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Cornell University Library F 68 C661909 Pilgrim Fathers their church and colony olin 1924 028 814 858 B Cornell University B) Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028814858 THE PILGRIM FATHERS EDWARD WINSLOW FROM AN AUTHENTIC PAINTING THE PILGRIM FATHERS THEIR CHURCH AND COLONY » BY WINNIFRED COCKSHOTT ST HILDA'S HALL, OXFORD WITH TWELVE ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS LONDON: METHUEN & CO. 1909 k First Published in. igog PREFACE TO write on the history of the Pilgrim Fathers, a subject to which many scholars have devoted their lives, and about which a novice can hardly hope to discover any new fact, perhaps needs some apology. But some have written only for the learned, others to defend a creed, or to illustrate the growth of American coloniza- tion ; it is many years since a popular book was published on the subject as a whole, and possibly the name of the Pilgrim Fathers is better known than their history. Wherever it was possible I have tried to consult original sources of information, and to verify even the best accepted facts and opinions. In the case of the Dutch Archives this has not been possible, and I am deeply indebted to " The Pilgrims in England and at Leyden," by the late Dr H. M. Dexter and his son, on which I have relied entirely for extracts from the Amsterdam and Leyden records. Professor Osgood's " American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century " also gave me many valuable clues to the labyrinth of the Records of New Plymouth. The question of Dutch influence on Separatism in England and on the Pilgrims in particular, seems to me both interesting and important, linking as it does the great Republic of the seventeenth century with that of to-day. For this reason I have given rather an unusual amount of attention to the life of the Pilgrims in Holland, but am aware that the subject still needs fuller and more adequate treatment than mine. vi A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Dates have been given in New Style, except that for convenience of verification I have given my references to the English State Papers and the Plymouth Records as they are given in the Calendar of State Papers, and in the 1855 edition of the Records respectively. Much of the actual writing has been done out of reach of a good library, and this must be my apology for any imperfect references. I should like to thank Miss Burrows, St Hilda's Hall, and Mr E. Armstrong, M.A., Queen's College, very gratefully for their advice and suggestions on many technical points. WiNNIFRED COCKSHOTT Oxford, 1908 CONTENTS PART I— THE PILGRIM CHURCH CHAPTER I PACE THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM .... I Introduction — Separatism explained by the character of the English Reformation. Importance of foreign influences. Reforma- tion under Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. Position of Elizabeth — Effect of her settlement was to check Calvinism. The Puritans — Their aim to make the Reformation intellectually com- plete. Vestiarian Controversy — Disciplinarian Controversy. Treat- ment of Puritans by Elizabeth. The Separatists — Their aim to make the Reformation a practical reality. James I. — His Settlement. Value of the work of the Separatists, temporary and permanent. CHAPTER II THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES . . .25 Separatism a demand for practical religion — Stages in the develop- ment of Separatism. Earliest churches — Robert Browne — His life and teaching. Henry Barrow — His views compared with Browne's — His life and literary work — His execution. CHAPTER III THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY . . . .46 The church of the Pilgrim Fathers at Scrooby. Character of the district — The Great North Road — The Manor. Leaders of the movement — Brewster — Life at Cambridge — With Davison — As Postmaster at Scrooby. Clifton — Bernard — John Robinson — The Scrooby congregation — William Bradford. CHAPTER IV THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM . . . .70 Persecution of the Scrooby church — Holland the obvious refuge- Difficulties of the journey — Religious freedom of Amsterdam — Prosperity of Holland. Life of the Pilgrims in Amsterdam transitory and unsettled — Decision to remove to Leyden. vii viii A HISTORY CHAPTER V PAGE THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM . . . .83 Life of the Separatist churches in Holland a formative period but not peaceful. The Ancient Church — Francis Johnson and his family — Disputes with Ainsworth and division of the Ancient Chiu'ch. John Smyth and the Gainsborough church — Development of Smyth's views — His ' ' Retractation " and death. Difficulties of the Separatist churches. These quarrels the main cause of the removal of the Pilgrim Church to Leyden. CHAPTER VI LIFE IN LEYDEN . . . . . . I08 Pilgrim Church ;iow comes under direct Dutch influence — Facts of the life there obscure, but results show its importance. Principles on which the Dutch Republic was based — Democratic