a piece of fish, with-
out bread or anything else but a cup of fair spring water."
It is small surprise that these newcomers, " when they
saw the low and poor condition " of the colonists, " were
much daunted and dismayed ;" and " wished," some of them,
that they were back " in England again," while " others
fell aweeping, fancying their own misery," in the misery

they saw before them. One cannot help feeling the per-
tinency and the pathos of the comparison Governor Brad-
ford instituted between the condition of his own people at
this time and that of the Chosen People at one of those times
when famine was upon them. He recalled the distress which
Jacob experienced, and the directions the old patriarch
gave his sons to go and buy food that they might live and
not die. But he also recalled the fact that they had " great
herds, and store of cattle of sundry kinds, which, beside
flesh, must needs produce other food, as milk, butter, and
cheese ; and yet it was counted a sore affliction." Whereas
" not
his own people only wanted the staff of bread, but all
these things, and had no Egypt to go to." Think what it
must have meant through all those years to have been with-
out a drop of milk — save, perhaps, a little goat's milk —
or an ounce of fresh butter!

vn
This fair promise of abundant harvest in the autumn
came near being sharply broken. The famine which pinched
was accompanied by a drought which consumed.
An alarm-
Beginning near the end of May there was a
in £
period of six weeks or more in which there was
drought no rain The heavens over them were brass and
.

the earth was dissolving into choking dust.

Morning by morning the sun rose only to beat down on them
with fierce heat and evening by evening the sun set with no
;
252 THE PILGRIMS
sign of an approaching cloud in the sky. Bradford says
that " some of the dryer ground was parched like withered
hay." It was inevitable that the corn should feel the effects
of the scorching rays and this lack of moisture. Winslow
adds
" Both blade and stock " of their corn were "
:
hang-
"
ing the head and changing the color in such manner that
"
the poor Pilgrims judged them to be utterly dead." Their
" beans also rose not
up, according to their wonted manner ;
but stood at stay —
many being parched away, as though
they had been parched before the fire." It looked as if their
new plan, and " their great pains and industry," and the
" " which " a
hopes they cherished of large crop," were all
to come to naught. The author last quoted felt con-
strained to confess that " the most courageous were now
discouraged."
In their dire extremity these good men fell on their knees.
The authorities " set apart a solemn day of humiliation "
on which the people were " to seek the Lord by
A day of humble and fervent prayer." For eight or
prayer n j ne nours they were together in their accus-
tomed place of worship. What confessions of
unworthiness, what pleadings of the promises, what agoniz-
ing cries for help, during these hours must have ascended to
the ear of the Almighty from these earnest souls! The
answers were " gracious and speedy." " All the morning,
and greatest part of the day, it was clear weather and very
hot, and not a cloud or any sign of rain to be seen, yet to-
ward evening it began to overcast, and shortly after to rain,
with such sweet and gentle showers, as gave them cause of
rejoicing and blessing God." The result of this in reviving
" the
decayed corn and other fruits
—
was wonderful to
see." The early hopes of a large crop were realized.

vin
Besides, the wisdom of their new scheme was abundantly
justified. In this connection Bradford has a passage of
special significance ; for it not only states for us the out-
come of this experiment, but it also marks a turning point
 THE PILGRIMS 253
in the struggles of the Pilgrims. They were never again
"
to be in sore straits for something to eat. By this time
harvest was come, and instead of famine, now
New in- q 0(j g aV e them plenty, and the face of things
dustrial was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of
scheme
many, for which they blessed God. And the
justified "
effect of their particular —
individual, and
not all in common " —
planting was well seen ;
for all had, one way and another, pretty well to bring the
year about and some of the abler sort and more industrious
;

had to spare, and sell to others, so as any general want or

famine hath not been amongst them since to this day."
Well might these devout and grateful colonists, so signally
relieved and helped, recognize the new turn their affairs had
taken by following up the day of fasting and humiliation,
in which they had uttered their confessions and made known
their wants to the heavenly Father, with a day of thanks-
giving in which to express their acknowledgments of the
divine goodness, their confidence in the infinite mercy that
overruled their lives, and the quiet but boundless joy they
felt in the deliverance which had come to them from God.
The stage of luxury had not been reached nor had they yet
;

an adequate supply of what would be deemed the simple

requirements of a comfortable life; but these godly men
and women were no longer to do their work on empty
stomachs.

IX
After from time to time, resources for better living
this,
began to increase. But while the Pilgrims from this date
on had enough to satisfy hunger and keep their
Lived bodies in good physical condition, their living
simply was very smiple. This of necessity. Tea and
coffee had not come into use in those early days
of the Pilgrims. It was not until 1652 that the first coffee-
house was opened in London. It was a full half century
later than this when the first coffee plant was carried to the
West Indies. About the same time that coffee was intro-
duced tea began to make its appearance in the circles of rich
254 THE PILGRIMS
and fashionable people; but the of
it in those early

days of II
Charles — price
sixty shillings a pound — put it
out of the reach of all except the opulent few. Potatoes
were not utilized for the table until more than a hundred
and fifty years after the landing of the Pilgrims. Clear
sparkling water, and beer when obtainable, were the table
beverages. Cider and wine came later. Beef, veal, and mut-
ton were for a long while strangers to the frugal boards of
the colonists. Swine have incidental mention in the records
at an early date; for they were disturbers of the peace
between neighbors as well as contributors to lean larders.
Cattle were a later importation.

In 1624?, the Charity brought over the returning Wins-

low,and " a bull and three heifers " which he had purchased
for the
" Two were and the
colony. black,
Cattle was white-backed." That small herd of
thi rd
brought f our was
« the fj rs
beginning of any cattle in
t,

to the the land," and it became the cattle on a thou-

colony sand hills. To the poor wives and mothers
whose resources for appetizing meals had been
so slender the sight of these docile and useful creatures must
have brought forth cheer and a new courage. These are
the " some cattle " which Captain John Smith referred to in
a letter written in England later in the same year of 1624,
in which he said that Plymouth contained
" about a hundred
and eighty people, who had thirty -two dwelling houses,
some cattle and goats, with much swine and poultry."
Early in the following year, 1625, the Jacob brought over
five young cattle —
four of them on consignment to Wins-
low and Allerton, and one a gift from Shirley to the poor.
In the division of the cattle, to which reference is to be
made in the next paragraph, the Arvne is credited with
having brought over some of the stock which the colony
then owned. Among these animals were " the great black
cow, . the great white-back cow," and " the lesser of
. .

the black cows."

 THE PILGRIMS 255
The claim is made by Dr. Ames that the cattle referred to
as having been brought by the Anne must have been brought
over in 1623. In that case those brought in the Charity
could not have been the first to be received by the colony.
It is very certain that there were neither kine, horses, nor
sheep in the Mayflower. So all the cattle the colony owned
came later. Now the Anne could not have brought
cattle on the trip in 1623; for Bradford says explicitly
that those brought in the Charity a year afterwards were
" the first
beginning of any cattle of that kind in the land."
Besides, had the Anne had cattle on board when she reached
Plymouth, and found the colony in almost a starving con-
dition, it would have filled all their hearts with inexpressible
joy. Instead, there was dismay because no help in the way
of food had been brought to them, and the demands upon
them had been greatly increased. In making the entries
relating to the division of cattle in 1627, a mistake had
been made, and the cattle had been attributed to the wrong
6hip. That explains it ; for in a matter of this importance
Bradford could not have been misinformed.
On January 1, 1627, the number of cattle had risen to
fifteen. Twelve of these were cows. At that time there
were one hundred and fifty-six persons in the
Division of "
settlement, who, because they were pur-
cattle
chasers," a body to be explained later, or in
virtue of their relations to the
"
purchasers,"
were entitled to share in the common property of the
colony. These were arranged in groups, according to
their individual preferences, of thirteen each. To each of
these twelve groups of thirteen one cow was assigned by
lot. But this arrangement was to hold good for only ten
years. The cattle still belonged to the colony as a whole.
At the end of ten years each cow, if living, with one-half
of the increase, if any, was to be given back to the Com-
pany. The bulls were evidently turned over to the groups
best able to take care of them. To all except — for some
reason not stated —
the group of which John Howland
was the head, a pair of she-goats was added to the cow.
The swine were distributed in the same systematic way. As
to the cows a dozen of them distributed among a hundred
256 THE PILGRIMS
and or eighty people —
seventy-five for there were thirty
or forty then in the colony who had no right to participate
in the allotment of the common possessions, but who had
mouths to be fed, would not seem to promise an oversupply
of dairy products.
But even one was better than nothing, for good milkers
were an expensive luxury. At about the time this division
was made it is estimated that a good cow was
Price of worth the equivalent of two hundred dollars of
cows m
our oney. Calves would be carefully raised,
and cows would not be fattened for slaughter
so long as they gave reasonable promise of yielding a good
quantity of milk. Among the assets of Standish when he
died were two pairs of oxen and ten cows and calves. He
knew not only how to intimidate Indians, but how to make
farming profitable. For the thrifty captain, inside of a
" "
year after the red cow had been assigned to him and his
group, bought out the shares of his associates in the ten-
year ownership and had her all to himself. It is through
this transaction that we get our information concerning
the value of a cow at that time and place.
"
Cows, if not thought to be sacred," were considered
fit objects to devote to sacred uses. In 1633, Dr. Fuller
" I
declared in his will :
give to the Church of God at
Plymouth the first cow-calf that my brown cow shall have."
Slices of ripe roast beef, now such a necessity to every
robust Englishman, and kidney-cuts of veal were not for
these struggling colonists. Day, the Harvard printer,
to whom the world is indebted for the
"
Bay Psalm-book,"
thought it a high commendation of the young man who" was
to marry his daughter that he had " cattle all ready for
his use.
Horses were owned in Salem as early as 1629. In 1635
the James brought a consignment of horses to Boston. In
the same year Dutch ships brought horses from
Horses Holland to the Boston market. As to the time
when horses were introduced into Plymouth
there is uncertainty. Thatcher says that " the first
notice of horses on record is 1644, when a mare, belonging
to the estate of Stephen Hopkins, was appraised at six
 THE PILGRIMS 257

pounds sterling." This implies, of course, that horses

were there before that date. In speaking of the brisk trade
which sprang up between the Bay and Plymouth after the
"
great sickness in Boston in 1631, Goodwin says :
Every-
thing that Plymouth had to sell was readily taken, espe-
cially inexchange for horses and neat cattle." This writer
doubtless had good authority for what his statement sug-
gests. Governor Bradford is said to have owned a " mare,"
which was used by the escort who attended Governor
Winthrop and his party for some distance as they returned
from their visit to Plymouth in 1632. Howland had a
horse in 1656. This same year, when he died, Standish
owned five " horses and colts." One catches these glimpses
of horses, as well as oxen, in the colony with special satis-
faction; for it means the lightening of so many burdens
which must have been heavy in the earlier years, and a
marked increase in the facilities for making a living.
The first hint of sheep in the colony is that given in the
transaction in which Standish acquired full possession of
the use of the cow assigned to him and his
Sheep " Two ewe lambs " were
group. given by
Standish in exchange for one share he bought.
Lambs likecalves were considered appropriate gifts to
the churches. This was William Wright's token of regard
for the little body of disciples in the wilderness —"a ewe
lamb." For some reason the flocks did not multiply so
fast as the herds. As late as 1633 the colony found it
necessary to forbid the exportation of sheep. Wolves were
plenty and troublesome, and it may have been difficult to
protect the sheep against their ravages.
Goats were more hardy and an earlier importation than
sheep. It was easy, too, to increase the stock of goats.
Recall John Smith's statement,
" some cattle
Goats an(j goats." On the breaking up, in 1626, of
" a
plantation which was at Monhegan
" —
off
the coast of Maine — " and belonged to some merchants at
Plymouth," in England, a flock of goats was secured for the
colony.
While there was this shortage, however, in beef and
mutton and dairy products, the Pilgrims, after the first
17
258 THE PILGRIMS
sharp pinch was over, had fish in plenty, and lobsters and
clams, and wild game, deer and turkeys. They also had
field strawberries in abundance, and
plums and
Sea-food, huckleberries in their season. Orchards were
game, fowl, planted early. Inside of twenty years Dux-
and fruits
bury had a large number of thrifty apple-trees.
Wheat yielded a good crop for more than forty
years after the landing on Plymouth Rock but at length
;

a blight fell upon it, and the use of this important cereal
had to be abandoned for a while.
Indian corn, rye, and beans became the staples of living.
Baked beans were domesticated at Plymouth before they
were in Boston. Pork was in common use.
Staples of \yi t h fi s h, fresh and salted and smoked, with
living venison and fowl, with beans, green and dried,
with clams from the sands, with vegetables like
squash and turnip and onion from field and garden, with
milk and butter and cheese from their own increasing herds,
and with fruits in considerable variety in their season, and
with everything in the way of supplies on the up-grade,
the Pilgrims were in no danger of starving. They did not
starve.

XI
On the contrary, it is remarkable how healthy they were,
and to what a good old age those who survived the severe
ordeal of the first years actually lived. Brad-
Health and f orcj was
sixty-seven when he went hence,
long life Standish was seventy-two. Brewster was sev-
enty-eight. Alice Southworth Bradford was
nearly eighty. Francis Cook was rising eighty. After
sixty years of the kind of life they had to live in the colony,
John Alden, Priscilla Mullins Alden, Mrs. Susana White
Winslow, Mrs. Elizabeth Tilley Howland, George Soule,
Giles Hopkins, John Cook, Resolved White, Henry Samp-
son, Samuel Fuller, Samuel Eaton, and Mrs. Mary Allerton
Cushman, were still living. Cook and White lingered for
another decade and more. Mary Allerton Cushman, the
 THE PILGRIMS 259
last of the sacred fellowship to go, did not pass to her
reward until 1699.
The burial of this mother in Israel must have been a
solemn and memorable occasion. When her venerable hus-
band, Thomas Cushman, the successor of Brewster in the
eldership, in 1691 went hence to the Great Beyond, a fast
day was observed by the Plymouth church. The widow
was held in tender regard and remembered in her needs.
When her time came to join her husband in the unseen
world, it is easy to
imagine the moisture in the eyes and the
quiver on the lips of the company who gathered about her
open grave. It is fit that a granite obelisk has been erected
on Burial Hill to mark the spot where all that is mortal of
this immortal pair now rests.
 XIII

PAYING THEIR DEBTS

 The Company sold to the Colony all their shares, stocks, merchandise,
lands and chattels, in consideration of Eighteen Hundred Pounds, to be paid
at the Royal Exchange in London, every Michaelmas, in nine annual and
equal payments, the first of which was to be made in 1628. The agreement
was approved. The settlers were distrustful of their ability to provide for
the annual payments, and their own wants. Yet despair formed no part of
their character, they always lived in hope and trusted to God.
Francis Baylies.

Finally, in March, 1646, when it had stood over a quarter of a Century,

the Pilgrim Republic for the first time enjoyed the luxury of owing no man
anything. Its debts had been inflated, its funds embezzled, its trade de-
frauded, and its confidence betrayed but it had borne every burden without
:

shrinking, and had preferred to endure fraud and robbery rather than risk
any sacrifice of honor. Its leaders took care that every chance of wrong
should fall on themselves rather than on the public creditors who had treated
them unjustly. Repudiation is not a plant of Old Colony growth.
John A. Goodwin.
 XIII

PAYING THEIR DEBTS

addition to winning a living from soil and sea, and
IN from the timber and game of the forests, the Pilgrims
were to pay their debts, and at the earliest practicable
moment work free from the perplexing entanglements and
heavy burdens in which they were involved by the unequal
agreement with the Merchant Adventurers.
Debt is a serious handicap to anybody. Especially is
this so when one has nothing in the way of assets to meet
his indebtedness. The merchant who borrows money to
buy goods has on his shelves the equivalent of what he
owes but the man who owes and has nothing with which
;

to pay, even under the most propitious circumstances, has

a heavy and discouraging load to carry. These colonists
had faith and pluck, willing hands and resolute purpose,
and the habits of industry, economy, and self-denial, but
they could hardly have been in a less favorable condition
for making money than they were during the first years
of their settlement at Plymouth. Straitened in all sorts
of material resources, without experience of the country
and the ways of getting on in it, sick, hungry, perplexed,
and with not a few of their wise and strong ones gone
hence, one cannot help feeling that they did well to keep
the breath of life in their bodies and their organization
intact. It was inevitable that paying debts would prove
to be a long and tedious task.

Technically, at the outset, these obligations of the

colonists to the Adventurers were not debts ; but in morals
264 THE PILGRIMS
they were ; and before the business was definitely concluded
they became so by mutual agreement in form. The Pil-
Q
grims might well h ,ve put their own losses and
Why the
sufferings over against the unprofitable out-
Pilgrims ja
ys ma de by the Adventurers; but, as we
were in shall see, they refused to do this, and volun-
debt
tarily bound themselves to pay over a stipu-
lated and, to them, large sum to satisfy the
claims of those who had invested their money in the
enterprise.
Recall the fact that the colonists and the Merchant
Adventurers constituted a joint-stock company. Every
planter of sixteen years of age and upwards was rated at
one share. A planter putting in ten pounds of money or
provisions was entitled to an additional share. A planter
carrying wife and children, or servants, received a single
share for each person of sixteen or upwards or for chil-
;

dren or servants between the ages of ten and sixteen a

share for two. The Adventurers, of course, obtained shares
only by investing their money in the enterprise. It was
this money put in by the Adventurers, and which it was

expected would yield gratifying returns at the end of seven

years when the joint property was to be divided and the
profits distributed, that created the financial obligations in
which the colonists were involved.

II

In no one of the authorities consulted are we told just

how many shares of the stock the Adventurers took. Nor
is it clear how much the returns actually made
Exact
during the period in which the original con-
amount of tract was in operation netted them. While
indebted- some of the consignments were intercepted, and
ness dim- did not help the Adventurers at all, though
cult to
they told against the resources of the planters
ascertain
just the same, there were other remittances
made which did reach them; but how much
these successful remittances summed up is not in evidence in
any of the accessible records. We
know, however, that the
 THE PILGRIMS 265

amount which Allerton agreed to pay the Adventurers for

their entire interest in the colony, when as agent of the
planters in 1627 he bought them out, was eighteen hundred
pounds. This was nearly at the end of the seven years for
which the partnership was to run, and was in addition to
all that had been advanced before.
Still the eighteen hundred pounds was not the full meas-
ure of the burden which the planters had to assume. Dur-
ing those years of struggle they had been obliged from time
to time to borrow quite large sums at extortionate rates.
Standish, for instance, a year or so before this final agree-
ment with the Adventurers, made a loan of a hundred and
fifty pounds at fifty per cent interest. At a later date,
Allerton secured two hundred pounds at thirty per cent.
The notes of the Pilgrims were out for other sums. Money
was necessary, even though it had to be obtained on these
appallingly high terms, to meet expenses and carry on
trade. It is impossible to say just what was the total
indebtedness of the colonists at the end of their seven years
of toil and hardship; but it was at least six hundred
pounds in addition to the eighteen hundred pounds which
were to be paid the Merchant Adventurers. This was
certainly a formidable challenge to courage as well as to
industry and financial skill.
But let us go back and look at this matter of debt-
paying somewhat more in detail.

Ill

The first note of irritation over delay in making returns

came, as might have been anticipated, from Weston and

those of his ilk among the Adventurers. The
First com-
complaint, voiced in letters, was that the May-
plaints at
flower, when she made her home voyage after
delay in re- ^he winter at Plymouth, bore no
products for
mittancea the market. The letters were intrusted to
Cushman, who had come over on the Fortune
to secure the signatures of the colonists to the altered arti-
cles of agreement which they had stoutly refused to sign
266 THE PILGRIMS
at Southampton. This vessel, it will be remembered,
arrived at Plymouth in the late autumn after the first sum-
mer. But those in possession of the facts of the story, as
these facts have now been given, and who also know how
negligent and niggardly these London correspondents
were in meeting their share of the common obligations, and
sending over suitable goods with which to do business, will
readily understand how unreasonable it was to expect these
crippled and struggling pioneers to do more than they did.
It was not alone unreasonable; it was heartless. When
these letters were written, the Adventurers, one and all of
them, knew what an awful affliction had fallen upon the
colonists, and through what sorest straits they had been
called to pass. It would be unfair to say that Shylock,

insisting on his pound of flesh, was more humane than they ;

but it is not unfair to say that the demands of some of
these men suggest Shylock. The colonists were weak and
smitten. They had neither time nor strength nor capital
to make gains. What they were entitled to was not
blame, harsh and cruel, but tenderest sympathy and en-
couragement. They should have been promptly and gener-
ously helped.

IV

However, before the close of their first twelvemonth in

the new country, the Pilgrims managed to get together
merchandise for the home market to the value
The first f like five hundred pounds. This
something
remittance "
consisted ofgood clapboard," or staves for
and what
making beer barrels and kegs, " and two
came of it
hogsheads of beaver and otter skins." A
hogshead held a little less than two hundred
beaver skins. An average skin weighed about a pound and
a half. Each pound of beaver was worth a pound sterling
in the market. How many of the pelts in these two hogs-
heads were beaver we are not informed ; but, as just stated,
the value of the whole cargo was near to five hundred
pounds. In the circumstances this was extraordinary.
These people were not prepared for trade with the Indians ;
 THE PILGRIMS 267
but with the few trifling articles which they had brought
with them, they were enabled to purchase this amount of
goods to be sent back. The Fortune, on hef^ return voyage,
took these commodities aboard; and it looked as if a fair
start had been made towards satisfying the expectations
of the London partners and helping the colonists to a bet-
ter business standing in England. Alas for all con-
cerned These bright hopes were destined to a bitter dash-
!

ing. In those days ships on the high seas were subject to

other perils than storms and rocks and shoals. The strong
preyed upon the weak; and almost anything was made a
pretext for justifying rapacity and greed. When but a
short distance out from the English harbor, the Fortune
was captured by a French war-ship and her cargo was con-
fiscated by the French authorities. Thus ended the first
attempt to ease financial burdens and hush unreasonable
complaints.

Li the autumn of 1623, the Anne, which brought an

increase to the colony of about sixty persons, besides thirty
or forty others who had come on their own
A second individual account, seems to have taken back
remittance of the usual
" and
a consignment clapboard,"
and other furs they
likewise "all the beaver
had " but there is only incidental mention made of the
:

value of this cargo nor are we told of the uses to which

;

the money obtained from it was put. Most likely it did not
do much more than meet expenses, or possibly aid in wip-
ing out some side indebtedness.

VI

was some time before the colonists were in condition

It
to make further returns of value. But in 1625 a large
ship, with a cargo of considerable worth, left Plymouth
for London. Through fear of French privateers, for there
"
was then " a bruit of war between France and England,
268 THE PILGRIMS
her captain took her into an English port; and through
the delay thus occasioned the chance to sell to advantage
what she had brought over was lost. Along
Other futile w ith this
larger vessel, and in her tow in fact,
attempts the Little James — a boat which seems to
to make have been attended with ill luck from the
returns fi rs t —
se t sa il w fth a freight of fish and fur.
She was taken by the Turks. In this way an-
other sturdy effort to better the financial situation came
to naught.

VII

The simple fact is it was a struggle for existence. At

the end of six or seven years no real headway had been
made in increasing the commercial value of the
A new property held by the colonists and Merchant
financial Adventurers in common, or in furnishing sat-
basis
isfactory returns to the London stockholders
necessary for their investment in the undertaking. It
became more and more evident that for the
good of all who were interested or in any way involved in
the movement, the affairs of the Company must be put on
another basis.
Winslow returned to England on the Anne, He did not
go for the specific purpose of reorganizing the Company,
but " to inform of all things, and procure such
Winslow's
things as were thought needful for their pres-
visit to ent condition." In their repeated conferences
England many things passed, no doubt, between Wins-
low, who was a natural-born diplomatist, and
the Merchants, fitted to pave the way for a readjustment
when the right time should come. That this subject was
in the minds of the Adventurers, and was freely and even

bitterly discussed at times, is evident from letters sent over

to the colonists at this particular period. Still the main
object of Winslow's visit was to give information, hush
discontent and faction if possible, impart courage and
secure supplies. We
know how well he succeeded in the lat-
ter of these aims.
 THE PILGRIMS 269
Two years subsequent to the date of Winslow's visit to
England, Standish was sent over with instructions to mend
matters, if he could, by some sort of recon-
Standish struction of the articles of agreement. He was
goes over to pl eacl w ith the Company for easier terms in
the sale of goods to them, and for goods more
suitable to the kind of trade they had to carry on with the
Indians. Beyond this he was to. plead with the Council for
New England for "favor and help." He was to secure
their aid in bringing such of the Adventurers as had for-
saken and deserted them back to a saner mind, and not to
hold the colonists to the terms of the agreement while they
themselves disregarded them. In other words, he was to
" that either stand to their former cove-
urge they might
nants, or else come to some fair end by division or com-
position." Owing to the political confusion which marked
that great revolutionary hour, and the panic and devas-
tation caused by the plague then prevailing, and the seri-
ous financial losses which many of the friends of the colony
had suffered, he could do little more than borrow, as we
have seen, a small sum of money at an exorbitant rate of
interest. But he had set the idea of reorganization to fer-
menting in the minds of the parties concerned. In doing
"
this he prepared a good way for the composition that was
afterwards made." It is evident that the brave captain
was something more than a mere fighter.
The next year Allerton was commissioned by the col-
onists to cross the ocean and follow up the promising
initiative made by Standish in readjusting
Allerton the articles of agreement under which they and
sent to the Adventurers were conducting their affairs,
push His directions were " to make a composition
negotia- with the Adventurers upon as good terms as he
tions could." Nothing, however, was to be settled
finally until the whole matter had been referred
to the people at Plymouth. They had been caught once, so
they were prompt to remember, by an unwarranted assump-
tion of authority on the part of an agent, and once was
"
enough. Having wintered in England, at the usual sea-
son of the coming of ships Mr. Allerton returned." He
270 THE PILGRIMS
was fortunate, as has been noted, in being able to borrow

money at a less rate of interest than some of the previous

agents of the colony had been able to do, and he brought
with him " some useful goods."
But his more important achievement was
in the line of
"the help of sundry of their faithful
reorganization. By
" with much ado and no
friends," and small trouble, he had
made a composition with the Adventurers." A
copy of
" drawn
this agreement, by the best counsel of the law
they could get, to make it firm," he had brought with him.
Forty-two of the Adventurers affixed their names to this
document in their own behalf, and Allerton subscribed for
the colonists. If the Plymouth people assented to the
terms thus mutually agreed upon and stated in the paper,
the bargain was to become binding, and the whole enter-
prise was to stand on another and more helpful basis.

vm
The sum and substance of the agreement was that the
merchants were to abandon all claims and relinquish all
right and title to the property of the colony
The new on the payment to them by the colonists of
agreement eighteen hundred pounds. The payments
were to be made in annual instalments, on a
stipulated day, of two hundred pounds. Bradford shall
" This
tell the rest of the story :
agreement was very well
liked of, and approved by all the plantation, and consented
unto though they knew not well how to raise the payment,
;

and discharge their other engagements, and supply the

yearly wants of the plantation, seeing they were forced for
their necessities to take up money or goods at so high
interest. Yet they undertook it, and seven or eight of the
chief of the place became jointly bound for the payment of
this eighteen hundred founds in behalf of the rest, at the
several days. In which they ran a great adventure, as
having many other heavy burdens
their present state stood,
already upon them, and all things in an uncertain con-
dition among them. So the next return it was absolutely
 THE PILGRIMS 271
confirmed on both sides, and the bargain fairly engrossed
in parchment and in many things put into better form, by
the advice of the learnedest counsel they could get, .
. .

and was concluded under their hands and seals."

IX
This put a better face on affairs. It also imposed very
formidable obligations. In the passage just quoted Brad-
ford speaks of " other engagements," and
New ar- « "
many other "heavy "burdens." These other
rangement engagements "
and heavy burdens were in
inspires
part debts, such as have been indicated already,
hope which had been incurred from time to time for
money borrowed with which to obtain supplies
or trading goods. These sums amounted to a round six
hundred pounds. The combined obligations bulked large,
and surely would have staggered the colonists had they
not been of the dauntless sort. But they bent their necks
to the yoke, and the load moved. Seven or eight of their
number, so Bradford tells us in the paragraph just quoted,
became responsible for the payments stipulated in the bar-
gain. Here are the names of the eight who became re-
sponsible for the whole colony Bradford, Winslow, Brew-
:

ster, Allerton, Standish, Howland, Alden, Prence. It was

a meritorious service which they rendered. For an act
involving so much public spirit and such downright cour-
age as was exhibited by them in assuming responsibility
for the payment of so large a sum, in so short a time,
with such slender resources, the men who bore these names
deserve in every account of the transaction the honor of
special mention.
It will be noticed that all but one of those named fall
into the list of those " which came first over in the May-
flower" They were of the original Pilgrim Company.
Thomas Prence came in the Fortune, but he had the quali-
ties which speedily advanced him to the rank of the leaders.
In the list, however, which Prince gives and which counts
up, not seven or eight, but nine, the names of Fuller and
272 THE PILGRIMS
Jenny are substituted for Prence." Jenny came over in the
Anne or Little James, and was a godly, though otherwise,
a plain man; yet singular for publickness of spirit, set-
ting himself to seek and promote the common good of the
plantation." But Fuller was a Mayflower man and, like
his fellows in the ship, was pluck to the last.
The changed relation of the colony to the
Financial Adventurers called for a readjustment of
and other The men who
things in the colony itself.
readjust- Yi&d become indorsers for the colony were
ments in
justly entitled to all the security which could
the colony b e gi ve n them. The colony was under moral
obligation the most binding to put itself in the
best shape possible to furnish the security. To effect a
satisfactory reorganization three steps were taken.

The first was a step in the interest of consolidation and

unity. It will be remembered that the Anne, in 1623,
brought to Plymouth, not only an accession
Consolida- f s i x ty members to the colony proper, but
tion and
thirty or forty persons, who wished to live
unity in the midst of the colony, but not to be
identified with it further than conforming to
"
the general regulations. They did not belong to the
but came on their
" — "
that is,
account — and
general body, particular
on their individual and independent
were to have lands assigned them, and be for themselves,
yet to be subject to the general government, which caused
some difference and disturbance amongst them." It was
not the colonists, but the Adventurers, who had brought
this about. Besides these, who were of »them and yet
not of them, the colonists " from the first " had " some
untoward persons mixed amongst them," and later still
others who had no fellowship with their spirit and pur-
pose had been inconsiderately thrust upon them. Some of
the worst of these were sent back ; others remained. The
grave question was what to do with these insiders who were
yet outsiders. At this stage of the business harmony was
 THE PILGRIMS 273
of consequence. So the governor and his trusted ad-
all

visers, aftergeneral conference and due deliberation, wisely

concluded to take into the colony all these outsiders who
were either heads of families, or single young men who had
ability and character and gave promise of being helpful
to the struggling commonwealth. Thus at a single stroke
unity was secured, and the prospect of the hearty co-
working of all toward the end of freedom from debt which
was so much a burden on every heart.
The second step consisted in turning over to these men
who had become personally responsible for the payment of
the indebtedness of the colony, a monopoly of
Monopoly t h e trade of the colony. In this way these
in trade bondsmen were enabled to shape the financial
granted policy of the little community, keep their
hands on the sources of income, and see to it
that the receipts were more than the expenditures. The
common property and the trading equipment of the colony
were committed to their direction; and they were to have
the say in business and in the ordering of all money affairs
so far as they concerned the common interests. All the
traffic of the plantation, save what might be carried
little
on in a small way between was to be in their
individuals,
hands. They were to import a certain amount of goods,
such as shoes and stockings, and to have the exclusive
privilege of bartering with the Indians and with the vari-
ous settlements up and down the coast. As the indorsers
for the colony were to monopolize trade to this extent, so
the colonists were to buy of them at a stipulated price —
a stipulated price both for what was sold and for what
was taken in payment. This arrangement was to continue
for six years, then business was to revert to the colony.
Doubtless this seemed hard to some, but it was only by such
drastic measures of direction and thrift and economy that
the colony could hope to better its condition. Hence there
was general acquiescence in the scheme.
Thethird step in reorganization had to do with a fur-
ther division and allotment of land. Each shareholder had
already a single acre. In addition to this, twenty acres
were allowed to each shareholder. Meadows were still held
18
274 THE PILGRIMS
in common. But from this time on each man had enough
land which he could call his own to make a snug little farm.
A
new motive force was set in operation. The
Division stock of cattle, and of goats and swine, was
and allot- a] so divided and apportioned to families and
ment of
groups of families. This was a decided inroad
land
upon the scheme with which the colony had
begun its career. It was also a vast advance
in the individualizing of duties and possessions upon what
had been done four years before, when the members of
the colony were allowed and encouraged to plant corn on
their own account.
Thus at length the colonists had things in their own
hands, and they were moving along on the right track.
One begins to scent assured victory in the air.

XI
At juncture a piece of rare good fortune fell to the
this
lot of the colonists. Early in the spring of 1627, Isaac
de Rassieres, secretary of the governing body
Taught to f the Dutch settlement at Manhattan, wrote
use warn- a letter to Governor Bradford in which over-
pum for tures of friendship were tendered to the Pil-
currency grim colony, and likewise offers to enter into
trade with them. At that time the immigrants,
who had come from Holland and were settled on Man-
hattan Island and along the valleys of the Hudson and the
Mohawk, numbered not far from three hundred. These
people claimed the territory on which the Pilgrims had
built their homes and started their state; nor were they
quite wiling to give up their claim. Still, they were not

disposed to make trouble for their fellow strugglers on the

shores of this new wilderness-world, but rather to encour-
age and help them. The Plymouth colonists were prompt
to reciprocate these expressions of kindly feeling. It would
have been sad had it been otherwise. The experiences of
those years at Leyden —
on the one side of hospitality and
protection extended, and on the other of hospitality and
protection received
—were fitted to be a special bond of
 THE PILGRIMS 275

union between the Dutch and the English the world over.
The result of the correspondence was that in the autumn of
this same year, 1627, the Dutch secretary visited Plymouth.
From him the colonists learned the use of wampum.
Wampum was a currency made from shells for the—
most part the shells of the round clam. It was new at that
time to both the Pilgrims and the natives of those parts,
and it was a couple of years before the Indians would
consent to have much to do with it.
It must not be thought that these wampum beads were
mere gewgaws, of no more value than so many pebbles
picked up on the shore. This would not be true. They
had no intrinsic value like gold and silver and copper and
iron, but each bead on the string represented a certain
amount of labor, and this labor gave it worth. The process
of making this money is thus described by Goodwin :
" The
shell was broken into small pieces, which, clipped to a
somewhat regular form, were then drilled, ground to a
" Some of the
rounded shape and finely polished." whites,"
so he added, " tried to produce it by improved processes ;
but they soon found that the manufacture of such as the
Indians would receive cost more than its current value."
This might be true of the English at Plymouth, but ac-
cording to Griffis, it was not true of the Dutch in their
settlement. He says " With their superior tools, drills,
:

hammers, knives, and lathes, the men from the land of banks
and of the diamond polishing industry were able quickly
to get and to keep the manufacture almost entirely in their
own hands. . . The wampum made by the Dutch, or by
.

squaws under Dutch oversight, was not only far better,

but much more beautiful, than that from the red men's
fingers." Three of the purple beads, which were twice the
value of the white ones, were equivalent to a penny. The
Pilgrims bought fifty pounds worth of these beads from
de Rassieres. Thus were the colonists started in the use
of a medium of exchange which in course of time, though,
as has just been intimated, the natives with whom the
colonists did business did not take to it at once, became
of great advantage to them in their future trafficking.
With their new currency, with their fresh reorganiza-
276 THE PILGRIMS
tkm, with their definite knowledge of just what they had
to do, and with the fund of valuable experience which they
had accumulated in their seven years of residence in the
wilderness, they set themselves resolutely to the task before
them.

XII
Under the obligations now assumed it became necessary
for the Pilgrims to enlarge the scope of their business
operations. If they were to pay out more
Expanding money year by year they must make more
their trade
money.
One of the moves in this direction was the
putting up of a trading-house at Manomet. This place is
on a river, called then by the same name, though it is now
known as Monumet River, twenty miles from
A trading- Plymouth, and on the south side of Cape Cod.
house at j$ v establishing a trading-post at this point
Manomet
they had access to Buzzard's Bay, and through
this channel access to all the bays and rivers

along the coast and along the shores of Long Island, with-
out exposure to the dangers and delays of a trip around
the cape. In addition to the trading-house, and as a neces-
sary part of the outfit for doing business, they built a
pinnace
—a boat, that is, which was navigated both by
sail and oar, and which was large enough to hold a good
store of freight. The distance from the head of Buzzard's
Bay to the waters of the cape is less than a half-dozen
miles. By using small craft and following along the
Scusset River, even this short distance could be consider-
ably reduced. In getting goods, therefore, back and forth
between Plymouth and Long Island Sound, what little land
transportation was necessary became a matter of small
account. The trading-house was protected by a palisade.
Two men were put in charge of the property. When not
off on trading expeditions, these men gave attention to

agriculture and the care of domestic animals. The ven-

ture proved to be a profitable one, and must have met the
reasonable expectations of the colonists.
 THE PILGRIMS 277
Another point at which trade was pushed with fresh
energy and greatly enlarged, was on the Kennebec River.
A trading-house was erected at what is now
Augusta, the capital of Maine. A stock of
Trade on
the Ken- articles suited to Indian tastes was laid in,
nebec an(j SO on a profitable trade was established
with the natives. " blan-
Coats, shirts, rugs,
kets, corn, biscuits, pease, prunes, knives, hatchets, and
" were
wampum exchanged for furs. However, it took
two years of persuasion to induce these down-east Indians
to adopt " wampum " as a current coin. This trade, es-
tablished earlier and carried on in a somewhat desultory
way, had required a boat of larger size than any which
they possessed. So, as Goodwin tells the story, the Pil-
"
grims persuaded a house-carpenter to saw a shallop in
halves and insert some six feet of waist. Thus they had a
decked convenient and whole,' which did good ser-
vessel,
'

vice for seven years; and with this barque they built up
a fine trade on the Kennebec."
Not long after the colonists had been operating on the
new basis, and trade on the Kennebec had assumed larger
and more promising proportions, another piece
The Brad- f rare g OG d fortune befell them. This was
ford patent a
patent, running to William Bradford, and
through him to his heirs, associates, and as-
signs, sent over by the Council for New England, and
signed by the president of the council, the powerful Earl
of Warrick. This patent for the first time defined the
boundaries of the Plymouth Colony. But the feature of
the instrument which gave it a special bearing on the busi-
ness of debt-paying was the grant it contained of a well-
defined tract on the Kennebec.
As early as the autumn of 1625, " Mr. Winslow and some
of the old standards " had pushed up the Kennebec River
with a shallop load of corn, which they exchanged with
" "
good success for beaver and other furs that the Indians
had trapped. Indeed Bradford claimed, when competitors
in the fishing vesselsand at Piscataqua were trying to
crowd them out from participation in this profitable traffic,
that it was his people who "had first begun and discovered"
278 THE PILGRIMS
" and
this opportunity for trade, had brought it to so good
effect." Allerton had secured a patent covering the right
to a monopoly of this business, and on the ground of this
exclusive privilege the planters had gone forward and
erected the trading-house just mentioned. But the patent
secured by Allerton was loosely drawn, and the rivals of
the Plymouth people still insisted on invading a territory
so promising in profits, and there were no fixed boundaries
to hinder their approaches. This new Warrick patent
defined the limits of their concession, and gave to the Pil-
grims exclusive rights in a section beginning at Augusta
and running thirteen miles down the river and extending
fifteen miles on each side of it.
Much trouble came of this afterwards, but for the time
being, when the
colonists were in the throes of their hard
struggle for financial freedom, it was a great thing to have
full legal possession of a section of the country which
afforded so many advantages for remunerative traffic with
the Indians. The Pilgrims conducted this business through
an agent until 1638, when they leased it for one-sixth of
the profits. Attention has been called by one of our writers
to the interesting fact that it was out of this
" one-sixth
of the profits
" that the law-and-order loving people of
Plymouth built their first prison.
Here the music falls into a minor key, and the story is
anything but pleasant to relate. For if good fortune
waited on the colonists in the matter of the
The Castine Warrick
patent, and in the most of their efforts
venture ^o g e£ ane ad, there were yet accompanying
misfortunes. They had escaped from one sea
of troubles, but they were speedily launched into another.
Just when they were moving forward to assured success in
meeting all their obligations, Allerton, to whom the Pil-
grims owed much, as they themselves were ever ready to
acknowledge, but who was by nature rather more venture-
some than scrupulous, and who seems to have deteriorated
with age, not only exceeded his authority in business trans-
actions, but took advantage of his position as trusted agent
of the colonists to work for his own private interest.
It is not necessary here to go into details and uncover
 THE PILGRIMS 279
item by item the tricks and selfish schemes of this man.
It is enough to say that a partnership was formed between
Allerton and some of the London Adventurers, a grant of
land was secured on the Penobscot River, a stock of goods
was bought, an agent was engaged to conduct the busi-
ness, and trade was opened at a point on the river and
within their grant which is now known as Castine. To
cover appearances and make them serviceable the colonists
were invited to join in the project. Inasmuch as the
trading-post on the Penobscot was sure to become a for-
midable rival to the trading-post on the Kennebec, it seemed
wiser to the Plymouth men to fall in with Allerton's shrewd
suggestion and take their chances in the enterprise. Goods,
such as corn and wampum, were furnished them, and the
post was assisted in procuring the boats needed to conduct
exchanges with the natives. In this way and on this basis
the new venture was started.
The result was disheartening, but not surprising. For
it was soon discovered that the London end of the syndicate
was sending all its best and most attractive goods to the
Penobscot rather than to Plymouth, and that the Penob-
scot end was sending its fat profits, not to Plymouth, but
to London. It was a scheme to elicit admiration from the
high officials of some of our modern insurance companies.
Disaster followed trickery. When Ashley, a disreputable
character, had been discharged from his agency, and Willet,
an honest man and a representative of the Plymouth in-
terests, had been put in his place, and things had gone
well for a while, the French took advantage of his tem-
porary absence from the post, disarmed the servants, and
carried off something like five hundred pounds worth of
merchandise. Three yearslater, in 1635, the French ap-
peared again. This time they came with sufficient force
and all the goods.
to take complete possession of the post
This was a heavy loss, and it
delayed the happy issue out
of their troubles for which the Pilgrims were earnestly
praying and faithfully working.
280 THE PILGRIMS
XIII
Had the debit side of the ledger received no entries be-
yond those which stood in the books when the colonists first
began to operate under the new arrangement,
Debt in- tfieend of the long, hard struggle would have
creased by Deen {n
sight much sooner. But losses, such
bringing as h ave been indicated, and various set-backs
over Ley-
postponed the happy day.
den asso-
ciates
^
To a iQ the weight of obligations already
upon them, the Plymouth contingent of the
Pilgrims assumed the entire expense of bring-
ing over two companies of their Leyden associates. One
of these companies, consisting of thirty-five persons, arrived
in the late summer of 1629. These were landed at Salem.
In the spring of the next year the second company came.
These were landed at Charlestown, and made their way to
Plymouth, as did those who landed at Salem, in small coast-
ing boats. The transportation of so many cost a large
sum. It was set down as " above five hundred and fifty
pounds, besides their fetching from Salem and the Bay."
This was not the whole of it, however. These newcomers
were poor, and they had to be supported — some of them
for a year and some of them for a year and a half — until
they were in condition to support themselves. "And this
charge of maintaining them all this while was little less
than the former sum." The former sum was just given as
" above five hundred and
fifty pounds."
This, however, is a story at once so tender and so credi-
table to all concerned, that Bradford must be allowed to tell
it in his own words:
" These
things I note more particularly, for sundry
regards.
"
First, to show a rare example herein of brotherly love
and Christian care in performing their promises and coven-
ants to their brethren, to, and in a sort beyond their power,
that they should venture so desperately to engage them-
selves to accomplish this thing, and bear it so cheerfully;
for they never demanded, much less had, any repayment
of all these great sums thus disbursed.
 THE PILGRIMS 281
" it must needs be that there was more than of
Second,
man in their achievements, that should thus readily stir up
the hearts of such able friends to join in partnership with
them in sucha care, and cleave so faithfully to them as they
did, in so great adventures ; and the more because the most
of them never saw their faces to this day; there being
neither kindred, alliance or other acquaintance or relatives
between any of them than hath been before mentioned; it
must needs be therefore the special work and hand of God.
"
Third, that these poor people here in the wilderness
should, notwithstanding, be enabled in time to repay all
these engagements, and many more unjustly brought upon
them through the unfaithfulness of some, and many other
great losses which they sustained, which will be made mani-
fest, if the Lord be pleased to give life and time. In the
meantime, I cannot but admire His ways and works towards
His servants, and humbly desire to bless His holy name for
His great mercies hitherto."
What a resplendent memorial window does this passage
make in the simple but magnificent temple of civil and reli-
gious liberty which the Pilgrims were erecting in the
wilderness !

Further embarrassment was imported into the situation

by the addition of the names of four men in London to the
listof eight or nine colonists who had become
Difficulties
responsible for the proper management of the
increased financial affairs of the colony. These men were
Sherley, Beachamp, Andrews, and Hatherly.
It was thought that these names would increase the credit
of the colony and greatly facilitate the doing of business
abroad. Of the value of Hatherly's services we shall learn
more as we proceed. But Sherley, while pretending great
regard for the Pilgrims, and for a time trusted by them,
either through business incompetency, or carelessness, or
downright dishonesty, added greatly to the burden of the
colony and delayed final settlement much longer than
otherwise would have been necessary.
282 THE PILGRIMS
XIV
This is, perhaps, the most suitable place for saying that,
within the quarter of a century in which the Pilgrims were
struggling with their debts, there were other
Helpful accessions to the colony besides those brought
accessions over f rom Leyden. Some of these were men of
to the
exceptional intelligence and energy, and they
colony were exceedingly useful to the settlement.
This is also true of a number of those who
joined the colony from Leyden. Both amongst their old
associates and in the groups of new friends who from time
to time cast in their lot with them, there were accessions
whose presence added to the material and moral resources
of the little company, and made it easier to secure progress.
A few of these will have mention further on in connection
with special services which they rendered. The names of
others, and the contributions they made through their char-
acters and deeds to the welfare of the Pilgrim state, may
have record here.

of the most vigorous and helpful men

One who joined the
colony after the first settlement had been made at Ply-
mouth was Timothy Hatherly. He was one of
Timothy Merchant Adventurers, as well as one of the
^ ne
Hatherly f our Londoners who became associated with the

group of colonists in their efforts to extricate

the settlement from debt. Goodwin says that he had been
over twice before; but in 163& he identified himself more
intimately with the Pilgrims and settled at Scituate. He
counted but a unit in the census of the new state; but he
counted much more than a unit in pluck and foresight.
He knew how to plan and push. His mind was active, and
he was full of the spirit of enterprise. For those days his
wealth was considerable; and though he lost heavily at
times by fire and in other ways, he never failed to recover
his financial standing. Undertakings which promised to
be of advantage to the colony were sure to have his cordial
support. Good sense and catholicity of temper marked his
 THE PILGRIMS 283
conduct. When
the craze of opposition to the Quakers
was at its
height he refused to yield to it, and kept his head
level. Like Cudworth and Robinson, Hatherly lost the
favor of the authorities by his attitude in this controversy,
and for a while had to retire into the background ; but his
merit was recognized, and in the long run he lost nothing
by his wise and brave stand against a zeal that was
without knowledge.