instinct in every department of life. Some special points which influenced American custom through the Pilgrims. Leyden — The siege — The University — Mode of life. The Pilgrims in Leyden — John Robin- son's house — Additions to their community — ^Winslow — Standish — Fuller — Carver and Cushman. CHAPTER VII THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN . . . .132 Influence of the life in Leyden on John Robinson, and through him on the Pilgrim Church and Congregationalism. Robinson's works — His views on doctrine and policy — "Observations Divine and Moral " — His farewell address — Position of the Leyden church at his death. CHAPTER VIII THE PILGRIM PRESS . . . . .146 Censorship of the Press in England — Its importance to the Separa- tist cause. The Press in Holland— Its work for the Separatists. The Pilgrim Press under Brewster and Brewer — David Calderwood's "Perth Assembly" — Attack on the Press — Brewster's escape Brewer sent to England — The end of the Pilgrim Press. CHAPTER IX THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA .... Reasons for leaving Leyden— Virginia chosen for a colony Ne- gotiations with the London Virginia Company— With the Privy Council — And with the Adventurers— The Articles of Agreement- Difficulties of the negotiations. Speedwell and Mayflower The de- parture. Arrival of the Mayflower at Cape Cod — Change in the character of the Pilgrim history. 156 APPENDIX TO PART I PAGE THE "MAYFLOWER" PASSENGERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. 1 83 PART II— PLYMOUTH COLONY CHAPTER X THE FIRST WINTER . . . . .191 Introduction — ^Tendencies towards self-government and federation. The Compact. Early New England History. Exploring parties — Landing at Plymouth — The building — The great sickness — Indian neighbours — Treaty with Massasoit — Departure of Mayflcnver — Results of first winter. CHAPTER XI THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF THE COLONY . . 214 Obligations to the adventurers involved hampering conditions — Relations unsatisfactory to both sides — First complaints came from England, but partnership equally irksome to the Pilgrims — Break up of joint-stock company — Rearrangement of trade relations — The four London partners — Later trade negotiations — Final composition in 1642 — Plymouth no longer proprietary. CHAPTER XII NEIGHBOURING COLONIES .... 234 Colonising efforts of the New England Company — Gorges' Planta- tion — The Merry Mount. Beginnings of Massachusetts — Civil and religious policy of Massachusetts colony. Roger Williams — Provi- dence — Mrs Hutchinson — Rhode Island — Connecticut — New Haven. CHAPTER XIII INDIAN RELATIONS ..... 256 Good intentions of the settlers towards the native tribes— Laws of New Plymouth concerning them — Importance of friendly relations — Indian habits and customs-'Treaty with Massasoit consolidated — Early alarms— Weston's Plantation — Later trpubles through spread of English colonization — Pequod War— Quarrelsbetween Narragan- setts and Mohegans — King Philip's War. English colonization dis- astrous to the natives. PAGE 286 X A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS CHAPTER XIV THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY Democratic basis of government — The Primary Assembly — The General Court and its functions — Legislature — Judiciary — Land sys- tem — Finance — Defence — Local Government — Bradford's influence. CHAPTER XV THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION WITH MASSA- CHUSETTS ...... 298 Common interests of the colonies — Necessity for joint-action — Form of the Confederation — Its powers. Its work in foreign policy — Dutch — French — Indian. Its moral and educational work — Harvard College— Missionary work among the Indians. Quarrels amongst the Confederated colonies — Overbearing attitude of Massa- chusetts. Confederation in relation to Plymouth — Destroyed her independent policy. Loss of independent government, and union with Massachusetts. LIFE IN PLYMOUTH CHAPTER XVI 322 A life of defence, physical and mental. Influence of external attitude on growth and aspect of towns — On occupations of the colonists. Mental defence and its results — Increasing restrictions on life and thought. Conclusion. Index 337 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Edward Winslow .... Frontispiece From an authentic Painting. {Photograph, A. S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.) FACING PAGE ScROOBY Manor at the Present Day . . 48 (Photograph, Welchman Bros. , Retford. ) Birthplace or William Bradford . . .66 (Photograph, Welchman Bros. , Retford. ) The Court of a Dutch House . , .114 From the Painting by De Hooch in the National Gallery. Leyden . . . . . . .118 From Dilices de Leide, 1712. The Relief of Leyden - . . .119 From Dilices de Leide, 1712. The Old Library, Leyden University . . 122 From Dilices de Leide, 1712. Fortification of Leyden during the Arminian Trouble . . . . • .136 From Dilices de Leide, zyiz. "The Mayflower" in Plymouth Harbour. . 176 (Photograph, A. S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.) Map of Plymouth and Surrounding Colonies . 