William Thomas was a notable man. He came to Ply-

mouth in 1630. He was
one of the Merchant Adventurers,
and in this capacity reference has already
"William been made to him. He was of the sturdy type
Thomas f Englishmen, and he stood for things high-
toned and manly. The charge of illiberality in
his religious views and conduct has been laid at his door,
but neither his personal integrity, nor his efficiency, nor his
interest in the good of the colony, has ever been called in
question. He removed from Plymouth to Barnstable, and
later he became a resident of Marshfield. He represented,
firstBarnstable, and then Marshfield, in the General Court ;

and for seven years he was one of the governor's assist-

ants. The town in which he spent his closing years still
cherishes his memory; and a line of brave and worthy
descendants has honored the name he gave them.

John Jenney was a man of mark. He reached the colony

from Ley den in 1623. Not all at once, but in the later
years of his life he made his presence felt de-
Jolm
cisively in the business activities of the com-
Jenney He built a grist-mill. The mill did
munity.
not do its work to the entire satisfaction of
the people who were served by it but it was a move in the
;

right direction. He engaged in ship-building and induced

;

a dozen or more of the leading men of the colony to join

him meeting the expense of the construction of the larg-
in
est vessel that had been put on the stocks up to the time of
his death in 1644. He was one of the eight men appointed
to cooperate with the governor and his assistants in for-
mulating a code of laws. He was a public-spirited and
energetic citizen and he did much to keep things going.
;
284 THE PILGRIMS
Thomas Willet was a man whose career, as we study it
from this distance, is exceedingly interesting. He came
from Ley den, and reached Plymouth in 1630.
Thomas jj e was then only about twenty years of age.
Willet j n his ability and character, however, he gave
promise of great usefulness, and this promise
was fulfilled. Not long after his arrival he was drafted
into service in connection with Edward Ashley in the man-
agement of the trading-post at Castine, on the Penobscot
River. Ashley, as has just been said, was a man in every
way disreputable. In a short time he was arrested for
wrong-doing and sent back to England. Willet succeeded
to the business. Things went on swimmingly for a while;
but the robbery of the station, already mentioned, by the
French in 1632, and the practical confiscation of the en-
tire stock of goods and the expulsion of the English from
the post three years later by D'Aulney, who was acting
under orders of the French authorities, brought this under-
taking to a disastrous issue, and changed the course of
Willet's life. But it did not change the respect in which he
was held by his associates in the colony, nor block his way
to conspicuous and honorable usefulness. He was trans-
ferred to the trading-post on the Kennebec. Not long after,
on account, no doubt, of his knowledge of the language, of
his keen business sense and uprightness in dealing with
men, and of his agreeable manners and tact, we find him
shifted over into trade with the Dutch at Manhattan.
All through, Willet was an alert and trusted citizen.
He became captain of the little company of rustic soldiers
at Plymouth. For fourteen years he was assistant to the
governor.
The fact, however, which gives to the man a peculiar
eminence in history, is that he was the first mayor of the
city of New York. He was appointed to this office by the
commissioners of the king when the English came in and
captured the settlement in 1664. It was then only a Dutch
trading-station ; but in variety of races and tongues repre-
sented among its people, it was already giving promise of
the greatness to which it was to rise. The Dutch recaptured
the place in 1673. Willet then came back to the colony.
 THE PILGRIMS 285

Still, it will never cease to be an interesting incident that it

was a member of the Pilgrim Colony who headed the long
line of distinguished men who have presided over the des-
tiniesand guided the affairs of the metropolis of our nation.
A great grandson of this first mayor was also mayor of
New York. Near the close of his life, Willet transferred his
residence from Plymouth to Swansea. On the succession
of the Dutch to power at the mouth of the Hudson, he re-
turned to his new home; and there, a year later, honored
and beloved, he passed on to his reward.

There were others who were helpful to the colony in many

ways during the years of severe struggle in which the brave
leaders were trying to lift its burdens and gain
Other a secure footing for themselves and their
names institutions. John Atwood, Isaac Robinson,
Nathaniel Morton, the Southworths, Constant
and Thomas, and others of similar ability and character
fall into this class.All that it is necessary to say about
them that they were efficient aids to the colony in those
is,

days of hard wrestling when every atom of help counted.

XV
It is refreshing, however, to be able to write that all
their burdens, piled one after another on top of the load
they set out to carry, while they staggered
Free at an(j sometimes dismayed them for the moment,
last did not crush the Pilgrims. Year after year
they planted their slowly widening fields ; they
gathered their steadily increasing harvests ; they nourished
their herds and flocks ; they plucked wealth from the seas ;
they sold their surplus products to neighboring colonies
and the red men of the forest; they bartered their goods,
bought at high prices and brought from afar, in exchange
for otter and beaver, and turned over their gains to their
creditors on the other side of the Atlantic. They planned
carefully ; they worked hard ; they lived frugally ; they de-
nied themselves comforts, and many things even which might
286 THE PILGRIMS
have been considered necessary to their general welfare, in
order to meet their obligations and clean the slate of debt.
They were often at their wits' end, and in doubt which way
to turn and what to do next ; but they never hesitated long,
and when disappointments and disasters overtook them they
soon rallied, and gathering up what strength they had and
using all available resources, they pressed straight on to
their goal.
The struggle was protracted. Concerning the exact time
when could be said of the colony that it was free from all
it

indebtedness, the writers differ. Dr. Morton Dexter has a

" But
passage in which he says :
good fortune smiled upon
them and by great exertions they appear to have paid all
their obligations in full in the course of 1633." He draws
this conclusion from a statement made by Bradford. But
a close examination of Bradford's language leads one to
question whether the inference is warranted. His words
are " It pleased the Lord to enable them this year to send
:

home a good quantity of beaver, besides paying all their

charges, and debts at home." It was accounts at the
home end of the line — " all their
charges, and debts
at home," of which Bradford was speaking, and not the
heavier accounts across in England. Goodwin, as seen in
the quotation which stands at the head of this chapter,
adjourns this happy consummation to 1646. This is no
doubt the correct date. Had the Pilgrims received due
credit for all their assignments ; or had they been able to
secure a satisfactory settlement of their affairs, their de-
liverance from debt, even in spite of all the misfortunes they
suffered and the injustices and frauds which were practised
upon them, would have come much earlier.
Still deliverance came at length.After a steady and de-
termined effort, which stretched on through a period of
more than a quarter of a century, to accomplish their pur-
pose and gain this high vantage ground, the hour came
when the Pilgrims owed no man anything. It was an hour
for the doxology.
 XIV

RELATIONS WITH THE INDIANS

 They treated the Indians with justice and good faith.
George F. Hoar.

The course of conduct pursued towards them had been praiseworthy

in a singular degree. The Indians were a people extremely difficult to
deal with by reason alike of their mental and of their moral defects ; but they
were treated equitably and generously. —
John G. Palfrey.

In 1676, it was as
truly as proudly said by Governor Josiah Winslow,
of Plymouth, "I think
I can clearly say, that before these present troubles
broke out, the English did not possess one foot of land in this Colony but
what was fairly obtained by honest purchase of the Indian proprietors."
Alexander Young.

The people of Plymouth never did, until after Philip's war, claim or
obtain any lands belonging to the Indians, by violence or conquest. After
the defeat and dispersion of the Wampanoags, fifty-six years after the first
settlement, then, and not till then, were the lands occupied by them, seques-
trated by the Conquerors, for the benefit of wounded soldiers, and those
who had been ruined by the desolations of that fierce contest.
Jonathan Prescott Hall.

Through the instrumentality of Governor Edward Winslow, the Eng-

lish Parliament passed an act for promoting and propagating the gospel
amongst the Indians in New England; and a society was incorporated for
the purpose of receiving donations which the Commissioners of the United
Colonies were authorized to appropriate as they saw fit.
Francis Baylies.

The natives of Cape Cod . . . and their successors ever remained

fast friends of the whites. Indeed, the very extensive missionary labor
among them was far more effective and enduring than the justly famed work
in Massachusetts by John Eliot. — John A. Goodwin.
 XIV
RELATIONS WITH THE INDIANS
wits have a fashion of saying that the Pilgrims,
on reaching these shores, first fell on their knees and
SMALL then on the aborigines. This is cheap punning and
rather tame caricature. The simple fact is, that these na-
tives of the land were dealt with in a way to meet at once the
conditions of justice and mercy to savage tribes and of
safety and growth to Christian colonists.

It isnot to be disguised that the Pilgrims had a vivid

conception and a wholesome dread of the blood-thirstiness
of the Indians. They shared the common view
Feared f their day that these people were malignant
ferocity an(j treacherous to the last degree. One of
of the the strongest objections to going to North
savages America grew out of this fear of the red men.
" be in continual
Going there, they would
" of the
danger," so it was said, savage people, who are
cruel, barbarous, and most treacherous, being most furious
in their rage, and merciless when they overcame ; not being
content only to kill, and take away life, but delight to tor-
ment men in the most bloody manner that may be, flaying
some alive with the shells of fishes, cutting off the members
and joints of others by piecemeal, and, broiling on the
coals, eat the collops of their flesh in their sight while they
live, with other cruelties too horrible to be related."
The a body did not entertain this estimate of
exiles as
the Indians but they knew that they were savages, untu-
;

tored, jealous of encroachments, revengeful, often more

inhuman than death ; and that it would be no child's play to
19
 290 THE PILGRIMS
overcome their opposition, maintain amicable relations with
them, and on grounds considered their own by right of im-
memorial inheritance, open lands and build up homes and
lay the foundations of another and higher style of life.

n
At the opening of this rehearsal of the story of the In-
dians and the relations of the Pilgrims to them
during the
earlier years of the settlement at
Plymouth,
Providential one canno t
help noting how marked was the
preparations
providence by which the way was prepared for
for coming tne co lonists to make their
landfall in safety,
of the an(j permanently to establish their homes with
Pilgrims the fewest possible chances of friction and
danger.
Forerunning these, were other providences, fitting into
this one as
cog to mesh, which were quite as significant in
their bearing on the final issue. How striking,
An nnseen f or instance,that after all their three or four
pilot
years of conference, and all their efforts to do
at the
something else, the Pilgrims were shut up to
helm ne one course they took. How striking
j us
j- t-

again that at a most critical moment the winds

and the currents, quite independent of the gratuitous and
unproven charge of treachery on the part of the captain of
the vessel he sailed, were made to overrule the intentions of
the voyagers, so that instead of being carried to the mouth
of the Hudson they were set down on the coast of Eastern
Massachusetts. To devout minds, or minds which believe
that God is in his world to-day as he was yesterday, and
that he is evermore a controlling factor in human affairs,
there will always seem something divine in the direction
given to the ship which bore our exiles to their high des-
tiny. The shore was bleak, and the soil was far from
possessing the fertility of the fat river valleys; but this
craft of undying fame was conducted by an invisible pilot
to the right haven —
a haven made ready to insure the
safety of the precious freight she had brought across the
waters.
 THE PILGRIMS 291
Consider for a little the situation. Had the savages
number which had once occupied the territory
existed to the
about to be possessed by these Englishmen,
The Pa- even though they had been far less ferocious
tuxets an- g^ crue\ than the imagination of Europeans
nihilated hacj pictured them, they would have constituted
a formidable foe, and the peril of invading
their lands and attempting to displace them would have
been very great. The Patuxets formerly lived in this
section of the country. Long before the arrival of the
whites on these shores influences were at work, such as fierce
tribal wars and contagious diseases, which were decimating
the Indians, and portending in no long time the extinction
of the race. The Patuxets, so we are led to infer, were
sharers in this general decay. But the ruin of the tribe
was hastened and made complete by the breaking out of a
destructive plague four years before the coming of the Pil-
The fatal disease continued its ravages for two
grims.
years. What it was has not been determined
—
only it is
known to have been neither yellow fever nor smallpox. It
began near the Saco River in Maine and worked its blight-
ing way south as far as Narragansett Bay. White men
were not affected by it. Indians went down before it like
grass before a prairie fire.
In this twofold way, immediately before the arrival of
the Pilgrims, the Plymouth region was swept practically
clean of its native inhabitants. Only a single member
so far as known of the Patuxets was left alive. Of him
we shall have occasion to say more presently.
Other contiguous tribes were well-nigh annihilated. The
plague had spared the Pequods and Narragansetts but ;

other forms of disease and wars were making

Other fatal inroads on their numbers and strength,
tribes Qf the tribes seriously affected by the plague it
smitten h^ been estimated that nineteen out of every
twenty of the population were taken off. In
the Massachusetts Confederacy the pestilence reduced the
effective warriors from something like three thousand to
about one hundred.
The door for entrance at Plymouth was more than ajar.
292 THE PILGRIMS
God in his own mysterious way had swung it wide open.
By landing just there and at just that time, the dangers of
attacks upon the Pilgrims by the savages were reduced
to their lowest terms.

Ill

The first contact of the Pilgrims with the Indians was of

a nature to startle them and put them on their guard. In
each of their three exploring expeditions they
A start- came bands of savages but in
close to small ;

lmg intro- on \y one

them did these people of the forest
f
duction to
display any disposition to make a stand and
the In- show fight. This was on their final tour in
dians search of the right spot at which to make their
landing. At the close of one of their most
wearisome days of travel and observation, at " about mid-
" heard
night," in their little extemporized barricade, they
a hideous and great cry." After a little investigation they
concluded the cry came from " a company of wolves, or such
like beasts." It was not wolves, but Indians prowling about.
The next morning the cry was heard again ; and this time
the cry was accompanied with arrows. The arrows were
answered with musket shots and altogether it was quite a
;

little skirmish. When the answering

fire got too hot for
the Indians, they turned on their heels and fled. The Pil-
"
grims followed them up for a short distance, and shouted
once or twice, and shot off two or three pieces. . . . This
they did, that they might conceive that they were not afraid
of them or any way discouraged."
The Indians who made this attack were of the tribe of
the Nausites, whose headquarters were at Nauset, or what
is now Eastham. They were naturally and
Attacking justly incensed against the whites on account
Indians f the atrocious conduct of Captain Thomas
were
Hunt, who, back in 1614, while his ship was
Nausites
lying at anchor in the harbor, seized seven of
their number, to which he added twenty kid-
napped from the interior of the country, and then sailed
away with them to Europe where they were sold into
 THE PILGRIMS 293

slavery. Moreover, these were the Indians from whom the

exploring party of the Pilgrims had taken the corn which
they had stored up for the winter. It is no wonder that
they were hostile, and that two years after the Hunt
outrage, when a French fishing-smack was cast away on
Cape Cod, they set upon the helpless mariners, and pursued
and slaughtered them till only three were left; and that
still more recently they had slain three Englishmen belong-
ing to Gorges' ships or parties. Nor is it any wonder that
this fresh importation of white men, who had already helped
themselves to supplies from their rude garners, filled their
minds with alarm, and kindled in them anew the determina-
tion to be avenged in blood for the grievous wrongs done
them, and on no pretenses to be tricked again. It was this
lurking sense of past injustice which sharpened and winged
the arrows against this little band of well-meaning home-
seekers.
On neither side was any one hurt; but the Pilgrims,
thinking no doubt that this experience of attack and con-
flict might be many times repeated, called the
Skirmish "
p i ace the First Encounter." In this desig-
called nation they were falling in, as was the custom
"First f |jie day, with Old Testament usage. In
Encounter" Samuel, for
instance, the place where Abner's
twelve men tried conclusions with the twelve
men of Joab is called
" The field of the sharp knives."
If this mere picket-line engagement may appear slightly
amusing in our eyes, it is not to be forgotten that the busi-
ness wore an aspect altogether different back there on that
gray December morning, in that unexplored wilderness, not
far from three hundred years ago.

IV
After these experiences, save that on one occasion, about
the middle of February, some tools which Standish and
Cooke had left in the woods were taken by the
Samoset's
natives, all the intercourse which was carried
welcome on between the Pilgrims and the Indians for
three months was now and then catching
glimpses of each other.
294 THE PILGRIMS
But one morning, well on into the spring, when the days
had begun to be " fair " and " warm," and the birds were
" in the woods most " some
singing, pleasantly," and garden
seed was sown," there fell upon the ears of a few of the
leading colonists who were then in grave deliberation on
military questions, the sweet but surprising word
" Wel-—
come." It was sweet because it was in English, and
conveyed a sentiment all were glad to hear.
Nevertheless, the sound of it caused every pulse to beat
quick with alarm. For the salutation was uttered by a
"
savage," who broke in upon the little parliament of wise
ones " very boldly " and " all alone." It was soon discov-
ered that this intruder was not an enemy in disguise, bent
on spying out the weakness of the colony and betraying
them all to their destruction, but an honest man, " free in
speech, so far as he could express his mind," sincere, and
with no thoughts or feelings other than those of the utmost
friendliness. He was the first Indian with whom the colo-
nists came into personal touch.

The name of this child of the forest was Samoset. He

had learned some broken English from the Englishmen
who came to fish on the coast of Maine. He
Some ac- was an of the and
original proprietor place
count of chief of the tribe located in what is now known
Samoset as the town of Bristol in that state. Several
months before the arrival of the Mayflower
he had been brought from his home in the east to Cape Cod.
He still lingered in the region. Conscious of his own
friendly interest, and apparently from any suspicion
free
of harmto himself, this visitor to the newcomers was dis-
posed to make himself at home at once. Indeed, he was dis-
posed to make himself quite too much at home to suit the
cautious notions of his hosts. He would have gone straight
into the rendezvous the Pilgrims had erected, had he been
allowed. He did not hesitate, however, to make his wants
known. He asked for beer ; for in association with Eng-
 THE PILGRIMS 295
lishmen he had learned something about them beside their
language. His courteous entertainers went beyond his
"
asking and gave him strong water, and biscuit and butter
and cheese, and pudding, and a piece of a mallard, all of
which he liked well." One who has seen a hungry Indian
eat can readily understand the hearty relish with which
these savory articles of diet were devoured.
Nor was this the full extent of the kindness shown to
the red man. He was " stark naked," or practically so.
These compassionate disciples of a compassionate Master,
shivering themselves, no doubt, from the sharp winds
which had arisen on that March day, and not without a
keen sense, in the trying circumstances in which they were
placed, of the prudential value of a hospitality the most
" cast a horseman's coat about
thoughtful and generous,
him." There in that circle, with his nakedness covered
and his stomach full, he must have felt unusually com-
fortable. It is not strange that he forgot the instinctive
reticence of his race and became garrulous.
" All the
afternoon we spent in conversation with him." The name
of the place where they then were he told them was Patuxet.
He also told them of the fearful ravages of the plague, to
which reference has just been made, by which the native
" neither
inhabitants were swept away till man, woman, nor
child
" remained.
It was only human in him to want to stay longer with
these good friends who had robes with which to cover his
back, and liquors with which to warm his marrow and
loosen his tongue, and wild duck with which to satisfy his
appetite and transport him into an elysium of content.
" We would
gladly have been rid of him at night but he
;

was not willing to go this night. Then we thought to carry

him on shipboard wherewith he was well content, and went
;

into the shallop; but the wind was high, and the water
scant, that it could not return back. We lodged him that
night at Stephen Hopkins' house, and watched him." The
next day he was successfully dismissed. But he went away
bearing gifts. The leaders presented him " a knife, a
bracelet and a ring." Moreover, they secured a promise
from him — which could not have been very difficult — «
296 THE PILGRIMS
" within a
night or two to come again," and to bring with
him some of their neighbors of his race. They asked also
to have furs brought to them by him and his friends when
they should come the next time, in order that trade might
be opened with them.
As might have been anticipated, " the savage " returned
the very next day. His satisfaction in " strong water "
and " mallard " was too keen to permit him to
Acquaint- linger long on the way to such another feast,
ance made jj e « brought with him five other tall, proper
with other men ." These men were of the " "
complexion
Indians f u English gypsies." had " no
They hair,
or very little, on their faces." " On their
heads" they had hair reaching " to their shoulders ; "
" " it was " cut before."
Some of them had their hair
only
" turned
up before with a feather, broadside like a fan."
Another with more of the Indian dude in him than the rest,
had his head ornamented with a fox tail. They were
dressed in the height of fashion. " They had, every man,
a deer skin on him and the principal of them had a wild-
;

cat's skin, or such like, on his arm. They had, most of

them, long hosen, up to their groins, close made and above
;

their groins to their waist, another leather. They were

altogether like the Irish trousers."
With them " they brought three or four skins." It was
Sunday, however; and Sunday was no day for trucking.
It will surprise many, whose one idea of the Pilgrims is of
their uncompromising conformity to the letter which killeth,
to know that, while they would not buy nor sell on the Lord's
Day, they were sufficiently liberal to meet the obligations of
a sympathetic and open-handed hospitality. " We gave
them entertainment as we thought was fitting them. They
did eat liberally of our English victuals. They made
semblance unto us of friendship and amity. They sang and
danced after their manner, like antics." As soon as possi-
ble, these visitors whose coming was so inopportune were
sent away. On going, the " five other tall, proper men
"
left the few skins they brought —
showing thus their confi-
dence in the new neighbors, and " promised within a night
or two " to visit them again and add to the stock of skins
 THE PILGRIMS 297
for barter. It ought to be said that they were not allowed
to go away empty. " The Sabbath Day, when we sent them
from us, we gave every one of them some trifles, especially
the principal of them." It ought also to be said that this
delegation brought back the tools which had been taken
from the woods where Standish and Cooke had carelessly
left them. It was to the credit of the Indians to do this,
as it was to the credit of the Pilgrims to pay for the corn
which they had taken.
Samoset, however, was not so easily bowed out. He
" either was
sick, or feigned himself so ; and would not go
with them, and stayed with us till Wednesday
Samoset
morning." Then he was sent to ascertain the
not easily reason why his associates had not kept their
bowed out WO rd and returned. He must have gone in the
best of humor; for on his departure these
shrewd diplomatists put him under fresh bonds of gratitude
"
by giving him a hat, a pair of stockings and shoes, and a
piece of cloth to be about his waist."
The Pilgrims never had to wait long for Samoset. A
friend from the beginning, after his first introduction to
"
their English victuals," he was always a
Samoset
prompt messenger. Sent away on Wednesday,
brings h e was back on Thursday. This time he was
Squanto accompanied by an exceedingly interesting
and
companion, and he bore important tidings.
Massasoit
Along with three others he brought Squanto,
and announced that Massasoit, the chief of the
Indians who were nearest to them, was close by and awaited
an interview.

VI
This Squanto was the only known survivor of the Patuxet
tribe. He had been one of the unhappy, and yet in every
way fortunate victims of the vile treachery of
Squanto an English sea-captain. The despicable plot-
ter of this wicked scheme was Captain Thomas
Hunt, and in explanation of the hostility of the Nausites,
the shameless transaction has already been recounted.
298 THE PILGRIMS
" Mourt's
Bradford, in Relation," tells the story briefly,
but he puts upon it the stamp of his righteous indignation.
He " deceived the people, and got them under color of
trucking with them, twenty out of this very place where we
inhabit, and seven from the Nausites, and carried them
away, and sold them for slaves for twenty pounds a man,
like a wretched man that cares not what mischief he does for
his profit."
Squanto fell into good hands. Though transported to
Spain and there bartered for gold, he found his way after
a while to London. During the six years before the Pil-
grims set foot on Plymouth Rock, he was in close associa-
tion with the English. He learned their language, became
accustomed to their manners and ways, and acquired the
preparation needed for the special service he was to render
in the later period of hislife. For three years he is said
to have had a home with Gorges. This is more than proba-
ble; for the relation which Gorges had with colonization
in the New World, and the interest he had in getting all the
information he could about the country and the people,
would naturally lead him to shelter and aid any Indian
who might be of assistance to him in the future. He is
known to have taken three of the five natives, whom Captain
George Weymouth carried back with him in the Archangel
when he returned from his trading and exploring voyage
to the northern coast of New England in 1605. One dis-
tinguished writer thinks Squanto may have been one of
these three ; but this is not likely. In so simple and recent
a matter Bradford and his associates could not easily have
been deceived.
Whatever there may be of a merely conjectured nature in
the record, however, it is certain that our Indian was
brought back to America in one of Gorges' ships, which was
then in command of Captain Dermer. Meantime Squanto
had spent a good portion of his sojourn in London with
John Slaney, a merchant of some distinction evidently, and
the treasurer of the Newfoundland Company. Connected as
he was with both Gorges and Slaney, it is possible that this
captive may have had more than one round trip across the
Atlantic. At any rate, he was in circumstances from the
 THE PILGRIMS 299

hour in which he was kidnapped to the hour of his release

to learn fast the lessons which the Overruling One had to
teach him in order that he might do successfully his ap-
pointed work.
There can be no justification of a crime like this of
which Squanto was the victim ; but, as in the case of Joseph,
the sale of this helpless Indian into bondage was an act of
wickedness which God turned about for good. He maketh
the wrath of man to praise him. He was a friend God-
sent to a God-sent people, to be language to them when they
could not make their own language understood, and to be
hands to them in the performance of tasks to which their
own hands were not trained, and to be their shelter and
defense in many an emergency when misunderstandings had
clouded the sky, and storms of anger were threatening to
break upon them.
Bradford's testimony concerning the value of Squanto to
the colony is simple and touching.
" He was their inter-

preter, and was a special instrument sent of God for their

good beyond their expectations. He directed them how to
set their corn, when to take fish, and to procure other com-
modities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown
places for their profit and never left them till he died."
He was far from perfect. He had not a little of the
personal ambition and not a few of the weaknesses which
characterize his race. The increasing consciousness of his
importance to the English settlers turned his head, and
he hatched a plot which was unworthy of him and might
have been, if successfully executed, most mischievous. Of
this there will be more to say in another paragraph. When
there were ends to be gained by exaggeration or by adroitly
concealing facts, straightforward truth-telling was not one
of his burning passions.
But Bradford knew his worth, and though he did not
justify him in his scheme to supplant Massasoit by stirring
up jealousy and strife between him and the Pilgrims, he
continued to use him to the last. The end came in the late
autumn of the second year after the settlement at Plymouth,
at Monomoy, or what is now Chatham, when he was acting
as pilot and interpreter on board the Swan on a trading
300 THE PILGRIMS
expedition to the south side of Cape Cod. The governor
nursed him tenderly, and when he was gone, briefly told the
" At this
story and paid to him this undying tribute :
place
Squanto fell sick of an Indian fever, bleeding much at
the nose —
which the Indians took for a symptom of death
— and within a few days died there ; desiring the Governor
to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishman's God
in heaven,and bequeathed sundry of his things to sundry of
hisEnglish friends, as remembrances of his love of whom ;

they had a great loss." Verily, none knew this better nor
appreciated it more keenly than Bradford.

VII

Massasoit was a man who was to mean much to the

Pilgrims. His attitude was a hinge on which important
events were to turn. At the time of his intro-
Massasoit duction to the colonists he was at the head of
the Pokanoket tribes; and his official home
was at Sowams, or what is now the town of Warren, Rhode
Island, on Narragansett Bay. His own tribe was the
Wampanoag. The Patuxets were of this confederacy but, ;

as we have seen, they had been wiped out by the plague.

There were eleven and some scattered bands here and
tribes,
there, still
remaining under his authority; and according
to Cushman they were popularly supposed to be " the most
cruel and treacherous people in all those parts, even like
,
lions.'
On new
neighbors, Massasoit was
this first visit to his

accompanied by a of sixty warriors.

little army His
brother, Quadequina, and other members of his
First visit The occasion
cabinet, were also with him.
to Pil- called for the exercise of all the wit the Pil-
grims grims possessed; but they were equal to the
occasion. They were not without grave sus-
picions ; still they put on a bold front and faced the situa-
tion with a resolute daring. There were suspicions on the
other side, and a cautious feeling of the way ; but at length
the fears of both parties were sufficiently allayed to permit
 THE PILGRIMS 301

of their approach to each other. There was a good deal of

formality in the proceeding, for high dignitaries were to
meet ; the chief of a commonwealth of white men with his
staff, and the chief of a confederacy of red men with his
train of advisers and followers.
It was an hour after Massasoit's presence in the vicinity
was announced before he appeared on Watson's Hill, which
was across the brook from where the Pilgrims were holding
their deliberations. Through Squanto he made it known
that he wanted a messenger sent to him. Winslow, the man
for the hour when skill in diplomacy was required, and
especially for an hour like this when not only diplomatic
skill but a high degree of courage was needed, went over
to him. He bore gifts, and gifts in this modern instance
were not grounds of distrust, but tokens of friendship.
After two or three hours of eating and parleying, it was
decided that Winslow should remain as a hostage, while
Massasoit under escort of a score of his faithful warriors
should pass over to the rendezvous of the Pilgrims. He
was met at the ravine by Standish and Allerton and six
others bearing arms, and properly saluted and conducted
into the presence of Governor Carver. The high officials
kissed each others hands; and then all concerned in this
interview fell to eating and drinking. The " strong
water " which these exiles had with them was
brought
manifestly of high proof; and Massasoit was exceedingly
" drank a
fond of it. On this occasion he is said to have
great draught, that made him sweat all the while after."
The outcome of this conference was a treaty of amity
which remained in force till long after the framers of it
were in their graves. The terms of this treaty
A treaty are drawn out in full by Bradford, and pub-
formed "
Hshed in his History." It is enough to say
of these terms that they are fair and open, and
mutual in the obligations and duties which they impose, and
constitute a genuine compact of peace.
In commenting on the agreement, Goodwin, in his " Pil-
" Voltaire
grim Republic," makes this fine point says of
William Penn's —
treaty
'
It was
:

the only one ever con-

cluded between savages and Christians that was not ratified
302 THE PILGRIMS
9
with an oath, and the only one that was never broken !

Yet here was such a treaty, and made long before Penn's
birth, and it was ratified by no oath, nor was it broken
during the lifetime of any of the contracting parties."
It would be difficult to overestimate the value of this
alliance to the Pilgrims. Massasoit found his account in it
in the increased defense it would afford him
Treaty of against his old-time and bitter enemies
— the
great Narragansetts. To Carver and his associates
value ^ brought the prospect, and what in the issue
proved to be the assurance, of peace, with their
nearest savage neighbors and thus gave them the priceless
;

opportunity, with the least likelihood of molestation, to

secure a permanent footing in the land, to go and come
without fear of ambuscades, to sow and reap their fields,
to carry on their trade, and to plant their homes and
develop their institutions.

vni
In the midsummer of the year in which this treaty was
drawn up and ratified, it seemed good to the Pilgrims, in
order to show their confidence, express their
Deputation friendship, and at the same time get in a little
visits stroke of important business, to send a deputa-
Massasoit ^ion to Massasoit. Winslow and Hopkins were
named for this duty. Squanto went along
to act as guide and interpreter. It took the better part of
two days to reach Sowams, which was forty miles away.
The discomforts on the route and after arriving at their
destination, were not a few. Food was scant. Indeed, the
larder of this head of a powerful confederacy
Serious was entirely empty, and these hungry ambassa-
discomf orts <jors had to
go to bed without supper. But the
sleeping accommodations were of the nerve-
trying order, especially at the grand sachem's. As the nar-
rative has it
" He laid us on the bed with himself and his
wife — :

they at one end, and we at the other ; it being

only planks laid a foot from the ground, and a thin mat
 THE PILGRIMS 803

upon them. Two more of his chief men, for want of room,
pressed by and upon us ; so that we were worse weary of
our lodgings than of our journey."
However, the object of the visit was attained. The pres-
ents sent were gratefully received, the favors sought were
cheerfully granted, and the bonds of friendship
Good ac- between the Pilgrims and the Pokanokets were
complished g rea
tly strengthened. Massasoit was informed
that he himself and any friends he might send
to them would always be welcome guests at Plymouth ; but
in diplomatic language he was told that he must restrain
his people from nocking to them in such throngs as they
had been doing lately. Their supplies, they feared, were
not equal to this drain. Hearty assent was given to the
request. The chief also promised to encourage trade, and
to ascertain the names of the owners of the corn which the
Pilgrims had taken at Cape Cod that they might be paid.
This, as we have seen, was done. After spending a night
and a day and another night with the sachem, with only
a single meal, made from two fish, in which forty persons
shared, the hungry, sleepy, and tired embassy set out for
home.
It is no wonder there was impatience to be off. For here
are a few more strokes of rather vivid coloring painted into
the picture of their nights. " Very importunate he was to
have us stay with him longer; but we desired to keep the
Sabbath at home and feared we should be lightheaded for
;

want of sleep. For what with bad lodging, the savages'

barbarous singing, for they use to sing themselves to
sleep; lice and fleas within doors, and mosquitos without,
we could hardly sleep all the time of our being there. We
much feared that if we should stay any longer, we should
not be able to recover home for want of strength."
They reached the plantation Saturday night. Many of
their experiences were trying; but they had done a good
bit of work. They had cemented the ties of friendship, and
they had learned much by personal observation concerning
the country adjacent to their settlement.
This visit to Massasoit at his official seat in Sowams, or
Warren, had to be followed very soon by an expedition to
304 THE PILGRIMS
Nauset, or Eastham. A boy by the name of Billington,
John Billington, Jr., one of a scapegrace family which
had somehow been foisted upon the Pilgrims
The Bil- at Southampton, had strayed away into the
lington boy WO ods and been lost. He wandered up and
lost and down for five days. It was in the middle of
found the warm season, and he could live on berries,
and without harm sleep out in the open air or
under the shelter of the trees. At length he came out at an
Indian settlement, and through Massasoit's runners it was
learned that the lost boy was at Nauset. This was a piece
of rather startling intelligence for while it was a relief to
;

learn that the lad was still alive, it was in the nature of a
challenge to discover that he was in the hands of the tribe
which was so deeply incensed against the whites, and with
whom they had had their first trial at arms. A party of ten
were designated to go and bring the boy back. The men
were well armed, and no doubt abundantly cautioned. In
any event it was a delicate, and it might be a difficult, mis-
sion on which they were sent. But all went well. The boy
was secured and brought back. Some who were still cher-
ishing the old wrath were mollified. The owners of the corn
taken on the first exploring expedition were found, and
arrangements made with them for satisfactory payment.
On the whole the incident was turned to good account, and
the Pilgrims were put on a better footing with the Nausites
than they had been before.

IX
Difficulties, one after another, were met and mastered.
seemed to be endless. Each
Still the succession of difficulties
new day brought its allotment of trial. There
Startling was always some exigency at hand, some press-
rumors jn
g problem for these perplexed and sorely
burdened Pilgrims to solve. While on the
search for the lost boy, the rescuers heard the rumor that
Massasoit had been taken by his old enemies and was then
held in captivity by the Narragansetts. There was also
a whisper in the air to the effect that Squanto had been
 THE PILGRIMS 305

betrayed and killed. There was no truth in the report of

the capture of Massasoit ; though it was true that he had
been " put from his country ; " or crowded out of territory
which hitherto had been supposed to belong to him and his
tribes. Nevertheless, the floating hint of peril to the
colonistswas far from groundless.
Corbitant, a sachem under Massasoit and chief of the
Pocasset tribe, was opposed to the treaty which had been
entered into between the Pilgrims and the
Enmity Pokanoket Confederacy, and he not only
and plots desired but intrigued to break it up. The re-
of Cor-
moval of misunderstandings, and the strength-
bitant
ening of the alliance which had just been
brought about between the Plymouth settlers
and the Nausites, angered him still more. He saw his own
influence waning, and he openly avowed his dissatisfaction
with his chief, and began to do his best to excite prejudice
against him. Very naturally he was suspected of having
formed a secret compact with the Narragansetts. If so,
the conspiracy was a dangerous one. By overt acts he soon
made his real attitude known. Squanto and Hobomak, on
the breaking out of these startling rumors, were sent to
Namasket, now Middleborough, to ascertain how much fire
there might be underneath all the smoke.
This Hobomak was one of Massasoit's leading men. He
had recently joined himself to the little company of white
people on the coast. With these new-found
Hobomak friends he remained in the bonds of an unflinch-
ing loyalty and helpfulness down to the end of
a long life. If there were temptations to which others
yielded, this man was always true.
The mention of Hobomak, and of his service to the
Pilgrims, affords an opportunity to speak more fully of
the plot hatched by Squanto, to which refer-
Squanto's ence was made a jittle back Thege twQ j^
double dians were invaluable aids to the colonists,
dealing For a j ong time they stoo(j togeth er an(j
worked together most amicably, but at length
they came to the parting of the ways. Squanto conceived
the scheme of discrediting Massassoit in the estimation and
20
306 THE PILGRIMS
confidence of the Pilgrims,and thereby advancing his own
standing with them. Hobomak saw through his tricks,
and did not hesitate to make known his suspicions.
A suggested trip to Boston Harbor, in March of the
second year at Plymouth, in search of food, brought the
ambitious intrigues to light. Standish was to go on this
expedition, accompanied by ten men and these two In-
" About the " he
dians. beginning of April actually
started. Hobomak was ill at ease, and advised against it.
Judging from mysterious movements which he had seen
in Squanto, he was led to fear that the Massachusetts
tribes were in league with the Narragansetts, and in the
absence of Standish and his forces would fall on the settle-
ment and wipe it out. This fear he disclosed to the cap-
tain and others. Still the expedition started to go by water
to their destination.
While Standish was still in the home harbor, detained

thereby lack of wind, he heard the alarm guns sounding

out from the fort, and came back. The occasion of the
alarm was " an Indian belonging to Squanto's family," who
" came
running in seeming great fear, and told them that
many of the Narragansetts, with Corbitant, and he thought
also Massasoit, were coming against them; and he got
away to tell them, not without danger." Hobomak refused
to credit the story, and avowed an unshaken confidence in
the loyalty of Massasoit. On investigation his faith was
found to be justified. The trick was anything but a cun-
ning one by which Squanto expected to promote his own
interests. From this, " and other things of like nature,"
the Pilgrims " began to see that Squanto sought his own
ends, and played his own game, by putting the Indians in
fear, and drawing gifts from them to enrich himself, mak-
ing them believe he could stir up war against whom he
would, and make peace for whom he would." His real aim
was to make the Indians think more of him than of Mas-
sasoit, and to fill the minds of the English with the same
idea. What he secured was the exposure of his own duplic-

ity, the distrust of the English, and the everlasting hate

of Massasoit. Had it been possible for the enraged chief
to lay hands on him, he would have made quick work with
 THE PILGRIMS 307
our helpful Squanto. For in spite of all his faults of double
dealing, this lone Indian, this solitary remnant of a stricken
tribe, was of great service to the Pilgrims. While he lacked
the highmindedness and sterling integrity of Hobomak, he
had qualities which Bradford and his associates knew well
how to utilize for the benefit of the colony. It is difficult
to see how these first settlers, with all their faith and fore-
and courage, could have got on without the aid of
sight
these two men — Squanto and Hobomak.
Returning now to the enmity and plots of Corbitant, it
is to be said that both of these allies and agents of the
Pilgrims were seized by Corbitant and threat-
Squanto ened with instant death. For some reason the
and Hobo- threat was not carried out on
Squanto, though
mak seized a kn ife held in the chief's hands was brandished
about his bosom, and his death was widely her-
"
alded. Hobomak, being a strong and stout man," broke
"
away from his captors, and came to New Plymouth full of
fear and sorrow for Squanto whom he thought to be slain."
This created a condition of things which called for
prompt and drastic measures. As the governor and his
advisers well conceived, this was treatment "not fit to be
borne; for if they should suffer their friends and messen-
gers thus to be wronged, they should have none would
cleave unto them, or give them any intelligence, or do
them service afterwards; but next they would fall upon
" fourteen
themselves." Standish was put at the head of
men well armed," or most likely only "ten," as another
account states, and ordered " to go and fall upon them in
the night; and if they found that Squanto was killed, to
cut off Corbitant's head; but not to hurt any but those
that had a hand in it." The order was carried out. He
whom the treacherous sachem wanted to kill for the reason
that " if he were dead the English had lost their tongue,"
was found alive and restored to the colony. Corbitant was
"
brought to his knees, though he was shy to come near
them a long while after." Other tribes were impressed by
the quick and vigorous action of the whites in ferreting
out and punishing conspiracy, and hastened to enter into
treaty alliances with them.
308 THE PILGRIMS
Two Indians who were hurt
or three of the in the night
raid made on — hurt because they
their village refused
to keep out of the danger against which they were warned,
were brought back to Plymouth, and healed by their
"
Surgeon," the beloved Samuel Fuller. Both the sharp
discipline and the tender kindness were wholesome, but the
end was not yet. There would be need of further discipline,
as well as the ministry of much more kindness, before peace
could be established on a firm and enduring basis.

The year was drawing to a close. It had been marked,

as we have seen, by much intercourse between the Pilgrims
and the Indians, and by substantial progress
Massasoit m
amj cable relations. There was to be one
and others other notable
meeting. In the midsummer, it
invited to ^^q be remembered, Winslow and Hopkins,
visit colony
uninvited, visited Massasoit at his official resi-
dence in Sowams. The visit was attended with
a good deal of personal discomfort, but the results of it
were excellent. Would it not promote mutual good feeling
and confidence, and cement friendship between the two par-
ties still more
closely, to repeat on a large scale, and at the
seat of the colony, this free social intercourse? Evidently
Bradford and his associates so thought. An invitation
was extended to the head of the Pokanokets, and such of
his followers as he might deem it advisable to bring with
him, to visit Plymouth. Massasoit and ninety of his braves
accepted the invitation.
On more than one account the occasion was memorable.
It was a harvest festival. It was a glad outpouring of
gratitude to God for the mercies with which
A harvest ne na(j crowned the year, and the beginning
festival f our
Thanksgiving Days
—
the days whose
observance at first and for a long time after
their inauguration, was confined to New England, but
which has now become a recognized and established custom
of the nation. Since that awful assault upon their ranks
 THE PILGRIMS 309

by disease and death back in the early months of their

settlement, things had gone well with the Pilgrims. Good
health had waited on the survivors of the stricken com-
pany. From the twenty acres which they planted they
" had a
good increase of Indian corn." Their peas came
to nothing, but their barley turned out well. Seven
dwelling-houses had been erected, and four buildings had
been put up for use in common by the settlers. There was
material in hand and preparation made for the rearing of
other homes. Men, loyal as these men were to him who is
the Giver of every good and perfect gift, and whose piety
was marked by devoutness as well as a vigorous righteous-
ness, could not contemplate this measure of success and
these tokens of loving care without exclaiming as they did :

" God be
praised."
This is Winslow's account of the way in which our
Thanksgiving Days started, and his recital of the form
of the first proclamation which was issued for
Winslow's the general observance of a thanksgiving sea-
account of
SOI1) an(j the preparation which was made
the first { n or der that the observance
might have in it
Thanks- the proper measure of gladness :
" Our har^
giving vest being gotten in, our Governor sent four
men on fowling that so we might, after a more
special manner, rejoice together, after we had gathered the
fruits of our labors. They four, in one day, killed as much
fowl as, with a little help besides, served the Company
almost a week." This coming together was made an oc-
casion, not only for the sincere and earnest recognition
of the providence which had been over them, but for feast-
ing and resting and universal sports and general enjoy-
" at which
ment, time, amongst other recreations, we
exercised our arms." This was one of their " recreations."
"
They had others
"— jumping, running, wrestling, shoot-
ing at marks, and what not; but no doubt Standish had
an eye to business when in the presence of the Indians,
who were onlookers at all these proceedings and partici-
pants in many of them, he put these sturdy, but most
likely rather awkward Englishmen, through the manual
of arms, and in the various maneuvers of the drill showed
310 THE PILGRIMS
with what alertness they could pick off an enemy in a real
fight.
But the fact in connection with this thanksgiving fes-
tival, which has bearing immediately on the point under
review, was the presence of these Indians —
The real Massasoit and almost a hundred of his ad-
advantages herents. These wild men of the forest were
of this no oni v present to share in the feast and the
t;

gathering festivities, but they were serviceable in helping

to furnish supplies. " And they went out, and
killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation;
and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain, and
others." Three days the visiting and merriment were kept
up. How good it was for these hard-worked and tired
Pilgrims to have this respite from toil and this season of
unbending. We may be sure that the deepest note struck
in their thought was profound gratitude to God for his
goodness, but everything was attuned to cheer and glad-
ness. The Indians were made happy and trustful. A new
notch was cut in the stick on which were scored the tri-
umphs of peace.
Winslow follows up his brief narrative of the coming
together of the two races in a glad fellowship with a tes-
timony which is as beautiful as it is simple and tender:
" We have found the Indians very faithful in their Cove-
nant of Peace very loving and ready to pleasure us. We
;

often go with them; and they come to us. Some of us

have been fifty miles by land in the country with them. .. .

Yea, it hath pleased God so to possess the Indians with

the fear of us, and love unto us, that not only the greatest
King amongst them —
but also all the Princes and peoples
round about us, have either made suit with us, or been glad
of any occasion to make peace with us. So that there is
now great peace amongst the Indians themselves, which
was not formerly; neither would have been but for us;
and we, for our parts, walk as peaceably and safely in the
woods as in the highways in England."
These words bear the date of the first anniversary of the
landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock. Surely, these
triumphs over the prejudices of the Indians, and the terms
 THE PILGRIMS 311
of concord in which they had come to live with them, were
marvelous achievements, and with other achievements may
well serve to make the first year of our Forefathers on these
shores forever memorable.

XI
But though all had gone so well in the dealings of the
Pilgrims with the Indians, and the outlook was so encour-
aging, there were yet dark days and bloody
Clouds in
doings ahead. The mutual compact which had
the sky b een en tered into, and which had been so fruit-
ful of good results, embraced not all of the
Indians of the region, but only the Pokanoket Confederacy,
of which Massasoit was the grand sachem. The Narra-
gansetts, the traditional enemies of the Pokanokets, with
Canonicus for their chief, had never come into treaty rela-
tions with the colonists, and were made all the more
jealous and dangerous because such relations had been
established with a rival nation. Some of the outlying
tribes, such as the tribes which constituted the Massachu-
setts Confederacy, and some of the tribes further south,
which had a certain affiliation with the Pokanokets, but
were never very loyal to the Sowams chief, had little love
for the whites, and were all too ready to listen to warlike
suggestions from the Narragansetts. Hence, while it was
peace and fellowship with Massasoit and those of his people
who were true to him, it had to be day-and-night vigilance
with other chiefs and tribes, who might at any moment fall
on the new settlers and deal them annihilating blows.
Grounds for apprehension were very soon in evidence.
If the first year of residence at Plymouth closed with
thanksgiving and high festivities, the second
A quiver year opened with threats and ominous signs
of arrows f peril. Canonicus, the head of the Narra-
f ro m Canon-
gansetts, sent to the Pilgrims a quiver of ar-
icus rows fastened with the skin of a rattlesnake.
It was an open challenge to war, but it brought
no pallor to the cheeks of the Pilgrims. Bradford filled
the skin with powder and balls, and sent it back with an
312 THE PILGRIMS
accompanying message to the effect that, if the sagamore
and his forces wished to try conclusions in battle the Ply-
mouth settlers would be found ready to meet them. The
strange package, which was returned unopened, and the
resolute reply, filled Canonicus with alarm, and war for
the time was averted. The threat, however, was not with-
out its value to the colonists. The fighting contingent
was immediately reorganized, and put on a more efficient
basis, and the settlement was placed in a better posture
of defense and a sharper eye was kept on the movements
;

of suspected persons.
Still, though this attempt to intimidate the Pilgrims had
miscarried, intrigues and conspiracies were in progress.
The second year ended without an open outbreak, but near
the beginning of the third year plots had thickened, and
the gin which had been set by the fowler was ready for
its prey.

XII
A large share of the guilt, however, lies at the door of
Weston's colony which had been planted at Wessagusset,
now Weymouth. Weston himself, as the Pil-
Weston's had learned to their sorrow, was a
grims early
colony marplot; and not a few of his followers were
lazy and disreputable. By their bad treatment
of the Indians they excited jealousy, aroused antagonism,
and in many ways added fuel to a fire which a few madcaps
among the disaffected tribes were trying to kindle into a
flame. Each member of this ill-starred settlement seems to
have been a law unto himself ; and there was little care or
thought about any proper provision for the future. Being
as reckless in conduct as they were profligate in character,
when their food supplies ran low, they did not hesitate to
steal from the Indians, and in other ways to show their
utter disregard of the rights and feelings of their 'red
neighbors. Had it not been for the misdeeds and outrages
of these Wessagusset colonists, the Pilgrims would not have
been driven into a conflict which has led moralists and
humanitarians to shake their heads in disapproval, or at
 THE PILGRIMS 313

least to follow the narrative with an interrogation mark.

Wrongs done to the Indians engendered hate; but in the
weakened condition of the Weston colony, the Indians began
to look upon these men with contempt and to insult and mal-
treat them. At length the Indians decided to destroy the
colony, and in order that the work of destruction might be
complete, to wipe out the Plymouth Colony as well.
Knowledge of the conspiracy came to the Pilgrims
through Massasoit. This chief had not broken the treaty
made two years before at Plymouth. But
Conspiracy through the injury he had suffered in conse-
revealed by
qUe nce of the misrepresentations of Squanto,
Massasoit an(j the refusal of the head men of the whites
to give Squanto up that he might be punished,
the grand sachem had become cold toward the Pilgrims,
and of late had had little intercourse with them. He had
refused, however, to lift his hand against them, though
overtures having this treachery in view had been made to
him. A signal kindness shown to him in an hour of need
by the Plymouth people, changed his feelings and brought
him back into his old love and loyalty.
Massasoit was very ill. A deputation was sent to him to
express sympathy and to render whatever aid might be pos-
sible. This was in accordance with both Indian
The Sa-
etiquette, which called for special attention in
chem's case f sickness and the kindly instincts of the
heart
English. Winslow, as might have been taken
touched by for ran
g ted, headed the deputation. Hobomak
kindness was ^he interpreter. The third member of the
" one Master John
party was Hamden," so
Winslow informs us, " a gentleman of London, who then
wintered with us, and desired much to see the country."
Who was this John Hamden? Was he the John Hamp-
den of immortal " ship-money " fame? So some have con-
jectured. If so, Winslow had with him on this mission of
humanity young man rising twenty-eight
a years of age, a
member of Parliament who had been in his seat more than
twelve months, and who had succeeded in coming to the
colony, as also in getting away from it, in a remarkably
quiet way. The conjecture is not probable. At the same
314 THE PILGRIMS
" Master John Hamden "
time it is evident this was a man
of resolution and character, or he neither would have wished
nor been permitted to share in the hardship and possible
perils of this delicate mission.
These humane men were met on the way by conflicting
rumors. Some said the chief was already dead ; others re-
ported him still alive. Winslow and his attendants pushed
on. Massasoit was not dead ; but he was so near to death
that his recovery seemed hopeless. By the application of
proper remedies, and by ministries which would have done
credit to a trained nurse, and which were just as trying as
any which the trained nurse has to render, the sick chief
was restored.
The kindness moved his heart back into the old affection
for Bradford and his people. Others had been saying to
him before the deputation arrived that these white friends
were no friends, or they would have visited him in his sick-
ness. These attentions and his recovery through them led
him to exclaim " Now I see the English are my friends,
:

and love me and while I

; live, I will never forget the kindness

they have shewed me." In his gratitude he revealed to

Hobomak the plots which had been formed against the
colonists. The guide was to tell Winslow what he had
heard from Massasoit on the way back to Plymouth, and
the Pilgrims were to be put on their guard. The plot origi-
nated with the Boston Bay Indians; but five or six other
tribes were in it. Further confirmation of this threatened
massacre came from another sachem. There were many
straws, too, which showed which way the wind was blowing.
It could hardly have been otherwise than that disclosures
so startling should quicken the blood in the veins of the
Pilgrims. They were never off watch but this
;

The Pil- was an alarm to set their eyes wide open,

grims After due deliberation on the state of affairs
aroused
by the governor and his immediate advisers,
the whole constituency of the people was called
" to undertake
together, since the authorities had no right
"
war without the consent of the body of the Company ; and
the situation was explained to them. One can feel the solemn
hush of the occasion, and realize in some measure how seri-
ous the outlook seemed to all the members of that little
 THE PILGRIMS 315

assembly. They were under the shadow of a bloody strug-

gle. What was to be the issue? Were they, one and all,
to be the victims of a treacherous and wily foe ?
Winslow shall tell us how the matter stood in the common
" The business was no less troublesome than
thought :
grie-
vous; and the more, because it is so ordinary, in these
times, for men to measure things by the events thereof ; but
especially for thatwe knew no means to deliver our country-
men and preserve ourselves, than by returning their mali-
cious and cruel purposes upon their own heads ; and
causing them to fall into the same pit they had digged
for others —
though it much grieved us to shed the blood
of those, whose good we ever intended and aimed at as a
principle in all our proceedings."
The result of the conference was the appointment of a
committee consisting of Bradford, Allerton, and Standish,
with power to act. The committee came to the
Blood must conclusion that blood must be drawn. The
be shed leaders in this must be out
conspiracy sought
and put to death. This is what Massasoit
said they ought to do
" As we
:
respected the lives of our
countrymen, and our own after-safety, he advised us to kill
the men of Massachusetts, who were the authors of this
intended mischief." Hobomak agreed with Massasoit, and
" used
many arguments himself to move us thereto." True,
this was Indian counsel and not Christian; but it had
its basis and warrant in the interest of self-preservation
which is common to all men, whether pagan or Christian,
savage or civilized.
Following up this conclusion the brave captain chose
eight men, and when all were in readiness, started for the
Weymouth settlement. He took no more than
The sharp
eight men, for fear that a larger force would
and deadly excite
suspicion; since it was a part of his
conflict
strategy to appear on coming to them to be on
one of his usual trading expeditions. He took
no less than eight men for fear that a smaller number
would not be able to cope with the foe he was to meet.
Having reached the settlement, and assured himself, as he
was charged to do, by additional evidence that the facts
were as they had been represented, and warned the settlers
316 THE PILGRIMS
of the impending danger, and gathered the stray members
into places of safety, and having waited for what appeared
to be the best chance for striking a telling blow, he gave
the word, and he and his little band, only three or four of
the eight he had brought with him, or just man for man,
so chivalrous was he against the foe with which he was to
grapple, fell upon the arch conspirators and smote them
unto death. Wituwamat, " a notable insulting villian ; one
who had formerly imbrued his hands in the blood of the
English and French and had often boasted of his own
valor; and derided their weakness, especially because, as
he said they died crying, making sour faces more like
children than men," and Pecksuot who bragged of his
" a
prowess and taunted Standish with being great Cap-
" a little man," and with whom in this last
tain," but only
" little man " had measured
deadly encounter the strength,
were stretched lifeless at the feet of their assailants. One
other of the Indians was slain ;
" and a
youth of some eigh-
teen years of age, which was brother to Wituwamat and,
villian-like,trode in his steps," was captured and hung.
Another division of the force killed two men. The captain
and those with him despatched another man. By this time,
the remaining braves took alarm and escaped. But seven
of them —
the two ringleaders among the seven, had paid
the penalty of their treachery and been put where they could
enter into no more intrigues and make no more murder-
ous attacks. Standish and his heroic squad returned in
triumph. As ordered to do, the intrepid leaders brought
back the head of Wituwamat ; and in accordance with Eng-
lish custom and the spirit of the age, it was set up as a

gruesome warning to all conspirators.

The falling upon the Indians and slaughtering them was
a sad business. It was this sanguine episode in the experi-
ence of the Pilgrims which led Robinson from
A sad but across the seas at Leyden to send over the wish
justifiable t na t the Pilgrims might have converted some of
ac* the Indians before killing any of them. The
sentiment was eminently creditable to his heart ;
but the criticism implied in it had no justification in fact.
It is of course possible that God might have brought de-
 THE PILGRIMS 317
liverance from threatened perils in some other way. If
there was ever a body of men who put an intelligent trust
in God, it was these Pilgrims. But while they trusted they
kept their powder dry; and they had no idea that God
would help those who refused to help themselves.
Their lives and the lives of their wives and children were
in peril. The future of their enterprise hung in the balance.
There was a way to protect themselves and to establish
their colony in security. They had men in their ranks, who,
in skill and experience and courage, were equal to the task,
and muskets and powder and ball with which to equip them.
Not to have done exactly what they did would have been
a recklessand cowardly neglect of duty. These dauntless
deliverers became a providence of God to the Weymouth
people and saved them.
There were no Englishmen outside of themselves who
knew their sore straits, and no fellow colonists to come to
their rescue. There was but one arm to strike for them, and
that was their own. They struck and God gave the blow
the right direction and energy to accomplish its purpose.
The drastic dealing brought to an end troubles and fears
of this sort. The discipline was severe, but it was salutary.
There were occasional alarms, and now and
The drastic then rather
trying situations to be met ; but no
treatment serious conflicts for many years. Not one of
salutary ne original Pilgrim band, man, woman, or
j-

child lost his life at the hands of the Indians.

There remained yet one decisive encounter to be fought
out between red man and white, savagery and civilization,
the old order of stagnation and death and the new order of
progress and life ; but this was to be deferred till more than
a half century after the landing of the Pilgrims, when the
Plymouth colony had become merged in a confederacy of
colonies, and the conflict was one which involved all the
leading settlements of New England. For these reasons,
that the deadly encounter came much later in the life of the
colony, that it was fought out under circumstances alto-
gether different from those in which the preceding con-
tests had been carried on, and that it was a unique event in
New England history, it has seemed better to defer the
318 THE PILGRIMS
account of it till more of the story of the Pilgrims has been
told,and then to gather the facts relating to it, or such of
them as it seems advisable to relate, into a chapter by itself.

XIII
In reviewing the attitude of the Pilgrims toward the
Indians, and taking all the facts into careful consideration,
the impression becomes clear and positive that
The Pil- on the whole the men of Plymouth were not
grims just on ]y just, but remarkably kind to the native
and kind inhabitants of the land. It has been perti-
to the " when a
nently said that superior and an in-
Indians ferior race coinhabits, some individual wrongs
are inevitable." All the more might such a
result be expected when a civilized and a savage people
dwell in close proximity. Nevertheless, in this instance the
forbearance of the stronger towards the weaker was re-
markable. The disposition, too, of the stronger to be of
service to the weaker is deserving of all praise.

It is not to be denied, however, that in the course of the

years there were one or two breaks in this uniformity of
fair and kindly dealing.
A few ex- y^e have seen that in one instance the Pil-
ceptions to
g r i ms took corn from the Indians, without
strict
waiting to consult the owners, and appropri-
justice a t e(j [i to their own use. This was when they
were new to the country, and were ignorant of
the ways of the red men. It was in anticipation of needs
which would soon be pressing, and which they saw no other
way to meet. It was also done with the full intention of
making ample payment on the first opportunity. This they
did. All the same the act was wrong.
In another instance, more than fifty years later, the civil
authorities at Plymouth violated the pledge made by the
military authorities in the field, so Baylies affirms, and sold
into slavery about a hundred and sixty Indians, who were
induced to surrender as prisoners of war on the distinct
understanding that no harm was to come to them in conse-
quence. They were what were called the Dartmouth In-
 THE PILGRIMS 319
dians. They lived about Dartmouth. Though the town
was destroyed, these particular Indians had no hand in it.
It was cruel and unjust to the last degree to treat them in
this way. Against treachery so rank, Eels, the captain of
the company who brought about the surrender, Church,
and others made vehement protest. The protest was in
vain. It is true it was the custom everywhere in those
days to sell soldiers taken in war into slavery; but there
was no excuse for violating a word of honor. The act
did a double mischief. It turned the wavering Indians to
the wrong side of the bloody contest, and it left an in-
delible stain on the fair page of Pilgrim history.
After all, the wonder is that there was so little of this
perversion of superior skill and power to selfish ends. In a
career which covers more than seventy years, the charges
of wrong-doing against the Indians by the Pilgrims nar-
rows down to the two instances just mentioned. There were
individual cases of bad treatment; but as a body the Pil-
grims were marvelously patient with their savage neighbors
and tenderly considerate of their rights and interests.
Before using lands which were claimed by the Indians,
the Pilgrims were careful to purchase them. There were no
owners to the land immediately occupied by the
Bought Pilgrims. The death of the Patuxets by the
their lands rava es f the plague had extinguished titles,
g
of them B u t {n a u instances where there were lands
which were desired by the colonists and owned
by the Indians, the ownership was respected. Speaking of
the acknowledgment of right to occupy the territory made
to them by Massasoit, Cushman, in his "Lawfulness of Plan-
" Neither hath this been
tations," says :
accomplished by
threats and blows, or shaking of sword and sound of trum-
pet. For as our faculty that way is small, so our warring
with them is after another manner, namely, by friendly
usage, love, peace, honest and just carriages, good counsel,
etc. ; that so we and they may not only live in peace in the

land, and they yield subjection to an earthly Prince; but

that as voluntaries they may be persuaded at length to
embrace the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, and rest in peace
with him forever." This statement was made so early in
320 THE PILGRIMS
the career of the Pilgrims on these shores that it covers only
a short period of their history. Still it is true of them all
the way through. The spirit and policy here set forth
characterized the land-dealings of the Pilgrims with the
natives from first to last. Statements made by Hoar,
Palfrey, Hall, and others, and quoted at the head of this
chapter, abundantly justify this claim.
Recall the testimony of Governor Josiah Winslow, son of
Governor Edward Winslow, made at the time of the war with
Philip, to the effect that, in all of their more than fifty years
of dealing with them, the Plymouth settlers did not own a
foot of land, save that, of course, which had been abandoned
and which he did not have in mind when speaking, which
they had not obtained by honest purchase from the Indians.
The commissioners sent out by Charles II to examine
into the conditions and doings of the colonies, reported
that but one complaint was made to them at Plymouth.
This was that " the Governor would not let a man enjoy
a farm of four miles square which he had bought of an
Indian." Indeed, a law was passed in restraint of sharp
transactions of this sort with the natives. Under this law
no member of the colony was permitted either to buy or
gratuitously receive any land from the Indians without
submitting the terms of the trade to the court.
As has been said, after the death of Philip, lands which
he had claimed and occupied were confiscated and turned
over to the uses of the colony which had suffered so severely
by the unprovoked uprising. That was justifiable. But
up to this time all these land transactions between the two
races were marked with the spirit of equity, and it was
sell and buy on the basis of the
" " which char-
square deal
acterizes all other honest sellers and buyers.
The same temper of honesty and kindness marked the
Pilgrims in their other relations to the Indians. These
English settlers taught the Indians the truths
Taught f the gospel. Many of them were brought
and aided j n to the faith and had new and
higher views
them kindled in their souls.
Rev. Samuel Treat, a son of Governor Treat
of Connecticut, became the settled pastor of the church
 THE PILGRIMS 321

at Eastham in 1672. Inside of fifteen years the Chris-

tian Indians within his parish numbered not less than
five hundred. The children who are not included in this
estimate, and who are supposed to have been under Chris-
tian influences, were two or three times this number. The
death of this devoted minister occurred in March, 1717.
His funeral was impressive. There had been a tremendous
snow-storm. Goodwin thus describes the scene :
" The
wind so eddied around the parsonage that it was left,
untouched by snow, in the basin of an enormous circular
drift. Under this barrier a tunnel was excavated for the
funeral train. The Indian converts assisted in bearing the
body, and the toilsome way required many relays. It was
a sublime sight, as, down that crystal archway and on
through the outlying drifts, their venerable pastor was
borne to his grave by the united hands of his white and red
—
disciples the returning laborer surrounded by the liv-
ing sheaves. No titled potentate ever had burial more
truly royal." Robert Treat Paine was a grandson of this
consecrated and heroic friend of the Indians.
The Pilgrims' ministered to the Indians in sickness.
They arbitrated their quarrels, and lessened jealousies and
frictions between the tribes. They saw that red men who
had been employed by white men to do any kind of work
were properly remunerated for their services. Improper
advantages were not to be taken of them in trade. When
oppressed by cold or threatened with starvation, and they
made appeals for succor, these untutored savages were
never turned unaided from the doors of their civilized
neighbors. When discipline was necessary the Pilgrims
knew how to administer it, whether it was hanging one of
their own number who had been guilty of murder, or smit-
ing the leaders of a cruel conspiracy to the death. But
justice and kindness were the watchwords which guided
them and characterized the Pilgrims in their dealings with
the Indians. The Indian was helped in every way in which
he could be helped. Palfrey says " The shield of law was
:

held over him with assiduous solicitude. Whoever could

be proved to have wronged him was made to feel that he
had a watchful guardian, severe in measures of redress.
21
322 THE PILGRIMS
The hurtful engagements into which he was most liable to
be entrapped, this law declared to be null from the begin-
ning, . .and special opportunities for humane and tender
.

treatment of him were generously used."

It was a glorious record — that which was made by the
Pilgrims in their dealings with the Indians. There were
some mistakes and shortcomings ; but, had they been per-
mitted to live their lives over again, there were few trans-
actions in the whole three-quarters of a century which could
have been much improved.
 XV
FOSTERING THE CHURCH
 Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt; Thou didst drive out the nations
and plantedst it. Thou preparedst room before it, and it took deep root
and filled the land. —
From The Eightieth Psalm.

The men and women who are positive in the character of their beliefs
are the men and women who are known to be constructive forces in the
regenerative agencies of the world.
—
W. H. W. Boyle.

The practical aim or ideal of our fathers, in their migration to the new
world, was religion. This was the star of the East that guided them hither.
Horace Bushnell.

I seem to see in the mature designs of Him, .who moves in his own
. .

appointed times, and selects and prepares his own instruments, the re-enact-
ment of the first scenes of the Christian dispensation, in the establishment of
the Christian faith on this unpeopled continent . and hail the Pilgrim
. .

Fathers as the bearers of a new commission, than which there has been no
greater since the time of the Apostles.
—
William M. Evarts.

The two distinct messages of Congregationalism originally were that the

Church of Christ ought to be composed only of persons spiritually renewed
and living in obedience to Him and that such persons united in one local
;

church should have liberty to worship God in their own manner, according
to the dictates of their own
conscience, and to manage their own ecclesi-
astical affairs. — The Congregationalism
We do not honor the Pilgrims simply as the Fathers of New England,
but because they were the depositories and best representatives then on the
earth of the one central principle on which the hopes of the race rest . . .
the vital union of man with God in moral conformity to Him, and so in pre-
paration for an eternal life.
—
Mark Hopkins.
 XV
FOSTERING THE CHURCH
church of which the Pilgrims were members was
THE already an organized institution when they reached
the New World. Back at Scrooby, it will be remem-
bered, the little company of kindred spirits who were
shocked by the empty formality and disgraceful worldli-
ness into which the church had drifted, and whose hearts
had been " touched by the Lord with heavenly zeal for the
" shake off the
truth," and who were ready to yoke of anti-
Christian bondage
" which had been placed upon their
" into a
necks, had joined themselves by solemn covenant
Church estate in the fellowship of the Gospel, to walk in
all its ways, made known, or to be made known unto them,

according to their best endeavors, whatever it shall cost

them." In England, while the Pilgrims still remained
there, at Amsterdam, at Leyden, and in their new and
permanent home at Plymouth, this was their bond of
union. It was a sacred and all-sufficient bond. How well
the terms and implications of it were met, especially by the
original parties to it, is one of the shining facts of history.
It was no idle claim that " the true piety, the humble
zeal, and fervent love of this people, while they lived to-
gether, towards God and His ways, and the single-hearted-
ness and sincere affection one towards another," brought
them as near realizing " the primitive pattern of the first
Churches " as anything which has been seen in these later
centuries. It was along the lines and in the spirit of this
covenant that the religious life of the Pilgrims was to be
developed.
326 THE PILGRIMS

In the discussion of the church question at Leyden, two

"
things were definitely settled. It was settled, by mutual
consent and covenant, that those who went
The two should be an absolute Church by themselves,
branches aswe \\ as those who stayed." It was also
one number who were to remain
settled that, as the
was larger than the number who were to go,
Pastor Robinson should abide with the majority, while
Elder Brewster should join the emigrating section. They
reached the first of these conclusions on the ground that
" in such a
dangerous voyage, and a removal to such a
distance, it might come to pass, for the body of them,
never to meet again in this world — yet with this pro-
viso, that as any of the rest came over to them, or any of
the others returned upon occasion, they should be reported
as members without any further dismission or testimonial."
The second conclusion was both natural and just. Still,
one cannot help pondering in his own mind what would
have been the effect upon the colony, and especially upon
the religious life of the colony, had the list of passengers,
which the Mayflower bore across the Atlantic, contained the
illustrious name of John Robinson.

n
The first meeting-house of the Pilgrims was a fort.
This fort was built in the trying summer of 1622. The
air was thick with rumors of attacks by the
The first Indians. Tidings had reached the colony of
meeting- the dreadful massacre which had already
house taken place in Virginia. It seemed impera-
tive that a strong defense should be provided.
But while safety was the primary object in the erection
of this building it was made to do duty for worship. The
picture is one familiar to the imagination of the way in
which these stern but devout souls went up to the place of
 THE PILGRIMS 327

prayer. Called together by beat of drum, marching fully

equipped and in orderly ranks, guarded through the long
exercises by watchful sentinels, and at the conclusion of
the services going back to their homes with slow step and
solemn mien, but with hearts encouraged and strengthened
by communion with Him whom they sought to acknowl-
edge in all their ways, and by the words of promise which
had fallen on their ears from the Scriptures, and by the
illuminating remarks of their good elder, they worshiped
in spirit and in truth, and the rewards of such worship
were bestowed upon them in abundant measure.

Ill

For almost a decade, or from the hour when Robinson

made his prayer of parting and farewell at Delfshaven, to
the hour of the settlement of an ordained
Brewster's minister at Plymouth, Brewster was the spir-
ministry itual guide of the little flock in the wilderness.
This is why his name appears only in the most
important of the business transactions of the colony, and
why, though his counsel was always in demand and always
at the service of the chosen authorities, he was never ad-
vanced to civic leadership. In natural ability, in training,
and above all, in wide and varied experience in affairs, he
was one of the most competent men of the company to stand
at the head in times of financial pressure, and when the skies
of the future were black with clouds. He was, also, not only
one of the best, but the best one to have charge of the relig-
ious interests of the Pilgrims. He had the age, the knowl-
edge, the furnishing of books, the spiritual insight, the
devout temper, the loving heart, the irreproachable charac-
ter, the confidence and affection of the people, and
— a
matter of no small consequence — the advantage of long
and close intimacy with the great Pastor who had been left
behind, to qualify him above all others for this service in the
things of God and the soul.
Brewster was never set apart to the ministry by the
laying on of hands, and he remained an elder to the end.
328 THE PILGRIMS
Not having been ordained, he refused to administer the
sacraments. Evidently he was urged to do this, and ques-
tioned in his own mind whether he might not
Never d jt, and then justify the action by the circum-
ordained stances in which the little church was placed.
When, as at Leyden, the church had a regular
pastor, they had had the Lord's Supper every Sunday.
Baptism, too, was administered as often as there was oc-
casion. It is no wonder there was a craving for these
ordinances. The elder turned to the wise and beloved
man of God who was back in Holland. Robinson frankly
gave his judgment against administering the sacraments
by an unordained man. Brewster acquiesced and the little
;

church had to be content with such forms and measures of

ministry as were deemed competent to elders. He taught
and exhorted, he labored in word and doctrine, and he
gave full proof of his ministry; but he refused to go
beyond these offices and distribute the elements at the
communion table, or to apply water in baptism. It is
doubtful if some of our modern laymen, who, without
much much persuasion to enter it,
fitness for the office, or
make bold to teach in sacred things, would have shown
themselves either so modest or so scrupulous. It is not
to be doubted that the church might have authorized their
thoroughly competent elder to administer the sacraments.
But the Pilgrims were a people on whom the eyes of the
world looked with anything but sympathy, and wisdom
toward those who were without required that they walk
with the utmost circumspection. This they did in faith
and patience for ten long years.
Splendid testimonies, borne by his associates, to the value
of Brewster's ministrations are on record.
" He
taught
twice every Sabbath." Neither the pressure
Splendid f business nor home delights and duties;
testimo- neither weariness of body caused by hard
nies to
daily toil nor exhaustion of time and strength
Brewster's [ n other forms of
religious activity, had led
ministry these simple souls to think that they might
wisely give up their second service. They
had no regularly qualified minister, but they maintained
 THE PILGRIMS 329
their two Bradford says of the teaching which
services.
the good them " twice every Sabbath " that it
elder gave
was both powerful and profitable, and that it was like-
" to the
wise great contentment of the hearers and their
comfortable edification." " In
prayer, both public and
private, he was singularly gifted in laying open the heart
and conscience before God, in the humble confession of
"
sin," and in begging the mercies of God in Christ for
pardon."

IV
The Bible used in the homes and in the pulpit was the
Geneva Bible, though the King James Version was most
likely in the hands of some of the colonists;
The Bible for both versions, so far as expense was con-
used
cerned, were within reach of the people. But
the Geneva Bible, in view of its origin and
associations, would appeal to the Pilgrims with a peculiar
force. For was a translation of the Holy Scriptures
it
into English which was made by the able, devout, and con-
scientious Christian scholars who had been driven from
their native land to Geneva during the merciless
reign of
"
Bloody Mary." When the Bible was read in public ser-
vice the reading was accompanied with running comments.
To read the Scriptures without expounding them was re-
"
garded as dumb reading." The hymn book in the hands
of the Pilgrims was Ainsworth's Psalms. It is not likely
that the words were obscured by artistic singing.

In the spring of 1624, the long cherished desire of the

church for a resident pastor seemed about to be realized.
The same which letters from
A minister Robinson toshipBradford brought
and Brewster —
the
in prospect j as t ever recei Ved from him
by any member
of the colony, and in one of which he declared
the improbability, owing to conspiracies against him
330 THE PILGRIMS
among the Adventurers, of his ever coming to them —
brought also Rev. John Lyford. Reading between the lines
in a paragraph about him in an epistle sent by Cush-
man, it is easy to see that he and Winslow, who was then
in England, were not oversanguine in their estimates of
his worth, or how he would turn out. Their minds would
have been filled with something more positive than mis-
givings had they known the man's history and character.
" The
preacher we have sent is, we hope, an honest, plain
man, though none of the most earnest and rare. About
choosing him into office use your own liberty and dis-
cretion; he knows he is no officer amongst you, though
perhaps custom and universality may make him forget
himself. Mr. Winslow and myself gave way to his going,
to give content to some here ;and we see no hurt in it, but
only his great charge of children."
The latent distrust of this communication was justified
a hundredfold. The man proved to be an unmitigated
rascal. His record was unsavory. His du-
Lyford a knew no bounds. His hypocrisy was
plicity
bad man monumental. He could lie and repent, and
then lie and repent again, with all the facility
with which a skilled artillerist can load and fire a gatling
gun. He was humble on occasion, but his humility was of
the obtrusive, sickening sort. Bradford's account of his
deferential attitude towards the members of the colony,
— an account written many years after the exposure of
the fellow's contemptible meanness and duplicity —
shows
what a cringing, fawning, slimy creature he was. " When
this man first came ashore, he saluted them with that rev-
erence and humility as is seldom to be seen, and indeed
made them ashamed, he so bowed and cringed unto them,
and would have kissed their hands, if they would have
suffered him; yea, he wept and shed tears, blessing God
that had brought him to see their faces; and admiring
the things they had done in their wants, and so forth, as
if he had been made all of love, and the humblest person
in the world." He was allowed to preach. At his own
request he was received into the church. He got no further.
For very soon he became a mischief-maker.
 THE PILGRIMS 331

Lyford found a kindred spirit in John Oldam. This

Oldam was one of those who had come to Plymouth, not
as a member of the colony, but on his own
John individual account.
" He had been a chief
Oldam stickler in the former faction among the par-
ticulars, and an intelligencer to those in Eng-
land." But, as the ship which brought Lyford also brought
supplies, the outlook was changed. Oldam was forward
with confessions of his evil ways, with regrets for the
harm he had done, and with profuse promises of amend-
ment and cooperation in the future. He was taken at his
word and even invited into the counsels of the colony.
He was the kind of leopard, however, that does not change
his spots. He was without a drop of honest blood in his
veins. He may have had twinges of conscience, and a
momentary purpose to do better but, if so, he soon lapsed
;

back and was up to his elbows in his old tricks. There

was no soundness in him.

VI
It was not long before these two precious scamps had
entered into a deliberate plot to revolutionize the little
independent church and overturn the little
Conspiracy republican state, and wreck the whole under-
of Lyford
taking of the Pilgrims,
and Oldam This, by the way, is the open secret of the
presence of Lyford in the colony. It will be
recalled that in the last letters written by Robinson to his
friends at Plymouth, intimation was given of an intention
on the part of some of the Adventurers to prevent his going
to America. It will be recalled, too, that Cushman in his
letter spoke of the pressure brought to bear on him and
Winslow to permit the going over of Lyford. The scheme
was to set up an episcopacy in the church and check the
tendency to democracy in the state. Precisely this is
what the two conspirators attempted. By misrepresenta-
tion, by bald lying, by audacious effrontery, by stirring
up the spirit of faction, by treachery amounting to
treason, they sought to accomplish their unholy ends.
332 THE PILGRIMS
Butit takes a very shrewd man to be as shrewd in vil-

lainy as an honest man can be in honesty. What seem

to be wolves in sheep's clothing often turn out to be only
stupid asses. The leaders of this sorely tried colony were
not the kind of " elect " who were easily deceived. The
cunning and malicious schemes of these two men were
speedily discovered. In the exercise of his authority and
the discharge of his duty as a magistrate, Bradford went
aboard the ship which was to carry the mail to England,
intercepted and opened the letters
— about twenty of them
— which Lyford had written to his fellow conspirators
at home, took copies of some and retained the originals of
others, and at the proper psychological moment, when
"
things had ripened," and the men had begun to put their
plot in execution, confronted them in open meeting with
the evidence of their duplicity and treachery. Few of
Oldam's letters were found, for he was a bad " scribe "
"
—
yet he was as deep in the mischief as the other." For
"
amongst the rest they found a letter of one of their
confederates in which was written that Mr. Oldam and
Mr. Lyford intended a reformation in Church and Com-
monwealth," and that, as soon as practicable after
the ship had sailed, they were to launch their project.
This they did. This is what Bradford meant by letting
" But the schemers were detected, and
things ripen."
their schemes came to naught. The harm they would have
done was averted ; and, in due time, to the satisfaction of
all save themselves, the plotters were shown the
open door
to other parts of the land. In view of the aggravating
features of the case, the forbearance of the Pilgrims was
wonderful. For, while Oldam was compelled by sentence
of the court to go at once, his wife and family were per-
mitted to remain all winter, or until he could make proper
provision for them; and Lyford was allowed to stay in
the place for six months. The seeds of mischief, however,
which the two men sowed, though they sprouted, never
yielded the full crop of evil which the sowers anticipated.
Lyford preached to a few who hovered around the
colony, and who had been disaffected towards it by his in-
sinuations and opposition; and his preaching met with
 THE PILGRIMS 333
little The members of the church, as has been
said,
response.
were eager for an ordained minister —a minister
who could discharge all the duties of the office; but they
were spared the humiliation and disaster of seeing their
pastorate filled by an ordained renegade. So the clean
and faithful Brewster, who " would never be persuaded
" than that of
to take higher office upon him elder, had
to keep steadily on his way " in dispensing the Word of
God " to the little flock.
An impressive illustration of the esteem in which Elder
Brewster was held, and of the blessing which followed his
endeavors to win men to the faith, is found in
Further ne renewal of religious interest and the acces-
j-

appreci- sions tomembership in the church, right after

ation of these perplexing and disheartening experi-
Brewster "
ences with Lyford. Many who before stood
something off from the Church
—
now tend-
" And so
ered themselves to the Church and joined it."
these troubles produced a quite contrary effect in sundry
here than these adversaries hoped for; which was looked
at as a great work of God, to draw on men by unlikely
means."
Following this experience with Lyford, there was another
disappointment in store for the Pilgrim church. Allerton,
acting on his own responsibility, when he re-
Rogers turned from one of his business trips to London,
brought [ n 1628,
brought back with him a young min-
over ister by the name of Rogers. Little is known,
and needs to be known of him.
little It was at
once discovered, so Bradford says, " upon some trial, that
he was crazed in his brain." This ended the experiment
with this new candidate for their pulpit; and, as soon as
they might, the Pilgrims sent the unfortunate man back
to his native land.
Allerton was blamed, as no doubt he should have been,
for involving the colony in the expense of bringing this
man over, and shipping him back again. Why he did it has
been thought a mystery. It hardly needs to have been.
Four years, or a little more it may be, before this, Allerton
had married Fear, a daughter of Brewster. He was nat-
334 THE PILGRIMS
urally interested in the welfare and comfort of the good
elder. Brewster wished very much to have a regularly
ordained minister come to his relief. Only such a minister,
in his own estimation and the estimation of Robinson, could

properly administer the ordinances. The son-in-law knew

this ; coming across a young man who had been ordained,
and who was foot loose, and not stopping to make the
necessary inquiries about him, he took it upon himself to
bring him over. The intent was kindly, but disaster fol-
lowed. The collapse of the young minister was sad and
utter.
But why call this man " " He was no more pas-
pastor ?
tor of the church at Plymouth than a man would be pastor
of the Union Park Church, in Chicago, or the Old South
Church, in Boston, who at a time when the pulpit might
chance to be vacant, should be brought forward and intro-
duced by some leading member, and given a trial for a
single Sunday, and then sent on his way again because
found unsuited to the place. Lyford was never " pastor "
of the church. Neither was Rogers ever " pastor
" of the
church. Yet, lying right here before me, is a statement
from the pen of one of our accepted writers on the history
of these old colonial days in which it is affirmed that
"
Lyford, their first pastor, was deposed for immorality ;
'
Rogers, their second, ceased to serve because crazed in
the brain.'
" It is time that misrepresentations like these,
which are sometimes caught up and repeated by men of
wide intelligence and national reputation, should cease;
and that our writers and speakers should stop calling such
a scoundrel as Lyford, and such an unfortunate wreck as
" first " and " second " of the Pil-
Rogers, pastor pastor
grim church.
In the midsummer of 1629, by a singular combina-
tion of circumstances, Rev. Ralph Smith, a regularly or-
dained minister, and a man of character, found
Rev. Ralph j^g wav to
Plymouth. He had a wife and chil-
Smith. dren. He seems to have been a member of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. At the time of
his appearance on the scene he was living with a little

struggling group of settlers at Nantasket. Through the

 THE PILGRIMS 335

happy chance of a boat from Plymouth landing at Nan-

tasket, he found his way to the Pilgrims. The men who
" " "
brought him had no order for any such thing ; but, see-
him to be a and that " he had
ing grave man," learning
been a minister," they presumed to take him aboard their
little craft and
bring him to the colony. He received a
kindly welcome was housed amongst them and very soon
; ;
" exercise his " in their rude
began to gifts pulpit. The
result was that he was chosen to be the minister of the
church.
Smith was the first regularly ordained and settled pas-
tor of the first church at Plymouth. He was evidently a
good man. Inasmuch as he was authorized by
Smith, the ordination in due form to administer the sacra-
first
ments, this people had a long deferred oppor-
pastor
tunity to sit once more at the communion
table, and to have their children baptized.
This, in their estimation, was a great and precious privi-
lege; and one cannot help thinking of the well-nigh
rapturous joy with which these plain men and women in
the wilderness, for the first time after so many years,
pressed the symbols of the dying love of our Lord to their
lips.
The pastorate of Smith lasted only a little more than
six years. For though he was a good man, he was
very able nor very popular.
neither At
Pastorate the conclusion of his account of things in
not long 16 g 6? Bradford says: " This year Mr. Smith
.

laid down his place of ministry, partly by

his own willingness, as thinking it too heavy a bur-
den; and partly at the desire and by the persuasion of
others."
Shortly after the close of his pastorate, Smith had an
experience which in part, it may be, justifies the statement
just made that he was not a man of much ability. In 1636,
the somewhat erratic and troublesome Samuel Gorton came
with his wife from London by way of Salem to Plymouth.
The two boarded at Smith's. Gorton evidently took his
turn in leading the family devotions. It was not long be-
fore the ex-pastor's wife was ready to say, and perhaps a
336 THE PILGRIMS
bit too forward to say, that she thought the prayers of
Gorton were better than those of her husband. The remark
was neither to edification nor harmony. Smith could not
stand a comparison so humiliating, and he
straightway
ordered the gifted brother out of the house. The man of
superior unction in prayer refused to go ; and it was not
until the aggrieved minister took the matter into court that
Gorton quit.

VIII

One of the most interesting facts for which Smith's min-

istry in the Old Colony is to be remembered is that Roger
Williams was associated with him for a time
Roger j n hjg wor k. Williams came to Massachusetts
Williams i n tne ear ] v mon ths of 1631. Soon after land-
at Ply- jn
g a ne Bay he was asked to supply the pul-
j- j-

mouth f the Boston church during the absence

-p[t
in England of its pastor, Rev. John Wilson.
He made conditions so exacting and illiberal towards the
Church of England that the members of the Boston church
were unwilling, as they ought to have been, to accede
to them, and Williams left and went to Salem. Here he
precipitated another controversy over the charter under
which the colony was settled. The people became alarmed
for the existence of their government. Williams relieved
the situation once more by withdrawing from Salem and
going to Plymouth. Here he spent nearly two years. He
held extreme opinions on three points ; the need of abso-
lute separation from the Church of England, the renunci-
ation of the authority of magistrates in church matters,
and baptism by immersion as the only Scriptural mode of
administering the rite. His opinions were shared only by
a few ; and he asked for letters back to the Salem church.
Discussion arose. Feelings were excited. At length the
church followed the advice of Elder Brewster, and the dis-
mission sought was granted. The ground of the elder's
advice was that if Williams remained with them he would
u cause divisions."
 THE PILGRIMS 337
Bradford fully appreciated the many excellent qualities
in Williams. He called him " a man godly and zealous,
having many precious parts, but very unset-
Bradford's t i e(j i n judgment."
"
His teaching " was " well
opinion of
approved, for the benefit whereof I still bless
Williams God." The simple fact is that it took Roger
Williams a good while to get his bearings.
The Pilgrims were a great deal more tolerant towards him
than he was towards them. While he was still struggling
with the alphabet of toleration, these simple people at
Plymouth appear to have been well schooled in the subject.
It is not improbable that he got his first lesson in toleration
at the feet of the Pilgrims. At any rate, it is well that the
world has consented to forget what he stood for at the
outset of his career, and to remember only what he came
to represent later in his life.

IX
The church had the usual experience of churches in
general in securing a successor to Mr. Smith. Winslow
was abroad on business, and though the pulpit
Seeking a was no t actually vacant when he left, coming
successor events cast their shadows before, and he was
to Smith.
charged with the duty of looking up a new
minister. He found a man, Glover by name,
whom he took to be a suitable person for the Plymouth
church. Glover consented to come but, according to the
;

account given by Bradford, " when he was prepared for

the voyage, he fell sick of a fever and died." This Glover
must not be confounded with the other Glover, whose name
is associated with the setting up of the first printing-press
in America, and who, sailing with his wife for Boston in
1638, died at sea.
Another promising candidate was found in Mr. John
Norton. He listened to the overtures made to him, and was
willing to come; but he would not agree to accept a call
until he had arrived and looked the situation over. He
came and preached for a while, and soon won the appro-
22
338 THE PILGRIMS
bation of the people. Meantime he received an invitation
"
to go to Ipswich, where," as Bradford says in a not alto-
gether disguised tone of criticism, " there were many rich
"
and able men, and sundry of his acquaintances ; and he
chose to settle in that town. In virtue of the mention of his
name by Cotton, of Boston, when on his death-bed, as a most
desirable man to follow him, he became the successor of that
eminent preacher.
"
Having been often disappointed in their hopes and
" it
desires," at length pleased the Lord to send them an
able and godly man
" in the
person of John
John
Rayner. He was " of a meek and humble
Bayner spirit, sound in the truth, and every way un-
secured
reproachable in his life and conversation."
He had the advantage, too, of a thorough
college training, as he was a graduate of Magdalen Col-
lege, at Cambridge, England. Rayner's ministry continued
until 1654, or eighteen years in all. It was marked by
unanimity in the church, much fruitfulness, and great
comfort to the people. One of the successes of this pas-
torate, and a way-mark in the history of the Plymouth
church, was the erection of the first meeting-house built
by the people. This house was put up in 1648. Up
to this time worship had been conducted in the fort.
Thacher says that the new building " was furnished with
a bell." Goodwin says there was no bell until 1679. Per-
haps all that Thacher means is that there was a belfry,
or a place to hang a bell when they got one. This is
likely.
Rayner went from Plymouth to Dover, New Hampshire,
where he was settled, and where he continued to preach
until his death in 1669. He made full proof of his minis-
try and is worthy to be commemorated.

There was an episode of great interest in connection with

this last pastorate. As Smith had his Roger Williams, so
Rayner had his Charles Chauncey. The Plymouth men
 THE PILGRIMS 339

were sound in the faith and strict in their living. At the

same time they were tolerant. If there was anybody with
crotchets in his head, or who had opinions
Charles
slightly off color which he wished to air, he
Chauncey was mG re likely, in those early days at any
at
rate, to get a patient hearing at Plymouth
Plymouth than in any other of the colonies. The head-
way he could make with his crotchets and
opinions another thing.
is

Chauncey was a man of much more than average ability ;

and he had the best intellectual training which the Cam-
bridge of England could give to her pupils in
An able those days. But while acquiring the learning,
man he caught the spirit of that famous seat of bold
thinking and plain speaking. Having opin-
ions and convictions, he was true to them and his attitude
;

on the practical questions of the time very soon brought him

under the displeasure of Laud. The only way to escape
the requirements and the wrath of the archbishop was to
abandon his pulpit in the Established Church and flee to
the New World. Shortly after his arrival in this country,
the Plymouth people invited him to become associated with
their pastor, who had then been their minister for two
years, in a joint occupancy of the pulpit. He accepted and
position for three years. During that period we
filled this

may be sure the Pilgrims had some great preaching.

Nevertheless, it was not all smooth sailing. Storms gath-
ered and the sea was rough. Chauncey, like Williams,
became a thorough-going immersionist, and
Bough insisted that plunging is the only Scriptural
seas mode of performing the rite of He
baptism.
also held that the only proper time to observe
the communion is in the evening. In these views he carried
only a small section of the church with him. Great patience
was exercised towards him. Neighboring ministers were
called in to meet him in argument. Written opinions from
the ablest men in the other colonies were procured and
submitted to his consideration, but his position remained
unaltered. His merits were so many that the people were
loath to part with him. But he insisted on going unless the
340 THE PILGRIMS
church would fall in with his ways. The alternative was
offered him of remaining and baptizing in his own method
as many as wished to be baptized after this fashion, and
administering the communion by candle-light to all who
preferred this time for partaking of the Lord's Supper.
It
was no use. He still insisted that the church must adopt
his views, or he would withdraw. The result was that he
left and went to Scituate. Here he carried out his views,
but he split the church. The seceders formed another
organization, and, after a considerable period of waiting,
found a pastor and settled him. It only remains to add
that Chauncey succeeded Dunster, and became the second
president of Harvard College.
One cannot help wondering at the singular fortune of a
littlestraggling church like that of the Pilgrims at Ply-
mouth, which, in the second decade of its
A singular existence, should have had, in its pulpit service,
fortune two men of such eminent ability and worth
that one of them became the founder of a state,
and the other the president of an institution of learning
destined to be an ornament to a great nation and an im-
portant factor in the progress of learning and civilization

throughout the world.

XI
Following the dismissal of Rayner, there was a period
of at least two years in which the church had no pastor.
There was preaching, but no settled and per-
A minister ma nentoccupant of the pulpit. Elder Thomas
found at
Cushman, who succeeded Elder Brewster,
length did good service, no doubt, in expounding the
Word. But after years of waiting, the man
for the place was found; and John Cotton, Jr., a son of
the famous divine of the Bay colony, stepped into the place
made vacant by the going of the beloved and able Rayner.
John Cotton was a man of exceptional efficiency. He in-
herited no small measure of the ability of his father; and
his mind was trained by early and thorough application to
 THE PILGRIMS 341

study. He graduated from Harvard at the age of sixteen,

or, possibly, seventeen. He had a remarkably retentive
memory; and was especially strong in his
John
knowledge of the Bible. He could preach to
Cotton the Indians in their own tongue. He loved the
work of the ministry, and gave himself without
reserve to the duties of his calling. He had preached in
various places in Connecticut, and elsewhere, for about ten
years, when he began his work at Plymouth; and it was
two years after he entered on his ministry in this latter
place before he was installed. So soon, however, as he was
duly settled in this pastorate, which was in 1669, he took up
his duties with system and vigor.
To begin with, he started out on a thorough canvass of
the spiritual condition of the entire community. In this
effort he seems to have had the hearty co-
Seeking operation of Mr. Thomas Cushman, who was
the salva- " The
then a ruling elder in the church.
tion of " with
Ruling Elder," so the fact is stated,
souls tne pastor, made it their first special work to

pass through the whole town, from family to

family, to inquire into the state of souls." It is further
" he was
said that very desirous of the conversion of souls."
Do not these two facts — the spirit and aim of the man, and
his method of going about his work — let us into the secret
of the marked success of Cotton in his Plymouth ministry?
At the beginning of his pastorate there were forty-seven
resident members of the church. The first year of his
work saw twenty-seven added to the roll of full communi-
cants. The next year fourteen ; the next seventeen ; and
the next six. The record for his thirty years of toil was one
hundred and seventy-eight. For a small church, in a small
community, with families constantly moving into other sec-
tions of the country, that is an exceedingly gratifying
showing. It can do no harm to venture the suggestion that
there may be lessons in this exhibit for our modern times.
Loving his people with all his heart, and loved by them
with a tender and reverent affection, yet at the end of thirty
years a difference arose between them over the insignificant
question of the right steps to be taken in getting into the
342 THE PILGRIMS
pastorate of a church. In 1694 Mr. Isaac Cushman was
asked to become the religious teacher of the church in what
now Plympton. He accepted the invitation.
is
Resigna- Cotton " strenuously contended that Mr. Cush-
tion of man ought not to settle before being designated
Cotton to tne office of ruling elder by the Church."
The controversy raged for three years. The
mutual alienation was aggravated by importing into it
some apparently groundless scandals in which the good
pastor was said to be involved. The result was resig-
nation and the end of a pastorate which had been of
great service to the church and town. The retired pastor,
after having left the pulpit, lingered in Plymouth for a
year or so and it is refreshing to record that all differences
;

between him and the church were made up, and the old
relations of affection and esteem were restored. Cotton
at the end of a little more than a twelvemonth, left Ply-
mouth and went to Charleston, South Carolina. Here he
gathered a church, repeated his early successes, and in
about a year passed on to his great reward. He was a man
of God, honored and beloved, and very serviceable in his
day. It is greatly to the credit of his former parishioners
in the Old Colony that they erected a stone in their burial
ground to his memory, and placed upon it an inscription
expressive of their appreciation.
The ministry of Cotton, it will be seen, takes the history
of the Plymouth church on beyond the year 1692, when the
Old Colony was merged in the Bay colony, and the twain
became the future magnificent commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts.