191 Plymouth in 1622 . . • • ■ 206 From a Drawing by W. L. Williams. [Photograph, A. S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.) xii A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS FACING PAGE Governor Bradford's House, 1621 . . . 296 From a Drawing by W. L. Williams. (Photograph, A. S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.) The Old Fort, and First Meeting-House . .328 From a Drawing by W. L. Williams. (Photograph, A, S. Burbank, Plymouth, Mass.) CHIEF AUTHORITIES Bradford. History of the;Plimoth Plantation. (Facsimile MS.) London and Boston, 1896. „ Letter Book. (Mass. Hist. Soc.) Boston, 1863. WiNSLOW. Hypocrisie Unmasked. London, 1646. MouRT's Relation. (Edited by Dexter.) Boston, 1865. Works of John Robinson. (Edited by Ashton.) London, 1851. State Papers. Domestic, Elizabeth and James L ; Colonial, Seven- teenth century. Plymouth Records. (Edited by N. B. Shurtleff.) Boston, 1855-57. Dexter, Congregationalism. New York, 1880. „ Pilgrims in England and at Leyden. London, 1904. A.Young. Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers. Boston, 1841. Arber. Story of the Pilgrim Fathers. London and Boston, and N. Y., 1897. Osgood. American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century. London and N. Y., 1904. The following have also been consulted : — Zurich Letters. (Parker Soc. Pub.) Cambridge, 1842 and 1845. Original Letters. (Parker Soc. Pub.) Cambridge, 1846-47. Bacon. Pacification and Edification of the Church of England. Gardiner. History of England, 1603-1642. London, 1883. Robert Browne. True and Short Declaration. (Reprinted in Congregationalist, 1882.) „ „ New Year's Guift. (Reprinted, London, 1904.) „ „ Treatise of Reformation, etc. (Reprinted, London, 1903.) „ „ Retractation. (Reprinted, London, 1907.) „ „ Book which Sheweth, etc. Middelburgh, 1582. Champlin Burrage. True Story of Robert Browne. London, 1906. Henry Barrow. Four principall and waighty causes of Separation. (Reprinted, London, 1906.) „ „ Brief Discovery, etc. „ „ Brief Description, etc. „ „ Plain Refutation, etc. N. p., 1606. „ „ Conferences. N. p., Dort? 1590. XIV A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Henry Barrow. Examinations in Harleian Miscellany and Egerton Papers. Leland. Itinerary. Oxford, 1712. MULLINGER. History of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge, 1884. Joyce. History of the Post Office. London, 1893. Cotton Mather. MagnaHa Christi Americana. 1702. Hunter. Founders of New Plymouth. (Mass. Hist. Soc.) Boston, 1852. Froude. History of England in the Seventeenth Century. London, 1872. Waddington. Congregational History. London, 1874. Relation of a Voyage to Holland. Harleian Miscellany, vol. ii. Rogers. Holland. London, 1891. Motley. United Netherlands. London, 1868. GuiCCiARDlNi. Low Countries. London, 1593. Fynes Moryson. Itinerary. London, 1617. „ „ Shakespeare's Europe. Reprinted 1900. Baillie. Dissuasive from the errours of the time. London, 1645. Barclay. Inner life of the religious societies of the Commonwealth- London, 1877. Clyfton. Advertisement. N. p., 1612. Lawne. Prophane schism of the Brownists. London, 161 2. „ Brownism turned inside outward. London, 1613. G. Johnson. Discourse of some troubles, etc. Amsterdam, 1603. F. Johnson. A Christian Plea. N. p., 1617. Dexter. True Story of John Smyth. Boston, 1881. Delices de Leide. 1712. Harrison. Elizabethan England. (Ed. Furnivall.) 1886. Hall. Society in the Elizabethan Age. AlKiN. Court of James I. Nichols. Progresses of Elizabeth and James. Bryce. American Commonwealth. London and N.Y., 1899. Carleton Letters. London, 1775. Works of Captain John Smith. (Ed. Arber, English Scholars' Library.) Palfrey. History of New England. London, 1859-61. Gorges. Briefe Relation. London, 1622. A. Young. Chronicles of Massachusetts. Boston, 1846. WiNTHROP. Early History of Massachusetts. Morton. New English Canaan. Amsterdam, 1637. R. Williams. Key to the Languages of America. London, 1643. „ Reply to Mr Cotton's Letter. London, 1644. R. Williams. Bloudy Tenent, etc. N. p., 1644. „ Letters. (Mass. Hist. Soc.) Boston, 1863. New England's First Fruits. London, 1643. Wonder-working Providence. London, 1654. Increase Mather. Relation of trouble with the Indians. Prince's Mason. (Mass. Hist. Soc.) Boston, 1869. Harleian MSS., 360, 6849, 7041, 7042. Lansdowne MSS., 33. Additional MSS., 29,546, 25,460, 28,571, 6394. (The additional authorities are given roughly in the order in which they are used in the chapters. Authorities which have been very casually consulted are mentioned only in the footnotes.) "Out of small beginnings great things have been produced, and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone to many." — Bradford. A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS PART I.