XII
There are not a few incidents of peculiar interest
in connection with the history of the church of the
colonists.
Incidents jn
j urnal Governor Winthrop describes
jjj s
of interest he made to Plymouth, in which we get
a visit
somewhat more than a glimpse of the way in
which their religious meetings were sometimes, if not
 THE PILGRIMS 343

always, conducted by the Pilgrims. It was in 1632, or

during the time when Roger Williams was residing at
Plymouth and assisting Pastor Smith in his
Winthrop's m i n i s try. The governor, Rev. Mr. Wilson,
visit to anfj two others, supposed to be Endicott and
Plymouth Underhill, made a visit to the Old Colony.
The party went a portion of the way by boat
and the remaining distance on foot. Somehow apprised of
their coming, Bradford, Brewster, and others went forth at
eventide to meet the distinguished guests. They were taken
to the governor's house and at his house and other houses
;

they were kindly entertained and feasted every day.

" On the Lord's "
Day," so the narrative continues, was
a sacrament, which they did partake in and in the after-
;

noon Mr. Roger Williams, according to their custom, pro-

pounded a question, to which their pastor, Mr. Smith,
spoke briefly. Mr. Williams prophesied," or discussed, as
we should say, " the topic he had submitted and after, the
;

Governor of Plymouth spoke to the question ; after him, the

Elder then some two or three more of the congregation.
;

Then the Elder desired the Governor of Massachusetts and

Mr. Wilson to speak to it, which they did. When this was
ended, the deacon, Mr. Fuller, put the congregation in mind
of the contribution, upon which the Governor and all the rest
went down to the deacon's seat and put into the bag, and
then returned."
Does it not go without saying that a body of people
who had the great facts and the inspiring truths of the
Scriptures on which to exercise their minds, and whose
methods of considering topics were such as are here de-
scribed, and who were trained by all the experiences of life
to a free expression of their opinions, were not entirely
without the means of intellectual as well as spiritual
quickening? We
often speak of the lives of the first settlers
in our New England wilderness as dull and narrow ; and it

iscertainly true that their opportunities for culture were

narrow ; but, for all this, they did some high thinking.
Under Cotton's leadership prayer and conference meet-
ings came to have a place in church life and activity. So
far as appears, up to the time of his pastorate, all the
344 THE PILGRIMS
general religious exercises of the Pilgrims were held on
Sunday. Cotton induced the church to begin holding meet-
ings for religious conference on a week-day.
Prayer and These conferences were held monthly, on Satur-
conference
<jay afternoon, preceding the communion. This
meetings practise was continued for years. At a later
started
time, under the pastorate of Cotton's succes-
sor, Rev. Ephraim Little, it was decided to
broaden out this plan, and start neighborhood meetings
" for
in different parts of the town, family and other spiri-
tual exercises." In those old days there was much praying
as well as preaching; and the people sought to grow in
grace and knowledge.

xin
Meantime other questions, more perplexing even than
securing suitable pastors when the pulpit was vacant, had
arisen, and other trials had come upon the
The prob- brave little church. Growth and prosperity
lem of
brought satisfaction ; but they also brought
church embarrassment. Almost before these fore-
extension fathers of ours knew it, they had two perplex-
ing problems on their hands
— the problem
of what Dr. Dawson has called " the deadening influence of
" Church-Extension."
suburbanism," and the problem of
Instead of remaining together in the bonds of a fellowship
which had been cemented by so many common experiences
of hopes realized and hopes deferred, of joy and sorrow
and bitterest heartaches, it seemed to be the intent of
Providence that they should be separated and distributed
in different directions. The lands in other localities were
more fertile and inviting than most of those in the imme-
diate neighborhood of the original settlement. As popula-
tion increased and resources multiplied, larger fields and
pastures were needed, better houses and barns, more promis-
ing chances for the investment of labor and skill, and a
freer sweep in general. These people were English, be it
remembered, and, like their kindred of to-day, they wanted
 THE PILGRIMS 345
fresh air and plenty of elbow-room. Bradford did his
best to keep the colony unbroken; and strong measures
were adopted and strong influences exerted to this end. It
was in vain. Expansion was in the air.From the outset
this has been one of the difficulties here in America —
things grow so fast that it is hard work to keep up with
the demands which growth creates. The colony was grow-
ing, but it was growing like a tree
—
not at the center,
but at the circumference.
The first serious break came in the removal of a com-
paratively large number of important men to what came
to be known as Duxbury. This was in 1632.
Removals Four years earlier some of the colonists had
to Dux-
begun to feel their way into the occupancy of
tury that region. number who went at
the
Among
the date just named were Elder Brewster and
his two sons, Jonathan and Love. The father, however,
did not wholly retire from Plymouth, but spent a portion
of his time there; and there, as the later writers concede,
he died. Standish, likewise, and Alden, Sampson, Bassett,
Soule, Collier, Mitchell, and others of their strong and
enterprising men, joined in this colonization of the new
town. The removal of so many of this type of citizens at
so nearly the same time left a disheartening gap in the Ply-
mouth settlement. But to the end of time " Captain's Hill "
will share in the renown of the "Rock," and devout souls
will feel that the
" Nook " is sacred soil because it was once
trodden by the feet of Brewster.
Quick on this dispersion there came another. Marsh-
field, beautiful for situation and rich in agricultural prom-
ise, an independent community.
sprang into
Marshneld The loss to this change of resi-
Plymouth, by
dence, will be appreciated when it is said that
Winslow was the leader in the movement. The more one
studies the Pilgrims the higher will be the esteem felt
for the ability and character of this rare man. The re-
moval of Winslow took along with him, of course, his step-
" the first
son, Peregrine White, English child born in New
England." Three of his brothers also became residents of
Marshfield.
346 THE PILGRIMS
Other towns, like Scituate, Barnstable, Taunton, Yar-
mouth, and Sandwich, sprang up at about this same
period; but the original settlers of them
Other came from places outside of Plymouth, and
towns
though they received accessions from the old
town, they did not draw so heavily on her
citizens as Duxbury and Marshfield had done. Still there
was a heavy drain going on, and Plymouth felt it in all
her interests and activities.
Indeed, removals were so many, and the outlook so serious,
that, in 1644, the question of abandoning Plymouth in a
body and settling down in some more eligible
Abandoning locality was taken up and very seriously Con-
Plymouth sidered. At this crisis the population was so
debated "
f ar reduced that the freemen and towns-
"
men were less than eighty. The movement to
go elsewhere was led by the members of the church for the
very natural reason that the church was the chief sufferer
from this steady outflow. With a diminishing constituency
it would be more and more difficult to maintain preaching.
With the Pilgrims gospel privileges were a cardinal neces-
sity. Matters went so far that land was purchased, in
the name of the church, for a new home for the Plymouth
people. The location was what is now the site of Eastham,
on Cape Cod.
On further examination and discussion this project was
given, up ; but a considerable number of the leading men
were still intent on removal, and on removal to
Decision the place just named. So the property was
to remain
bought from the church, and they went on
and started a new town. The scheme to escape
weakness by migration failed; but the agitation resulted
in harm; for it left the struggling settlement with fewer
citizens and more limited resources than when the question
of going or remaining was first broached. It was a trying
hour for Bradford and his faith and courage were put to
;

one of their severest tests. One of the most pathetic pas-

" " is that in which he concludes his
sages in his History
account of the condition into which the church fell in conse-
" And
quence of this constant depletion in their numbers.
 THE PILGRIMS 347
thus was this poor church left, like an ancient mother,
grown old, and forsaken of her children, though not in
their affections, yet in regard of their bodily presence and
personal helpfulness
—her ancient members being most
of them worn away by death, and those of later time being
like children translated into other families, and she like a
widow left only to trust in God. Thus, she that made many
rich became herself poor."

XIV
A wrong impression would be left on the mind of the
reader were nothing to be said, in addition to the incidental
references already made to them, concerning
Other min- the ministers and churches of the
colony
isters and whose fields of operation were outside of
churches
Plymouth.
It would be foolish to claim that the ministers
of the Pilgrim settlement were equal in ability, in scholar-
ship, in reputation, and in lasting fame and influence, to
the ministers of the Puritan settlement. Cotton, Wilson,
and the Mathers are the commanding figures of that early
historic period in Massachusetts. Eliot has no peer in the
regard of subsequent generations. The churches of Bos-
ton had numbers and wealth and they could command the
;

best talent to be found in the dissenting ranks ; and men

distinguished for their native gifts had at the Bay a sub-
stantial backing for effective work and wide ascendency.
Were the comparisons extended to the other New Eng-
land colonies — New Haven and Hartford — the same con-
clusion would be reached. The Plymouth people had no
man permanent pastorates who was the equal of
in their
John Davenport. Still less had they any man who could
measure up to the large stature of Thomas Hooker, of Con-
necticut. Roger Williams, of Rhode Island, has surpassed
them all in the hold which he has taken upon the world.
But while it would show a lack of sound discrimination
to insist that the pastors of the churches in the Plymouth
colony were equal to the pastors of the churches in the
348 THE PILGRIMS
Bay colony, it must be conceded that not a few of the min-
isters who the pulpits of the Pilgrim towns were men
filled

of exceptional abilities and high character. They had

practical sense; they were scholars; they were ahve to
the demands of the hour ; they were devoted to their work ;
and they were open-eyed to the future of their great
venture in civil and ecclesiastical democracy.
The names of some of these, like Rayner and Cotton of
Plymouth, Chauncey, who in the course of his career on this
side of the water was of Plymouth, Scituate, and Cam-

bridge, Treat of Eastham, who did such a worthy and suc-

cessfulwork among the Indians, have already been before us ;
and others will be in other connections. It seems fit, how-
ever, to note more specifically two or three men who were
prominent in the Old Colony pulpits, and whose services
were of marked value.
Ralph Partridge, who was settled over the Duxbury
church in 1637, and who held his place till his death, twenty-
one years later, was a leader whose abilities
Ralph Part- were widely recognized. He was driven out
ridge f England by Laud, and he never forgot the
ideas for which he stood and for which he had
suffered. He was associated with John Cotton and Richard
Mather in drawing up the Cambridge Platform.
A successor of Partridge, though the second from him
in the line of succession, was Ichabod Wiswell. He was born
at Dorchester, in the Bay colony. Another has
Ichabod described him as
" a man of
learning, power,
Wiswell an(j sincerity." He was all this and more. He
was intensely patriotic, and as dauntless as a
lion. It was Wiswell who was a thorn in the side of Andros,
when he was the agent of a bigoted and tyrannical king,
in his efforts to reduce the colonists to a complete subjec-
tion, and who defiantly endured the pain and humiliation
which he had to suffer in consequence. It was Wiswell who
was sent over to England, in 1691, to make protest against
the merging of the Plymouth colony in the Bay colony.
He was well; but it shows the
failed in his purpose, as
standing of the man, and the esteem in which he was held,
that he was chosen for this important service.
 THE PILGRIMS 349
It is an interesting fact that two men who were associated
with the church at Taunton, the one as pastor and the
other as teacher, should have been associated,
Nicholas
though in the reverse order, with Davenport's
Street
church,— the First Church of Christ, or as
it is more popularly known, the
" Old Center
Church," in New Haven. William Hooke, supposed to be
an Oxford graduate, was the first pastor of the church at
Taunton. He had for his associate Nicholas Street, who
is also supposed to have been graduated from Oxford.
Hooke left Taunton and went to New Haven and allied
himself with Davenport. Street succeeded to the office of
pastor. Hooke was a relative of Cromwell; and when
things grew hot in England, he left New Haven and went
back to his native land to be near to the great leader of the
Revolution. Street succeeded him again. He resigned at
Taunton, and accepted a call to the office of teacher in the
New Haven church. When Davenport went to Boston,
Street became pastor, and in that office he continued until
he died. He was thus thought worthy to be a link in the
chain of succession which was to begin with John Daven-
port, and include the illustrious names of Taylor and
Bacon. Dr. Bacon says of him " He appears to have
:

been a pious, judicious, modest man." He says further,

that his writings " show great clearness of thought, and
some pungency of style." " That he was
no inferior
he "
preacher," continues, may be inferred from the fact
that he was found worthy to succeed Mr. Hooke, and that
he maintained his standing as the colleague of Mr.
Davenport."
Besides these who have had special mention, there were
others in the colony who deserve to be kept in remem-
brance, both for what they were and for what
Worthy of they did. Lothrop, of Barnstable, was a man
remem- f c l ear brain, deep convictions, and eminent
brance
usefulness; Newman, of Rehoboth, while vig-
orously pushing the interests of the town,
and making full proof of his ministry, found time to
revise and reissue his " Cambridge Concordance." Sam-
uel Lee, of Bristol, was a somewhat eccentric character;
350 THE PILGRIMS
but he had the power of a positive personality. Keith,
of Bridgewater, did good service, and left behind him a
fragrant memory. There came a time in the history of the
Plymouth colony when the tides of religion were at ebb;
but there never came a time when the Pilgrim churches
did not have a less or larger number of men in their pulpits
who, in virtue of their ability, their attainments, and their
character, were fitted to do good work for the Master.
The mother church, as we have seen, remained at Ply-
mouth, and was more prosperous in the last thirty years of
the century than it had been in the preceding
fifty years.
This church has had other severe trials in the course of its
history ; and it has known what it is to be turned and over-
turned; but, a vine of the Lord's planting and the Pil-
grim's watering, it still lives and witnesses to the truth at
Plymouth Rock.
 XVI

SETTING UP SCHOOLS
 Viewed from any angle, ignorance is the costliest crop that can be raised
in any part of this Union. . .. The public school is not merely the educa-
tional center for the mass of our people, but is the factory of American
citizenship.
— Theodore Roosevelt.
America in the making was intelligent, moral, religious, and religiously
devoted to the education of children. —
Whitelaw Reid.
Our public school system is unquestionably the most distinctively Amer-
ican institution which this country has produced; and since that great
civil contest between the two civilizations of the North and the South was
settled by the war of secession, this system has been growing to a greater and
greater importance.
— William A. Mowry.
As an innovation upon all preexisting policy and usage, the establish-
ment of free schools was the boldest ever promulgated since the commence-
ment of this Christian era. As a theory, it could have been refuted and
silenced by a more formidable array of arguments and experience than was
ever marshaled against any other opinion of human origin. But time has
ratified its soundness. The centuries now proclaim it to be as wise as it was
courageous, as beneficent as it was disinterested.
—
Horace Mann.

One of the most memorable events in the history of the Commonwealth

is the establishment, for the first time in the world, of free public schools
supported by a general tax. The early colonists seemed to have an intuitive
idea that a free state and free public schools hold the relation of dependence
on each other. They had no sooner come to the land which they had chosen
for their new home, and had provided for their immediate physical wants,
and had erected their simple places of worship, than they established schools
for the free education of all the children. — J. W. Dickinson.

Not only the success of our democracy, but the skill, thrift, fortunes,
thinking, and happiness of the people, and therefore the moral greatness of
the Nation, depend upon providing a school for every child and making sure
that he goes to it. —
Andrew S. Draper.
Weshould ever promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions
for the general diffusion of knowledge ; for it is essential that public opinion
should be enlightened. — George Washington.
 XVI
SETTING UP SCHOOLS

turning to the attitude of the Pilgrims towards

IN schools we must be prepared for a double surprise —
first, that so much was really done, and second, that so
little was said about it in the records of the time. Neither
in their laws, nor annals, nor incidental narratives of the

early years at Plymouth do schools cut any considerable

figure. It was to be expected that in the first stages of the
settlement of the colony but little attention could be given
to the subject of education. The fight was for bread and
a secure foothold. At no time, however, was education
" the hearts of the fathers were
neglected. From the outset
turned to the children."

In his " History " Bradford makes no mention of the

training of the young until the year 1624, save that he
names the proper training of them as one of
First men- the reasons for
leaving Leyden. In his chapter
tion of f or ne year just indicated he replied to a criti-
t-

traimng c [ sm wn ich had been made on the colony. The

the young criticism was to the effect that the children
of the Pilgrims were neither taught to read,
nor to recite the catechism. Our author declares that
the report was not true. On the contrary he asserts that
" divers take
pains with their own as they can ; indeed, we
have no common school for want of a fit person, or hitherto
means to maintain one; though we desire now to begin."
23
354 THE PILGRIMS
Here, were both the germ and the prophecy of what was to
be —schools for all the children and all the children in
the schools.
Concerning the training of children in those first years
at Plymouth two facts are to be kept in mind.
The first is that there were not many children
Not many to b e trained. Of the twelve children brought
children to Plymouth by the Mayflower only seven sur-
vived the fatal sickness of the first winter.
How many children were included in the families of the
Ley den church which came over in the Fortune in 1621 ;

or in the Anne and Little James in 1623 or in the May-

;

flower in 1629; or in the Handmaid in 1630, does not

appear from any statements now at hand. There were
some, but not many. Nor was the increase of children from
births very rapid during the first few years. There were
children enough to have called for a school had there been
any teacher available, or money to meet the expenses but;

the numbers were not large.

The second fact to be kept in mind is that the Pilgrims
had had a first-class experience in family training. They
had lived for twelve years in Holland. There
Family were schools; but the teaching was in a for-
trainmg e jg n tongue. Especially solicitous for the wel-
fare of their children, and eager to hold them
in loyalty to the speech, and customs of the dear land from
which they had been driven, it was only natural that exiles
should turn every home into a schoolhouse and make the
education of their offspring an important part of their
domestic economy. When these people set up their homes
in the wilderness, they were not only alive to the necessity
and value of a proper training for those who were to come
after them, but they were in some ways peculiarly fitted
for the task. Men of the intelligence and character of
Bradford, Brewster, Winslow, and Fuller were sufficient
pledge that the youth of their little community would not
be permitted to grow up in ignorance, even though the time
had not yet come for starting a common school. Besides,
men of the second generation, like William Bradford, Jr.,
Josiah Winslow, Thomas Cushman, and others, who, as
 THE PILGRIMS 355
Davis says, " were reared under parental education alone,"
show how wise and thorough the training must have been.
These two facts shed not a little light on the situation.
There were no schools at first, not alone because there was
no teacher, and no money to support a school, but because
the need was not pressing. Imparting knowledge to the
young, training them into habits of thoughtfulness, im-
pressing them with a sense of the worth of industry and
virtue, were fundamental to the ideas of the Pilgrims,
and a part of the vital breath of their domestic, religious,
and civic systems.

II

It evident that the hope expressed by the governor

is

when he wrote, as in a preceding paragraph, that there was

no common school in Plymouth, but threw out
Schools the intimation that there would be such a
started school in no long time, was realized very soon,
early p or incidental references make it clear that
schoolmasters were abroad at an early date.
In the footnote found in his "History of New England," Dr.
Palfrey says that an ancestress of his, who was a daughter
of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley, and hence one of
the first generation of children born to the Pilgrims on
"
these shores, signed her name in her old age, as adminis-
tratrix of her husband's estate in an almost clerkly hand."
Somebody was doing some satisfactory teaching. Either
the professional instructor of youth had appeared and set up
in business, or family instruction was all that has just been
claimed for it. But there is a more convincing proof of the
In 1635, a boy, eight years of age,
existence of the school.
by the name was apprenticed to Bridget Fuller
of Eaton,
under terms which required her " to keep him at school two
years." This implies schools in full operation. It is pos-
sible, of course, that all which is meant by it is that the lad
was to have the benefit of family training, after some regu-
lar sort, for the period named but this is not likely. The
;

stipulation looks to the existence of a school to which the

boy might go and be taught. In the first class which gradu-
356 THE PILGRIMS
a ted from Harvard in 1642, Plymouth had a representative.
In the class of 1650 there was another graduate from the
Old Colony. Unquestionably these young men must have
been fitted for college, in part at least, by private tuition.
Such incidents, however, show the estimate placed by the
Pilgrims on learning, and the atmosphere of eager desire
for learning which pervaded the community. With the
Bible what it was to them, and with a Bible in all probability
in every home — for neither the King James Version nor
the Geneva Version, the one they would be most likely to
use, was at that time so expensive as to be out of the reach of
the people in general —
it might go almost without saying

that these devout and earnest men, who had crossed the
seas in order that they might build their church, and conduct
their homes and their state on the principles of the Word of
God, would see to it that their children were sufficiently
instructed to read its sacred pages for themselves.

ni
It was forty years after the landing at Plymouth before
to
positive enactments on the subject of education began
appear on the statute books. In 1663 vigorous
Legislation s tepsseem to have been taken. Towns —
not
on school but other towns which had
nly Plymouth
question grown out of the original settlement, like Dux-
bury, Marshfield, and the rest of them
—
were
required by the court, the law-making body, to take into
serious consideration the matter of securing schoolmasters,
" to train
up children to reading and writing." Nothing
beyond a wholesome agitation of the question came of this
move. But all the while the subject of schools was in the
air. Four or five years after the above action by the court,
one John Morton, a nephew of the Nathaniel Morton who
was so long secretary of the colony, came forward and
* offered to teach children and
youth of the town to read
and write and cast accounts, on reasonable considerations."
This offer was not accepted at once but in 1671 the town
;

fell in with the proposition and the school was started.

 THE PILGRIMS 357

Meantime, in 1670, very important legislation had been

enacted. The court made a grant of all the profits annu-
" for
ally accruing to the colony fishing with nets or seines
at Cape Cod for mackerel, bass, or herrings, to be improved
for and towards a free school in some town in this jurisdic-
tion, provided a beginning was made within one year of the
grant." This income fell to the mother town and went to
the support of the school with which Morton was identified.
Later, in 1672, additional support was given to the school.
The town voted unanimously to devote the profits of " their
lands at Sipican and Agawam and places adjacent" to-
wards the maintenance of " a free school now begun or
"
erected at Plymouth." These lands were to be improved
and employed " for this purpose and the funds derived
;

from them were to be set apart and sacredly devoted to the

support of learning.
This school was to be a classical as well as an elementary
school. Up to this time the course of study had been more

closely confined to the rudiments. Owing to

Classical differences of opinion among the people as to
school too the value to them in their circumstances and
advanced
stage of development of classical learning, this
school in its advanced form had its ups and
downs. The free features of it, however, had a secure place
in the common confidence; and, at the beginning of the

succeeding century, the free school became an accepted and

abiding policy of the new community.

IV
The claim has been made that the Old Colony is entitled
"
to the honor of having set up the first free school ordained
by law in New England." Thacher, in his
Claim the «
History of Plymouth," makes this assertion,
first free " Ancient
Davis, in his Landmarks," reaffirms
school th e statement. The claim is based on the estab-
lishment of the school just mentioned. The
claim will hardly hold.
About the middle of the last decade a committee was ap-
858 THE PILGRIMS
pointed by the proper authorities in Massachusetts to ascer-
tain along with one other object which was specified, the ex-
act locality of
" the first free " in
public school
Investiga- the commonwealth. This action was taken with
tion by a yj ew to marking the site, if found, with a
committee suitable monument. One who has any f amiliar-
ity with the early history of the old Bay State
will readily understand that there must have been many
contestants for this signal honor. Boston, Charlestown,
Salem, Dorchester, Newbury, Ipswich, Duxbury, and other
towns, as well as Plymouth, would be sure to put in their
proofs of priority in a competition so commendable. Natur-
ally one would think that the search for a fact like this
might have been rewarded with success. It was not.
The committee felt obliged to report that the place,
where " the first free public school supported by general
taxation was started, could not be satisfactorily
Report of determined. The trouble in settling the ques-
committee tion grows out of the fact that many of the
earliest town records are lost, while those which
have been preserved are often so meager and uncertain
as to be of little or no value in helping to trustworthy con-
clusions." It is very clear that the honor does not belong
to Plymouth. It is equally clear that Plymouth was in line
with other towns — with other and very much larger and
wealthier towns in the Bay colony — in making provisions
for free public schools.

It is a matter of small concern, however, whether the

system of free schools, such as we have come to know it in
the United States, originated in one colony or
Free
another, or in one town or another. It was a
schools a
magnificent achievement. There is " glory
"
glorious enough in it to go round and afford to each
achieve- an abundant share. Both these colonies and
ment a]j these towns took advance ground. Made up
" common
largely of the people," they came
easily and quickly into the apprehension and under the
 THE PILGRIMS 359
domination of ideas on education which no English cabinet
has been able even yet to reach. No human eye can pene-
trate the future, and forecast what changes in opinions and
methods the unfolding years may disclose ; but, from pres-
ent points of view, it is difficult to anticipate an age when
the free schools, which were established by the Pilgrims in
the Old Colony and by the Puritans in the Bay colony, will
not continue to be one of the chief distinctions of the com-
monwealth of Massachusetts and of our great republic.
"
From the cold northern pine,
Far toward the burning line,
Spreads the luxuriant vine
Bending with fruit."
 XVII

DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LAWS

 In that land the great experiment was to be made, by civilized man, of
the attempt to construct society upon a new basis ; and it was there, for the
first time, that theories hitherto unknown, or deemed impracticable, were to
exhibit a spectacle for which the world had not been prepared by the history
of the past. — Alexis De Tocqueville.

The English Colonies, having been founded as private enterprises, some

of them under the protection of Royal Charters, were freer than those of
Spain, Portugal, and France, to work out, amidst their novel environments,
an original system of government, and to form distinct social habits and
customs and therefore, though moulded on ancestral models, they were not
;

direct reflections of European originals. —

James Douglas.

Their government was not like the Constitution under which our nation
now lives, moulded and shaped and perfect as a whole. It was evolved from
a simple germ, demanding and receiving new treatment as it grew, and
finding in the practical hands of its projectors a ready application of remedies
for defects, of measures for the removal of obstacles, of new laws for new
requirements, and new officers for new labors and duties.
William T. Davis.

He who believes that the early legislation of New England was distin-
guished, in its time, by the severity of its penalties, knows little of the history
of Criminal laws in Great Britain or America.
J. Hammond Trumbull.
 XVII
DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR LAWS

WE have seen on what foundation the civil govern-

ment of the Pilgrims was erected. It was on the
basis of equal rights and common duties. No
man might claim privileges which were denied to other men ;
nor shrink from meeting obligations which rested on all
alike. In the compact which had been adopted, King
James was recognized as sovereign; and by implication,
if not by definite avowal, the laws of England were regarded
as of binding force. As a matter of fact, however, the
colony, while acknowledging the sovereignty of the king,
was yet a sovereignty in itself. As the great author of
" " "
Democracy in America says :
They exercised the rights
of sovereignty; they named their magistrates, concluded
peace or declared war, made police regulations, and enacted
laws as if their allegiance was due only to God." It was
a democratic sovereignty, and its affairs were managed
after a democratic fashion. These plain Englishmen made
and administered their own laws. Questions of public con-
cern were discussed and settled in popular assemblies.
Power was lodged in the people. Governors ruled by con-
sent of the governed. It was for the body politic to de-
termine who should be magistrates, and what should be the
measure of authority wielded by them, and how long they
should hold office.

At the outset everything was simple. The government

was run with the least possible machinery. That great
achievement and instrument of justice — trial by jury —
was recognized and set up. With no lawyers, and not much
364 THE PILGRIMS
law, and few cases to be tried, juries for a long time were
littleother than boards of arbitration. There was a gov-
ernor, and, until 1624, only a single assistant ;
Government
though at this date the number was increased
simple at to five, and at a later date to seven. The head
the outset f the little state could give advice, look after
the general interests, execute orders, and as-
sume responsibility in emergencies but he was servant
;

and not master. This was all these chief officials aspired
to be —
servants and not masters. On occasion, when
distinguished visitors were to be received, or Indian chiefs
and their braves were to be impressed, the airs of royalty
were sometimes assumed and the formalities of state were ob-
served by these chosen leaders. In general there was no
official pomp, no pride of position, no theatrical displays
of the badges of a little brief authority, and no noise in the
administration of law. Attempts in this direction would
have been ludicrous ; but there was no disposition to strut
and parade. The men at the top wrought on equal terms
with the men at the bottom. Whether, without exception,
they all prayed for their daily bread we may not know, but
they all toiled for it. The first governor of the colony
was stricken with his fatal illness while engaged in plant-
ing his fields. Under God, the state stood for equal rights,
for order and justice and safety on the simplest terms and
in the simplest way, and for nothing else.

II

For a decade and a half the Plymouth colonists had no

fundamental law except the compact which had been drawn
up and signed in the cabin of the Mayflower.
Revision
Indeed, the colony never had any other funda-
and mental law. In this instrument there were
codification two
guiding principles, and only two
—
alle-
of laws
giance to the king and the right of the major-
needed
Jty to rule. The latter principle held in it all
sorts of possibilities for democracy, and very
distinct prophecies of what was to be in the future. From
the day of its adoption by the Pilgrims until now it has
 THE PILGRIMS 365

not lost any of its vital force. It has gained rather in the
confidence of mankind. The corner-stone of their little
republic, it is the corner-stone of our great republic, the
republic which has come to be the mightiest and happiest
nation on earth.
But something beyond this was found to be necessary.
For though the compact had been adopted, and it had
been determined that equality of rights should be the con-
trolling factor in their legislation, the form of govern-
ment, the number and duties of officials, the limitations of
authority, courts and juries, police and military regula-
tions, the applicability of English statutes to themselves,
and other details of administration, were matters still to
be worked out and settled.
In an important passage bearing on this point, Baylies,
" " No laws were
in his History of New Plymouth," says :
made for the general organization of the gov-
The facts eminent the limits of political rights and
;

set forth
political powers were not defined; the gover-
nors and assistants maintained their small
portion of authority rather by common consent than by
lawful delegation of power. The royal authority was
recognized, and the laws of England were considered as
having force in the colony, unless altered or repealed by
colonial statutes ; but it was very difficult to ascertain
the character, authority, and force of those laws." The
same author goes on to say " Crimes and punishments
:

were neither declared nor defined. The only magis-

. . .

trates were the governors and assistants. The office of

justice of the peace was unknown. Trials were had in the
general court before juries selected from the whole body
of the freemen of the colony ; and until 1634 the Governor
and assistants were not by law considered a judicial court.
The magistrates had no jurisdiction of civil actions, and
in criminal offenses their jurisdiction was confined to the
' '
power of binding over the accused to appear at the
general court."
To illustrate the condition of things here portrayed, it
may be said that there were no laws on the statute books
covering the mutual relations and obligations of husbands
366 THE PILGRIMS
and wives, of parents and children, of masters and servants.
There were no laws touching the probate of wills and the
administration of estates, save that the governor and his
assistants were authorized to discharge these functions.
There were few, if any, applicable to the many questions

likely to arise in the contact of the colonists with the

Indians. They had policies in regard to the wise way of
dealing with the Indians, but their policies were not yet
defined in laws. There were laws declaring every person
within the jurisdiction liable to the performance of military
duty. There were enactments concerning fishing, hunting,
damages committed by domestic animals, and setting fires
in the woods. There were other legal regulations, though
for the most part these were only temporary expedients or
devices. For fifteen years the statute books of the Ply-
mouth colony were exceedingly bare of the traces of
legislation.
How then were rights secured, order maintained, and
progress registered? The answer is at hand. The deep
and pervading sense of equality, the general
How rights respect for what was fair and right, the laws
weTe of the fatherland so far as they could be
secured
adapted to the needs of a people in circum-
stances so unlike those of the people for whom
they were originally intended, and the fine spirit and pur-
pose of the members of it, kept the colony on right lines
and moving straight forward to its high destiny. The
state was sovereign it exercised sovereign powers still
; ;

ithad only a few laws. Order was maintained, justice was

administered, the general welfare was promoted, and a
large measure of happiness was secured but it was all on
;

the basis of democratic equality. Nor is this all that is to

be said. These achievements and these results had been
brought to pass, not in virtue of a complete system of laws,
but after a kind of opportunist fashion. It was a day-by-
day proceeding, a political living from hand to mouth,
meeting each exigency as it arose. It helps to show with
how few laws good people can get on. It also helps to
show that even good people, placed in a world like ours,
and having their own human nature to contend with, sooner
 THE PILGRIMS 367
or later discover that a well-defined, well-ordered, and well-
equipped government is essential to peace and prosperity.

ni
In 1636, a signal advance was made by the colonists in
the adoption of a definite system of laws. As has been
said, the compact drawn up and signed in the
System of caDin of the Mayflower was the fundamental
laws ] aw f ne new s tate.
^. In their legislation the
adopted
Pilgrims were guided by the conception of
equal rights and common duties announced in
this great instrument. They also found warrant and direc-
tion for their enactments in the patent which had been
granted to them in 1621 through John Pierce by the
company that was charged with the affairs of New Eng-
land. So, too, they were helped in knowing what they
might and might not do by the patent issued to William
Bradford in 1629. But their laws, as there has been oc-
casion to say already, were largely temporary expedients.
They were framed and passed to meet the exigency of the
hour. It was only natural, therefore, at the end of this
period of fifteen years, for the leaders to feel that the
time had come for a thorough examination and complete
overhauling of their statutes. It appears from the record
that on the assembling of the general court in 1636 the
laws of the colony were read. Since there were not many
of these laws it would not take long to go over them. On
" divers of them were
listening to them, it was found that
worthy the reforming, others the rejecting, and others fit
to be instituted and made." Thereupon, a committee of
eight, from the three towns of Plymouth, Duxbury, and
Scituate, was appointed to cooperate with the governor
and his assistants in revising existing statutes and pro-
posing such others as seemed to be necessary. From this
time on the Pilgrims had a consistent body of laws —
a
code. This code was the deliberate and authoritative ex-
pression of their ideas of the way in which justice was to
be administered and order in the community best pro-
 368 THE PILGRIMS
moted. Laws are photographs, not of ideal, but of the
actual conditions of a people at the time they are passed.
Examining these laws to-day, we see in them the spirit of
the men who made them ; the evils which they encountered ;
the tendencies they dreaded; the conception of right-deal-
ing between man and man which they entertained; the
measure of restraint which they thought ought to be
thrown about wrong-doing, and the kind and degree of
encouragement which they deemed it wise to extend to
industry and thrift, to honest and earnest living.

IV
Associated with the adoption of this code of laws there
was an avowal of rights made by these sturdy democratic
legislators well worthy of reverent study by
Declaration In this avowal there is a
their descendants.
of rights note which sounds strangely familiar when we
get down to later times and are listening to
the speeches of Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry, and
reading the resolves of continental congresses and the
Declaration of Independence. It is a surprising docu-
ment, calm, measured, but bold to the point of audacity.
Gathered together from different clauses of the enactment,
condensed and modernized by the author of the " History
of New Plymouth
"
already quoted, but given with accur-
acy, this is the courageous avowal of principle and pur-
" We the associates of New
pose :
Plymouth, coming
hither as the freeborn subjects of the State of England,
and endowed with all and singular the privileges belonging
to such, being assembled do ordain that no act, imposition,
law, or ordinance be made or imposed upon us at the
present or to come, but such as shall be made and imposed
by consent of the body of associates or their representa-
tives legally assembled, which is according to the liberties
of the State of England."
Here were insight and courage of the first order —
insight to perceive their rights and courage to state them
in terms not to be misunderstood. Give time for the idea,
 THE PILGRIMS 369
so clearly discerned and so unequivocally announced, to take
root, and add the fertilization of harsh treatment, and how
surely will this assertion of rights grow into
Insight and ^ne f ur ther assertion of What
courage a servi ce it was to the world —
independence
of all
!

first
to draw up the Mayflower Compact and make
it the basis of the civil polity of a state, and then to

supplement this action, so soon as there was occasion

for it, with a resolution in which the principles of the
compact were not only reaffirmed but made aggressive!
What are a few eccentricities in legislation, or even a few
grave mistakes in determining what are crimes, and ad-
justing penalties, in comparison with the calm and reso-
lute announcement of political conceptions so fundamental
and far-reaching!

What were these laws — or rather what were some of the

more characteristic of them? It will help us to a better
understanding of the Pilgrims, and enable us
Some of t see now far they had cut loose from old
the specific
traditions, and how far they were still under
laws of
bondage to the temper and usages of their
this code
times, if we tarry at this point long enough to
answer the question here propounded. It will
help us also to this same better understanding of the Pil-
grims, if, in connection with our examination of some of the
laws of this code, we cast an eye forward and look at some
of their subsequent legislation.
We have already seen how much in advance of their age
the Pilgrims were in their conception of the fundamental
principles on which a state should be organized, and of the
measure of equal rights which should enter into the policies
and laws of a just commonwealth. Were they as much in
advance of their age in their actual legislation as they were
in their conception of fundamental principles and equal
rights? Did their practise keep in close touch with their
theories? In other words, were their ideas of government
found to be workable, and did they try to work them?
24
370 THE PILGRIMS
In estimating the civilization reached by peoples or
it is important to consider them from many points
periods
of view. But if it is necessary to confine the
Penal laws
study to a single point, then the treatment
accorded to crimes will be found to be one of
the most illuminating. What do they count crimes, and
how do they deal with them? Looking at the Pilgrims in
this light, it will be found that in penal legislation they
were just as much in advance of the prevailing practises
of the day as they were in their theories. In the revised
statutes, of 1636, there were only six crimes which were
punishable by death. These were treason, murder, witch-
craft, arson, rape, and crimes against nature. Baylies
seems to say that there were only five capital offences under
the laws of the Pilgrims; and Goodwin follows him in
naming this number, though later on in his book he enumer-
ates the full list of a half-dozen. But even were he not to
do so, the crime for which one of the ten persons who were
convicted and executed by the Plymouth colonists within
the seventy years of their independent existence, makes it
clear that the number was six.
Whether five or six, however, the humanity which limited
the list of the capital offenses to this small number becomes
amazing as well as gratifying when a few.
Comparisons comparisons are made. At the time the Pil-
instituted
grims left Scrooby, the English law-books
enumerated thirty-one crimes for which a man
might be deprived of his life. For more than two centuries
the brutality steadily increased. In 1819, incredible as it
may appear, there were two hundred and twenty-three
offenses which, in the judgments of British parliaments,
might be suitably punished by death. In their first codes,
Massachusetts and Connecticut each had twelve capital
offenses. At a later date, in both colonies two were added
to the lists. New Haven had about the same number.
Virginia named seventeen. J. Hammond Trumbull, who
took pains to look up the records of state trials, has
" In the reform of
said :
penal legislation New England
was at least a century in advance of the mother country."
True, and true with emphasis. But at what a marked
 THE PILGRIMS 371
distance was the older colony at Plymouth in advance of
her younger and more vigorous sister colonies at Boston
and Hartford and New Haven !As we have seen, the laws
of the Pilgrims provided for punishment by death in six
cases. The administration was milder than the code.
Punishments took place under only two specifications.
There were no convictions for either treason, or witchcraft,
or arson, or assaults on virtue. William Penn was in ad-
vance of them all; for, in the code which he drew up and
gave to his colony, murder was the only crime for which
the penalty was to be life for life. But Penn was a pro-
prietary governor, and could impose his will
— albeit one
of the best instructed and most benevolent wills ever exer-
cised by the leader of a people, upon those whom he had
gathered about him, while the Pilgrims were a pure democ-
racy in which every man had an unquestioned right to
utter his opinions. It is in this light that their humanity
is so remarkable. It was the popular voice.

VI
There were other forms of punishment for infraction
of law and disorderly conduct, which, though falling short
of taking life, were yet harsh. Some of these
Other
punishments, while quite in line with the cus-
forms of t om f the times, were quite out of line with
punishment the kindly disposition and advanced views
of the Pilgrims in matters of penal legislation
and practise.
For
and the whipping-post. In extreme cases —had the
especially exasperating offenders they stocks
like those of

Billington, who refused to obey orders and became abu-

sive of Standish; and Dotey and Lister, who shocked the
whole community by fighting a duel — they had the cruel
device of tying the head and feet of culprits together and
exposing them to the public gaze. Billington does not seem
to have been cured of his viciousness by this painful and
humiliating treatment; but Dotey and Lister fought no
more duels, and they had no successors in this barbarous
372 THE PILGRIMS
method of vindicating wounded honor. Sometimes, as in
the instance of the widow of Billington, the penalty inflicted
was the threefold one of a fine, the stocks, and a public
whipping. The slander of a good man by a woman whose
husband had been hung for murder, and whose standing
among her associates had never been high, seemed to the
authorities of the colony an offense which called for ex-
emplary punishment. Often condemned offenders escaped
the stocks or the whipping-post by paying or providing
for the payment of a fine. Those whose head and feet were
tied together were hardly ever forced to serve out their full
sentence.
Other laws were framed which grate unpleasantly on
modern feelings. In 1668 an act was passed authorizing
imprisonment for debt. Efforts had evidently been made
by somebody to escape meeting just demands by fraud
or cheating, and this was an attempt to head off such
schemes. The Plymouth colonists would have been the
last men in the world to confine a debtor in jail when he had

nothing with which to meet his obligations. It was for

this reason that, at a much earlier date than the foregoing
enactment, a severe penalty was affixed to the crime of forg-
" in case
ing deeds to lands. This was a heavy fine ; but
of inability to pay the fine whipping and burning an F in
" Scarlet Letter " was like-
the face was substituted." The
wise authorized when occasion seemed to call for it. No
instances of the execution of these penalties by the Ply-
mouth people have fallen under notice in books read, or
records examined. But the leaders always stood in great
horror of both dishonesty and licentiousness.
Time and experience, aided by much sober reflection, and
by increased facilities for housing and holding persons

charged with crimes and misdemeanors, moderated the

cruelty of these laws and brought in a more rational and
humane method of restraining vice and chastising wrong-
doers. All traces of barbarism faded from their statute-
books.
Concerning laws other than those which had to do with
crime and vice which were enacted by the Plymouth colo-
nists, all it is necessary to say is that they followed Eng-
 THE PILGRIMS 373
lish precedents, so far as conditions permitted. Only
these laws from to last kept the fundamental prin-
first

ciple of equal rights steadily in view, and

Civil
through and through were informed with the
laws
spirit of the great compact. Beginning in
a church, the state was never allowed to for-
get God. Its policies were framed, its actions were shaped,
its life was guided after the pattern of what was conceived
to be a high type of practical righteousness. The Pil-
grims sought to make their laws spell exact justice and
a fair chance for all, and they largely succeeded in what
they sought. It would be difficult to find in all history
a people who on the whole can better afford to be judged
by what is on their statute books than the Pilgrims.

VII

Here it is necessary to retrace our steps for a little that

we may deal with another phase of the political life of the
Plymouth colony. In 1638 an important
Change to change was made in the form of government,
representa- jt was a change from a pure to a representa-
tive gov- ti Ye democracy. So long as the colony was
eminent small and confined to a limited area, it was pos-
the voters to assemble in one place
sible for all
and do their business.With expansion this ceased to be
It is true there were only three incorpo-
practicable.
rated towns — Plymouth, Duxbury, and Scituate
—within
the jurisdiction of the colony when the new plan was
adopted ; but other towns were in sight and fast approach-
ing. When the first representative assembly met in 1639,
or at any rate before the session closed, four new towns —
Taunton, Sandwich, Yarmouth, and Barnstable —had per-
fected their organization and become duly incorporated.
Marshfield was to fall in line and enter the fellowship
within a year. Each town was to have two representa-
tives, or deputies as they called them, except Plymouth,
which was allowed to have four.
This miniature congress was composed of two branches.
374 THE PILGRIMS
The governor and his seven assistants constituted one
branch, while the town deputies made up the other. Both
branches sat and acted together. The gov-
The legis- e rnor This form of legislative as-
presided.
lative continued to be the practise so long
sembly
assembly as t ne colony had a separate existence. The
assembly was called, not a legislature, but a
general court
—the name which to this day clings to the
law-making body of Massachusetts. Deputies to the gen-
eral court were paid, not from a general fund, but by the
towns which sent them. Under this arrangement the
towns would be likely to see to it that the sessions of
the legislature were not unduly prolonged. The salary was
fixed at two shillings and sixpence a day. This was an-
other salutary check on long sessions. For in those days
the best men, the most far-sighted and prominent men,
were generally chosen to office; and while they were ready
to make sacrifices for the public good, they would not be
likely to neglect their own affairs for the pay they were
getting in the public service.

VIII

Though they yielded to practical necessity and changed

the form of government from a pure to a representative
democracy, the Pilgrims were exceedingly jeal-
Jealous ous f their civil rights and were careful to
of rights throw every possible safeguard about them.
Hence, it was provided that, except in cases of
evident emergency, proposals for enactment into laws
should lie There could be no " snap "
over for one year.
and no " omnibus
legislation, bills," adroitly concealing all
sorts of schemes and jobs, and brought in at the last
moment and hurried through under suspension of the rules,
to vex and humiliate the people. Even when a law had
been passed there was a court of appeal to which it might
be taken, and not only negatived but actually repealed.
For in addition to this legislative assembly there was a
popular assembly of the freemen of the colony in which
 THE PILGRIMS 375
final authority was lodged. This was called the " Court
of Election." The governor, the assistants, the treasurer,
and, after the act of confederation, the colonial
People commissioners, were elected by this assembly,
retain veto j n this
respect, the change to a representative
power government made no difference. The gov-
ernor and assistants had always been chosen
by popular vote. At the outset, in the Bay colony the
people elected the assistants, the assistants appointed the
governor, and the governor and assistants made the laws.
After no long time this plan was given up, and the people
chose the executive officers. In Plymouth things started
in this way. The people ruled. This assembly of freemen,
moreover, had power to repeal any law which the general
court had passed. Under God, and against all claims of
superiority by anybody, the rights of the people were held
to be sacred and supreme.

IX
Frequent references have been made in this narrative
to freemen, and the rights and duties of freemen. Who
then were freemen, and how did men become
Freemen freemen? At the outset, those who signed the
compact in the May-flower were freemen. Sub-
sequently men were made freemen by a majority vote of
those who were already freemen. But, beginning in 1656,
and making modifications from time to time for a dozen
years or more, the legislative body added greatly to the
strictness of the conditions on which one might join the
ranks of freemen. A man had to have local indorsement,
or the approval of the particular town in which he resided,
before he could be advanced to this high privilege.

At the end of the period just indicated, however, and as

the result of more than a decade of discussion and experi-
ence, it was settled that, in order to exercise the rights
and enjoy the advantages of a freeman, one " must be
376 THE PILGRIMS
twenty-one years of age, of sober and peaceable conver-
sation, orthodox in the fundamentals of religion, and
possessed of twenty pounds of ratable estate
Voting a m the Colony." In addition to this, by a
sacred trust \ aw
dating back to 1636, every freeman had
to take an oath to be loyal to the king and to
all the interests of their little state. Citizenship was made
to stand for thoughtfulness, thrift, character. One of the
severe punishments inflicted on a man for misbehavior was
disfranchisement. Voting was held to be both a duty and
a dignity. Like filling an office, it was invested with a
large measure of sacredness.
By these stringent regulations some men were excluded
from the rights and privileges of the elective franchise who
ought not to have been excluded. Religious tests are not
good; but moral tests are good. A jealous guardianship
of the ballot-box is wise. It would be vastly better for our
republic if good men were compelled to vote, and bad men
were excluded from the polls.
This is not all. The Pilgrims not only safeguarded the
elective franchise by making the voting standard high, but

they emphasized their sense of the importance

Penalties f crvic interests and the faithful discharge of
for failing civic duties, by making the failure to vote on
to vote the p ar t of those to whom the privilege be-
longed an offense punishable by fine. Afine of
three shillings was imposed on freemen for failing to attend
the general court when state officials were to be chosen.
Inasmuch as " age, disability of body, and other incon-
"
veniences might hinder the attendance of some who were
worthy citizens and had a right to vote, an act was passed
permitting voting by proxy. Admission to the lists of
freemen was so carefully guarded that there was little
danger of the abuse of the privilege. It would, however,
work strange confusion and be the source of boundless
corruption if adopted in these times. This idea, that all
who had the right to vote should discharge the duties im-
was carried so far, that, in 1646, it was
plied in the right,
enacted that towns neglecting to send deputies to the
general court should be fined two pounds.
 THE PILGRIMS 377

XI
It is not apparent from the record whether the Old
Colony days was afflicted with
in its independent colonial

any considerable number of office-seekers —

Fines for
though it would be very strange if there were
refusing to no i some; b u t it is evident that it was not
hold office
always easy to get the best men to assume the
responsibilities and bear the burdens of public
officials. As early as 1632, a man elected to the office of
governor and declining to serve was made liable to a fine
of twenty pounds. The penalty for refusing to serve as
assistant was ten pounds. One elected to the office of a
selectman of the town must discharge the duties of the
position or pay a penalty. We
have just seen that towns
neglecting to send deputies to the general court were sub-
ject to fines. So persons chosen by any town to the office
of deputy, and neglecting, without adequate reason, to
appear and discharge the duties of the office were mulcted
in the sum of twenty shillings.
All this reads strangely in our day —
strangely indeed,
when we recall how many men there are who are willing to
pay fabulous amounts to secure an office; and how many
men there are, too, who are so intent on voting that they
are ready to go the rounds of the polling-places at every
election! But it is more than likely that, if, in the very
region which was hallowed by the tread of the Pilgrims,
an effort were made to get all the good men to vote when
there are elections, and all the best men to consent to fill
offices of public trust whenever their fellow citizens
might
deem it wise to designate them for these places, the result
would be a fresh demonstration of the difficulty of keeping
the public spirit in any community up to a high level, and
inducing the most efficient and worthy members of the
community to forego their own ease and gain for the
general welfare.
In subsequent chapters there will be occasion to notice
other statutes which were passed by the Pilgrims, as well
as an opportunity to make further study of the spirit and
378 THE PILGRIMS
purpose of these people as reflected in their legislation.
Enough has been said to show the general trend of their
thought and at what they aimed in enacting and admin-
istering their laws. They sought to realize order, purity,
and justice. They wanted their little state to stand for
the utmost freedom to do right, and for the greatest pos-
sible hindrance to doing wrong. They made an honest
attempt to articulate the will of God in their rules and regu-
lations, and to order all their affairs in a way to meet the
divine approbation.

xn
It needs to be steadily borne in mind, however, that the
laws of the Pilgrims were growths. They had a few funda-
mental principles ; but they had no ready-made
Laws were S S tem of statutes. Their
y legislation fol-
growths lowed their needs and was designed to meet the
exigencies of the hour. Their laws are the
way-marks of their progress, and show how the little state
new times and conditions. The advance was
suited itself to
sometimes slow ; and sometimes it was by leaps and bounds.
At length, as we have seen, they had their code, their full
equipment of officials with well-defined powers and duties,
and policies and plans to match the situation. Starting
with the idea of loyalty to God, and building on the founda-
tion of equal rights, they watched events and did their best
to make a model state.
 XVIII

WITCHES AND QUAKERS

 For many centuries it was universally believed, that the continued ex-
istence of witchcraft formed an integral part of the teaching of the Church,
and that the persecution that raged through Europe was supported by the
whole stress of her infallibility.
. On this ground the Reformers had no
. .

conflict with their opponents. The credulity which Luther manifested on all
matters connected with diabolical intervention was amazing even for his age ;
and, when speaking of witchcraft, his language was emphatic and unhesita-
'
I would have no compassion on these witches,' he exclaimed,
'
I
ting.
would burn them all.' — W. E. H. Lecky.

The founders of new sects, and their earliest disciples, whose tone of
thought is in a habitual state of passionate elevation, and whose aims and

objects are usually idealized by the glowing atmosphere of an ardent imagina-

tion, are not infrequently characterized by a zeal highly disproportioned to
the wisdom which is necessary to regulate and control the same.
John Stetson Barby.

Let us remember —
That unto all men Charity is due;
Give what we ask and pity, while we blame,
;

Lest we become copartners in the shame,

Lest we condemn, and yet ourselves partake,
And persecute the dead for conscience' sake.
Henry W. Longfellow.
 XVIII

WITCHES AND QUAKERS

the course of the years the Pilgrims were forced into
IN many trying situations. They had to encounter a
large number of difficult and delicate questions. Their
good sense and their humanity were often put to the
test; and the strain upon their wisdom was sometimes in-
tense. Amongst the most perplexing of their problems was
how to deal with witches and Quakers. Both of these prob-
lems were upon them. They had made witchcraft a crime
punishable with death. Quakerism had suddenly appeared
to annoy and derange. What should be done with Quakers ?
They realized at the time how much the peace and har-
mony of the colony depended on the wisdom with which
these troublesome issues should be met. They could not have
realized how seriously a few mistakes made by overzeal
in warding off the harm threatened by these subtle foes of
order — as they regarded them — would mar their fame
in years to come.

At the date of the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth

Rock, as earlier and later, belief in witchcraft was well-nigh
universal. In Italy and the German states,
Belief in j n Switzerland, Sweden, Scotland, and Eng-
witchcraft
land, the authorities were busy burning witches,
universal Catholics and Protestants, men eminent for
learning and of exalted position, as well as the
ignorant and lowly, were alike involved in the fatal delu-
sion. Persons suspected of this " craft, invented by the
devil
" were subjected to the most horrible tortures to induce
them to confess. If they confessed that they were in league
382 THE PILGRIMS
with the powers of darkness, they sometimes escaped, though
more frequently confession was considered enough, and the
poor creatures were hurried away to slaughter. If they did
not confess, this was taken to be sufficient evidence of guilt
and their condemnation and execution followed. Trumbull
" "
quotes this statement from Mackey's Popular Delusions :

" whole James' amid

During the of reign, the civil wars of
his successors, the sway of the long parliament, and the
reign of Charles II, there was no abatement of the persecu-
tion." Inside of the hundred years before the Pilgrims left
" Continental
Scrooby, Europe sacrificed one hundred
thousand lives on this ground." Athousand a year, for a
whole century, laid on the altar of this strange and horrible
delusion !

At the very time when the Pilgrims were framing their

laws, England and Scotland were burning and hanging
witches. The sickening business was kept up in Great
Britain until more than a hundred years after the Ply-
mouth settlement was begun, and there was an execution
in Germany as late as the French Revolution. In a charge
made to a jury when two women were on trial for witch-
" he
craft, Sir Matthew Hale said that did not in the least
doubt there were witches." A century later Lord Mans-
field, though liberal, if not in his politics, yet in his religious
views, held to the same opinion. Palfrey well says: "It
was not to be expected of the Colonists of New England that
they should be first to see through a delusion which had
befooled the whole civilized world and the greatest and most
knowing persons in it." The marvel is that the colonists
were so little affected by the raging distemper.
As has been stated, witchcraft was made one of the six
capital crimes named in the Plymouth laws of 1636. In
this respect, it is worth while to remember, the colony was
not unlike the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut,
Rhode Island,Manhattan, Virginia, Maryland, and Penn-
But
it was conspicuously unlike some —
not all
—
sylvania.
but some of the others in two particulars —
a remark-
able scarcity of witches within its bounds, and a decided
indisposition on the part of the authorities to convict
persons charged with this crime.
 THE PILGRIMS 383

II

From first to last there were only two cases brought to

trial. One of these occurred in 1661. A woman in Scituate,
by the name of Sylvester, affirmed that another
Only two woman, by the name of Holmes, had become a
cases witch. She had seen her talking with the devil
in the form of a wild animal. The accuser was
prosecuted for slander, and found guilty, and in way of
amends for the wrong done she had not only to pay costs,
but to confess that she had lied. The second case occurred
six years later in the same town. A Mrs. Ingham was
charged with bewitching Mehitabel Woodworth. Trial
followed. The woman was acquitted. In the single trial for
witchcraft which took place in Pennsylvania, and which
was nearly twenty years after these two trials at Plymouth,
the jury brought in this verdict:
" The
prisoner is guilty
of the common fame of being a witch, but not guilty as she
stands indicted." It was in this spirit that the Pilgrims
had given their decisions.
Thus the Pilgrims, having fallen in with the delusion
of their age in expressing their belief in witchcraft and
making it a capital offense in their laws, es-
No witch
caped the reproach of after years by refusing
executed to credit the
" " and " diseased
vulgar tales
" of a
imaginations couple of indiscreet and un-
scrupulous gossips. No judicial murders of this sort are
to be laid to their charge. The two trials just in mind
were after his day, but it is a remarkable fact, noted by
Goodwin, that Bradford nowhere refers to witchcraft.
It had but small place in the thought of the Plymouth
colonists.

Ill

Amongst the most intelligent, industrious, orderly, self-

controlled, philanthropic, and in every way exemplary
people in our modern time are the Friends. It seems in-
384 THE PILGRIMS
credible that there should ever have been anybody identified
with them in their faith and habits who was not kindly dis-
posed, peaceable, discreet in conduct, and, while
Trouble fi rm [ n
opinion, conciliatory in manner. George
with the Fox, the son of a weaver, and the apprentice
Quakers f a shoemaker, had a message to the world.
When this message is interpreted to us through
the career and services of Penn, or the sweet and conse-
crated life of Woolman, memorable for his
"
Journal," or
the brain and heart and spotless character of Whittier,
we bow and gratefully acknowledge its genuineness and
power.
But in the ranks of the earlier followers of the founder
of the Society of Friends there were not a few who sug-
gest present-day adherents of the organiza-
Wild en- ^ion on }y Dv contrast. The great poet just
thusiasts
named, who is held in honor by all and tenderly
loved both for his poetry and his manhood, has
said that " the extravagance of some of the early Quakers
has been grossly exaggerated." No doubt. But even he,
"
though charging it to persecution and the denial of the
of and "
rights conscience worship," freely admits that many
of them manifested a good deal of wild enthusiasm." This
" wild
enthusiasm," however, is but a tame expression of
the facts. They were fanatical, turbulent, often indecent ;
and the inward voice which spoke to them became in too
many instances, as they gave it articulation, a boisterous
demonstration of harsh and bitter words.

IV

The Pilgrims were naturally alarmed at the approach of

these intruders.They had sought peace and they wanted to
live in peace. At great cost of time and labor
^ky they had cleared their lands, built their homes,
alarmed set U p their institutions, and formulated their

policies; and they did not see why they should

be disturbed. If these apostles of a new faith had come to
seek shelter from oppression, to cast in their lot with them
 THE PILGRIMS 385
and be loyal citizens of their little state, or even to talk
over in a calm and rational way the great questions which
were agitating their minds, they would have had a hearty
welcome, no doubt, and an equal chance with those who had
come before to work out their destiny. But to come as
prophets of the Lord without any distinct credentials in
their message, or in their conduct, to show that they had
been sent of the Lord, was another thing. The colonists
dreaded confusion and overturning. They had had experi-
ence of Lyford and his mischievous intrigues; and of
Gorton with what another had termed his " riotous and
turbulent conduct ; " and they had no relish for further
troubles of this sort. Precisely this is the reason alleged in
defense of their legislation against the Quakers. From all
"
they could learn of them, their doctrines and practises
manifestly tended to the subversion of the fundamentals of
the Christian religion, church order and the civil peace of
the government." Apprehensions like these gave to the
outlook a serious aspect, and whether well founded or not,
prudent men entertaining them could hardly have been ex-
pected to stand by and do nothing. This does not justify
a harsh and blind intolerance. It does not defend the wis-
dom of some of the measures taken by the colony against
the vexation and harm threatened by the presence of these
zealots. But the attitude assumed by them goes far towards

throwing the complainants out of court.

The first law enacted against the Quakers in Plymouth

was in 1657. This law, like the more severe one which
followed it, was not a direct but an indirect
First Law blow at the offenders. It was an act forbidding
against the bringing of Quakers into the colony by
Quakers
anybody on pain of a fine of twenty shillings a
week for every week the prohibited person re-
mained within the jurisdiction of the colony.
It deserves to be remembered, not in justification of the
Pilgrims, but in mitigation of a harsh judgment of them,
25
386 THE PILGRIMS
" "
that they were put up to this action by the Bay people.
It was
" the godly care and zeal of the gentlemen of Massa-
chusetts," not only for a revival of religious
Urged to interests and the reinforcement of a declin-
action by m g ministry in the Plymouth colony, but for
Bay the barring out and extermination of " such
colony " as were now
pests coming in upon them in
the guise of these " ranters," which led to these
enactments.
These are the circumstances. A year before the passage
of the law just mentioned, the general court of the Bay
colony sent a communication to the commissioners of the
four colonies which had become confederated, in which they
were informed of the arrival at Boston of " several persons
professing themselves Quakers," whom they regarded as
" fit instruments to
propagate the kingdom of Satan."
This communication was sent to the commissioners to induce
them in their official capacity to recommend to the general
courts of each of the colonies the adoption of " some
general rules," to prevent the coming in amongst them of
these
" notorious heretics." The commissioners fell in
with
the suggestion and definitely proposed " to the several
General Courts that all Quakers, ranters, and other notori-
ous heretics be prohibited coming into the United Colo-
nies." It was further urged that if these proscribed parties
should " hereafter come or rise among them," they should
be " forthwith secured and removed out of all jurisdic-
tions." This session of the commissioners was held at
Plymouth, and the action was no doubt taken with the
special intent of influencing the general court of the
Plymouth colony.
This first law, which was passed under the inspiration
and urging just indicated, did not prove so effective as was
desirable. A subsequent law was
A second thought
therefore enacted with added prohibitions and
law passed increased It was made a crime, not
penalties.
only to bring Quakers into the colony, but
knowingly to harbor them after they had come. The fine
for this offense was five pounds or a whipping. In 1658 a
law was passed disfranchising Quakers. Moreover, as they
 THE PILGRIMS 387
were wandering up and down the land without any lawful
calling, a house of correction was built, in which, under
charge of vagabondage, they might be locked up and set to
work. Executive officers were authorized " to seize all
books and writings in which the doctrines and creeds of
the Quakers were contained." There was no abatement
of the disorder. These drastic remedies did not cure the
disease.

VI
Instead of halting in their course and giving the subject
the benefit of a sober second thought, the authorities
pushed straight on and added measure to
Further
measure, each succeeding one having in it a
enactments little
sharper sting of reproach and carrying a
little heavier burden of penalty than the pre-

ceding one, until in 1659 the court decreed that in certain

contingencies of persistent disobedience to laws which had
been passed the offenders should be put to death. Thus?
the Pilgrims fell into line with the sentiment and practise
in the mother country, in the Bay colony, in New York
and Virginia, and undertook to extinguish fanaticism by
adding fuel to the flames. Governor Arnold, of Rhode
"
Island, said of these mad enthusiasts that they delight
to be persecuted by the civil power." Severity is lost on
such people.

VII

The intrusion of the Quakers upon the Pilgrims began

in 1657. In the course of that year Nicholas Upsall, Hum-
phrey Norton and John Rouse visited Ply-
First in-
mouth, began their agitation, and brought the
stance of
question of what to do with them to a square
punish- issue. Upsall arrived first, and in no long time
ment was taken back to Rhode Island whence he came.
Norton next appeared on the scene. He was
accorded the same treatment and promptly bundled over
388 THE PILGRIMS
the border into the more hospitable realm of Roger
Williams.
Norton, however, unlike Upsall, seems either to have
renewed his zeal, or nursed his wrath, or both ; for the next
year found him back among the Pilgrims
Norton and anc[ rea
dy to do battle for his cause. Rouse
Bouse was w ith him. The two were a valiant pair,
and not without ability of a certain sort as
well as the courage of their convictions. They were
arrested, put on trial, and condemned to be publicly
whipped.
The had some amusing as well as some aggravating
trial
turns. The prisoners at the bar were shrewd and auda-
cious ; and the contempt they felt for the court was not
left to be laboriously inferred. One of the little franknesses
in which Norton frequently indulged while undergoing
" Thou
examination was to say to the governor :
lyest."
He " mali-
openly charged this high official with being a
" a
cious man," and having clamorous tongue," and he
more than intimated that he used this unruly member like
" a woman." Hard the defendants fell
scolding pressed,
back on their rights as Englishmen and denied the jurisdic-
tion of the court. In this claim, the two disturbers of the
peace overreached themselves and the authorities were quick
to take advantage of the situation. If Englishmen, they

might be required to take the oath of loyalty to England.

This duty was pressed upon them. They refused either to
take the oath or make affirmation. On the ground of this
refusal, so it appears, the men were convicted and forced to
submit to the public whipping previously mentioned. They
left the colony and gave it no more trouble by their per-
sonal presence.
The two having departed from Plymouth under a com-
pulsion which they felt bound to respect, it occurred to
Norton that there was a way still open to him
Norton's
by w hich he might effectually torment his perse-
revenge cutors. He would entertain them with an ex-
hilarating dose of absent treatment. He acted
on this suggestion and wrote back two letters, one to Gover-
nor Prence and the other to Alden. For sharpness, these
 THE PILGRIMS 389
letterswould have done credit to Junius, and for impatient
and would have given points to
spiteful vituperation they
Caliban. This was the end of vexation from Norton.

VIII

Undeterred by the treatment measured out to the apos-

tles of this faith, other disciples of Fox followed those
new
already named in a missionary invasion of the
Other in- old Colony. Two men, by the name of Braind
stances an(j Copeland, felt called to deliver a message to
the Pilgrims in 1658. Their stay in the com-
munity was short ; for they insulted the magistrates, and
were straightway ordered out of the jurisdiction of the gov-
ernment. They obeyed; but inside of a week they were
back again —
only to be whipped and sent off once more.
Two others, Leddra and Pier son, tried to convince the col-
onists of the error of their ways. They were locked up and
kept in jail till they were ready to cry quits. Wenlock
Christison, a zealous advocate of the inner light, evidently
had a good deal of the spirit and pluck of Norton. He
came ; but was persuaded to retire. He came a second time ;
and it was not long before he was dealing out his judgments
right and left. He was taken in hand and punished with the
" head and heels."
painful and humiliating device of
The next year there was a band of six persons who came
to Plymouth. These were headed by Lawrence and
Cassandra Southwick. They had been driven
The South- awav from the
Bay colony, and had sought,
wicks n0 ^ a refuge, but a sphere in which to bear
testimony within the domain of the Pilgrims.
They were given four weeks in which to pick up and be off.
If they did not comply with the order, they were reminded
that by a recent act of the law-making power the penalty
of death might be inflicted upon them. It was no longer
" "
the jail, the whipping-post, and the head and heels which
these wild enthusiasts had to fear, but death. To this sad
pass had the business come.
One of the names about which sad memories gather in
connection with the fanaticism and folly of those old days is
390 THE PILGRIMS
Mary Dyer. She found her way to Plymouth the same
year in which the Southwicks and their four associates
made their appearance in the place. She was
Mary restored to her husband in Rhode Island.
Dyer Thomas Greenleaf, who had brought her, was
forced to pay the costs. Later, both Mrs.
Dyer and Leddra —two of those whose names appear in
the narrative — were " hanged from the great elm on Boston
Common."

IX
It is an intense satisfaction to add that, while the Ply-
mouth people were unduly alarmed, and unwise and unjust
in their treatment of a few propagandists who
No Quaker h^ zeaj no ^ to never
according knowledge, they
put to reached the fatal point of judicially dismissing
death a Q uaker into the next world. Smarting under
the contempt which these evangelists of the
inner light threw upon their officials and laws, naturally
sharing the fear of the time as to the effect which such
teaching and conduct would have upon their religious and
civil institutions, and exasperated into a legislative threat
of death to these men and women if nothing short of this
would arrest them in their career of disturbance, they yet
stopped short of the extremity of hanging. They whipped
and tortured and ostracized them but they did not take
;

life. No blood of a martyr for opinion's sake, nor for un-

wise devotion to religious conviction, stains Plymouth Rock.

The madness and folly couldnot last always. They

were suddenly arrested. For once, the interposition of regal
authority was in the interest of humanity.
Stopped Friends on the other side of the water appealed
by the to Charles II on behalf of their persecuted
kin & brethren in America, and he, in the exercise of
his kingly prerogatives, called a halt on these
cruel and foolish proceedings. In a communication ad-
 THE PILGRIMS 391
dressed to each and all of the governors of New England the
" "
Merry Monarch stole time enough from his pleasures to
say that there must be no more persecutions and no more
" " but that all
hangings of those people called Quakers ;
cases in which they were involved must be transferred to
England for trial and final disposition. This opened the
prison doors and let the oppressed go free. It was a good
stroke by a bad sovereign.
The end of the controversy came none too soon for the
welfare and peace of the Plymouth colony. The Old Col-
ony never suffered so much from this Quaker
End none
agitation as the Bay colony; but it was
too soon
greatly disturbed. The question got into pol-
itics and made party divisions. Men who be-
lieved that the authorities were going too far were shoved
into the background, and the more headstrong were pushed
to the front. The struggle was fast assuming an aspect of
personal bitterness and factional rivalry. Had it continued
there would have been lasting alienation. As it was, Isaac
Robinson, the son of the ever-to-be-remembered John Rob-
inson, and the Howlands, and others of the prominent men
who lifted their hands against these harsh measures, were
discredited, and had to wait until the storm had passed
before they could be reinstated in the public favor. The
situation was one from which it was well to escape at almost
any price.
 XIX
CONFEDERATION OF THE COLONIES
 In the origin and development, the strengthening and the triumph, of
those agencies which transferred from the Old World to the New the trial of
fresh ideas and the experiment with free institutions, the Colonists of New
England had the leading part. The influence and the institutions which
have gone forth from them have had a prevailing sway in the northern half
of this Continent. —George Edward Ellis.

The Colonies, three thousand miles distant from England, leagued to-
gether for mutual defense ; and their Amphictyonic Council was as valuable
and as important to them, as the greater Confederacies of the Old World,
which the most loyal historians have applauded and approved.
John Stetson Barry.
It was not only domestic, but foreign enemies that induced this Con-
federation, whichmay well be called the embryo of the Constitution of the
United States. — Sewell Harding.
 XIX
CONFEDERATION OF THE COLONIES
this point it is necessary to return to an earlier stage
AT in the history of the Pilgrims than that
just now been under review. In 1643, an
which has
important
milestone was reached, and a new and significant chapter
was opened in the progress of the Plymouth colony.

Massachusetts Bay, the colony of the Pilgrims, and the

colonies of Connecticut and New Haven, entered into a
confederation. The name given to the organ-
Confedera- i za tion was The United Colonies of New
Eng-
tion of the i an(j. At that time the Plymouth colony
colonies numbered about three thousand inhabitants.
Massachusetts had five times as many. Con-
necticut had about the same number as Plymouth and New ;

Haven five hundred less. There were eight towns in the Old
Colony.
The leaders in the movement had three main objects in
view in bringing about this union. One was that there
might be a prompt and satisfying way of adjusting dis-
putes over boundaries, and amicably settling such other
differences as might arise between the parties concerned.
Another was the promotion of their mutual interests by en-
"
couraging each other in preserving and propagating the
truths and liberties of the gospel." It was a " cosociation
for mutual help and strength " and they hoped by means
;

of it to increase their chances of " advancing the Kingdom

396 THE PILGRIMS
of Jesus How the underlying concern
Christ." of these
men — Pilgrims and Puritans —alike for the
deep things
of God and the soul crops out at every turn! Still an-
other, the most obvious and commending, was the common
defense.
Five years before the date just named a serious effort
had been made to establish a league of this sort; but the
time had not come when all could see eye to eye, and realize
the importance of standing together in an alliance which,
in emergencies, would make each a vital part of the whole,
and the whole much more weighty and efficient.
At the date first mentioned, however, 1643, and after
much agitation of the question, public opinion was ripe for
the advance step. Concert of plan and action had become
a necessity. Indian matters in particular were assuming
grave and threatening aspects and awakening most serious
apprehensions. The disturbed condition of things in Eng-
land greatly increased the peril from this source. If revo-
lution was to be inaugurated, if the home government was
to be overturned, if the authorities were to be obliged to de-
vote all their attention to securing or holding their places,
there would be small chance of receiving help from over
the seas in case savage plots were hatched and massacres
were attempted. With jealous nations alert, and rival
colonies of other speech and faith ready to act on hints
from intriguing politicians, wily chiefs of the forest tribes
would be promptly apprised of the situation, and know well
when and where to strike their deadly blows. So it was
feared; and this fear became a spur to union.
Still, while this was a ground of alarm and a reason for

coming together, there was to be no wanton aggression on

the Indians. The ninth article of the terms of union was
carefully drawn, and made as clear and strong as possible,
with the specific end in view of preventing any one of the
colonies from acting on its own responsibility, either in
resisting threatened attacks, or making assaults, or in
avenging wrongs done by the Indians. They were to re-
ceive kindness and open-handed justice.
 THE PILGRIMS 397

II

The basis of the union was the political equality of the

colonies, and the right of each to be represented by two
delegates in the conferences. These delegates,
The basis or representatives from the colonies, were called
of union commissioners. Under the provisions of the
union there could be only eight of them at
most; but they constituted a legislative assembly. They
were a federal congress. One of its own number was to be
chosen to preside over the deliberations of the body though
;

the president's vote on any measure up for adoption counted

no more than the vote of any other member. On questions
of peace and war it required, save in " sudden exegencies,"
six votes to pass a motion and make it binding. If propo-
sitions of weight were presented which could not command
the six votes needed for their adoption, they were referred
to the general court of the several colonies. The appor-
tionment of forces and the meeting of expenses in case of
war were to be according to the numbers and financial
strength of the several colonies. Massachusetts, for in-
stance, was to furnish men in the ratio of one hundred to
forty-five for each of the other jurisdictions. This pro-
portion, however, which was so fixed in one of the articles
of the compact under which the confederation had been
formed, was altered at the first session of the commissioners,
and Massachusetts was set down for one hundred and fifty,
Plymouth and Connecticut for thirty each, while New
Haven was required to raise only twenty-five. This shows
what forward strides the Bay colony was making in those
early years. The meetings of the commissioners were to be
held once a year — though when occasion called there might
be emergency meetings — and in each of the colonies in
turn. The best men were sent to this little congress. John
Winthrop was the first president in a line of presidents
which would have done honor to any legislative body in
the world. Bradford was four times elected a commissioner ;
and he was twice chosen to preside. The men, however,
who were most frequently sent to represent Plymouth, while
398 THE PILGRIMS
the colonies were acting under the first articles of union,
were Thomas Prince, John Brown, Josiah Winslow, and
Thomas Southworth.

ni
In 1662, through the influence of John Winthrop,
the younger, a charter of remarkably liberal provisions
was obtained from Charles II, for Connecti-
Wew arti- cu ^ This charter was found to cover New
#

cles of Haven. Three years not a

later, after little
union bitter controversy and much against the will
of many of the leading citizens, the colony of
Davenport and Eaton became merged in that of Haynes
and Hooker. This reduced the colonies which were in the
confederation from four to three, and called for a recon-
struction of the articles of union. It took many con-
ferences and a number of years to bring this about ; but in
1672 the revised articles were ratified and the confederacy
set out anew.
The important changes were that henceforth it would re-
quire five out of six, instead of six out of eight, of the com-
missioners to make an action binding ; the meetings were to
be not annual but triennial — though provision was made
for calling and holding extraordinary meetings when occa-
sion demanded ; wars were not to be undertaken except by
authorization of the general courts of the several colonies ;
men were to be raised for the common defense, and expenses
met for military operations, on the basis of a new apportion-
ment by which Massachusetts was to contribute in the ratio
of one hundred to sixty for Connecticut and thirty for Ply-
mouth. There were other alterations; but these were the
main ones. It was under this second constitution that the
colonies lived and carried on their joint operations, until
Plymouth was finally annexed to Massachusetts and became
extinct as an independent jurisdiction.
 THE PILGRIMS 399

IV
What did the confederacy do for the Plymouth colony?
There are several answers to this question. In a general
way it may be said that it did for the Plymouth
Value of
colony just what was expected of it when the
union to
confederacy was formed. It gave new heart
Plymouth an(j new hope to the people. It removed the
sense of isolation which had sometimes been so
weakening and oppressive. It imparted the confidence which
it derived from an increase in the numbers of those who

have interests in common and are moved by a common spirit

and purpose. It increased the resources, both of strength
and wisdom, available in case of contest. To a single strand
three strands were added ; and it made a cord which, to say
the least, could not be so easily broken. It was a tie that
bound in a wider fellowship. It was a rift in the clouds of a
threatening sky.

But, in addition to a general service of this kind, it ren-

dered specific services of great worth along the lines had
in view when the confederacy was formed. To
Settled c it e a s i n gl e instance, it may be said that title
claims to to t ne ownership and jurisdiction over a tract
disputed f coun try lying on the border between the
territory Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies was
satisfactorily adjusted and the boundaries
definitely fixed. For a number of years, beginning with
1640, Seekonk, a portion of which is now known as Reho-
both, was a bone of contention between the two colonies.
The Bay colony claimed it, apparently because she wanted
it ; and the Old Colony asserted her right to it in vi<ue of
some sort of patent. So long as the colonies remained
separate, there was no way of dealing with the question in
dispute except for each to state its position and urge its
claims, and there leave the matter. The confederacy fur-
nished a court of appeal, and cases could there be pushed
to a finish. Precisely that is what was done in this in-
400 THE PILGRIMS
stance. The facts were laid before the commissioners, and
the claims of each side were presented ; then those members
of the commission who were not parties to the controversy,
and to whom the case was referred for decision, made answer
in favor of Plymouth. Thus a long and irritating conten-
tion was brought to an amicable conclusion. There were
other differences of like nature in which the other colonies
were concerned and which were brought to happy adjust-
ments by the board of commissioners ; but this instance is
mentioned because it had to do with Plymouth, and answers
our questions by showing how the peace and welfare of
Plymouth were promoted by the confederacy.
For another instance and in another sphere it may be
said that the Pilgrims were encouraged to take a freshened
interest in education, and to put more zeal into
Encouraged the support of ministers and churches, in con-
to sustain
sequence of influences brought to bear on them
schools and
through the confederacy.
churches When the confederacy was set up the Ply-
mouth colony had been in existence for more
than twenty years. While the fires of devotion to high
ideals still burned upon the altar, it is not strange that there
was a little less heat and glow in the flame than in the
earlier times. The struggle to gain a permanent footing
in the land had been a hard and wearisome one. New set-
tlers were coming in upon them but some of them were on
;

the ground simply for gain, and so far as the higher in-
terests of the colony were concerned they were rather a
hindrance than a help. Elder Brewster, always an appre-
ciable and unfailing moral and spiritual force in the com-
munity, was near the end of his beneficent career. Without
any marked degeneracy of the people, though the outlook
was somewhat alarming to Bradford; and without any
decided lowering of the tone of devotion to the ends of in-
struction and religion, it was only natural for enthusiastic
outsiders to feel that the time had come when a little wise
counsel and encouragement would do the colony good, and
for the colony to feel that it needed just this kind of whole-
some stimulation. In this spirit counsel was given and
received. There was no patronizing intrusion, and there
 THE PILGRIMS 401
was no irritation. Everything was in good temper; and
the moral life of the colony was helped by this association
with other members of the confederacy and the suggestions
which reached the colony through the confederacy.
It was through the urgent recommendation of the com-
missioners that Nathaniel Morton was encouraged to write
" New
his England's Memorial." Though this is far from
being a full and perfect account of things in the colony for
the first forty years and more, it is yet invaluable.
The Plymouth people had their vision enlarged and their
interest in the training of youth increased by the appeals
which reached them through the confederacy in behalf of
the little college at Cambridge. The help sought was small,
but it was given; and the effect was, not only to aid a
young and struggling institution, but to stimulate inter-
est in their own schools. The determination and energy
with which Massachusetts resisted assaults on religion, or
the views and statements and customs which her rulers iden-
tified with religion, were not always wise, nor was the
counsel which she pressed on her sister colonies always the
best; but Plymouth felt the impulse imparted by Massa-
chusetts, and the purpose of the Pilgrims to foster sound
learning was intensified, and their zeal in maintaining the
truth, in supporting churches, and in strengthening the
hands of the ministers, was very much quickened. In some
instances harm was done by this outside urgency ; but the
good was more than the harm, and the good was abiding.
Plymouth gave ; but she also received ; and the people of the
Old Colony were wider-visioned and more earnest in their
loyalty to truth and duty because of the ideas and influences
which reached them through the channels of the confederacy.
Important, however, as the confederacy was to Ply-
mouth in other particulars, it was indispensable in the hard
and bitter conflict with Philip. The war had
Indispensa- % <jo primarily with the Plymouth colony,
ble aid in Some have thought that the Plymouth colony
war with was wnolly to blame for bringing it on; and
Philip that a little more tact and patience on the part
of the leaders would have prevented it alto-

gether. Be this as it may, the other colonies were very soon

26
402 THE PILGRIMS
involved in the terrific wrestle, and the fight became a fight
for the life of them all. Had it not been for this union of
the Pilgrim colony with the other colonies, it is difficult to
see how the oldest settlement of the league could have main-
tained its existence. In all human probability it would have
been swept from the earth. The account of this conflict will
appear more in detail in a later chapter. Here and now
enough to say, as has just been hinted, that so far as
it is

can be gathered from the known facts of the case, if the

confederacy had not been formed in 1643 and renewed at
a subsequent date, the obituary of the Plymouth colony
would have been written in 1675.

VI
In addition to the advantages just enumerated some —
of them general, and some of them specific which the—
confederacy conferred upon the Plymouth
Incidental were some benefits derived
there
colonists,
benefits. from the union which were not nominated in
the bond. They were incidental benefits ; but
they were real. For the confederacy afforded opportunity
or occasion to the Plymouth people to exhibit qualities
which, though known to exist, could not otherwise have been
brought out and shown so distinctly.
For one thing the union served a purpose in making clear
the tenacity with which the Pilgrims held to their local
rights. They guarded their democracy with
Great a jealous eye. At the outset they were watch-
stress laid fu ]
j e st
they yield too much in the organiza-
on local on Q f j-^g league. Then, as measures were
|-j

rights introduced from time to time and discussed in

their tiny parliament of eight commissioners,
they were ever alert in the interest of their cherished local
control. In the union and out of the union they had a pas-
sion for both equal rights and local rights.
To a large extent this is true, indeed, of all the New
England colonies. It is true of all the groups of early

settlers, east and west, north and south, who laid the faun-
 THE PILGRIMS 403

dations of our institutions ; and it remains true to this day.

The late Senator Hoar once said to me that one of the
reasons why the general government has been so reluctant
to exercise its power in behalf of the disfranchised negroes
is the traditional unwillingness there is in this country to

override, or seem to override, local self-government. When

it is remembered that blacks as well as whites belong to
the locality, and, therefore, by the very terms of the state-
ment ought to be included in the list of those who have right
to a share in the management of the affairs of the locality,
the argument would seem to have little weight. It is pre-
eminently local self-government which is disregarded and
trampled in the dust by this outrage on justice.
But the sentiment was pronounced in the Plymouth col-
onists ; and the questions which came up in connection with
the confederacy, and the management of affairs under the
terms of the union, helped, not only to develop this senti-
ment, but to make it more and more evident. It will be re-
called that candidates for full citizenship in the colony
had to have strong local backing before they could be made
freemen. Acting in the larger sphere of the confederacy
the Pilgrims still clung to this idea. When the articles of
union had been drawn up and practically agreed upon at
Boston in May, 1643, Edward Winslow and William Col-
lier, the delegates from Plymouth, refused to sign them
" for want of sufficient commission from their General
Court." When the old confederacy was abandoned and a
new one was formed, there was a marked drift towards less
power in the larger organization, and more in the local
jurisdiction. It was reserved for the Massachusetts colony,
at one stage in the career of the confederacy, to fall back
on the extreme doctrine of state rights ; but the Plymouth
men, while faithful to the obligations which they had as-
sumed in entering the union of the colonies, were never
wanting in distrust of centralized power.
Even in a life-and-death struggle like that between the
colonists and Philip, the general court of Plymouth passed
an order permitting soldiers going on an expedition to
choose their commander, and also advising commanders
to consult their soldiers as to what should be done. Only
404 THE PILGRIMS
men like the Pilgrims and their successors could be led to

victory under this sort of discipline. In cases of impor-

tance the commissioners to the confederate conferences in-
sisted on knowing the feelings and opinions of the general
court before they would consent to act. With all the re-
sources at her command Plymouth resisted absorption into
Massachusetts. The pride of the people was wounded, of
course but the chief thing was that they wanted to manage
;

their own affairs and safeguard their own interests. The

last act of the general court of the Old Colony was, in view
of the disaster which had befallen them in losing their sepa-
rate political existence, to appoint a day of
" solemn
fasting
and humiliation." In the state of feeling which then existed
amongst them we may be sure that the day was duly observed.
New Haven and Plymouth —
both settlements strenuous for
self-government
—
had to pass through the humiliating ex-
perience of being absorbed in another jurisdiction.
Another one of these incidental advantages afforded by
the confederacy to the Plymouth men was the chance it
gave to show the surprising ability
them
Ability of w hich
they possessed, and their capacity to
the Ply- meet g ra ve questions as they arose. Any one
mouth wh rea d s the story will not fail to be impressed
men with the way in which they kept up their end in
the discussions and negotiations which were
carried on between them and their associates in the manage-
ment of their common affairs.
There is a prevailing notion that the successors in office
of the earlier leaders of the Pilgrims, and the children who
were born to them, as well as those who from time to time
were added to their number from the outside, were greatly
inferior to the Mayflower company in intellectual capacity
and moral fiber. quite true that the first comers were a
It is

remarkable group. No later names in the Pilgrim line will

ever shine with a luster to equal that which attaches to the
names of Carver and Bradford, Brewster and Standish,
Winslow, Alden, Hopkins, and Howland but the men who
;

came after them in leadership, or who sprang from their

loins in the second and third generation, were by no means

wanting in brains and pluck.

 THE PILGRIMS 405

Thomas Prince, who joined the colony in 1621, having

come over in the Fortune, but who in the earlier part of his
career was largely overshadowed by the more conspicuous
figures of the Mayflower; Josiah Winslow, the son of Ed-
ward; Thomas Hinckley, who came with his father and
mother from England to Scituate, and ten years later re-
moved to Barnstable, and who was the dominating influence
at Plymouth during the closing years of the independent
political life of the jurisdiction; and Benjamin Church, a
Plymouth boy, born in 1639, the military leader at a time
when military leadership of a high order was at a premium,
were of them able men. Prince was governor for eigh-
all
teen years. Sixteen of these years followed the death of
Bradford and were without a break. He had his faults and
he made mistakes ; but there was light in his brain and grip
in his hand. He was a warm advocate of schools and
churches, and he did what he could to foster these institu-
tions. Winslow followed Prince, and was the chief execu-
tive for the seven years which included the trying and

triumphant war against Philip. Hinckley held the reins

of power for twelve years —
counting the time when Andros
was doing the ruling and local governors were of no
all

consequence
— and in his difficult position he showed both
discretion and courage. It is enough to say of Church that
he grasped the situation and measured up, so far as he was
permitted to do so, to the full demands of the hour when
the awful storm of concerted and savage wrath suddenly
blackened the sky and broke on the devoted heads of the
colonists. One has only to observe the attitude and actions
of the Plymouth men during the years in which their colony
was in the confederation to see that in good temper, in in-
telligent comprehension of conditions, in ability to state
a case, in pluck in standing up for their just claims, in
diplomacy, in willingness to bear their fair share of the
common burdens, and in skill and bravery in war, they
were the peers of the representatives of the other colonies.
One who reads the correspondence between the representa-
tives of the Massachusetts government and those of Ply-
mouth on the question whether the commissioners by their
action could bind all the colonies to support an offensive
406 THE PILGRIMS
war, will see that in comprehension of the question at issue,
in clearness of statement, and in cogency of reasoning, the
Plymouth advocates had the better of it. It was much to
the credit of Bradstreet and Dennison of the Bay colony,
who took the rope-of-sand view of the articles of confedera-
tion, that they yielded gracefully at last; but it is quite
evident that they yielded because they had to do it. They
had not only the weaker side ; but they were the weaker con-
testants. The Plymouth statesmen stood as stiffly for local
rights as the Massachusetts statesmen; but for the mo-
ment, in the crisis which was then upon them, the former
saw more clearly than the latter that the way to preserve
local rights was, for the time being, to surrender some
portion of them to the wider authority of the whole com-
munity. These after-years have seen that same question
debated in senate chambers by the intellectual giants of the
nation, and on many a bloody battle-field where graves and
monuments mark the sacrifices of the strife; but the final
settlement had been in line with the contention of those
humble but far-seeing representatives of the type of democ-
racy which now dominates the nation.
At the end of three-quarters of a century there was less
moral enthusiasm among the people, less unity of spirit
and purpose, more ambition, more worldliness, and more
vice and crime but there was no moment in the independent
;

life of the Plymouth colony when the leadership of affairs

was not in the hands of men of ability and character.

VII
There is another particular in which the Plymouth
colony was benefited by this confederation but it is a .par-
;

ticular in which all the colonies were helped.

Training Hence, while the mention of it has a place here,
secured for ftought not to stand out by itself as if appli-
future cable only to the Plymouth people. This union
needs f hearts and hands prefigured and prepared
the way for another union of hearts and hands
which was to mean much to the dwellers in this land,and to
the dwellers in all lands in the time to come. When the hour
 THE PILGRIMS 407
had struck for a united front against, not an Indian chief,
but a British sovereign, the New Englanders were ready ;

for their ancestors had taught them how to stand together

and work together in a cause which meant life or death.
This union was organic. It was a federal government.
The states were small: but it was a confederacy of states.
It was not a mere nocking together in a loose alliance of in-
dependent sovereignties; but an organization clothed with
central and superior authority. As we have seen, Plymouth
was slow to yield so much power as seemed to be necessary
to the confederacy— though stood up
it bravely and
for it

when the came; and Massachusetts drew

test
an emergency — though
successfully
back in bowed gracefully
it the to
inevitable when the pressure became too much to withstand.
Breaches of the terms of the union were not tolerated.
When one member of the compact refused to comply, the
others asserted the right of the body to have its way. The
union of the four colonies was prophetic of the union of
the thirteen colonies, and it was educational. Both unions
looked forward to a mighty union of independent states.
However crude the arrangements, here was the clear fore-
shadowing of e pluribus unum, and of a government where
sovereign authority must be recognized, and whose laws no
single state might nullify.
 XX
THE WAR WITH PHILIP
 Philip, of Mount Hope, a high-spirited savage, of great enterprise, brav-
ery and military genius, jealous of the constant growth of the English set-
tlement, hating their religion, despising those of his own countrymen who
embraced the worship and cultivated the manners of the white men, and
feeling strong in that acquaintance with the arms of civilized warfare which
the Indians had so extensively acquired, united the savage tribes of Massa-
chusetts and Rhode Island in a last desperate effort to exterminate the
English.
— Leonard Bacon.
Scarcely any Indians were left within the New England Colonies except
the friendly Mohegans. But this was not accomplished until terrible havoc
had been wrought among the English, chiefly in Massachusetts and Plymouth.
Of ninety towns, twelve had been utterly destroyed, while more than forty
others had been the scene of fire and massacre. More than a thousand men
had been killed, and a great many women and children. There was a great
—
war debt which it took several years to pay. John Fiske.
 XX
THE WAR WITH PHILIP
the time when Standish attacked the Neponsits

FROM at Wessagusset, and struck down the leaders and

brought the tribe to terms, in 1624, not a drop of
Indian blood was shed in war by the Pilgrims until the out-
break of Philip in 1675. The troops of the colony had been
called out in the Pequot War; but before they reached
the scene of action the war was at an end. For a half -cen-
tury there had been peace and the victories of peace. The
foundations of the new state had been securely laid, general
policies had been settled, laws suited to the situation had
been enacted, churches and schools had been organized and
set forward, serious obstacles had been met and overcome,
and many of their hopes had been realized.
At length, however, the madness of those who were to be
destroyed prevailed ; the fury long suppressed burst forth ;
and for more than a twelvemonth the skies were lurid with
the flames of burning buildings ; the fields, on which so much
hard labor had been expended, were desolated; herds and
flocks were stolen or killed; industry and enterprise were

paralyzed; remote and lone settlers were driven from their

homes ; towns and villages were kept in constant alarm, and
the hearts of wives and mothers were wrung with anguish
over the sudden and cruel taking-off of those whose lives
were so dear to them and on whose strong arms they leaned
for support. New England never knew another desolation
like it. Hidden away in swamps and forest fastnesses,
prowling about with stealthy tread under cover of darkness,
were wily foes who might surprise their victims at any
moment and smite them to their death. Fire and slaughter
412 THE PILGRIMS
ruled the hour and overclouded all life with gloom. No one
can have an adequate idea of the perils to which the Pilgrim
colonists were exposed, of the hardships which they had to
endure, of the sacrifices which they had to make, and of the
interruption which the outbreak brought to their progress,
who leaves unread the story of this sharp death-grapple
between the forces of barbarism and civilization.