— THE PILGRIM CHURCH CHAPTER I THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM THE history of an enterprise so weighted with consequences as that of the Pilgrim Fathers can hardly find an impartial reader. The results have been too vast, have touched men too vitally, not less in social life than in religion and politics, and as the results are judged, so the story is read. The obvious thing which they did, that which they accomplished during their own lives, was to found the first successful colony in New England, and to establish the credit of Congregationalism. From these two things, and the way in which they did them, have sprung institutions, methods of government, social customs, and habits of thought, which have gone far to influence the present life, not only of New England, but of the United States, and which England has not hesitated to imitate and adapt. In establishing democratic government in Church and State, the Pilgrims bequeathed to America some of the institutions which have done most to make her great, and to those who look at this side of their work, every stage in their history seems one more step on towards freedom and light. But they bequeathed also a conscience, and others, remembering the gloomy and 2 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS restricted atmosphere, the false standard of life that resulted from it, feel that it was not a temple of liberty, but rather a prison house that these men set themselves to build. And so, fairly or unfairly, almost everyone is biassed in one direction or another. Shorn of its great results, the story of the Pilgrim Fathers is not always an exciting one. If we look to the hundred years which include all their history and that of the colony of Plymouth as a separate State, it will be found to concern itself with small and trivial events, with some very great men, but with many others who seem ordinary, rather narrow-minded, and decidedly uncultured. There was nothing famous about most of them, except their consciences, but these consciences have coloured the lives of a people and its literature. They were not immediately influential, though they did exercise a quiet influence over thought, even before they reached America. But their movement sprang up in a remote part of England, its members had been of little importance previously, and when they left the country not a trace of their community remained. Even in America, where they had greater scope and freedom, they were still so few and so weak that it was long before the influence of their colony, or of their religious principles began to spread and to react upon their native land. And they were quickly overshadowed by colonies, more wealthy and powerful. When they had barely passed into a third generation, before the last of the Mayflower passengers was dead, the Pilgrim colony at Plymouth was united to Massachusetts, and its separate influence, its individual policy were at an end. But no piece of history can be isolated ; the Pilgrims had a great past as well as a great future, and in its relation to the seventeenth century, to the history of the Reformation in England and abroad, their story finds an interest only added to, and not created by its great results. rut: KOAD TO SEPARATISM 3 The seventeenth century came upon Europe like a gust of wind, sweeping away the dead leaves of the past and leaving the trees bare for the springtime of modern life. The Separatist movement, to which the Pilgrims belonged, was part of a general revolt against uniformity ; men were growing more and more conscious of their importance as individuals, and asserted their individuality by questioning everything, not only in religion, but in art, politics, science and philosophy. They would have no more of the submission and uniformity of thought which had been the ideals of the Middle Ages. And each of those impulses towards expansion which were hall-marks of the seventeenth century, the instinct for liberty, civil and religious, for freedom of speech and of the press, for colonization, and at the same time for an intense national unity, had its share in the course which the Pilgrims took. Later in their history, Calvinism acted as a reactionary check, its discipline carried them back very nearly to the ideals of the Middle Ages, and the more firmly its domination was established in New England, the more these impulses towards individual liberty were obscured. Beyond what it owed to the spirit of the age, there was much in the movement that was essentially English. The Pilgrims were true types of their nation ; Henry VIII. was not more ruggedly independent of the Pope than they were of the Church ; Raleigh and Drake did not face the perils of strange lands and seas with greater courage than they. " May not and ought not," writes their historian Bradford, when arrived at Cape Cod he views their perils past and to come, " may not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say, our fathers were English men, which came ouer this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wildernes ? " ^ So far as England was concerned, the rise of the Pilgrim Fathers was the coming of the little cloud no bigger than a man's hand, a iirst breath from 1 Bradford MS., p. 47. 