What were the causes of the war? Strictly speaking

there were two causes —
one general, and the other specific
and personal.
Causes of The general cause was the conviction which
the war took possession of the leaders on the Indian
side that, unless the natives arose in their might
and swept the English from the face of the earth, their own
race was doomed. The English were increasing; the In-
dians were diminishing. The English were
^ke
occupying more and more of the territory
general which had once been their own; the Indians
cause were being crowded into a corner. It mattered
not that the Indians, for considerations satis-
factory to themselves, had bartered away their hunting-
grounds and set their seals to instruments that made the
newcomers the rightful owners of a large part of the do-
main of which they had once been sole lords — the facts were
that they were facing extinction. It was the new against
the old. It was the higher against the lower. It was in-
structed minds, industry, foresight, increasing resources,
humanity and progress against the stupid contentment
which accepts things as they are and prefers annihilation
to change. By yielding and coming under the influence
of civilization there might be a future for the aborigi-
nes; but if they insisted on clinging to their savagery it
must be extermination for one or the other of these races.
The land was not wide enough for them both. So the
leaders reasoned. So the more obstinate and warlike of the
tribes were made to feel.
 THE PILGRIMS 413
The specific and personal cause was Philip. It grew out
of the overweening ambition, the intriguing and mischief-
plotting temper, and the subtle hatred of this
The speci- Indian chief. He wanted to avenge fancied
fie and
wrongs, to stand at the head of the New Eng-
personal j an(j tribes, and be their leader in
recovering
cause
ground lost to his race. The savage instinct
came to the front, and he was consumed with
the passion to have his people dip their hands in blood.

n
Who was Philip? He was a younger son of Massasoit.
On the death of his older brother, Alexander, in 1662, he
came into succession to the chieftaincy of the
Philip Pokanokets.
He was not a man to be trusted. Finding
warrant in a statement made by Hubbard, it is frequently
asserted in chapters devoted to the war by not a few of our
later writers, that the hostile attitude assumed
Not a man
\yj Philip grew out of harsh treatment accorded
to be to his brother Alexander. Elliott, in his " New
trusted "
England History rolls this as a sweet morsel
under his tongue. But Palfrey shows conclu-
sively that this inference is not warranted. Neither before
his fatal illness, nor during the progress of his illness, was
Alexander treated harshly. On the contrary, the utmost
kindness was extended to him. By nature Philip was un-
trustworthy. He was the degenerate descendant of a sire
who had moral integrity enough to make pledges of friend-
ship and keep them unto the end ; and in character he sug-
gests his father only by contrast. He was base and
treacherous. His impulses were low and cunning. The
sense of honor which marked many a chief of the native
tribes was wanting in him. Under the guise of friendship
he could prosecute intrigues. When he was suspected, and
his plans were uncovered, and he was openly charged with
evil intent, he could make lies his refuge; or if he could
not escape through the arts of duplicity, he was capable of
confessingall in the most abject fashion, and falling back
on a new agreement and promise to do better in the future.
414 THE PILGRIMS
One of the confessions of this sort, which was made by
him more than four years before the open rupture of ami-
cable relations with the whites, was to the effect, that,
" indiscretions " and " the
through his naughtiness of his
" he had " violated
heart and broken the covenant " pre-
" taken
viously made with the English, and up arms with
" and
an evil intent against them, and that groundlessly ;

become " sensible

" of his "
unfaithful-
that, having deeply
ness and folly," he wished to renew his treaty relations with
these friends of his father and of himself, whom " at all
times he had found kind." In token of the genuineness of
his contrition he proposed to turn over his English arms
to the Plymouth authorities. Had his confession been sin-
cere would have been to his credit. It was not sincere it
it ;

was a trick. It was a move to gain time. He was acting a

part; and both his acknowledgment of his faults and his
offer to surrender his guns reveal the depths of abjectness
into which he could descend. On occasion he could be inso-
lent. When called to account for the non-fulfilment of his
promise to surrender his muskets he snapped his fingers at
the complaining officials and practically defied them to hold
him to his agreement. But whether abject or insolent, he
was false to the core and always open to suspicion. While
he hated the Plymouth people with all the energy of his evil
nature, and was hatching schemes for their destruction, he
had the coolness and hypocrisy to tell the Boston men that
he had no hostile designs against these near neighbors of
his and that they were needlessly alarmed. He was a born
liar, and false to a degree to give him marked eminence,
even in the circles of the most adroit schemers and hypo-
crites of his unfortunate race. He was a past master in
Machiavelianism.
But while all this is true, it is also true that Philip had
a certain subtle power of leadership which was very pro-
nounced. So much must be accorded to him.
Capacity ft [ s no t strange, perhaps, that as men have
for leader- differed in their estimates of the moral char-
skip acter of this chief, so they have differed in
their estimates of his intellectual abilities. One
" the talents were
author says, unquestionably of the first
 THE PILGRIMS 415

order." Another says he had neither " forethought " nor

" heroism." He has been designated by one writer as " a
" and
mighty prince ; by a second, who was in at his death,
as
" a doleful, dirty beast." One who has any preconceived
notions of his gifts, whether mental or moral, may be sure
of finding writers whose opinions coincide with his own.
Still, whatever may be said to the contrary, Philip was a
leader. He had the art of persuasion. He could impart
his purpose to other minds. He could awaken enthusiasm
for the cause he had at heart. Assert as we may that he
had no marked mental gifts, say over and over again that
he was without foresight and courage, reduce his moral
— the moral qualities which we might expect to
qualities
find exemplified in the chief of even a savage tribe — it is

yet a fact that the man had a tremendous power of some

sort, that he exerted a mighty influence, that he sowed seeds
which matured into a harvest of havoc and ruin, and that he
associated his name in such tragic fashion with a dark
page in New England history that it will endure as long as
the history itself endures. This was not the work of a weak-
ling, timid, uncertain, purposeless, and moving in any direc-
tion in which the wind might chance to blow ; but of a man
capable of putting two things together, of exercising fore-
sight, and largely endowed with will, force, and persistency.
Very early in his career the scheme of forming a com-
bination of the savage nations and wiping out the English
took place in Philip's brain. He gave years of thought to
the project ;and he wove his plot with the skill of one who
has not a little power, a great deal of cunning, and no con-
science. Under his manipulation of the mistrusts and
prejudices and hates of his people, they were so far inflamed
that they were finally hot for red-handed war. They
avowed their intentions and declared hostilities by making
an attack on Swansea and plundering and burning houses.
This first rude assault of the conflict was made on the Ply-
mouth colony. It occurred on the last days of June in
1675. Soon men were ambushed and shot down while going
to and from their houses, or walking along the highways;
other towns were startled from their midnight slumbers by
the waving of incendiary torches and the cry of fire ; other
416 THE PILGRIMS
murders were committed and war in all its fury and with
;

all its horrors was raging far and wide. The design was
first of all to overwhelm and annihilate the Pilgrims, and
then to sweep out in a wider movement and carry destruc-
tion to all the English settlements in New England.

in
The task Philip had in hand was not a light one. The
ranks of the tribes which were determined to adhere to
barbarism were greatly thinned. At the
Indian
breaking out of the war it is probable that in
ranks an New England there were less than twenty
greatly thousand Indians. In the Massachusetts and
reduced
Plymouth colonies there could not have been,
so it is estimated, more than twelve thousand
natives. Philip's own immediate tribe had dwindled to not
much more than three hundred all told. The whites in New
England had increased to more than fifty thousand. In
Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, the confeder-
ated colonies, the white population numbered over forty
thousand. In face of this numerical advantage possessed
by the English the savage chieftain had to organize war.
In any event and to any forecast the issue must have seemed
doubtful. It could have been no easy matter, therefore, for
Philip to persuade other savage chieftains that the chances
of success, even by resorting to all the methods of surprise,
treachery, intimidation, and slaughter known to Indian
warfare, were good. The more intelligent of them must
have known that they were not good.
This, however, is the least surprising part of the story.
The nations and the tribes of the nations on which the son
of Massasoit could rely for an effective cam-
Feuds and
paign against their civilized neighbors were
jealousies alienated from each other by long-standing
to be feuds and jealousies. Somehow, if anything
reconciled was to De accomplished, they must be recon-
ciled, informed with a common aim, inflamed
with a common passion, welded into unity, and prepared to
deliver a blow which should have in it the terror of a con*
 THE PILGRIMS 417
certed onset and the crushing weight of a combined
strength. Insignificant as his own following was, he
brought the leaders of the Nipmucks, a formidable foe
when all their groups were united, and the leaders of the
Narragansetts, with their four thousand warriors, to his
way of thinking. Not without cunning and force, not with-
out skilful intrigues and artful persuasions, we may be
sure, was this result, so essential to his object, secured by
Philip.
But this is what he did. To confront a triple alliance of
white men he brought about a triple alliance of red men;
and when the storm of open war broke upon the country it
was organization against organization. Such results do
not come of themselves and just then there was nobody in
;

sight who could have secured this combination of the savage

tribes except the wily Wampanoag chief.

IV

Still further, when the conflict was actually on, and

torch and tomahawk were doing their deadly work,
Philip found to his chagrin and sorrow that
Part taken there was a
large body of Christian Indians
ky who could not be detached from their loyalty
Christian to the English, but who, on the contrary, would
Indians
gj ve them aid and comfort in the life-and-death
struggle. Surely the missionaries who labored
for the conversion of the Indians in the early days of the
settlement of the Plymouth colony had their reward. They
had their reward in the good done to the savages ; and they
had the further reward of seeing those who had been
brought into the faith of our Lord become an important
factor in defense at an hour when the very existence of the
colony was at stake.
This statement applies to other colonies of New Eng-
land; but it has special pertinency of application to the
Plymouth colony. If it had not been for the labors of
Eliot and his associates in Massachusetts, and of the May-
hews in Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and of Bourne
and his fellow-workers on the cape, it is difficult to see how
27
418 THE PILGRIMS
the Plymouth colony could have survived this terrific shock.
The Nausites alone, had they remained in their unevangel-
ized state and at enmity with the English, would have been
a serious menace to them at all times, and especially at this
time. The Bay colony, more compact and far more pow-
erful, might have fought her way through successfully.
So might others of the colonies. Judging from this
distance and taking all conditions into account, it seems
probable that Plymouth would have been pushed to the
wall.
It must be gratefully conceded, therefore, that the Chris-
tian Indians averted a dire disaster. Distrusted at first, as
was not altogether unnatural, they came to be
Immense the recognized guides of the little companies
value of an(j squads of white men in conducting their
their
partisan warfare, and their unfailing sup-
services
porters in hot and dangerous contests. It was
the unerring bullet of a Christian Indian which
laid Philip in the dust. It was under the daring lead of
another Christian Indian that Church was enabled to drop
down over a steep, shelving ledge into the presence of Ana-
wan, the able lieutenant of Philip, and there, in what was
supposed to be his inaccessible stronghold, surprise him into
surrender. Indian captives were put in charge of Christian
Indians, and the guardians never betrayed their trust.
The Nipmucks in Massachusetts afford an exception — or
some of them at any rate ; but for the most part, the pray-
ing Indians, as they were called, kept the faith and were
faithful. They added worthy names to the roll of martyrs.
The Old Colony was abundantly compensated for all her
outlays in behalf of the wild tribes into the midst of which
she was thrown. No equal amount of money, time, and
energy spent by the Pilgrims ever had so much defensive
value as that which was devoted to winning the untutored
children of the forest to the higher and better life of true
disciples of the divine Master. It was not alone philan-

thropy
—it was a military measure of highest importance
and it was statesmanship of the first order. Others may
belittle efforts to bring barbarous peoples under the influ-
ence of faith in the Son of God and a Christian civilization,
 THE PILGRIMS 419
ifthey will but words in disparagement of such! endeavors
;

must ever have a strange sound coming from the lips of

those whose ancestors had any association with Plymouth
Rock.

The war ran on for more than a year and a half. It

began, as we have seen, within the jurisdiction of the Ply-
mouth colony. The primary object of it was
Course t exterminate the Plymouth people. From
of the the beginning the struggle was fierce and san-
war Massacre followed massacre, and
guinary.
town after town went up in flames. The open-
ing attack on Swansea was quickly succeeded by attacks on
Dartmouth, Middleborough, and Taunton. Encounters
were frequent. Church was sent to the front at once but ;

the conduct of the war was not in his hands. Had the direc-
tion of operations been turned over to him at the first, as it
was at the last, he would have made short work of Philip
and his allies but he was hampered by his superiors and
; ;

advantages which he gained in early skirmishes with the foe

were not pursued and made decisive.
At the end of a six weeks' campaign the scene of war
shifted from the bounds of Plymouth to the territory of
Massachusetts. Here it was the same blood-
War
curdling story of ambush, surprise, incendiary
shifted
flame, marauding adventure, capture, and
from Ply- death. Through the autumn and winter, and
mouth to U p t the edge of spring, the awful tragedy
Massachu-
occupied the stage. The abandonment of Men-
setts Q» on? the
burning of Deerfield, the attacks on
Hadley and Springfield, the destruction of
Northfield, the frightful slaughter on both sides in the
battle which raged about the fort of the Narragansetts in
their swamp retreat, the siege of Brookfield, the harrowing
story of Mrs. Rowlandson and her children captured in the
assault on Lancaster, the surprise of Medfield, the sharp
conflict, the property losses and the escapes at Groton, the
wiping out of Marlborough, the melancholy defeat of the
420 THE PILGRIMS
gallant Wadsworth and his force of fifty men at Sudbury,
the sudden and overwhelming assault made on the Indians
and the failure through panic to reap the fruits of the
victory at Turner's Falls, and the lamentable deaths of
Captains Beers, Marshall, Lathrop, Johnson, Wadsworth,
Turner, and others, along with many hundreds of brave
men who were in the ranks of the various companies, fall
into this period of horror.

VI

Meantime, having involved many communities in destruc-

tion and brought many lives to an untimely end, the war
swept back from the territory of the Bay col-
War swept onv an(j
began its ravages anew within the
back into bounds of the Plymouth settlement. William
Plymouth Clark's garrison-house, located within three
miles of the Rock, was attacked and burned.
The men were all at church. By an act of criminal care-
lessness the gate of the house was left open. The Indians
seized their opportunity, entered, killed eleven women and
children, including Mrs. Clark, took what plunder they
wished, set fire to the building, and fled. This was the first
rude touch of the heavy hand of war felt within the pre-
cincts of the town of Plymouth. A couple of weeks later,
Captain Michael Peirce, of Scituate, started out with a
hardy company of fifty of his fellow townsmen, and twenty
friendly Indians from Cape Cod, to beat back the aggres-
sive enemy. He met the foe in large numbers at a point
"
called Study Hill," in what is now Pawtucket, and he
and his company were annihilated. Eight of the friendly
Indians escaped, and those were all. It was a dark hour.
Darker hours were to follow. Rehoboth was attacked
and more than threescore houses and barns were reduced
to ashes. Dartmouth and Middleborough had been aban-
doned, and the destruction of residences in those towns
was a simple matter. In addition to these places the part
of Plymouth which is now called Halifax was burned.
Bridgewater suffered, though no one of her people was mas-
 THE PILGRIMS 421

sacred, and not one of her soldiers was lost in battle. Taun-
ton, like Bridgewater, escaped with small property losses,
but she suffered more in men. Five of her citizens lost
their lives at the hands of the Indians. Scituate felt
the full weight of the blow. Besides the loss of Peirce and
his half a hundred of daring comrades who fell in one en-
gagement, this town was desperately assaulted and more
than twenty buildings, one of which was a sawmill, were
given to the flames, and six men of family were slain. There
were other disasters and sorrows. Along the border-line
which separated the English and the Indians men took
their lives in their hands when they went forth to their
daily tasks; and wives and mothers left alone with their
babes knew not what bereavements a night might bring
them. Eternal vigilance was the price the people had to
pay for their lives, and the wonder is that all were not worn
out by the constant strain of anxiety.

VII

The end was in sight. After a year or so of the consum-

ing struggle the Indians found their fighting forces reduced
to small numbers and their resources of all
End of sorts greatly diminished. They had staked all
war in on jj^ i^ue an(J were about to lose,
sight The most hopeful feature of the outlook,
however, was turning the direction of military
operations over to Church. The authorities had been ex-
perimenting in generals; at last they found their Grant.
Others had done well — some of them remarkably well ;
but Church was both a born strategist and a born fighter.
After two or three weeks of active campaigning at the begin-
ning of the war, he had been practically retired from the
service for the reason that his policies and methods did not
commend themselves to those at the head of affairs. But
he knew Indians quite as well as they knew themselves. He
could meet them on their own ground and at their own tac-
tics. He had the courage to brave dangers, the wariness to
avoid traps, and the instinct and experience which told him
422 THE PILGRIMS
when and where to strike. He had the magnanimity of all
large-natured personalities. He could use friendly Indians
in a way to make one white man with a red man at his side a
vastly more effective force than two white men could be.
Very soon Philip was tracked to his lair and shot. Nor was
it long before Anawan was in the toils and compelled to

yield up his life.

This practically ended the war. There were still enemies
lurking in the swamps. Cattle were stolen, lives were not
considered safe in exposed places, and the Eng-
The end ^h were no t altogether at ease. Other expe-
reached ditions had to be organized ; but these were to
pursue a timid, skulking foe. There were skir-
mishes ; yet these were only the low and distant rumblings
of a storm that had spent its force and passed over.

VIH
The cost of the war on bothsides was great; but the
results were permanent. Philip was dead. The power of
the Wampanoags, the Narragansetts, and the
Results was broken, and their wasted
Nipmucks
of the could never be restored. More than
strength
war two thousand of the red warriors had been
made to bite the dust. The sacrifices and suf-
ferings of the English were likewise appalling. Thirteen
towns were destroyed. Many other towns were damaged.
Six hundred dwelling-houses went up in flame. Not less
than six hundred people —
the most of them men, and some
of them the foremost men in their several communities, were
killed. Few were the homes in which there was not mourn-
ing for the dead. Private property to the extent of one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds was destroyed. Indus-
try was diverted from many of its ordinary channels ; and
prosperity was greatly hindered. Of the public outlay,
twenty-seven thousand pounds fell to Plymouth colony.
In connection with this bloody conflict two facts may be
set down to the everlasting credit of the Pilgrims.
One is that it was a Plymouth man — Captain Benja-
 THE PILGRIMS 423
min Church, whom Goodwin " the
Myles Standish
well calls
of thesecond generation " — who conducted
finally cam- the
paign to victory. That victory made it certain that in due
time there were to be no more stealthy approaches of a wily
foe, no more incendiary torches, no more tomahawks, no
more deadly arrows flying at noonday, to bring terror and
harm to these sturdy men and much-enduring women who
were laying the foundations of a puissant nation.
The other is that the debt contracted in carrying on the
war was paid down to the last farthing. It was a stagger-
ing debt. It would have been a heavy load to carry at any
time. It was almost, if not quite, four pounds to each man,
woman, and child within the jurisdiction. To have this
saddled on top of their private losses, at a time, too, when
their industry had been checked, and many of their enter-
prises had been brought to a standstill, and there was noth-
ing in which they could engage with the expectation of quick
and large returns, was little less than crushing. To their
everlasting honor, be it said, they paid it all. The fathers
of the first generation set the example of paying all their
money obligations in full. The children of the second gen-
eration followed in the footsteps of their immediate forbears
and never exposed themselves to the charge of repudiating
an honest debt. The cloud which hung over the colony of
the Pilgrims for more than a year was a dark one; but it
had a silver lining
: and the courage, the high purpose, the
trust, the integrity, and the steadfastness of the people were
made to shine with a fresh luster.
 XXI
THE CLOSING YEARS
 The policy of James TL had aroused such bitter feeling in America that
William must needs move with caution. Accordingly he did not seek to
unite New York with New England, and he did not think it worth while
to carry out the attack which James had only begun upon Connecticut and
Rhode Island. . . But in the case of the little Colony founded by the
.

Pilgrims of the Mayflower there were no obstacles. She was now annexed
to Massachusetts. —
John Fiske.

In October, 1691, Plymouth was . . rescued from the grasp of New

.

York, but only to fall into that of Massachusetts. ... The body-politic
created in the cabin of the Mayflower lived only in history.
John A. Goodwin.
 XXI
THE CLOSING YEARS
closing years of the independent existence of the
THE
Plymouth colony were marked by sharp pains and
cruel disappointments. Experiences of this kind were
not new to the Pilgrims. Repeatedly and in many ways
they had had their patience under trials and their staying
qualities put to the test. There was still another cup of
bitterness to be pressed to their lips. Near the end of their
career as a separate and self-governing state they had to
bear a weight of tyranny that was not only humiliating but
exceedingly galling. One cannot recount the facts without
a feeling of fresh indignation against oppression, and of
tender sympathy with those who were forced to suffer so
keenly under the heavy hand of arbitrary power.

In 1686 the New England colonies were consolidated.

Sir Edmund Andros was sent over by the king, James II,
to take control and administer affairs. He
Andros was then about fifty years of age. He had
and his the training and experience of a soldier, and
adminis- Jjg counted it a cardinal virtue to
obey orders,
tration ^ dozen years before he had been made the
governor of New York. He carried things
with a high hand, and in the early eighties was recalled.
Coming under the second commission, he was not new to
America and America had a pretty clear idea of what to
;

expect from him. Without tact and with little sentiment in

his nature, he would stick at nothing he was required to do.
From the start he showed himself to be the willing tool of
428 THE PILGRIMS
his master. He was to be aided by a council, which like
himself was to be, not elected, but appointed. When
brought together, this board of advisers was found to in-
clude quite a large number of intelligent and reputable men.
Some of the best and most competent representatives of the
Plymouth colony were amongst those appointed. But the
trustworthy men, for reasons not far to seek, soon fell to
the rear, and the close advisers of the governor dwindled to
a little coterie who were more than ready to " crook the
pregnant hinges of the knee that thrift might follow f awn-
ing." They were tories before the day of tories in this
western world, and their namesakes of the Revolutionary
period could not deny the kinship though they had little
occasion to be proud of it. One of them, as we shall see, was
an Old Colony man. Verily, he had his reward.
It is only in bearings on the Plymouth colony, how-
its

ever, that the arbitrary rule of Andros concerns us here.

His hand was heaviest on the Bay colony ; for his official
residence was at Boston. Besides, there was more in Boston
to challenge his authority and dispute his usurpations than
amongst the more quiet folk of the older settlement; but
the Plymouth people felt the oppression keenly enough to
make them groan and cry out in no mild terms of protest.
Here are some of the indignities and wrongs which had to
be endured under the administration of this imported gov-
ernor. Their own governor —the governor of
Indignities their own free choice —like the other gov-
and ernors of New England, was displaced. The
wrongs press was muzzled. Freedom of worship —
one of the most sacred articles in their political
and religious creed —
was threatened. Persons having
probate business in hand had to go to Boston to transact it.
Titles to lands were put in jeopardy and large fees were
exacted for confirming them. Indeed, the claim was that
through the abrogation of the charter of the Bay colony,
all titles to lands in that jurisdiction reverted to James ;
and that, inasmuch as the Plymouth colony had never had
a charter, the lands in any event belonged to the crown.
This was exceedingly annoying as well as unjust and bur-
densome. Town meetings, which played such an important
 THE PILGRIMS 429

part in the system of government, were deprived of most of

their rights and lost their significance. Laws were to be
made by the governor and his council, subject only to con-
formity to the laws of England and the royal sanction.
Anybody might be called upon to take the oath of alle-
giance to the king. Currency was to be regulated by this
new executive. Taxes were no longer self-imposed by the
vote of free citizens, but were determined by the chief exec-
utive and his over-acquiescent advisers. Clark's Island,
which had been set aside by the freemen of Plymouth to the
support of the poor, was turned over to Nathaniel Clark.
Clark was a son of the colony, but a favorite of the gov-
ernor from overseas for the reason that he had bowed so
subserviently to his will. On some trumped-up claim the
island was to be made his private property. When protest
was made by Ichabod Wiswell, the able and public-spirited
minister of Duxbury, and Elder Faunce, they were fined for
their impertinence, and otherwise insulted and wronged.
Before the business was finally settled, the minister was
treated to a taste of the humiliation and hardship with
which malignant ingenuity can always torment its victims.
From the closing days of 1686 till the spring of 1689 —
about two years and a half — this state of things continued.
It was the old tyranny under new conditions, but the old
tyranny still. It had not reached the severity of the Lon-
don, Norwich, and Scrooby days; nevertheless it was
headed that way, and, if unchecked, would soon come to it.
All that was most valuable and sacred in the great venture
made by the Pilgrims was at stake. Religious liberty,
political liberty, the rights of property, were alike put in
jeopardy. The wide diffusion of knowledge was discour-
aged, the enjoyment of freedom was restrained, the exercise
of self-government was denied. It was an attempt to pluck
up the oak of liberty, which had had such a healthy and
vigorous growth in its new soil, and set it back, with roots
trimmed, into the pot of tyranny from which it had been
transplanted. The people held their breath and bided their
hour.
430 THE PILGRIMS
II

Relief came with a suddenness which was quite as sur-

prising as it was gratifying. When word reached Boston
that William had set foot on Englishsoil, and
Timely was ma king his way to the seat which James
relief would have to vacate, the outraged people of
the community rose up in the might of a right-
eous wrath, seized the governor, and compelled him to re-
sign. Four days later the good news reached Plymouth.
This put things back where they were when Andros arrived
and assumed control of affairs.
Committees of public safety were extemporized. In some
of the colonies there was a little more deliberation than in
others ; but in all of them the people sprang
Governors at on ce to their feet. They knew what ought to
restored De done, and they did it. The superseded gov-
ernors were called upon to step into their old
places and resume their old duties.
In Massachusetts, on the day following the imprisonment
of Andros, Simon Bradstreet, who was then eighty-seven
years old, and who had been put out of the governorship
through the administrations of both Dudley and Andros,
was restored to his office by one of those self-created com-
mittees, though he did not attempt to exercise the regular
functions of his office till somewhat later. In Connecticut,
" some
in accordance with general understanding, a number
of principal men," got together and submitted to a mass
meeting of freemen the question whether those who were in
authority when Andros came should be restored to place
and power. The question was answered in the affirmative ;
and Robert Treat became once more the acknowledged head
of the colony. He was kept in his place for nine years
more. In Rhode Island things took the same course; but
Walter Clarke, the displaced governor, had no heart for
the controversy, and declined what seemed to him the peril-
ous honor.
At Plymouth, Thomas Hinckley, who was first elected
governor in 1680, and who had been annually reelected up
 THE PILGRIMS 431

to the time of Sir Edmund, walked to the front and sat down
in the chair of chief executive just as if there had been
no break. The only thing in the transaction which showed
heat as well as a firm determination to have their wrongs set
right was the arrest of Nathaniel Clark. As we have seen,
he was an Old Colony man, who had lent himself heart and
soul to the schemes of Andros, and had endeavored, through
the favor of his chief, to secure possession of Clark's
Island. He was imprisoned, put in irons, and sent on the
same ship with Andros to England. On the other side of
the water the officials took a different view of the case from
that taken on this side, and Clark came back rewarded
rather than punished for what he had done. He never re-
gained the favor of his fellow-citizens ; and the infamy of
his attempt to secure possession of the island, which had
come to have a sort of sacredness in the estimation of the
Plymouth people, followed the man to his grave and can
never be dissociated from his name.

Ill

It one of the most edifying spectacles in our political

is

history to see how democracy acquitted itself on this trying

occasion. A stone had been dropped into the
An waters and the waters had parted but as soon
;

edifying as the s tone was out of sight they flowed to-

spectacle
gether again and the surface was as smooth as
ever. To be able to recur to such an instance
gives one a new confidence in the political instincts and
sagacity of a self-governing people, and a fresh assurance
that men who love liberty and are trained in the habit of
liberty, will know how to meet emergencies in which liberty
is in peril.It would seem as if these immediate descendants
of the Pilgrim Fathers and heirs of the great Mayflower
Compact were not in need of further lessons on the value of
the equal rights of man, and the importance of maintaining
them at all hazards, than they had learned at the feet of
their sires; but no doubt this doctrine of equal rights,
which they made central to their system of government and
432 THE PILGRIMS
on which they laid such emphasis, was far more precious to
them after they had been at school to oppression for a
couple of years. No doubt, too, that the memory of Andros
and his heavy hand was a potent factor in the determination
to stand by their democracy and maintain it, or die in the
attempt, when Hutchinson and Gage occupied the seats of
the mighty in Boston and were doing the will of George III.

IV

The new charter for Massachusetts brought over from

England by the new governor, William Phipps, was signed
in October, 1691. This charter embraced the
Plymouth old Colony. When it was set in operation on
united to the following year the independent political ex-
Massachu- i s tence of the little state founded
by the Pil-
setts
grims, and cherished by them and their children
as the apple of the eye, came to an end. In the
light of any alternative of which we can think, it would
hardly be reasonable to say that the end was untimely.
From the records of the transaction which have been pre-
served it is evident that the colonists held divergent views
on the wisdom of this measure. The colony had never had
a charter. The time had come when it appeared to be im-
practicable to try to go on without one. The people in
general, or a large majority of them, were eager to secure a
charter, and under the shelter of it, to continue as they were
— an independent, self-governing community. Some of the
leaders were suspected of entertaining opinions on this ques-
tion which were not in harmony with the prevailing
sentiment.
Nevertheless, there was a united and earnest effort made
to obtain the charter and thus preserve and perpetuate the
independent life of the colony. Agents were appointed to
present the case to the English officials. These agents were
Sir Henry Ashurst, of England, Increase Mather, of Bos-
ton, and Ichabod Wiswell, of Duxbury. There were three
difficulties in the way. It was in the mind of the English
government to annex the Plymouth colony to New York.
 THE PILGRIMS 433

Money was needed to prosecute the request for a charter to

a successful and Plymouth was too poor to raise the
issue,
sum required. Mather was only half-hearted in his advo-
cacy of the wishes of the colony. He prevented, so it is
claimed, the annexation of Plymouth to New York; but
when it came to the point of uniting the Old Colony to the
Bay colony it is charged that he was lukewarm in his
efforts to preserve the interests of the Plymouth people.
Be all this as it may, the charter was not obtained. Ply-
mouth was absorbed by Massachusetts and from that day
;

to this thecommonwealth of the Pilgrims has been an inte-

gral part of the commonwealth of the Puritans.

As already intimated, this was a consummation to be

desired. Limited in area, small in the number of its inhabit-
ants, without resources to yield wealth, without
A consum- commodities and harbors to attract commerce,
mationto the Old Colony could hardly have been ex-
be desired
pected to develop into a commanding state.
While we sympathize with the people in their
keen disappointment over the loss of their civic unity and
independence, it is impossible not to feel that it was better
on all accounts for the two colonies to become one ; and that
the men who entertained this view at the time were the wiser
statesmen. Goodwin says that " this result was bitterly de-
plored by the people of Plymouth, and Hinckley lost friends
" it
through covertly promoting it." Thacher says that
appears that some distinguished individuals were dissatis-
fied with the union of the two colonies, but Governor Hinck-

ley was well reconciled to the measure, and it is clearly

understood that the union was at no period a subject of
regret with the people generally." These two statements
are not so far apart as they seem to be on the surface ; and
they show clearly that the instincts of the wisest leaders,
and the sober, second thought of the people at large, were
in favor of a step which is now seen to have been inevitable.

Plymouth went where she belonged. Her historic associa-

28
434 THE PILGRIMS
tions,her opinions and sentiments, her methods and habits,
her location and identity of interests, and the gravitations
of her life, fitted her in a preeminent degree for union with
her sister colony of the Bay. Plymouth did not lose, but
gained by the union. As Queen Mary, whom the loyal col-
onists were prompt to acknowledge, when with her husband
she ascended the throne of England, did not surrender, but
preserved the dignity and power of her royal house by
merging her life in the life of William, the Prince of
Orange, so the weaker colony was saved to all that was best
in the possibilities of the future by coming into vital rela-
tions with the stronger. It was a victorious defeat. The
Pilgrims lost their political identity only to find it again in
the larger life and wider glory of a commonwealth whose
achievements in learning and liberty, in extending an even-
handed justice to all, and in character-building, may well

challenge the admiration of mankind. In the consumma-

tion of this union each colony added something valuable to
the other, and each colony received something valuable from
the other. Plymouth contributed the immortal names of
Bradford, Brewster, and Standish, and a record of seventy
years of heroic daring and splendid achievements in self-
government, to the enrichment of the commonwealth of the
Bay State and in turn entered into a full share in the in-
;

heritance of the names of Winthrop, Endicott, and Cotton,

and of the memorable deeds wrought by them and their
successors through all the years which have followed.
Neither would Massachusetts mean so much were she not
able to identify her history with Plymouth Rock nor would
;

Plymouth Rock mean so much had not the significance of

it been caught and carried forward in the life, laws, cus-

toms, and institutions of Massachusetts. Bradford and

Winthrop lock hands in the model commonwealth of the
world.
 XXII
LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE PILGRIMS
 History ought surely in some degree, if it is worth anything, to anticipate
the lessons of time. We shall all, no doubt, be wise after the event ; we study
history that we may be wise before the event.
— John Robert Seeley.

The story of the Pilgrims has all the elements of a fascinating romance.
When it is read in the light of what they have produced and in the spirit of
sympathy which appreciates and enjoys the religious and civil liberty we
inherit, it is fitted beyond most uninspired records to kindle exalted ideas
of citizenship and to stimulate young and old to self-denying service of
country and mankind.
— A. E. Dunning.
Let us not forget the religious character of our origin. Our fathers were
brought hither by their high veneration for the Christian religion. They
journeyed in its light and laoored in its hope. They sought to incorporate its
principles with the elements of their society, and to diffuse its influence
through all their institutions, civil, political, and literary. Let us cherish
these sentiments, and extend their influence still more widely.
Daniel Webster.

They established what they planned. Their feeble plantation became

the birthplace of religious liberty, the cradle of a free Commonwealth. To
them a mighty nation owes its debt. Nay, they made the civilized world
their debtor. In the varied tapestry which pictures our national life, the
richest spots are those where gleam the golden threads of conscience, cour-
age, and faith, set in the web of that little band. May God in His great mercy
grant that the moral impulse which founded this nation may never cease to
control its destiny.— Roger Wolcott.

Were I to choose the one spot above all others wherein to teach my son
the lessons of religious truth and national patriotism, I should bring him to
Plymouth Rock. — Henry W. Grady.

Their faithful sons and daughters breathe

New songs to swell their deathless fame,
And shall to latest heirs bequeath
Due honor to the Pilgrim name.
George M. Herrick.
 XXII
LESSONS TAUGHT BY THE PILGRIMS

story has been told. The high resolve, the brave

THE endeavor, the trying experience, the hardships and
perils, the defeats and final triumphs of the Pilgrims
have been spread before us. It remains to consider whether
there are any lessons applicable to those of us who live in
this day and generation, and occupy the land they subdued,
to be learned from a study of the remarkable achievements
of this little band of heroic souls. Were they loyal to ideals
and under the control of motives which may well continue to
be the ideals and motives of their successors in training
manhood and managing public affairs? We are reaping
precious fruits from the seed sown by these diligent and
wise Fathers; we have entered into the sacred inheritance
of their foresight, prayers, toils, and sacrifices ; and, mov-
ing forward on the lines which they opened, we have be-
come a great nation. Over and above this are there any
guiding ideas to be discovered, any underlying truths or
maxims of permanent value disclosed, in what the Ply-
mouth colonists said and did, which may be wrought into
our twentieth century systems, and made ruling factors in
the policies of the men who now hold the center of the stage,
and shape public opinion, and give direction to movements
in church and state?
A
simple statement of what they believed, of the theories
on which they proceeded in doing their work, of the aims,
private and public, which they cherished, and of the spirit
which they illustrated, will show us with what tremendous
emphasis this question is to be answered in the affirmative.
Indeed, it may be confidently asserted that the leading views
which these men accepted for the government of their in*
440 THE PILGRIMS
because of the love of the Father. His being here set forth
this love in themost positive and impressive way. Besides
showing it by taking his place in the ranks of our human-
ity, he declared it in every persuasive form of speech and
ministry and sacrifice. In his presence and in his various
services he was an unimpeachable testimony to the love of
God for the world. It is a loss to anybody not to have the
conception of the love of God which expresses itself in
fatherhood. Robinson, in the earlier stages of the career
of the Pilgrims, did not fail in this particular; nor did
Brewster and Bradford and their associates and successors
in the later stages. The word was not so often on their
tongues ; but the idea which underlies fatherhood was in
their minds, and the sense of fatherhood was in their
hearts.
But while this is true, the thinkers in this remarkable
group of men could not escape the conclusion that God is
not only a God of love, but a God of righteous-
Empha- ness. Indeed, they could not understand how
sized the ne CO uld be a God of love without being a God
righteous- f righteousness. In their view love is not
ness of i ove un less it is articulated and veined through
God and through with righteousness. " Holy, holy,
" is an
holy, is the Lord of hosts ascription
to the Almighty in which they heartily joined. Thinking in
this way, it was inconceivable to them that God is or can be
blind to moral distinctions and fail to discriminate between
right and wrong, truth and falsehood, purity and impurity,
justice and injustice. They recognized the duty of loving
God with all the heart and soul and mind, and their neigh-
bors as themselves; but they likewise considered it to be
duty to obey God. They never permitted the fact of the
holiness of God to drop out of their schedule of the divine
attributes. They discovered holiness in the forefront of
the character of God ; they saw holiness informing the law
of God ; they found holiness emphasized on every page of
the Old Testament and the New; they felt the force of
holiness in the conduct of life and in the moral government
of the world ; and they could not get away from the infer-
ence and the conviction that holiness is of vast importance
 THE PILGRIMS 441

in the estimation of him who has called the race into being
and seeks to have allmen become partakers of the divine
nature.
After all, in the emphasis which they put upon righteous-
ness in their conception of the character of God, were not
these Pilgrims in exact line with our Lord
In line { n hj s
g reat" intercessory prayer? He began
with onr
by saying Father." How tender and sweet
I ord
'
the word must have sounded as it fell on the
ears of the disciples from the lips of Jesus!
He said " O Father." He did not stop, however, with this
simple form of address; but went on to characterize the
fatherhood. What were the qualifying words which he
applied?
"
They were these two very significant ones
" and " "
—
holy righteous." The forms he used were holy
Father " and " righteous Father." To thoughtful minds
it cannot be a matter of small import that our Lord, in
the situation in which he then was, and in the service in
which he was then engaged, should have employed just
these adjectives. One can think of other descriptive terms
which might have been used, and which would seem to he
in line with the ordinary idea of fatherhood; but Jesus
with his divine insight turned from all these and said —
" "
holy Father," righteous Father."
It is not possible to insist too strenuously on the love of
God but it is possible to misconceive what the love of God is,
;

and to degrade it into a vapory sentimentalism. The

fatherhood of God is a truth precious and sacred beyond
expression; but it will not do to eliminate righteousness
from the conception of it. It is because the fatherhood
which is brought to our knowledge in the New Testament is
a righteous fatherhood that it is ideal and evermore worthy
of confidence. The God in whom the Pilgrims believed had
in him robust moral qualities. Faith in such a God put
iron into their blood, strength into their muscles, and deter-
mination into their wills. They loved ; but they preferred
to show their love, not so much in ardent expressions of af-
fection as in keeping the commandments.
442 THE PILGRIMS
n
The religion of the Pilgrims, as might be inferred from
the attitude of recipiency and obedience which they took
towards God, was of the positive, earnest, and
A positive
enduring type. The full enjoyment of religion
and ear- was one f the chief motives which led them
nest re- from England to Holland, and from Holland
li&ion to America. They never sought to revise their
estimate of the surpassing importance of things
spiritual over things material. Godliness was always more
to them than gain. From beginning to end they made the
kingdom of God the first object of their seeking. Whatever
means were available for developing and strengthening
their religious life they used. They had frequent occasion
to be solicitous ; but the anxiety which burdened them most
heavily was anxiety lest they fall short on the Godward
side and fail to live up to the standard of their convictions.
They believed, and therefore they had power. It was unto
them according to their faith.
Some characteristics of their religion, and some of the
methods by which they fostered and developed spiritual
life, are evident from what has gone before, and call for

only brief mention.

The Pilgrims were men of prayer. Closet devotions and
family devotions, as well as public devotions, had a place in
the economy of their lives. Prayer did not seem
Men of to them a meaningless act, nor a fruitless act,
prayer nor an ac£ unbecoming in a rational creature.
They had no idea that the Maker of the uni-
verse and the Author of our being is so hedged in by his own
laws that he cannot hear the cries of his earthly children
and come to their relief ; or that what is fondly supposed to
be communion with God is only a kind of intellectual gym-
nastic which ends in its own motions ; or that the Master
was under the spell of a fascinating illusion when he sup-
posed he was holding intercourse with the Father, or mocked
the disciples when he instructed them to ask in the assur-
"
ance that they were to receive, and to say Thy Kingdom
 THE PILGRIMS 443

Come." When in sore straits, or when grave questions were

up for adjustment, these men never failed to come together
and to unite in earnest supplication that they might be di-
rected from on high. Nor was any day so crowded, nor any
work which they had in hand so pressing, that they did not
take time to open their hearts to God and seek his guidance
and strength. " After prayer " is a phrase which recurs
and flashes like a diamond on the pages of their narratives.
The Pilgrims were strict in their observance of the Sab-
bath. They counted the hours of the first day of the week
sacred. As they allowed no outward demand or
Sabbath interest to interfere with their duty and privi-
observers
g f p rayer, so they never indulged them-
\e e

selves in any desecration of the time set apart

for rest and worship. " "
Remember," keep holy," were
written not only in the Book, but on the tablets of their
hearts. Recall the Sunday spent on Clark's Island. Was
there ever a more marked instance of conscientious observ-
ance of holy time?
To the Pilgrims the Church was a divine institution.
God and not men had originated it and defined its functions.
They cherished it as the apple of the eye.
The church
Tney wa tered it with their tears. They kept it
a divine alive by their sacrifices. They warmed it into
institution
efficiency by their devotions. They sought
in every way to guard its honor. As soon
would they have thought of establishing a colony with-
out soil to till, or air to breathe, as of attempting to
found and build up a happy and successful community
without a church. The fellowship of believers in the wor-
ship ofGod was to them an essential of right living.
The Pilgrims had faith in the providential guidance of
God, and in the divine purpose to turn all events to the
good of his people. Fortunate was it for them
Faith in th^ their minds took this direction and that
providen- t n€V were fed to entertain these views. For the
tial guid- share they had to accept of adversity and sor-
ance TOW was V ery large. They knew what it was to
be turned and overturned by malignant foes;
but instead of their faith being weakened it was strength-
444 THE PILGRIMS
ened by what they had to endure. They were not soured
but softened by afflictions. Fires did not consume, but
refined them. In the darkest of their midnights they sang.
Their sore distresses, their temptations and thwartings of
purpose, were met in a way to set them forward in patience
and holiness. Their knowledge of things divine was wider,
their devotion was more earnest, there was more vigor and
symmetry in their character, because of what they suffered.
Suffering, like the law, was a schoolmaster to bring them to
Christ.
The Pilgrims were lovers of the Book. To them the
Bible was a divinely inspired volume. They read it ; they
pondered over it; they discussed its teachings
Lovers of one w ith another ; they applied its precepts to
the Book their daily lives; they put cheer into their
hearts and invigorated their courage with
its promises ; and they sought in all things to be gov-
erned by its directions. In a very literal sense the Scrip-
tures were a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their
paths. With the truths which they found in them they
fed their souls into health and robustness. At the foun-
tain which they opened to them they quenched their thirst,
and knew that they had been drinking the waters of
life. With them " Thus-saith-the-Lord " was an end of
controversy.
Some of the views of the Scriptures held by the Pilgrims
— their views, for intance, of the method and measure
of inspiration, of the way in which some of the
Some books were constructed, the inerrancy of some of
views not the statements made, and the right interpreta-
tenable tion and application of some of the ceremonial
teachings of the Old Testament
— would hardly
stand the test of a ripened and devout scholarship. They
misunderstood some passages, they misapplied some pas-
sages, just as others through the centuries have done, and
just as others are still doing; but the interpretations
in which they erred, and the applications in which they
missed the mark, were of small consequence in comparison
with those in which to their own good, the good of the
world and the glory of God they succeeded. No argument
 THE PILGRIMS 445

of doubters and no skill of critics could have persuaded

these men that the Bible is not a self-authenticating revela-
tion of the will of God to mankind. To them the reality
and genuineness of its inspiration were made evident in the
inspiration which an earnest and honest reading of it
brought to their own souls.
If they turned to the Old Testament for instruction and
encouragement somewhat more frequently than average
believers in these modern times are wont to do,
Old Testa- ft was
only what might have been expected,
ment much
Oppressed and humiliated, driven from their
uae ^ homes and spoiled of their earthly goods, guilty
of no crime but the crime of believing in Jesus
Christ, and trying in his name to live simple, pure and
fruitful lives, and forced to worship, if they had any wor-
ship in common, in secluded chambers, or in the dens and
caves of the earth, they went back instinctively to those old
days of storm and stress when the times were so sadly out of
joint, and good men were forced to suffer every kind of
indignity and wrong. Here they found parallels to their
own harsh treatment. Here they discovered how men, who
trusted in God, would carry themselves in emergencies when
corruption was running riot in society, and the authorities
in church and state were in league with the powers of dark-
ness, and foes, full of deceit and cruelty and armed to the
teeth, confronted them on every side. Here, likewise, they
gathered comfort and reinforcement of purpose in the as-
suring words of stout and undaunted prophets. Here the
uplifting songs of psalmists, whose clear voices of trust and
unfaltering notes of hope, ringing out over all the tumult
of the hour, charmed them into fresh confidence in God.
It is one of the encouraging signs of the times that both
for instruction in righteousness and for devotional aid,
people are turning with a renewed interest to the Old
Testament. It will be a long time hence when the world
has nothing more to learn from the story of Moses and
Isaiah, and can no longer sit with profit at the feet of
Elijah and Daniel, and has no further use for the Twenty-
Third Psalm.
In addition to these more conventional, but exceedingly
446 THE PILGRIMS
fruitful ways of fostering their religious life, the
Pilgrims
kept an open mind. They walked with their faces towards
the light, and in constant expectation that
Kept an through the ministry of the Spirit, the un-
open mind folding of Providence, and the faithful study
of the Word, clearer views of truth, and a
better apprehension of the bearings of truth on life, would
be granted to them.
It has been a question in debate whether Robinson in his
farewell words to the departing Pilgrims —
recalled and
committed to paper by Winslow twenty-five
What
years or more after they were spoken
—
to the
Robinson e ff ect that further light might be expected to
meant break forth from the Scriptures, had reference
to church government or to spiritual truth.
Dismissing all prejudice and reading the whole passage as
it stands, it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that

something more vital than mere polity must have been in

the mind of the author. At all events, this was the accus-
tomed attitude of the man and the mental habit which he
encouraged in his followers.
He and his people kept the inlets of their souls open
to all fresh revealings of the will of God. They held fast to
what truth they had; but if there was more to
Hospitable De unfolded they stood ready to give it welcome,
to more Their God was a living God. He was a very
light
present help. He had they were sure,
secrets,
to whisper to those who trusted in him and
tried to walk in his ways. Their eager searchings for the
path of duty, their wide inquiries here and there of persons
who might be supposed to know, when perplexing questions
were up for settlement, were sometimes pathetic. For more
light they always had a ready hospitality.
Indeed, one of the most impressive facts brought out in a
study of the spiritual side of the Pilgrims is the intimacy
they seemed to have with God, and the way in
Ensphered which their lives were ensphered in him. To
in God them the divine imminence was a reality. God
was not afar he was near. He had an ear to
;

hear, and they could speak to him. In the thought of

l'HE PILGRIM MONUMENT, PLYMOUTH
 THE PILGRIMS 447

Bradford, Brewster, and the rest of them, God was just as

close to their need as he had been to Abraham and Moses,
to David and Isaiah, or to John and Paul and other early
disciples.
In view of the direct access which they felt that they
had to God in this conception of his nearness, it has some-
times been said that the Pilgrims were mystics.
Not mys- Were the charge true it would be nothing to
tics For
their discredit. there a vital truth in
mysticism
— is

only this vital truth was in Chris-

tianity before it was in mysticism, and we do not have to
go to mysticism to find it. But in the technical sense of
the term the Pilgrims were not mystics. They were mys-
tics only to the degree in which all genuine Christians are

mystics. They did not rely on feeling. They did not fall
back on the claim of a supernatural sense. Waiting quietly
in the temper of a serene openmindedness, and expecting
in this way to receive all the light which they needed, was
foreign to their habit.
They did wait. They were openminded. The windows
of their souls were flung wide to the sunrisings ; and while,
it be, they saw no flaming visions, yet in
may
Had their radiance of the instreaming light they saw
^ ne
own ex-
things with their own eyes. They had attent
perience ears, and notes of the old, but ever new song
of the morning stars were caught by them and
turned into music for the day's march. They had experi-
ences in the Mount to which their bronzed but shining faces
bore testimony. They knew Christ because they believed
him, and they believed him with an increasing confidence
and tenacity because they knew him. The Spirit witnessed
with their spirits ; and because of his indwelling they were
able to bear personal witness to the truth Their contact
with the Father in all the leading ways in which he comes
into manifestation to his children was direct. Things
divine were real to their apprehension. They would" not
have made the statement with the same assurance ; but We
know " would have had just as much pertinency on the lips
of these men as on the lips of the great apostle. They did
not know so much; but what they did know they knew
448 THE PILGRIMS
with an equal certainty. The gates of their souls turned
easily on their hinges ; and it took but a touch of the
unseen Hand to swing them open and secure admission
for thoughts from on high. In the disclosures of still
hours, in earnest meditation, and through intercourse with
God and with one another, they were made rich in heavenly
lore.
Still the Pilgrims were not mystics. They used all the
faculties they possessed in quest of the truth. Reason and
feeling, faith and patience, activity and serene passiveness
were brought into requisition to secure a better under-
all

standing of the character and will of God. They searched

the Scriptures. They meditated and prayed. They studied
providences and compared opinions. Thejr were eager
learners in the school of adversity. They sifted theories
and subjected them to the test of their every-day and well-
seasoned sagacity. If, in the university sense, these men
were not scholars, they were yet sturdy thinkers ; and they
had no idea that they were to be floated away on dream-
clouds into the realm of truth. Their faith was ear-marked
by hard work and a determination to know God, and they
spared no efforts to understand how one may come into
right relations with God.
It is just as wide of the mark to say that the Pilgrims, in
virtue of the immediacy of their experience of God, and of
their first hand knowledge of the truths which
Not ra- j| e ^
the basis of Christian character and give
tionalists form and force to Christianlife, went behind
the Bible in
any such way as is commonly
understood or implied when this kind of language is used.
To the extent and in the manner already described they
went behind the Bible, but not otherwise.
They did not regard the Bible with an idolatrous devo-
tion, but on its pages they saw the revelation of the divine
will, and caught the accents of the
in its directions they
divine voice. The
Bible was the road, and not the end of the
journey. It was the lamp whose clear shining lighted them
on the way. It was the hand that led them. It was their
chief help to immediacy of contact with the Father, and
their unerring guide in finding Christ and coming under
 THE PILGRIMS 449

the power of the Holy Spirit. In no other way did they go

behind the Bible. On the contrary they cherished and
exalted the Bible.
What the Pilgrims wanted was a working knowledge
of the deep things of God. This is what they secured.
They came into the secret of the hidden life.
Sought They knew God through the inbreathing of
working his vitalizing truth. They knew him in the
knowledge realized purpose of his They
chastenings.
of God knew him in the consciousness of adoption into
sonship. They knew him in the moral energy
he is sure to impart when he wishes to prepare men for
some impressive testimony to the truth, or some signal ser-
vice to mankind. Their knowledge was a knowledge which
comes from a thought to thought, heart to heart, life to life
relationship with God. Dull eyes see not, and dull ears hear
not but these colonists for conscience* sake both saw and
;

heard. Their religion was not of the hearsay order. They

looked straight into the face of the Master. They caught
the whispers of his voice. They had a first hand and not
a second hand experience. They could take oath of their
own knowledge.
So whatever may be and whatever
said about their views,
differences of opinion there may be concerning the wisdom
of the methods by which they reached their
Had a
results, and however unsatisfactory much of
vital and their theology and exegesis may seem to up-to-
vitalizing ^ate scholarship, it is not to be denied that the
religion Pilgrims had a religion which was at once vital
and vitalizing. It was as genuine as the stars.
It was as deep as
life. It was as real as the soul. It was a
religion which made weak men strong, and transformed
simple men into heroes whose place in the temple of fame
is forevermore secure. The Pilgrims, as has been intimated,
may have been wrong in some of the details of their belief,
and oversevere in some of their practises. No doubt they
were. They may have emphasized some doctrines at the
expense of proportion and the symmetry of the truth re-
vealed to us in the Word. No doubt they did. But after
all admissions are made, it is still a fact that their religion
29
450 THE PILGRIMS
was characterized by an earnestness and sincerity, by a
sense and token of reality, by a grip on conscience and
conduct, and an all-aroundness of application which dis-
tinguishes it sharply from the current conceptions and
illustrations of religion in their day and gives to it a high in-
spirational and exemplary value. Their religion was of the
sort which enabled them to endure hardship, to work right-
eousness, and to lay the foundation of a mighty nation.
Nothing was so dear to them as their religion. Nothing in
their bearing so struck those who met them and took note
of their spirit and conduct as the quiet, sustaining and
compelling force of their religion. They never had to be
cross-questioned to enable one to find out that they were
disciples of the Master.

ni
The Pilgrims laid great stress on righteous character.
So much has been implied, and, in one form and another,
stated in what has gone before. But it is a
Great f ac^ w hich stands out by itself; and it is so
stress on marked and suggestive that it may well receive
righteous distinct recognition.
character Had the Pilgrims been asked to put into
language what they conceived to be the
definite

highest object of human endeavor and the true aim of life,

they would have anticipated the shorter catechism, and, in
slightly altered phrase, said that it is to know and do the
will of God. Had they been pressed still further and re-
quested to reduce to a concrete setting their conception of
the practical statement or outcome of knowing and doing
the will of God, their quick answer would have been —
character.
They sought to translate their faith and their sense
of duty into character. They aimed to be intelligently and
consistently moral. Clean living, uprightness, truthfulness,
integrity reaching from heart's core to finger-tip, loyalty to
principle, conscience at the front dominating conduct, were
counted by them essential to any true idea, or any true reali-
 THE PILGRIMS 451

zation, of manhood. No achievement was of so much con-

sequence in their estimation as character. No losses seemed
so great to them as losses in moral standing. Nothing
humiliated and burdened them like lapses from virtue.
They were great sticklers for the homely old virtues of
honesty, fair dealing, sincerity, and manly decency. They
would not equivocate. They would not dissemble. They
would not misrepresent. No lies were permitted to blister
their tongues. Cheating and defrauding were not among
their methods of accumulation. They hatched no cunning
schemes of money-making whereby they might empty other
pockets and fill their own. Their hands were never soiled
with ill-gotten gains. They were often the victims of " high
finance," and they suffered much from extortion ; but they
never retaliated in kind. They evaded no obligations. The
repudiation of a debt never marred their records. There
were few crooked dealings and unjust transactions to burden
their memories and irritate their consciences. If in a couple
of instances they went astray —
once in the early years,
and again when the colony had passed into the keeping of
the second generation —
in their dealings with the Indians,
and did what they ought not to have done, the only thing to
be said is, that, in the first case, they made ample and satis-
factory amends for the wrong done, while in the other the
mistake, when made, was beyond repair and evermore to be
regretted.
"
Not faultless were they, else were they not men ;
Yet less their own the faults than of their time."

But their ideals were pure hearts and clean hands. Their
yea was yea and their nay was nay. They knew how to
endure bad treatment and injustice but they were children
;

in malice, and they had no disposition to secure revenge and

inflict pain.
There were individual exceptions to the average high
standing of the Pilgrims in their moral conduct. Not all
of them were equally impatient of impurity, iniquity, and
injustice. The story of a couple of the company is exceed-
ingly sad and distressing.
452 THE PILGRIMS
One of the leaders became recreant to the trust which
was reposed in him by his associates. He became connected
with these people at Leyden. At the outset and
A dishon- f or a \ on g time he was honored and efficient,
est and p or the first three years in which Bradford
dishonored ^j the office of governor, he was the chief
leader executive's sole assistant.Important business
interests were intrusted to him; and he was
frequently sent abroad to make loans, adjust accounts, and
purchase goods. He was one of the men who assumed re-
sponsibility for the debt incurred when the colonists bought
out the Adventurers in 1627. But avarice became his
master passion and ruined him. He fell through love of
gain. Two things, however, are to be said about this man.
He was the only one of the prominent members who ever
brought the blush of shame to the colony by a betrayal
of confidence and flagrant dishonesty. Having gone wrong,
he soon found the atmosphere of the Pilgrim settlement
uncongenial. He left the place and " died insolvent in
reputation and estate."
After having lived ten years on these shores, another
member of the colony was tried, convicted, and solemnly
executed for murder. He came across in the
Hung for Mayflower. His name is in the list of the im-
murder mortal forty-one who signed the Mayflower
Compact. He shared in the division of the
Pilgrim properties. The Pilgrims must ever bear a meas-
ure of the odium which attaches to his name. But while
he was a Pilgrim in this way, he was yet not a Pilgrim.
Recall what Bradford says of him " He and some of his
:

kind had been often punished for miscarriages, being one of

the profanest families amongst them. They came from
London, and I know not by what friends shuffled into their
Company." There is no evidence that he had ever had the
least training in Pilgrim ideas, or had ever shown the least
sympathy with Pilgrim views. The Pilgrim spirit was
foreign to his nature and habit. He was among them, no
doubt, for the reason that some Adventurer, who was an
Adventurer for revenue only, had thrust him into the com-
pany, either to get rid of him, or because he thought
 THE PILGRIMS 453

another pair of stout hands would increase the chances of

better returns for the money invested in the enterprise.
He was a bad man at the start, and he was a bad man all
through. He well deserved his fate. But in no particular,
save in name and accidental association, was he ever a Pil-
" a knave."
grim. He lived and died
There were times when social vices prevailed to some ex-
tent. In his "History" Bradford opens the record of events
for 1642 with a bitter wail. The colony had
Social then Deen { n existence more than two decades;
vices an(j our author did not attempt to disguise the
chagrin and pain he felt over the situation.
" Marvelous it
may be to see and consider how some kind
of wickedness did grow and break out here." He specified
"drunkenness and uncleanness," and some things "fearful to
name." It is a dark picture as the colors are laid on by the
brush of this white-souled painter. Were one to read just
so much and no more of what the chapter contains, he might
conclude that the state of affairs was something dreadful,
if not utterly hopeless. One would infer that some people,
reading this book, have stopped at this paragraph.
Naturally Bradford was solicitous to ascertain the causes
of what seemed to him an apalling outbreak of immorality.
He found them in " our corrupt nature," in the
Causes of «S " of the devil
pjte against the churches, in
this out- t ne ] on g restraint under which
" wickedness "
break had been " more nearly looked unto " and
"
stopped by strict laws," and which made it all
the more violent and reckless when it did break out, and
in the fact that sins were there
" more discovered and seen "
than in other places.
This latter explanation of a condition of things which
brought so much sadness to the Pilgrim governor is worth
considering. Bradford himself seems to have been a bit sur-
prised when he came upon it, and led to question whether
after all he had not been exaggerating the evil side of things,
and expressing more alarm than what was actually going
" "
on, called for, or warranted. Here," so he says, here is
not more evils in this kind, nor nothing near so many by
proportion, as in other places; but they are here more
454 THE PILGRIMS
discovered and seen, and made public by due search, inquisi-
tion, and due punishment ; for the Churches look narrowly
to their members, and the magistrates over all, more strictly
than in other places."
The Pilgrims were sensitive to moral evil in all its forms.
Indiscretion, trivial offences, tendencies which had a down-
ward look, indulgences, which might grow into
Sensitive bad habits and undermine character, as well
to moral as g ross iniquities, were apt to fill them with
evil fears and create apprehension of much worse
things to come. Often it required sober second
thought, and such comparisons as were instituted in the
paragraph just quoted, to correct these unfavorable conclu-
sions, and make it plain that vice and crime were not in the
ascendant. These men had a hard battle to fight but it
;

was with forces outside rather than inside of their colony.

Further on in the narrative which covers the period for
" But it
1642, Bradford asks the pertinent question :
may be
demanded how came it to pass that so many
Additional wi cked and profane people should so quickly
light on come over into this land ? " The governor's
the prob- answer is illuminating. There were many
*eni
things to be done. Buildings were to be erected,
lands were to be cleared, agricultural opera-
tions were to be carried on, and improvements were to be
pushed. Employers had to take such help as they could get.
Hence many " untoward servants " were brought over and
set to work —" both men and women kind, who, when their
times were expired, became families of themselves." This
helped to lower the general average of the standing of the
community.
This was not all, however. In that high tide of migra-
tion which swept toward America in the ten years from 1630
"
to 1640, the business of transporting passengers and
their goods
" became active, and competition was sharp.
" advance
Ships were chartered for these voyages, and to
aboard who " had
their profits," the masters took anybody
"
the money to pay them." By this means the country
became pestered with many unworthy persons, who, being
come over, crept into one place or another."
 THE PILGRIMS 455

This is Bradford's explanation of the increase in wicked-

ness which he saw about him, and which brought him such
keen distress. It was the fresh importations from England
of apprentices, servants, laborers of one grade and another,
and the coming in upon them of restless, roving adventurers,
that swelled the sum total of vice and crime. A
study of
the criminal records of the colony with a view to ascertain-
ing who were prosecuted and punished for wrong-doing
will justify this statement. The particular case which filled
the mind of Bradford with so much apprehension had its
location in this class. In this way the Pilgrims have had
to bear a great deal of unjust criticism. Men like Lyford
and Rogers, the one an unmitigated rascal and the other
the victim of an eccentric and unbalanced brain, have been
called their ministers and charged up to the account of the
Plymouth colonists ; but neither one of them was ever a
Pilgrim, and neither one of them was ever pastor of the Pil-
grim church. From first to last the Pilgrims never failed
to show their abhorrence of iniquity, and to make evident
their deep and abiding purpose to live clean lives.
Ill-considered and unwarranted statements have some-
times been made to the effect that these colonists were
mainly intent on material ends and making sure of things
which were to their own advantage.
The Pilgrims had three tasks set to their hands. They
had to make a living. They had to pay their debts. They
had to build up their homes and their institu-
What they tions. Had their financial circumstances been
had to do
much better than they were, either one of these
tasks would have been a tremendous challenge
to their faith and courage. All three of them together
would seem to have been enough to dishearten the most
resolute. Their living must be wrung out of the soil and
the sea. Their debts could be paid only by patient toil, wise
planning, slow accumulation, and the most distressing econ-
omy. Their institutions could be built up only by such over-
plus of strength and the fruits of industry and thrift as
was left after the more immediate obligations of making a
living and paying debts had been met. To accomplish
these objects they sought to increase their resources by en-
456 THE PILGRIMS
tering into trade with the Indians, and with other people
who might be induced to traffic with them. Working along
this line they gathered and sent abroad such products and
commodities as would bring a remunerative price in foreign
markets. This is the explanation of their apparent ab-
sorption in material gains. They were where they were at
"
great cost."
But why efforts like these, for ends like these, should be

thought to indicate the presence and sway of motives no

higher than the ordinary wordly motives by which men are
controlled does not seem clear. On the contrary, working
hard to make an honest living, paying debts down to the
last farthing,taxing brain and hand and heart for the wel-
fare of coming generations, would appear to be conclusive
proofs of an unselfish regard for the good of others.
One might as well say that selling houses and lands and
other possessions, and arranging long and diligently for
passage across the sea to Holland, were transactions which
indicated a dominating worldly spirit when these about-to-
be exiles were planning to leave Scrooby. Or, again, one
might as well say that weaving, carpentering, candle-
dipping, hat-making, baking bread, setting type, and the
other occupations which they pursued in order to earn a
living, filled the minds of the Pilgrims to the exclusion of
other thoughts and aims there at Leyden, as to say it of
them at Plymouth, when, with intense eagerness, they were
bending their utmost energies to such employments as prom-
ised to set them on their feet, and aid them in making good,
alike for themselvesand their posterity, their great hope
and purpose of a church and a state founded on the basis of
democracy.
These insinuations of a predominantly worldly spirit in
the Pilgrims are unworthy and unjust ; and the estimate of
their character which rests on this view fails
Altruistic
altogether to measure up to their moral stature,
aims and »phe interest shown by them in worldly indus-
lofty tries and business enterprises stood for some-
character
thing quite other than all-absorbing regard for
worldly gain. They were men of pure intent
and lofty spirit. Things honorable in the sight of the wise
 THE PILGRIMS 457

and good, things manifestly approved of God, things in

which posterity might rejoice, were constraining motives
in their lives. Their lives were hard, self-denying and full
of toil; but they were sweet. They were sweet, because,
like the heavens over them, they were sweetened by the
breath of God. Ocean winds kept their bodies full of ozone ;
and the winds of the Spirit kept their hearts full of health
and vigor. They could toil when so faint that they stag-
gered in the fields; they could starve; they could die:
but they would not barter away their souls, nor lower their
standards of character. Temptations beset them, as they
beset all men everywhere but the solicitations of ease and
;

earthly pleasure and worldly gains and ends other than

those which bear the stamp of divine approval, were never
enticing enough to lead them to strike the flag of their in-
tegrity and come to terms with unrighteousness. They had
no respect for theories of life which are not exacting; and
they knew that they could maintain their own self-respect
and the approval of conscience only by walking uprightly,
working righteousness, and speaking the truth in their
hearts. Tested by any rational standard of loyalty to God,
by any generally accepted code of Christian ethics, and
by any worthy conception of patriotism, it will be found
that the business dealings and daily lives of the Pilgrims
reached high levels and revealed motives which cannot be
resolved into terms of materialism. Character was what
they aimed at ; and character of a sterling type was what
they achieved.

IV

The Pilgrims emphasized the faithful discharge of duties

to the state. Conscientious in the conduct of their homes,
in the management of their business, and in
Empha- the practical expression of their religion, they
sized civic we re conscientious in the performance of their
duties
political obligations.
This was a natural outgrowth of their views
of the state, and of the attitude which they thought all good
citizens ought to take towards the state. For these founda-
458 THE PILGRIMS
tion-layers of the republic held that the state, like the
church, is a divine institution. It has on it the stamp
of divine authority. It is the bond by which
The state is held together, and the condition of
society
a divine
progress in intelligence, wealth, power, and
institution
happiness. It is set up not that the few may
be exalted and the many degraded, but that
there may be order and a fair chance for each well-disposed
person to go his way and do his work and enjoy the rewards
of his toil and thrift.
With this view entertained by them of the origin and pur-
pose of the state, it is not difficult to see in what estimate
they would hold the laws which might be passed by the state.
It was not simply that a few men had come together and
by
a majority vote had expressed an opinion on some matter
of public interest ; but, done by the constituents of the state
and in the name of the state and for the welfare of the
state, the act was lifted out of the realm of mere opinion
and clothed with a kind of divine sanction. It is not difficult,
either, to see what sort of measures they would seek to have
enacted into laws. It would be only such as they deemed to
be in accord with the divine will. A
law out of line with God
would have seemed to them simply monstrous. They did
not hold that the voice of the people is the voice of God;
but they did hold that the voice of God ought to be the
voice of the people.
Entertaining these views, the Pilgrims insisted that
every man should meet the full measure of his public obliga-
tions and bear his full share of the public bur-
All bound <fens
They made equal rights and the liberty
.

to help f ne individual the corner-stone of their

j-
politi-
cal edifice because they conceived this to be in
closest accord with the thought of God and the dignity of
man. But while they claimed equal rights and conceded lib-
erty on this high ground, they also did it in the confident ex-
pectation that under this system of government men would
take more interest in public affairs and be more thoughtful
of the good of the commonwealth. They saw the value of
civic pride and this was the way taken by them to insure
;

and cultivate the spirit of patriotism —

they gave every
 THE PILGRIMS 459

man a voice in making and administering the laws, and then

they held every man responsible to the limit of his ability for
all demands made upon him by the state. Opportunities
were opened to all and burdens were distributed to all. It
was not on the few but the many that the state was made to
rest and it was not the few alone but the many who were to
;

see to it that no harm came to their little republic. Men of

the largest abilities and widest experience, and who were
most deeply engrossed in private affairs, might not plead ex-
emption when called to serve the public; and men of the
smallest capacity and the least influence and with the least at
stake might not hide under their insignificance when called
upon to express their views through the ballot. Citizenship
was at a premium. In tracing the development of their gov-
ernment we have seen how men were fined for refusing to
exercise the elective franchise, or for declining to hold an of-
fice to which they had been elected; and how towns lost

standing by neglecting to have their representatives at the

general court. It was the way these Pilgrims had of em-
phasizing their sense of the obligation every citizen of the
state is under to meet and discharge the full measure of his
duties to the state.
It would be foolish to try to disguise the fact that right
at this point where the colonists were wise and strong,
many citizens of our great nation are sadly
Present-
wanting. It has been forgotten that citizen-
day short- s hjp carries with it responsibilities as well as
coming privileges, and that no man who means to be
loyal to the flag may evade these responsibili-
ties. The outlook is hopeful. There is an increasing sense
of the responsibilities of citizenship. Both as respects the
conscientious use of the ballot and willingness to turn aside
from lucrative occupations for a while to fill important
official positions, there have been marked gains in these later

years. Still there is much to be desired. There is a class

of men for whom the state, through its schools, its orderly
arrangements, its just laws and its encouragement of fore-
sight, industry and thrift, has done more than it is possible
to schedule, who hold themselves quite above the duty of
trying to secure the best men for office, or even of taking
460 THE PILGRIMS
pains to vote on election-day. When it is suggested to
these men that they take their turn at bearing the burdens
and meeting the obligations of public station, they toss their
dainty noses high in air and wreath their faces with smiles
of lofty disdain. Pressure of business, disinclination to
mingle with the begrimed and noisy crowds which are sup-
posed to infest the polling-booths, engagements at the
club, fondness forbooks and the pursuit of culture, and the
mild attractions of slippered ease, are allowed to override
duties to country; and large numbers of intelligent and
virtuous citizens, who ought to count
at once a sacred duty
it
and a high privilege to take some positive part in giving
right direction to public affairs, when the battle is on
slink away like cowards, and then attempt to justify their
action by confessions which are shameful impeachments of
their patriotism. Public duties are not to their taste. The
idea of serving is ignored.
Now and then some shocking exposure of graft fills these
overdainty citizens with a momentary horror and startles
them out of their criminal lethargy. It is more
Spasms than likely, however, that the sudden burst of
of zeal
indignation will be only the flash of a few shav-
ings on fire, or a rumble of thunder which
brings no rain. When the next election-day comes round,
or the next petition to hold an important office is presented,
the same old excuse of pressing private duties, or pleasure,
or intended absence from home, will be offered, and the state
will be left to get on as best it can.
If this were all, the situation would not be so bad. But
there are instances in which the neglect assumes criminal as-
pects. Men of financial standing and of large
Neglect influence in the community, men who are con-
assumes cerned in important industrial projects in the
criminal
shape of public utilities, refuse to hold office on
aspects the ground that they cannot afford the time
and strength for such service. But they have
time and strength, through their agents, directly and indi-
rectly, to bribe officials of easy virtue, in order to secure
what they want. In justification of their disreputable
" "
doings they say it is necessary," or cheaper," to do this
 THE PILGRIMS 461

than to make an open fight for franchises. Hence we have

corrupt aldermen, corrupt representatives, corrupt con-
gressmen, and corrupt officials all along the line. There
would be no purchasable officials if there were not some-
" "
body to purchase them. There would be no boodlers if
there were no supply of
" boodle." The
bribe-taker ought
to be set in the pillory and branded with contempt but by ;

his side, with the edge of the pillory-board a little closer to

his neck, and the scorn of the public a great deal sharper,
there ought to be the bribe-giver. It is useless to try to
improve things with men who are hungry for spoils, if no
notice is taken of men who shirk their fair share of public
burdens and buy their way to advantages on which they
may fatten at the public expense.
It is in vain to look for a return of the simplicity of the
early days when the people were few and poor, and the aim
of the leaders was so unselfish and high. All
Cannot the same, the cure for a large number of our
expect present evils lies in a general and genuine re-
return vival of the patriotic spirit and deep sense of
of old
obligation to serve which characterized the
simplicity members of the Plymouth colony. The men
who might be leaders must consent to lead.
Influential men must be ready to vote and to hold office.
From first to last the Pilgrims kept their best men at the
front in the administration of public affairs. From first
to last the best men in the colony took a practical interest
in public affairs. On what other plan than this can our
cities,our several states, and the nation at large, ever
expect to deal successfully with the gangs of thieves and
robbers who scheme their way into our legislative bodies, or
haunt the lobbies and force all who would gain their ends to
drop shining coins into their political slot-machines? In
our civic affairs we need the reinstatement of the Plymouth
Rock conscience.
This means that there must be an elevation of our stand-
ards in all departments of life. Sharp dealing in business,
frenzied financiering, systematic tax-dodging, corruption
in social circles, extortion brought about by the creation
of monopolies and the stifling of wholesome competition,
462 THE PILGRIMS
trampling on the Ten Commandments on the ground that
they are antiquated, and relegating the Sermon on the
Mount to the limbo of impracticable conceits,
Elevation w {\\ to a]j sor ts of intrigues and conspira-
i ea(j
of our c j es f or defrauding the state. It is illogical
standard to \ 00 fc f or an improved public sentiment until
there has been an improvement in individual
living. With arejuvenescence of moral sense in the indi-
vidual, and a settled determination to do business on the
basis of honesty and straightforwardness, with our homes
made sweeter and our social life lifted to a higher plane,
and with our churches alive with the purpose to win men to
God and to build them up in righteousness, we may reason-
ably expect to see less selfish plotting, less buying and sell-
ing of votes, less corrupt use of patronage, and less coming
short of all sorts in the administration of public affairs.

The Pilgrims were sensitively alive to the future. They

planned, they toiled, they made sacrifices, for the future.
They could face perils, rise superior to hard-
Sensitively ships and sorrows ; but they could not be indif-
alive to f erent to the future. One of the urgent reasons
the future f or leaving Leyden was the welfare of their

posterity. Another was the hope of doing some-

"
thing, even though it were only to make themselves step-
ping-stones unto others," to propagate the gospel and set up
the kingdom of Christ in these remote parts. It was always
something out ahead of them which stirred their imagina-
tions, quickened their pulses,and impelled them to action.
The Pilgrims Plymouth colony were not aggres-
of the
sive in the same way and to the same extent as were the
Puritans of the Bay
colony. The late Dr.
Not as book
in his on the Puritan, has a
Byington,
aggressive chapter in which he institutes a comparison of
as the the contributions made by the two colonies to
Puritans the subsequent development of the laws and
institutions of the land on whose shores they
settled. It is needless to say that the comparison is
 THE PILGRIMS 463

marked by intelligence, candor, and general fairness. He

claims much for the Puritans, as is just; and he concedes

much to the Pilgrims, which is their due. In his view " the
influence of the Puritans upon New England has been
greater in some respects than that of the Pilgrims." He
" the
asserts that intellectual life of New England, and
much of the best religious life, has come from them." He
makes the further and more significant statement that " the
energy, the enterprise, the political sagacity, the genius for
creating new types of government," are our inheritance
from the Puritans. On the other hand, he admits that " the
beauty, the poetry, of New England have come, in great
part, from those who landed at Plymouth Rock. They have
taught the world a larger tolerance, gentler manners, purer
laws." These, it may be said again, are intelligent and
careful estimates, and in the main they are sound.
A careful study, however, reveals somewhat more than is
here conceded to go to the credit of the Pilgrims. In their
habit of returning to first principles and build-
More to mg
on them, and in looking forward and
credit
weighing actions by their probable bearing on
of the the future, the Pilgrims did some things which
Pilgrims were more important to New England, to the
whole land, and to the world, than were ever
(done by the Puritans. Nothing needs to be deducted from
the priceless services rendered by other colonies on these
shores; but there are particulars in which the contribu-
tions of the Pilgrims to the progress of mankind have no
parallel in value.
Neither in numbers, nor in wealth, nor in learning, nor
in capacity for such achievements as are conditioned on
numbers and wealth and learning, were the
Resources The Pilgrims
Pilg r i ms equal to the Puritans.
limited were constrained by their location and their
pecuniary circumstances to a narrower life
than the Puritans. It was the Puritans who started a
college so soon after their arrival in New England, though
the Pilgrims were intensely interested in education and lent
their aid to this institution. So long as the Bay State
endures, Harvard will be a standing monument to the re-
464 THE PILGRIMS
gard entertained by the founders of the Bay colony for
sound learning. It was the Puritans who pushed out their
settlements the more rapidly and took possession of wider
areas of country. It was the Puritans who very early had
their ships on the high seas, laden with their wealth-yielding
cargoes. It was the Puritans who were thorns in the sides
of royalty, and who were always giving trouble to high
church and state.
officials in

Nevertheless, when it comes to such fundamental and far-

" "
reaching qualities as political sagacity," and the genius
for creating new types of government," it will
Achieve- De found that the Pilgrims must be accorded
ments in seats far in front of allcompetitors,
government ft was the Pilgrims, and not the Puritans,
remarkable wno discovered and announced the
principles of
democracy on which Massachusetts, New Eng-
land, and the great republic were to build their institutions.
The simple document, signed in the cabin of the ship which
brought Carver and his company across the Atlantic, has
been the directing and most vital force in the politics of the
nation from the day on which it was drafted until now.
Nothing ever done by any colony reached so far down into
the heart of things political, and so far out into subsequent
years, as the issuing of the covenant by which the Pilgrims
" a civil " on the
organized themselves into body politic
broad basis of the equal rights of man.
It was the Pilgrims again, and not the Puritans, who,
looking backward and then forward, brought to light and
set up a genuine Congregationalism. The theory of a self-
governing church was something which Endicott, at Salem,
had to learn from Fuller, at Plymouth ; and which the Bay
colony had to relearn from the Old Colony. Dr. Bying-
" The
ton concedes both these claims. Pilgrims," so he
" had a and
says, Colony well organized governed accord-
ing to democratic principles, and a Church organized after
the Congregational way before the Puritans came." The
concessions are large ones. With so much settled all else in
church and state alike were matters of detail.
It was the Pilgrims once more, and not the Puritans, who
exemplified the most advanced toleration of the time. If
 THE PILGRIMS 465

Roger Williams did not learn his principles of toleration

from the Pilgrims, he might have done it. They were tol-
erant towards him when he was intolerant towards them;
and he left Plymouth because he was not able at that time
to mount to the high table-land of appreciation and for-
bearance which they occupied.
It may be doubted whether there has been another group
of men in all history who were charged at once with the
responsibility of state-building and church-building, who
laid the foundations of these two structures so broadly, and
with such a far, wise look into the future, as this little band
of Pilgrims who set foot on Plymouth Rock in 1620. What
is more, they not only laid the foundations broadly and

wisely, but their superstructures, political; and ecclesias-

tical, when completed, were found to be consistent with the
ground plan. The latter end of their commonwealth did
not forget the beginning. We
are living in the to-morrow
which these simple, but far-visioned seers and statesmen
foresaw and for which they wrought. We are to do to-day
with all fidelity each bit of work which lies at our hands.
This will make our next day brighter, and by so much set
the world forward. We shall still lack something, however,
of the Pilgrim spirit, if, in the conduct of our schools and
colleges, in the ordering and working of our churches, in
the direction we give to our domestic, social, and industrial
economies, in the management of our philanthropic and
missionary organizations, and in the framing of our laws
and the shaping of our public policies, we do not keep
steadily in mind the welfare of those who are to live
after us.
"
O, Thou Holy One and Just,
Thou, who wast the Pilgrim's trust,
Thou, who watchest o'er their dust,
By the moaning sea ;

By their conflicts, toils and cares,

By their perils and their prayers,
By their ashes, make their heirs
True to them and Thee."
 INDEX
Abbott, Bishop George, 156. "Ancient Landmarks of Plymouth"
Accessions to Pilgrim colonists, 245, (Davis), 357.
248, 251, 272. Andrews, , 281.
Acorns, parched, found, 207. Andros, Sir Edmund, 348, 405, 427,
Act of Supremacy, 22. 430.
Act of Uniformity, 21. Anne, the ship, 251, 254, 255, 267,
Adams, John, 183. 268, 272, 354.
Adams, John Quincy, 119, 183. "Annotations" (Ainsworth), 108.
Adams, Samuel, 48, 368. "Apparators," 87, 97.
Adventurers. See Merchant Ad- Apple-trees in Plymouth Colony, 258.
venturers. Aragon, Catherine of, 20.
Agawam, See Ipswich.
208, 357. Arber, Edward, v, 84, 127, 229.
Amsworth, Rev. Henry, 101, 141; Archangel, the ship, 298.
life and writings, 108, 109; on Armada, the Invincible, 24.
Smyth, 107. Arminian and Calvinistic contro-
Alden, John, 182, 199, 258, 271, 345, 136.
versy, 135,
388. Arminius, 119, 135.
Alden, Priscilla Mullins (Mrs. Arnold, Gov. (Conn.), 387.
John), 258. Arrival at Cape Cod, 192.
Alexander, Pokanoket Indian, son of Arrows, Indian, 210, 292, 311, 423.
Massasoit, 413. Arson, 366, 370.
Allerton, , sailor, 208. Art, in Leyden, 118.
Allerton, Fear Brewster (Mrs. Articles of Agreement, 159, 264, 265,
Isaac), 333. 269; modified, 161' ratification re-
Allerton, Isaac, 124, 128, 130, 162, fused, 161; readjustment of, 268,
254, 265, 271, 301, 315, 452; visits 270.
England, 269, 333; secures new Articles, Thirty-Nine, the, 22.
agreement with Adventurers, 270; Artisans, Dutch, in England, 8.
opens trading-post, 279. Ashley, Edward, 279, 284.
Alva, Duke of, 25. Ashurst, Sir Henry, 432.
Ames, Dr. Azel, v, 166, 179, 186, 190, Assembly, legislative, 374, 397.
255 on Martin, 179.
; Assistants to governor, 364, 374, 375,
Amicis, Edmondo de, 96. 377.
Amsterdam, Scrooby fellowship in, Atwood, John, 285.
96-105 ; reasons for settling in, 98 ; Augusta, Me., trading-post at, 277,
English-speaking people 100; 278. in,
Separatist dissensions at, 103; Augustus, Emperor, 24.
"
"Ancient Church in, 101 reasons Austerfield, Eng., birthplace of Brad-
;

for leaving, 102, 110. ford, 71.

Anabaptists, Holland, influence of,
10. Babington conspiracy, the, 69.
Anawan, surrender of, Bacon, Dr. Leonard, v, 2, 84;
418, 422. on
"Ancient Church," Amsterdam, 101; Browne, 42; on Street, 349; on
Ainsworth pastor of, 109 Scrooby King Philip, 410.
;

fellowship with, 111. Bacon, Lord, 23.

468 INDEX
Ballot-box, importance of the, 376. Boston, Eng., port of, 90.
Bancroft, George, v, 242; on "High Boston, Mass., 256, 257, 403, 428,
Commission," 22; on Mayflower 430.
Compact, 198. Boston Bay, 216 Indians of, 314. ;

Banishment, 89, 332, 389. Boston church, the, 336.

Baptism, 107, 328, 335, 336, 339, 340. Boston Common, execution on, 390.
Barley, Pilgrims raise, 309. Boston Harbor, 306.
Barnstable, Mass., 283, 346, 349, 373, Boundaries of Plymouth Colony, 277,
405. 395, 399.
Barrowe, , 25, 102, 104, 105, 141. Bourne, , missionary to Indians,
Barry, John Stetson, v, 18, 380, 394. 417.
Bartlett, , v. Bow Churchyard, Separatists at, 45.
Baskets, Indian, found by settlers, Bowls, Indian, found, 206, 207.
207. Boyle, W. H. W., 324.
Bass, fishing for, 357. Bradford, Alice Southworth (2d
Bassett, , 122, 345. Mrs. Wm.), 258.
Bay Colony. See Massachusetts Bay Bradford, Dorothy (1st Mrs. Wm.),
Colony. 218.
"Bay Psalm-book," 256. Bradford, William (Pilgrim), v, 71-
Bayard, Thomas F., 96. 74, 123, 126, 130, 162, 166, 201,
Baylies, Francis, v, 262, 288, 318, 203, 208, 237, 251, 257, 258, 271,
365, 368. 274, 315, 329, 343, 345, 354, 383,
Bays. See Plymouth, Massachusetts, 400; early life and education, 72;
Narragansett, etc. joins Separatists, 73; Cotton
Beachamp, , 281. Mather on, 74; his wife's death,
Beads, for trading, 247; wampum, 218 ; illness of, 231 ; receives pat-
275. See Wampum. ent, 277, 367; intercepts letters,
Beans, a food staple, 252 baked, 258.
; 332; commissioner, 397.
Beaver, 247, 266, 267, 277, 285, 286. Quotations: 52, 84, 102, 121,
Bedlam, Separatist meetings at, 54. 122, 123, 124, 148, 149, 150, 151,
Beecher, Henry Ward, 48. 166, 175, 178, 199, 211, 212, 216,
Beef, scarcity of, in Plymouth, 254, 222, 232, 238, 245, 301 on perse- ;

257. cution at Scrooby, 87, 88 ; on de-

Beers, Capt. , 420. parture for Holland, 90, 91, 92,
Bell, first church, 338. 93 on Smyth, 106 on Cushman,
; ;

Bell Alley, Leyden, 120, 127, 132. 128 on Robinson debate, 136 on
; ;

Bernard, Richard, 143. Leyden church, 142, 146 on leav- ;

Berries, wild, a source of food supply, ing Holland, 167; on Mayflower

247, 258. Compact, 196 on fishing, 248 on
; ;

Beverages, Pilgrims', 254. cattle, 255; on articles of agree-

Bible, the, 6, 13, 107, 329, 356, 444, ment, 270; on Billington, 178, 452;
445 448. on newcomers, 280 on debts, 286 ;
;

Billington, John, 178, 196, 371, 452. on Hunt's capture of Indians,

Billington, John, Jr., 304. 298; on Squanto, 299, 300; on
Billington, Mrs. John, Sr., 372. Brewster's ministry, 329 on Ly- ;

Birth, first (at sea), 188. ford, 330; on Rogers, 333; on

Births, in Holland, 139. Rev. Ralph Smith, 335 on Roger ;

Blankets, for trade with Indians, 277. Williams, 337; on Norton, 338;
Blaxland, G. Cuthbert, 170. on schools, 353; on social vices,
"Bloody Mary." See Mary Tudor. 453 454.
Boleyn, Anne, 20. Bradford, William, Jr., 354.
Book of Acts, 32. Bradstreet, Gov. Simon, 406, 430.
Book of Common Prayer, 21. Braind, Quaker, 389.
,

Books, 47, 104; printed in Leyden, Branding culprits, 372.

127, 134; of Quakers, 387. Bread, 246, 247, 251.
 INDEX 469
Brewer, Thomas, 124, 126, 135. Calves. See Cattle.
Brewster, Fear, 333. Calvin, John, 9.
Brewster, Jonathan, 345. Calvinism vs. Lutherism, 140.
Brewster, Love, 345. Calvinist and Arminian controversy,
Brewster,William (Elder), 58, 76, 121, 135, 136.
123, 126, 127, 129, 134, 141, 155, Cambridge, Eng., 38, 39.
166, 182, 232, 258, 271, 326, 329, Cambridge, Mass., 348.
334, 336, 340, 343, 354, 400; organ- "Cambridge Concordance" (New-
izes and leads Scrooby Separa- man), 349.
tists, 60, 70; early life and char- "Cambridge Platform," the, 348.
acter, 65; with Davison, 66-70; Campbell, Douglas, v, 114.
post at Scrooby, 70; "Seven Ar- Campen, Holland, Separatists at,
ticles," 163; "Instances of Induce- 101.
ment," 163; ministry to the Cannon, mounted on platform at
Pilgrims, 327, 333; removes to Plymouth, 229.
Duxbury, 345. Canonicus, sends challenge to Pil-
Bridewell, the, prison, 55. grims, 311, 312.
Bridgewater, Mass., 350, 420, 421. Cape Cod, 293, 294, 303, 357, 417;
"Brief Account of Discipline in the sighted by Pilgrims, 189 Pilgrims
;

Scotch Church" (Calderwood), land at, 200 ; explorations on, 201-

127. 219; harbor of, 216.
"Brief Narration" (Winslow), 168. Capital crimes, 370, 387, 390.
Bristol, Me., 294. Captain, office of, Plymouth militia,
Brookfield, Mass., siege of, 419. 284.
Brown, Dr. v on Browne, 41
, ; ; Captain's Hill, Duxbury, 345.
on Winslow, 125. Carter, Robert, 178, 180.
Brown, John, 32, 398. Cartier, explorer, 185, 233.
Brown, Peter, 235, 236. Cartwright, Thomas, 35-37, 38, 47,
Browne, Dorothy Boteler, 38. 141.
Browne, Francis, 38. Carver, Gov. John (Pilgrim), 124,
Browne, Philip, 38. 126, 130, 162, 179, 180, 187, 199,
Browne, Robert, 54, 76, 105, 141; 208, 235, 237, 243, 301, 302; first
life and teaching, 38-40 character
; governor, 125; agent, 155; dies,
of, 40-46; writings, 47-49. 229; his wife dies, 229.
Brownists, the, 41, 56. Castine, Me., 279, 284.
Bryant, William Cullen, 222. Catherine de Medici, 66.
Bulls, brought into Plymouth Colony, Catherine of Aragon, 20.
254, 255. Catholicism, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 140,
Burgomasters, Leyden, petition to, 150.
112. Cattle, in Plymouth, 254 ; division of,
Burial Hill, Plymouth, 233, 259. 255, 274.
Burleigh, Lord, 22, 38. Champlain, explorer, 185, 218, 233.
Burning, Protestants, 24; witches, Chapels, forbidden by Elizabeth, 26.
382. Character, moral, importance of, to
Bury St. Edmunds, 25; Robert Pilgrims, 450, 451, 456.
Browne at, 39. Chanty, the ship, 254, 255.
Bushnell, Horace, 324. Charles II, 254, 320, 382; ends per-
Butler, , 123. secution of Quakers, 390; grants
Butten, William, 188. Connecticut charter, 398.
Butter, scarcity of, 173, 251, 258, 295. Charles V (Spain), 96.
Buzzards Bay, 276. Charleston, S. C, 342.
Byington, Dr. , v, 462. Charlestown, Mass., 280.
Charter, Connecticut's, 398.
Cadiz, Spain, 24. Charter, Massachusetts Bay's, 336,
Calderwood, David, 127. 428, 432.
470 INDEX
Chatham, Mass., 299. See Mono- Clyfton, Richard, 62-64, 73, 76, 109.
moy. Code of Laws, framed, 367.
Chaucer, 12. Coles Hill, Plymouth, 233.
Chauncey, Charles, 339, 348; pres. College. See Harvard.
of Harvard, 340. Collier, William, 179, 345, 403.
Cheese. See Dairy products. Collins, 123. ,

Cheever, George B., v, 194, 214. Colonies, Confederation of New

Children of Pilgrims, in Holland, 139, England, 395-407.
149, 150; number
of, 243, 354; Colonists, Weston's, 247, 312, 317.
born on Mayflower, 188, 229; See Plymouth Colonists.
deaths among, 232, 354; training, Colony. See Plymouth, Mass. Bay,
353, 354. Conn., etc.
Chilton, James, 219. Colts. See Live stock.
Choate, Isaac Bassett, 146. Commission of peers, 69.
Choate, Rufus, 222, 234. Commissioners, Colonial, 386, 397,
"Christian Fellowship" (Robinson), 398, 405; King's, the, 320.
137. Committee on Indian troubles, 315.
Christian Indians ("Praying" Indi- Committee on laws and statutes, 367.
ans), 417, 418. Committees of public safety, 430.
Christison, Wenlock, 389. Common, Boston, 390.
Chronology, systems of, 75. Common-house, 228, 235, 237, 239.
Church, Capt. Benjamin, 319, 405, Communion, 328, 335, 339, 340.
418, 419, 421. Communism at Plymouth, 249.
Church, in Amsterdam, 103 in Ley- Compact. See Mayflower Compact.
;

den, 141-143; in Plymouth', 324- Confederacy, the Pokanoket, 301,

350, 400, 437-450. See Sabbath 305, 311, 417.
observance. Confederation, the New England,
Church government, 446; Thomas 395-407; reasons for, 395, 396;
Cartwright on, 36; Francis John- basis of, 397, 403; revised articles
son on, 104, 105 ; system of, Ley- of, 398, 406; benefits from, 399-
den, 140-143; "Seven Articles," 402, 404, 406.
162; Roger Williams on, 336; Conference meetings, introduced,
Charles Chauncey on, 339. 344.
Church of England, 76, 163, 336, 339. Confession of Faith, the Church of
Churches, Old Colony, Plymouth, England, 163 the Separatist, 108.
;

53; "Ancient," Amsterdam, 101; Confession of witchcraft, 381.

"Pilgrim Fathers," 102; St. Peter's, Conformity, conflict of Dissent with,
Leyden, 117, 118, 120; St. Helen's, 19 seq.
Austerfield, 72. Congregationalism, 10, 41, 43, 44,
Citizenship, in Holland, 139; in 142, 324, 464.
Plymouth, 403, 458, 459. See "Congregationalist, The," 324.
Freemen. Congregationalists, early English, 10,
Civic duties, 376-378, 457-460. 44, 45.
Clams, a staple of food, 248, 258; Connecticut, capital crimes in, 370;
clam shells used for wampum, 275. witchcraft in, 382; joins confeder-
Clapboard, 183, 266, 267. ation, 395 colonial commissioners
;

Clark, Nathaniel, 429, 431. of, 397, 398; charter of, 398.
Clark, William, 420. Conspiracies, the Babington, 69;
Clarke, mate, 208.
, Captain Jones' alleged, 190, 191;
Clarke, Gov. Walter (R. I.), 430. Indian, 311, 312, 313, 314; against
Clark's Island, 211, 213, 214, 215, Robinson, 329; of Lyford and
217, 224, 225, 429, 431, 443. Oldam, 331.
Clement Vn, Pope, 20. Constitution, the English, 23.
Clink, the, prison, 55. Constitution, the Pilgrims', 195.
Clothing, 244, 245, 296. Constitution of the United States, 32.
 INDEX 471
"Constitutional History" (Hallam), Cushman, Robert, 122, 124, 128, 129,
20. 130, 162, 176, 179, 249, 319; agent,
Consumption, 231. 155; concludes agreement with
Controversy, Lutheran and Calvin- Adventurers, 161, 172; arrives at
istic, 135, 136, 140. Plymouth, 244, 265; on Lyford,
Conventicles, forbidden by Elizabeth, 330.
26. Cushman, Thomas (Elder), 259, 340,
Convocations, 21, 163. 354.
Cook, Francis, 258. Cuthbertson, , 123.
Cook, John, 258.
Cooke, , 293. Dairy products, 251, 257, 258, 295.
Cooper, 182. Dartmouth, Eng., Pilgrims put in at,
Copeland, , Quaker, 389. 175.
Coppin, , mate, 208, 209, 210. Dartmouth, Mass., 319; Indian at-
Copping, John, 25. tacks on, 419, 420.
Corbitant, 305, 306, 307. Dartmouth Indians, the, 318.
Corn, Indian, taken from Indians, D'Aulney, 284.
202, 203, 206, 293, 303, 304, Davenport, Rev. John, 347, 349.
318; planting, 244, 250; drought Davis, Dr. O. S., v, 137.
threatens, 251, 252; light crop, Davis, William T., v, 194, 357, 362.
246 ; traded with Indians, 277. Davison, William, 66-68, 70.
Correction, House of, built for im- Day, , the Harvard printer, 256.

prisonment of Quakers, 387. "Day of humiliation," 252, 404. See

Cotton, Rev. John, 340, 347, 348. Fast days.
Cotton, Rev. John, Jr., 340-342, 343, "Day of thanksgiving," 253. See
344, 348. Thanksgiving Day.
Council, governor's, the, 428. De Monts, 233, 234.
Council for New England, The, 154, De Tocqueville, Alexis, 362, 363.
190, 197, 269, 277. See Plymouth Death penalty, the, 370, 387, 390.
Virginia Company and Merchant Deaths, at sea, 188; at Cape Cod,
Adventurers. 218, 233; first year, 180, 229, 230,
Council of Oxford, the, 32. 231, 232, 234.
" "
Counterpoyson (Ainsworth), 108. Debt, to Merchant Adventurers, 262-
Court. See General Court. 286, 455; imprisonment for, 372;
Court of Election, the, 375. for Philip's War, 423.
Courts, "commissarie," 87, 97. Declaration of Independence, the,
Courts, formation of, 365. 368.
"
Courtship of Miles Standish" Declaration of rights, the, 368.
(Longfellow), 131. Deer, 203, 248, 258, 310.
Covenant, Chief Philip's, 414. Deerfield, Mass., Indian attack on,
Coverdale, 6, 7, 8. 419.
Cows, in Plymouth Colony, 254, 255, Deity, Pilgrims' conception of and
256. reverence for the, 438-441.
Crab-shells, baskets made of, 207. Delfshaven, 166, 167, 327.
"Cradle of a Commonwealth," 198. "Democracy in America" (De
Crandon, Edwin S., 52. Tocqueville), 363.
Cranmer, 34. Democracy in Plymouth Colony, 198,
Crimes, 370, 371, 386, 454, 455. 199, 371, 373, 374, 402, 431, 458,
Cromwell, Oliver, 12, 28, 126, 349. 464.
Cudworth, 283.
, Dennison, , 406.

Currency, wampum used as, 275, Deptford, Eng., Separatist meetings

277, 429.
Cushman, Isaac, 342. Deputies to general court, 373, 377.
Cushman, Mary Allerton (Mrs. Dermer, Capt. , 298.

Thomas), 258. Dexter, Prof. Franklin Bowditch, v.

472 INDEX
Dexter, Henry Martyn, v, 170. Eliot, John (apostle), 288, 347, 417.
Dexter, Morton, v, 99, 114; on Elliott, Charles W., v, 18, 413.
Cartwright, 36; on Browne, 43; Ellis,George Edward, 394.
on Smyth, 106 ; on Winslow, 126 ; Elizabeth, Queen, 9, 59, 70, 71, 153;
on debts, 286. and Protestantism, 19 seq.; her at-
Dexters, the, v, 146. titude explained, 26 seq.
Dickinson, J. W., on schools, 352. Elizabethan era, 23.
Disease, 188, 231, 233, 291, 295. See
Sickness.
Ely, , sailor,

Endicott, Gov. - —
178.
, 130, 343.
Disfranchisement, 376; of Quakers, "England and Holland of the Pil-
386. grims, The" (Dexter), 62.
Dissent, conflict of Conformity with, English, , sailor, 208.
19 seq. English laws, 89, 363, 365, 366.
" "
Dissenters, 89. English Separatism (Macken-
"Dissuasion Against Separatism Con- nal), 6.
sidered" (Robinson), 77, 106. Englishmen killed by Indians, 293.
Dorchester, Mass., 348. Episcopacy in Plymouth, 331.
Dotey, Edward, 178, 199, 208, 371. Episcopius, 135.
Douglas, James, 362. Equality, political. See Democracy.
Douw, Gerard, 118. Established Church. See Church of
Dover, N. H., 338. England.
Draper, Andrew S., on schools, 352. Estates, administration of, 366.
Drill, military, 309. Evarts, William M., 324.
Drought, the great, 251. "Exercise of Prophecy" (Robinson),
Ducks, 205, 244. See Mallard. 137.
Duel fought in Plymouth, 178, 371. Explorations of Pilgrims, 201-203,
Dunning, Dr. A. E., 436. 204-208, 209-212, 218.
Dunster, , pres. of Harvard Col- Explorers, early, of New
England,
lege, 340. 218.
Dutch, immigration and influence in Exposing Indians' heads, 316.
England, 8; population in Eng- Extension, church, 344.
land, 9; offer aid to Leyden fel-

lowship, 157; send horses to Bos- Family training among the Pilgrims,
ton, 256 ; settlement at Manhattan, 354.
274, 284. Famines, at Plymouth, 245, 247, 250,
Duxbury, Mass., 258, 345, 348, 356, 251.
367, 373. Fast days, at Leyden, 166 ; at Plym-
Dyer, Mary (Mrs.), 390. outh, 252, 253, 259, 404.
Faunce, (Elder), 429.
East Anglia, Congregationalists in, Finance, Pilgrims, at Leyden, 154
41. seq.; troubles at Southampton, 172;
East Halton Skitter, port of depar- troubles at Plymouth, 262-286 ; in-
ture, 91. dorsers of, 271, 273;- readjustment
East Harbor, Cape Cod, 202. of, 272; policy of, 273.
Eastham, Mass., 209, 292, 304, 321, Fines, 372, 376, 377, 385, 386, 429.
346, 348. See Nauset. Fire, 237, 239; law against setting,
Eaton, 355.
, 366.
Eaton, Samuel, 258. "First Encounter," the, 210, 293.
Ecclesiastical Establishment of Eng- "First Sickness," the, 180.
land, 22. Fish, 207, 226, 244, 258, 268.
Edward VI, 19, 34. Fisher, George P., 2.
Eels, Capt. 319., Fishing, 155, 160, 247, 248, 285, 357,
Elder, the Ruling, 341, 342. 366.
Elders in church government, 141. Fishing-fleet aids Pilgrims, 246.
Election, Court of, 375. Fishing-grounds easily accessible, 224.
 INDEX 473

Fishing-smack, French, wrecked, 293. Geneva, 13, 36.

Fiske, John, v, 222, 233, 426; on George III, 196, 432.
English Bible, 6 on Philip's War,
; Glover, (Rev.), 337.
410. Glover, printer, 337.
,

Fitz, Richard, 45, 54. Goats brought to Plymouth, 255, 257,

Fleet, the, prison, 55, 104. 274.
Food, 244, 247, 253, 257, 258; scar- "Good News from New England"
city of, 245, 250, 251. (Winslow), 126.
Forefathers' Day, 217. Goodman, John, 235, 236.
Forgery of deeds, 372. Goodwin, John A., v, 277, 286, 338,
Fort, the first, in Plymouth, 228, 326. 426, 433 ;on Hopkins, 182 on ;

Fortune, the ship, 244, 248, 265, 271, Alden, 183; on first exploration,
354, 405 captured, 267.
;
202 on site of settlement, 216 on
; ;

Fotheringay Castle, Queen Mary im- wampum, 275; on Indians, 288;

prisoned at, 69. on treaty with Massasoit, 301 on ;

Fowl, 203, 248, 258, 309. Treat's funeral, 321.

Fox, George, 384. Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 190, 191,
Franklin, Benjamin, 48. 197, 293, 298.
Free Church martyrs, first, 25. Gorton, Samuel, 335.
Free schools, 352, 357, 358. Gosnold, 189. ,

Freedom of the press, suspended, Gospel, the, 395 to the Indians, 288,
;

428. 320.
Freedom of worship, denied, 339, "Gospellers," the, 44.
428. Government
of Plymouth Colony,
Freemen, 365, 374, 375, 376, 403, 430. 195-199; 362-378; 402-404; 406,
French raids in Maine, 279, 284. 431.
Fresh Water Pond, Cape Cod, 202. Governor, office of, 364, 374, 375,
Friends, Society of, 384. See Quakers. 377, 428, 430.
Frobisher, Martin, 185. Grady, Henry W., 436.
Froude, on Queen Elizabeth, Grass, silk, 207 wild, 244.
, ;

26. Graves, 206, 233; Indian, 202.

Fruit, abundance of, in Plymouth, Greenleaf, Thomas, 390.
258. Greenwood, John, 25, 102, 104, 135.
Fuller, Bridget, 355. Griffis, Dr. William Elliot, v, 8, 67,
Fuller, Dr. Samuel (Pilgrim), 123, 84, 116, 117, 275.
124, 129, 130, 162, 166, 199, 258, Grotius, 119.
271, 308, 343, 354 ; will of, 256. Groton, Mass., 419.
Furs, 267, 268, 295; first shipment Guiana considered for settlement,
of, 266; trade with Indians for, 152.
277. Guild,' Curtis, Jr., 194.
Guilds, tradesmen's, in Holland, 139.
Gabriel, the ship, 185.
Gainsborough, 75, 90; Separatist Hadley, Mass., Indians attack, 419.
church at, 53, 60, 78 memorial to Hale, Sir Matthew, believer in witch-
;

Robinson, 94; Separatists in Am- craft, 382.

sterdam, 102. Halifax, Mass., burned, 420.
Game, a staple of food, 247, 258. Hall, Jonathan Prescott, 288.
Garrison, William Lloyd, 48. Hall, Pilgrim, 217.
Garrison-house, Clark's, 420. Hall, Plumber's, 45.
Gates, Gov. (Va.), 182. Hallam, Henry, 20.
Geese, wild, 205. Hamden, John, 313.
General Court, the, 365, 367, 376, Hampden, John, 813.
386, 398, 403, 404; formation of, Hancock, John, 48.
373 374 Handmaid, the ship, 354.
"General History" (Smith), 158. Hanging, 24, 382, 390, 452.
474 INDEX
Harbor, 207, 231. See Plymouth, Horace, 24.
Boston, etc. Horses brought into Plymouth Col-
Harding, Sewell, 394. ony, 255, 256.
Hartford, Conn., 349, 371. Hospital, the first, 229.
Harvard College, 340, 356, 401, 463. Hospitality of the Pilgrims, 245, 249,
Harvest festival, the first, 308. 280, 295, 296, 301, 309, 343.
Harvests, the Pilgrims', 246, 247, 251, House of Correction, 387.
252, 253, 285, 309. Houses, 228, 244, 254, 309.
Hatchets traded to Indians, 277. Howland, Elizabeth Tilley (Mrs.
Hatherly, Timothy, 179, 281. John), 258, 354.
Hawkins, 23. , Howland, John, 166, 187, 208, 255,
"Head and Heels," 389. 257, 271, 355.
Heifers. See Cattle. Hubbard, - , v, 131.
Hemans, Felicia, 194. Huckleberries, 258.
Henry III (France), 66. Hudson, , 189.

Henry VII, 58, 184. Hudson River, 189, 190, 274.

Henry VIII, 19, 20, 23, 33, 34, 38, 59. Huguenots, the, in France, 27.
Herrick, George M., 436. Hull, Eng., port of, 91.
Herring, fishing for, 357. Humber River, 91.
Hertfordshire, Eng., 35. Hunt, Capt. Thomas, 292, 297.
"High Commission for Causes Ec- Hunter, Joseph, v, 194.
clesiastical," 22, 23. Hunting, 309; laws concerning, 366.
Hildreth, Richard, v, 242. Huss, John, 2, 14.
Hill, Burial, Plymouth, 233. Hutchinson, , v.

Hill, Captain's, Duxbury, 345. Hyde, John Nevins, 52,

Hill, Coles, Plymouth, 233. "Hypocricy Unmasked" (Winslow),
Hill, Study, Pawtucket, 420. 126.
Hill, Watson's, Plymouth, 301.
Hinckley, Gov. Thomas, 405, 430, 433. Idle River, 90, 91.
"History" (Bradford), 212, 301, 346,Immersion. See Baptism.
352. Immigration, 245, 248, 251, 272, 454;
" "
History of New England (Palfrey), Dutch, 8, 9.
355. Immorality in Plymouth Colony,
"History of New Plymouth" (Bay- 453^55.
lies), 365, 368. Imprisonment, of early Puritans, 24,
"History of Plymouth" (Thacher), 25 ; of Browne, 42 of Separatists,
;

357. 54, 55; of Mary, Queen of Scots,

Hoar, George F., 288, 403. 69; of Davison, 70; of Scrooby
Hobomak, 305, 307, 313, 314, 315. Fellowship, 90, 91, 93 ; of Winslow,
Holland, civiland religious liberty in, 126; of Brewer, 127; of debtors,
10, 11, 97; Anabaptists in, 10; ar- 372; of Quakers, 389.
rival of exiles in, 94 ; an asylum for Incorporation of towns, Plymouth
the persecuted, 97 ; Pilgrims leave, Colony, 373.
166 ; immigrants from, 274. Indians, 209, 211, 224, 229, 236, 237,
Holmes, , charged with witch- 239, 366, 396; first seen by Pil-
craft, 383. grims, 202; Pilgrims take corn of,
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 170. 202, 203, 206, 293, 303, 304, 318;
Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 347. Pilgrims trade with, 247, 277, 279,
Hooper, John, 33-35. 285, 296, 303; "First Encounter"
Hopkins, Giles, 258. with, 210, 292, 293 ; conflict with,
Hopkins, Mark, 324. 315, 316, 317; Pilgrims' relations
Hopkins, Oceanus, 188, 229. with, 288-322 ; plague among, 291,
Hopkins, Stephen, 178, 181, 196, 199, 295 ; Hunt's capture of, 292, 297,
201, 208, 256, 295 ; visits Massasoit, 298; welcome Pilgrims, 294; visit
302, 308. Pilgrims, 296, 297, 300, 308, 310;
 INDEX 475
treaty with, 301, 305, 310; gospel Keith, (Rev.), 350.
carried to, 288, 320, 321, 341, 417; Kennebec River, trading-posts on,
massacres by, 293, 326, 419, 420; 277, 279, 284.
conspire against settlers, 311, 312, Kettle, found on first exploration,
313, 314; abused by Weston's 202.
colonists, 312; sold into slavery, Killigrew, Sir Henry, 66.
318; facing extinction, 412; popu- King, John, bishop of London, 156.
lation of, 416; unite in Philip's King's Bench Prison, 127.
War, 417; Christian or "Praying," Kingston, Mass., 224, 225, 226.
417, 418. See Philip's War. Kloksteeg, the, Leyden, 120.
Individual labor, system of, 250, 274. Knives, 247, 277, 297.
Indorsers, financial, for the Pilgrims, Knox, John, 7.
271.
Industrial policy at Plymouth, 249, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity.
253. See Thomas Cartwright.
Ingham, Mrs. , alleged witch,
383. Lambs. See Live stock.
"Instances of inducement," 163, 164. Lancaster, Mass., Indians attack,
Interest, high rates of, 265, 269, 270. 419.
Investment of Merchant Adventurers, Land, division and allotment of, 160,
158, 180. 250, 273; grant to Allerton, 279;
Ipswich, Mass., 208, 338. See dealings with Indians, 288, 319,
Agawam. 320; titles, 428.
Islington, Separatist meetings at, 54. Landing, first, at Cape Cod, 200 ; at
Clark's Island, 211; at Plymouth
Jackson, Richard, 80. Rock, 216, 223.
Jacob, Henry, 102. Langemore, , servant, 178.

Jacob, the ship, 254. Lathrop, Capt. , 420.

James I, 66, 124, 154, 155, 363; pro- Latimer, 7, 34.

tests Separatist printing in Holland, Laud, Archbishop, 126, 339, 348.
127; refuses religious freedom in "Lawfulness of Plantations" (Cush-
America, 156; witchcraft persecu- man), 319.
tion under, 382. Laws, English, 89, 363, 365, 366, 370,
James II, 426, 427. 429.
Jamestown, Va., 233. Laws, Plymouth Colony, 195, 362-
Jenney, John, 272, 283. 378, 429, 438, 459, 462, 463; on
Jennings, , 123. school question, 356, 357 trial by;

Jenny. See Jenney. jury, 363; administration of, 364;

Jessop, Francis, 80, 123. no code of, 365, 366; code of,
John, King (Eng.), 58. adopted, 367 ; declaration of rights,
"John Robinson" (Davis), 137. 368; penal, 370; civil, 373; on
Johnson, Capt. , 420. voting, 376 on holding office, 377 ;
;

Johnson, Francis, 141, 173; in Lon- against Quakers, 385-387; on

don, 54; in Amsterdam, 101; treatment of Indians, 321, 366,
career of, 104, 105. 396. See Government of Plymouth
Jones, Capt. 190, 219, 224, 238;
, Colony.
alleged bribery 197, 290 ; heads
of, Lecky, W. E. H., on witchcraft, 380.
expedition, 204-206; practises ex- Leddra, Quaker, 389.
,

tortion, 247. Lee, , 123.

Jones River, 224. Lee, Rev. Samuel, 349.

Jury, trial by, 363, 365. Legislation. See Laws.
"
"Just and Necessary Apology (Rob- Leo X, Pope, 33.
inson), 137. Letter, Robinson's farewell, 173.
"Justification of Separatism from the "Letter Book" (Bradford), 158.
Church of England" (Robinson), Letter of de Rassiere to Bradford,
137. 274.
476 INDEX
Letters, 244, 265, 268, 329, 388; in- Longevity of Pilgrims, 258.
tercepted, 332. Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 18,
Leyden, 114-143; memorial to Rob- 131, 380.
inson 118; history of , 117;
at, 94, Lothrop, (Rev.), 349.
museum and art in, 118; univer- Lowell, James Russell, 11, 32, 222,
sity, 119; exiles' meeting-house in, 240.
120, 121; printing in, 134; theo- Lucas, E. V., 114.
logical debate in, 135; Congrega- Luther, Martin, 2, 9, 14, 33.
tionalism at, 142; departure of Lutherism vs. Calvinism, 140.
Pilgrims from, 166, 167. Lyford, Rev. John, 329-333, 455;
Leyden church, 325, 326 ; the "Seven servility and deception of, 330;
Articles," 162 ; government formu- conspires with Oldam, 331 ban- ;

lated, 140-143. ished, 332 not pastor of Plymouth

;

Leyden fellowship, 114-143; their church, 334.

meeting-house, 120, 121 voca- ;

tions of, 122, 139; accessions to, Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 18.
124-133; marriages among, 138, Mackennal, Dr. Alexander, v, 6, 45,
139; become citizens, 139; formu- 52; on Browne, 41, 43.
late church polity, 140-143; con- Mackerel, fishing for, 357.
template removal from Leyden, Magistrates, 336, 363, 365.
148; reasons for leaving Leyden, "Magna Charta," 14.
149-151; decide on Virginia, 153; Maize, 202, 216. See Corn.
their petition refused, 156 receive ; Majority rule in Plymouth, 363, 364.
patent, 156 refuse Dutch offers of
; Mallards, 295, 296. See Ducks.
aid, 157; their "articles of agree- Manhattan, Dutch at, 274, 284, 382.
ment," 159; secure ships, 162; Mann, Horace, on schools, 352.
hold religious services before de- Manomet, trading-house at, 276.
parture, 166; leave Leyden, 167. Manor house, Scrooby, refuge of
See Scrooby fellowship, Pilgrim Separatists, 58-62.
Fathers, and Plymouth colonists. Mansfield, Lord, believer in witch-
Leyden Street, Plymouth, 228. craft, 382.
Leyden University, 114, 119, 126, Manual of arms, drill in, 309.
127 135. Margaret, Queen (Scotland), 58.
"Life'of Brewster" (Steele), 65. Marlborough, Mass., destruction of,
Liquor. See "Strong water." 419.
Lister, Edward, 178, 371. Marriages among Leyden fellowship,
Literature, beginning of American, 138, 139.
129. Marshall, Capt. , 420.
Little, Rev. Ephraim, 344. Marshfield, Mass., 283, 345, 356,
Little James, the ship, 251, 256, 272, 373.
354; captured, 268. Martha's Vineyard, missionaries in,
Live stock in Plymouth, 254-257; 417.
division of, 255, 274. Martin, Christopher, 178-180.
Lobsters, 251, 258. Martyrs, early church, 25.
Lochleven, Mary, Queen of Scots, Marvell, Andrew, 99.
imprisoned at, 69. Mary, Queen (wife of William of
Lollards, the, in England, 5. Orange), 434.
London, 9, 25 Separatist church in, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, 69, 70,
;

54; Congregationalists in, 44-46. 71.

London Separatists in Holland, 101. Mary Tudor, Queen ("Bloody
London Virginia Company, 154, 196 ; Mary"), 20, 23, 24, 329.
Pilgrims negotiate with, 155; Maryland, witchcraft a capital crime
grants patent to Pilgrims, 156. in, 382.
Long, John D., 194. Massachusetts Bay Colony, trades
Long Point, Cape Cod, 192, 209. with Plymouth, 257; ministers of,
 INDEX 477

334, 336, 338, 340, 347 ; schools in, Memorial, to Robinson, 94, 118; on
340, 356, 358, 359, 401, 463 capi- ; Clark's Island, 214; to Cotton,
tal offenses in, 370; witchcraft in, 342.
382; Quakers in, 386, 387, 389, Men, number of, in Pilgrim com-
390, 391; population of, 395; in pany, 185, 243.
confederation of colonies, 395, 397, Mendon, Mass., abandonment of,
398, 401, 403, 405, 407; military 419.
quota of, 397, 398 disputes boun- Merchant Adventurers, 128, 157,
;

dary with Plymouth, 399, 400; 158, 244, 282, 283; articles of
early form of government in, 375; agreement with, 159, 161, 264;
in Philip's War, 410, 414, 416, 417, debt of Pilgrims to, 262-286; de-
418, 419, 420; under Andros, 428; lay in remittances to, 265; new
reseats Gov. Bradstreet, 430; agreement with, 268; Standish,
charter, 428, 432 Puritans of, ; Allerton, and Winslow negotiate
compared with Pilgrims, 462-465. with, 268, 269 Allerton's partner- ;

Massachusetts Confederacy (Indian), ship with, 279; conspire against

291, 306, 311. Robinson, 329, 331 conspire ;

Massachusetts Historical Society, 214. against Pilgrim democracy, 331.

Massacres, Indian, 293, 326, 419, Middleborough, Mass., 305, 419,
420. 420. See Namasket.
Massasoit, 297, 299, 304, 305, 311, Middleburg, Zealand, 39, 42.
315, 319, 413; visits Pilgrims, 300, Military duty, laws concerning, 366.
308, 310; Pilgrims visit, 302, 313; Military quota of colonies, 397, 398.
plot against, 306. Milk. See Dairy products.
Masterson, 123. , Mill, grist, built by John Jenney,
Mather, Cotton, on Bradford, 74. 283.
Mather, Increase, 432. Milton, John, 9, 18.
Mather, Richard, 348. Ministers, early New England, 327,
Mats, Indian, found on Cape Cod, 330-344, 347-350.
207. Ministry, ordination to the, 163.
Mayflower, the ship, 180, 218, 219,
vi, Missionaries to the Indians, 417.
223, 229, 230, 255, 265, 294, 354, Mitchell, , 345.

404 ; hired, 162 ; at Southampton, Mohawk River, Dutch on the, 274.

171; sails from England, 177; Mohegans, the, 410.
description of, 183-185; number Mollusks, chief source of food
on board of, 185, 188; arrives at supply, 247.
Cape Cod, 192; returns to Eng- Monhegan, Me., goats from, 257.
land, 238-240, 243. Monomoy, 191, 299. See Chatham.
Mayflower Compact, the, 195-199, Monopoly, trade, given to financial
215, 364, 367, 375, 464; text of, indorsers, 273.
197. Monumet River. See Manomet.
"
Mayflower, The
— Her Log," Moore, Jasper, 218.
(Ames), 179. "Morning Star of the Reformation."
Mayhews, the, missionaries to In- See Wycliffe.
dians, 417. Morton, 123.
,

McKenzie, Alexander, 114. Morton, John, v, 356.

Meadows held in common by Pil- Morton, Nathaniel, v, 184, 190, 285,
grims, 273. 356, 401.
Meal, scarcity 244, 245.
of, Motley, John Lothrop, 96.
Medfield, Mass., Indians attack, 419. Mounds, Indian, on Cape Cod, 202,
Medici, Catherine de, 66. 206.
Meeting-house, 326, 338. "Mourt's Relation," 201, 212, 230,
Meetings, conference and prayer, 298.
344 town, 428.
; Mowry, William A., on schools, 352.
Melanchthon, 2. Mullins, Joseph, 180.
478 INDEX
Mullins, Priscilla, 180. Norfolk, Eng., Separatism in, 6.
Mullins, William, 179, 180. Northampton, Eng., 40.
Murder, 178, 370, 452. Northfield, Mass., Indians attack,
Museum, Leyden, 118. 419.
Muskets, 173, 414. Norton, Humphrey, 387.
Mystics, Pilgrims not, 447, 448. Norton, John, 337.
Norwich, Eng., 9, 39, 44, 46.
Naarden, Holland, Separatists in, Nuts, ground, a source of food sup-
101. ply, 248.
Namasket, 305. See Middlebor-
ough. Old Colony. See Plymouth Colony.
Nantasket, Mass., 334. Old Colony church, 53.
Nantucket, missionaries at, 417. Oldam, John, 331, 332.
Narragansett Bay, 291, 300. Orange, Prince of, 25, 426. See
Narragansetts, the, 291, 302, 305, William III.
306, 311, 417, 419, 422. Orchards, at Plymouth, 258.
Nature, crimes against, 370. Otis, James, 178.
Naunton, Sir Robert, 155. Otter, 266, 285.
Nauset, 292, 304. See Eastham. Oxford, Council of, 32.
Nausites, the, 292, 297, 298, 304, 305,
418. Paine, Robert Treat, 321.
Neal, Daniel, v, 2. Palfrey, John G., v, 194, 288, 321,
Negro Head, Cape Cod, 202. 355, 382, 413.
Neponsits, the, 411. Pamet River, Cape Cod, 202, 205,
Netherlands, the, religious contro- 207, 208, 209.
versies in, 27. See Holland. Papacy, revolt from, 26.
Nets, fishing, 357. Parkman, Francis, 233.
Neville, Gervase, 80. Parliament, the English, 20, 55.
New England, 188, 235, 317; first Parthenon, the, 24.
printed discourse in, 129; first Partridge, Ralph (Rev.), 348.
child born in, 188 ; first landing of Patent, Pilgrims attempt to secure a,
Pilgrims in, 200; early explorers 155; granted by London Virginia
of, 218 ; first free school in, 357. Company, 156; to Pierce, 196,
New England Confederation. See 197; to Bradford, 277, 367; the
United Colonies of New England. Warrick, 278.
"New England History" (Elliott), Patuxet, 295. See Plymouth.
413. Patuxets, the, 216, 291, 297, 300,
"New England Memorial" (Mor- 319.
ton), 184, 190, 401. Pawtucket, R. I., 420.
New Haven, Conn., 347, 349, 370, Pecksuot, killed, 316.
395, 397, 398, 404. Peirce, Capt. Michael, 420, 421.
New Plymouth, 218, 228. See Penalty, the death, 370, 387.
Plymouth. Penalties. See Banishment, Fines,
New York, 284, 387. Imprisonment, Punishments, Ty-
Newcomen, John, killed by Billing- ing up, and Whipping.
ton, 178. Penn, William, 301, 371, 384.
Newfoundland Company, the, 298. Pennsylvania, witchcraft in, 382, 383.
Newman, ——
(Rev.), 349.
•
Penobscot River, trading-posts on,
Newgate, prison, 25, 55. 279, 284.
Newport, Capt. , 233. Penry, , martyr, 25, 102.
Nipmucks, the, 417, 418, 422. Pequod War, the, 411.
Non-conformists, 8, 23, 46, 86, 87, Pequods, the, 291.
89. Perkins, Rev. William, 76.
Non-conformity, 3, 23. Persecution, of Separatists, 19-29 ; of
"Nook," Brewster's, 345. Scrooby fellowship, 87-93; the
 INDEX 479
witchcraft, 381-383; of Quakers, Plymouth, Mass., 218, 225, 226, 228,
383—391. 346, 367, 373.
"Perth Assembly" (Calderwood), Plymouth Bay, 216, 226.
127. Plymouth Church, the, 325, 326 ; first
Petition, to Leyden burgomasters, meeting-house of, 326, 338; early
112; to Elizabeth, 153 ; to James I, ministers of, 327-342; conspiracy
against, 331 prayer and confer-
153. ;

Philip (chief), 320, 410, 418, 419, 422; ence meetings in, 344; extension
character of, 410, 413-115. of, 344.
Philip II (Spain), 9, 25, 96. Plymouth colonists,
begin building,
Philip's War, 288, 401, 405, 411-423; 226; sickness
ravages, 229-233;
causes of, 412; course of, 419; Rufus Choate on, 234 ; number of,
losses in, 421, 422 ; debt of, 423. 243 ; troubles and hardships, 235-
Phillips, Wendell, 48. 238, 244-252; accessions to, 245,
Phipps, Gov. William, 432 248, 251, 267, 272, 280, 282; com-
Pickering, , 123. munism of, 249 accept new agree-
;

Pierce, John, 196, 367. ment with Merchant Adventurers,

Pierpont, John, 52. 270; pay off debt to Adventurers,
Pierson, (Quaker) 389. 285 ; their relations with the Indi-
Pilgrim, the, 3, 8, 11, 12, 29. ans, 287-322; their schools, 352-
"Pilgrim Fathers," church of, Am- 359 their religion, 438-465
; See ;

sterdam, 102. Scrooby fellowship, Leyden fellow-

Pilgrim Fathers, leave Holland, 166; ship, and Pilgrim Fathers.
arrival at Southampton, 171; re- Plymouth Colony, communistic sys-
fuse to ratify articles of agreement, tem in, 259 ; live stock in, 254-257 ;
172; leave England, 175; acces- trades with Bay Colony, 257 ; boun-
sions to, at Southampton, 177, 196 ; daries of, defined, 277, 399 towns ;

number of, 185, 188, 229; their in, 373 ; joins confederation of colo-
voyage, 186, 187 ; sight Cape Cod, nies, 395; laws and legislation in,
188; compact of, 195; land on 362-378; merged with Massa-
Cape Cod, 200; explorations, 201, chusetts Bay Colony, 342, 348, 398,
204, 208; land of Plymouth, 217; 404, 433; in Philip's War, 401,
health and longevity of, 258. See 411-423; witches and Quakers in,
Leyden fellowship, Scrooby fellow- 380-391 ; under Andros, 428.
ship, and Plymouth colonists. Plymouth Harbor, 209, 216, 223,
"Pilgrim Fathers of New England, 238.
The" (Brown), 41. Plymouth Rock, vi, 195, 217, 240, 390.
Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, 217. Plymouth Virginia Company, 154,
"Pilgrim Press, The," 127, 134. 197. See Council for New England.
"Pilgrim Republic, The" (Goodwin), Plymton, Mass., 342.
301. Pneumonia, 231.
"Pilgrims, The" (Bancroft), 22. Pocassets, the, 305.
"Pilgrims In Their Three Homes" Pokanoket Confederacy, the, 301,
(Griffis), 61. 305, 311.
Pinnace, Pilgrims build a, 276. Pokanokets, the, 300, 303, 413.
Pioneers, the Puritan, 32-49. Poliander, Prof. , 135.
Piscataqua River, trading-post on, Pond, Fresh Water, 202.
277. Pontgrave, , 185.
Plague, in England, 269 ; among the "Popular Delusions "(Mackey), 382.
Indians, 291, 295. Population, Dutch in England, 9.
Planting, 244, 250, 285. Population of N. E. colonies, white,
Platform, the Cambridge, 348. 395, 416; Indian, 416.
Platform, used as fort, 228. Population of Plymouth Colony, 229,
Plumber's Hall, Separatists in, 45. 245, 248, 251, 272, 346.
Plymouth, Eng., 177. Postmaster at Scrooby, 70.
480 INDEX
Potatoes, 254. Remittances to Merchant Adven-
Poultry Counter, the, prison, 55. turers, delay in, 265 ; the first, 266 ;

Prayer for rain, 252 Pilgrims believe

;
the second, 267 ; others, 267, 268.
in efficacy of, 442. Reorganization, political and finan-
Prayer-meetings, 344. cial, in Plymouth Colony, 272, 273.

"Praying" Indians. See Christian Representatives. See Deputies.

Indians. Reynolds, Capt. , 175, 176.
Prence, Gov. Thomas, 170, 271, 388, Rheumatism, common among Pil-
398, 405. grims, 231.
Prince, -Thomas, v, 170. See Prence. Rhode Island, 382.
Printing, in Holland, 127, 134. Ridley, 34.
Prison, the first in Plymouth, 278. Robbing the Indians, 202, 203, 206,
Prisoners, selling of Indian, 318. 293, 303, 304, 318.
Prisons. See Fleet, Clink, Newgate, Robinson, Isaac, 283, 285, 391.
etc. Robinson, John (Rev.), v, 75-80, 124,
Proclamation, Thanksgiving Day, 125, 127, 129, 132, 133, 142, 160,
309. 165, 166, 326, 327, 328, 329, 440,
Protestantism, 6, 140, 150. 446; at Cambridge, at Norwich,
Protestants, 22, 24, 25, 27. takes orders, 76; becomes a Sep-
Provincetown, Mass., 192, 202. aratist, 78; withdraws from State
Provisions, scarcity of, 245, 246. Church, 77; pastor of Scrooby
Prower, (servant), 178. Church, 78, 79; memorials to, 94,
Psalm-book (Ainsworth's), 108, 329. 118; atLeyden, 109, 120; in great
Punishments, 370, 371, 386, 387. debate, 135 his writings, 137 his
; ;

Puritanism, 3, 14. intellectual activities, 138; formu-

"
Puritans, the, 3, 6, 8, 33, 88, 173, 396, lates church polity, 142 ; on ar-
463. ticles ofagreement," 160; "Seven
"Pursuants," 87, 97. Articles," 163; "instances of in-
ducement," 163; preaches before
QUADEQUTNA, 300. departure of Pilgrims from Leyden,
Quakerism, appears in the colonies, 166; his letter of farewell, 173,
381. See Quakers. 446 on killing of Indians, 133, 316.
;

Quakers, the, 283, 380-391; fanati- Rochester, Robert, 80.

cism among, 384; legislation Rogers, 34. ,

against, 385, 386, 387 persecution ; Rogers, (Rev.), 333, 334, 455.
of, ends, 390. Rogers, J. E. T., 96.
Quebec, Champlain at, 233. Rogers, J. Guinness, on Separatists,
32.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 23, 56, 152. Roman Catholics, 26, 27.
Rape, the crime of, 370. Rome, 13,24; See of, 22.
Rassieres, Isaac de, 274, 275. Roosevelt, Theodore, on schools, 352.
Ratcliffe, Separatists at, 54. Rose, ,44, 54.
Rationalists, Pilgrims not, 448. Rough, John, 44, 45, 54.
Rattlesnake skin challenge, the, 311. Rouse, John, 387.
Rayner, John (Rev.), 338, 348. Rowlandson, Mrs. , 419.
Recreations, at Plymouth, 309. Rugs, 277.
Reformation, the, in Germany, 2 ; in Rye, a staple of living, 258.
England, 19-22.
Rehoboth, Mass., 349, 399, 420. Sabbath observance, 201, 204, 212-
Reid, Whitelaw, on schools, 352. 216, 224, 296, 443.
Religious attitude of the Pilgrims, Saco River, 291.
438-450. Sacraments, administration of the,
"
Religious Communion " (Robin- 328, 335, 343.
son), 137. Saint Croix River, 233, 234.
Rembrandt, 118. .. Saint Helen's Church, 72.
 INDEX 481
Saint John's College, Cambridge, Separatism, 3, 6, 28, 46, 54.
108. Separatist Church, Scrooby, 58, 62.
Saint Peter's Church, 117, 120. Separatists, 8, 26, 54, 89, 98, 101, 102,
Saint Ursula Street, Leyden, 120. 103, 110, 111.
Salaries of deputies, 374. "Sermon on the Mount," the, 84.
Salem, Mass., 256, 280, 336. Servants, 180, 454.
Samoset, 181, 294-297. "Seven Articles," the, 162, 163.
Sampson, Henry, 258, 345. Shallop, repairing of the Mayflower's,
Sandwich, Mass., 346, 373. 201, 204, 209.
Sandys, Sir Edwin, 59, 155, 163, 164. Shares, apportionment of, 159, 264.
Santa Maria, the ship, 184. Sheep brought to Plymouth, 255, 257.
Scaliger, 119. Shell-fish, a staple of living, 247, 248.
"Scarlet Letter," the, 372. Sherley. See Shirley.
Schools, Plymouth Colony, 353-359; Ship-building, the first, 283.
legislation concerning, 356; first Ships. See Mayflower, Speedwell,
common, 356, 357; support of, etc.
357 ; encouraged by union of colo- Shirley, ,254, 281.
nies, 400. Sickness, at sea, 188; at Cape Cod,
Scituate, Mass., 282, 340, 346, 367, 218, 219; at Plymouth, 180, 229-
373, 383, 405, 420, 421. 235, 239, 247; at Boston, 257;
Screw used to repair the Mayflower, among Indians, 291 ; among early
186. explorers, 233.
Scriptures, the. See Bible and Tes- Sidney, Sir Philip, 23, 25.
taments. Sipican, lands at, 357.
Scrooby, Eng., 53, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62. Skins, 296. See Furs, Beaver, Otter,
Scrooby Church, 53, 58, 60, 325; etc.
leaders of, 62-80; Clyfton first Slander, charges of, 371, 372, 383.
pastor of, 63 Robinson pastor of, Slaney, John, 298.
;

78, 79. Slaves, Indian, 292, 298, 318, 319.

Scrooby fellowship, members of, 62- Smith, Goldwin, on Mayflower Com-
80; character of, 81, 85; persecu- pact, 198.
tion of, 87 resolve to emigrate, 88
; Smith, Capt., John, 189, 218, 254.
;

hindrances to emigration of, 89; Smith, Ralph (Rev.), 334-336, 343;

fail to leave England as a body, 90, first pastor of Plymouth Church,

92; arrival in Holland, 94; at 335.

Amsterdam, 97 seq.; their reasons Smyth, John, 76, 102, 106-108.
for leaving Amsterdam, 102, 110; Snow, 204, 205.
petition to settle in Leyden, 112. "So-and-So," Captain, aids Pilgrims,
See Leyden fellowship, Pilgrim 246.
Fathers, and Plymouth colonists. Society of Friends, 384. See Quakers.
Scurvy, prevalent among Pilgrims, Somersetshire, Eng., 33.
231, 233. Soule, George, 199, 258, 345.
Scusset River, 276. Southampton, Eng., 171, 173, 175.
Se-Baptist, Smyth a, 107. South wark. See London.
Sea food, Pilgrims depend on, 216, South wick, Cassandra, 389.
258. Southwick, Lawrence, 389.
Seed, 206, 207, 244. South worth, Constant, 285.
Seekonk, Mass., 399. Southworth, Thomas, 123, 285, 398.
Seeley, John Robert, 436. Sowams, 300, 302, 303, 308. See
Seines used for fishing, 357. Warren, R. I.
Selectmen of towns in Plymouth Col- Speedwell, the ship, 162, 168, 183,
ony, 377. 184; number on board of, 166;
Self-government, 198, 199, 363, 402- springs a leak, 175, 176; aban-
404 406 434. doned, 177.
" "
Self-Love (Cushman), 129. Spencer, 23.
31
482 INDEX
Sports, other Pilgrims', 309. Tobacco, found in Indian mounds,
Springfield, Mass., Indians attack, 207.
419. Tools taken by the Indians, 293, 296.
Springs of water found on Cape Cod, Torture, 289, 381.
203. Tower of London, Rose imprisoned
Squanto, 181, 297-300, 301, 302, 305, in, 44.
306, 307, 313. Town-meetings, 428.
"St." See Saint. Towns in Plymouth Colony, 373, 395,
Standish, Alexander, 132. 410 attacked by Indians, 419^-22.
;

Standish, Capt. Miles, 124, 130-133, Trade, 285 monopoly of, 273 with
; ;

166, 208, 217, 232, 256, 257, 258, Indians, 247, 273, 277, 279, 456;
265, 271, 293, 301, 306, 309, 345, with Bay Colony, 257 ; with Man-
371, 411; leads first exploration, hattan, 274, 284;
expansion of,
201; visits England, 269; leads 276; on the Kennebec, 277; on
expedition to Corbitant, 308 leads ;
the Penobscot, 279, 284.
expedition against Indians, 315. Trading-house, at Manomet, 276 on ;

Statutes, 365, 366. the Kennebec, 277, 279, 284; on

Staves, 183, 266. the Penobscot, 279, 284.
Steele, , v, 65. Trap, deer-, Indian Bradford caught
Steen, Jan, 118. in, 203.
Stocks for culprits, 371. Treason, a capital crime, 370.
"Story of the Pilgrim Fathers" Treasurer, 179, 183, 375.
(Arber), 26. Treat, Gov. Robert (Conn.), 320,
Street, Nicholas (Rev.), 349. 430.
Streets. See Leyden, St. Ursula, etc. Treat, Samuel (Rev.), 320, 348.
"Strong water," 295, 296, 301. Treaty with Massasoit, 301.
"Study Hill," 420. Trevor, sailor, 178.
,

Sudbury, Mass., Indians attack, 420. Trousers, Irish, 296.

Suffolk, Eng., Separatism in, 6. Trowbridge, Rev. J. P., 170.
Surgeon. See Samuel Fuller. Trumbull, J. Hammond, 362, 370,
Swan, the ship, 299. 382.
Swansea, Mass., 285, 415, 419. Turkeys, wild, 244, 258.
Swine, brought to Plymouth Colony, Turner, Capt. 420. ,

254, 255, 274. Turner's Falls, Mass., 420.

Sylvester, , 383. Tyburn, prison, 25.
"Tying up" culprits, 371, 389.
Taunton, Mass., 346, 349, S73, 419, Tyndale, 6, 7, 8.
421.
Taxes fixed by governor, 429. Underhill, , 343.
Taylor, , 34. United Colonies of New England,
Testaments, 25, 43, 440, 441, 444, 386, 395, 397, 398.
445. University. See Leyden.
Thacher, v, 256, 338, 357, 433.
, Upsall, Nicholas, 387.
Thacker, Elias, 25.
Thanksgiving Day, 308, 309, 310. Venison, 258. See Deer.
"Thievish Harbor," 209. Veto, the popular, 375.
"Thirty-Nine Articles," the, 22. Vices, social, 453, 454, 455.
Thirty Years' War, the, 150. Virginia, 153, 233, 326, 370, 382, 387.
Thomas, William, 179, 283. Virginia companies, 154. See Coun-
Thompson, Edward, 218. cilfor N. E., London Virginia
Tilley, Edward, 201, 208, 209. Company, and Plymouth Virginia
Tilley, Elizabeth, 187. Company.
Tilley, John, 208. Vocations of Pilgrims in Leyden, 122.
Timber, cut for building, 228. Voting, 376.
Titles, land, 319, 428. Voyage, the Mayflower's, 186 seq.
 INDEX 483
Wadsworth, Capt. ,
420. Wilson, , 123.
Walker, Williston, 9 ; on Anabaptists, Wilson, John (Rev.), 336, 343, 347.
10. Wilson, Woodrow, 242.
Walloons, 9. Winslow, Gov. Edward (Pilgrim), v,
Wampanoags, the, 288, 300, 417, 422. 124, 125, 126, 130, 146, 162, 166,
Wampum, 275, 277, 279. 199, 208, 237, 242, 246, 271, 277,
War-footing of United Colonies, 397, 288, 301, 330, 354, 403, 405; on
398. leaving Holland, 168; visits Eng-
Warren, R. I., 300, 303. See Sowtans. land, 254, 268, 337 visits Massa-
;

Warren, Richard, 208. soit, 302, 308, 313; on Thanks-

Warrick, Earl of, 277. giving Day, 309; on Indians, 310;
Warrick patent, the, 277, 278. on Indian conspiracy, 315; re-
Washing clothes at Provincetown, moves to Marshfield, 345.
201. Winslow, Gov. Josiah, 288, 354, 398,
Washington, Booker T., 18. 405; on purchases of land from
Washington, George, on schools, 352. Indians, 320.
Water, drinking, 203, 208, 216, 224, Winslow, Susana White (2d Mrs.
225, 254. Edward), 258.
Watson's Hill, 301. Winsor, Justin, v; on Miles Standish,
Waymouth, , 189. 131.
Webster, Daniel, 436. Winters, 223 seq., 245, 247.
Wellfleet Bay, 209, 210. Winthrop, Gov. John, 257, 398;
Wessagusset, 133, 312, 317, 411. See visits Plymouth, 343; a colonial
Weymouth. commissioner, 397.
West Tower, 118. Wiswell, Ichabod (Rev.), 348, 429,
Westminster, 21. 432.
Weston, Thomas, 157, 158, 159, 161, Witchcraft, 370, 381, 382, 383.
162, 179, 249, 265 at Southamp- Witches, 380-391 ; burning of, 382.
;

ton, 172 ;
his colony at Weymouth, Wituwamat, killed, 316.
247 249 312. Wives, deaths among Pilgrim, 232.
Weymouth, Capt. George, 298. Wolcott, Roger, 222, 436.
Weymouth, Mass., 315; destitution Wolsey, Cardinal, 59.
of Weston's people at, 247, 312, Wolves, 236, 257.
317 abuse of Indians at, 312. See Women, the Pilgrim, 231, 232, 243.
;

W T

essagusset.
' '
Wonder-Working Providence
''

Wharf, the first at Plymouth, 181. (Johnson), 173.

Wheat, Pilgrims raise, 244, 258. Wood Street Counter, prison, 55.
Whipping, 372, 386, 388, 389. Woodworth, Mehitabel, 383.
Whipping-post, 371. Woolman, , 384.

White, Peregrine, 188, 229, 345. Worcester, Eng., diocese of, 32.
White, Resolved, 258. Wordsworth, William, 32.
White, William, 180. Wright, William, 257.
White Lion, prison, 55. Wycliffe, 2, 4, 5, 12, 14.
Whitgift, , 22, 37.

Whittier, John G., 32, 384. Yarmouth, Mass., 346, 373.

Wigwams, Indian, 206. Young, Alexander, v, 288.
Willet, Thomas, 279, 284.
William III (prince of Orange), 426. Zealand, 39.
Williams, Roger, 72, 336, 337, 343, Zurich, 2.
347, 465... Zwingli, 2.
Wills, probate of, 366.

The University Press, Cambridge, U. S. A.

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