4 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS the tempest that was soon to shake and test the foundations of every institution in the land. To English people there must be a special interest in the typical character of their enterprise, illustrating as it does the national mind and character of that day, and further in seeing the working out of that mind and character under different conditions, and under religious and political institutions which England has considered and rejected. In this way their story, instead of being a kind of excrescence on English history, becomes an essential feature. But there was a great deal in their work that was certainly not English. When they reached America, their institutions and modes of thought were such as they could never have learnt in England at that date; and anyone noticing the districts from which the Separatists came, the people who influenced them, and the way in which they spent the years before they reached America, must conclude that they owed an enormous debt to the Dutch. It was this mixture of influence that made the Pilgrims so different from the later New England settlers, for Holland, highly civilized, trained to liberty, and amazingly tolerant, had great lessons to teach, and the Pilgrims, more than any others, had opportunities to learn them. Of the many aspects which their work has for us now, the Pilgrims themselves saw only its religious one. If any scrap of illusion remains that they established, or ever claimed to establish, religious freedom, it must be banished for ever ; such an aim would have been as sinful in their eyes as in the eyes of the greatest Catholic or Anglican bigots of the day. All they claimed was liberty to worship after their own fashion, not because such liberty is due to every man's conscience, but because their fashion was the right one ; and though they were more broad minded and kindly than many, toleration in any modern sense was as far from their minds as from the THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 5 minds of their persecutors. And yet their Separatism, and the Reformation Church from which they separated, each marked a stage towards toleration, because by them diversity of religious belief forced its way into recognition. The Reformation had taught that a creed need not be universal throughout Christendom ; Separatism taught that it need not even be national, and this was a fair way towards realising the rights of an individual conscience. But the Separatists admitted no such rights, and only advanced another claimant to the position of the true Church. There is no need here to question the justice of that claim, for even those who cannot admit it can value the central feature of their work, the connection they insisted upon between religious profession and moral life. The state of England under the Reformation shows clearly enough why it was necessary so to insist, and explains ,|both the uprising and the growth of the Separatist Churches. One gets a little tired of hearing that the Reformation in England was mainly a political one, and that it was imposed upon the people from above, but these facts really do account for a great deal. The Reformation for a long time was not a reality in England ; for many generations after it became nominally a Protestant country, its people had little sympathy with, or even knowledge of, true Protestant principles ; and as the country was so backward, the most complete work of Reformation was in every case done by those who had come under foreign influences. " All these people," said Barrow, writing of the English National Church in 1590, "with all their manners, were in one day with the blast of Queen Elizabeth's trumpet, of ignorant papists and gross idolaters, made faithful Christians and true professors."^ There had, however, been more preparation for Protestantism than Barrow's condemnation implies. The pendulum of reform had swung backwards and forwards, touching Calvinism on ' Brief Discovery, p. 19. 6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS the one side and Roman Catholicism on the other, since the days when Henry VIII., fuming at restraint, asserted the national independence in matters ecclesiastical as well as civil. Some of his subjects, urged by the spirit of independent inquiry and criticism which filled the air, seized the opportunity of a breach with Rome, to demand the reform of many abuses, and the insertion in the Church service of some doctrinal changes savouring of foreign Protestantism. But only a very small part of the nation wished for any changes ; Henry himself, like Elizabeth after him, desired above all things national independence and national unity. He was unwilling to permit the introduction of new doctrines which by creating disputes would war against this unity, and so long as he lived he did his utmost to stem the current of independent thought and opinion. It ilowed with all the greater force after his death. Edward VI. himself was a strong Protestant, and he was largely under the influence of Cranmer and Somerset who were Calvinists in doctrine, if not in matters of Church government. The first Prayer Book of Edward VI. was composed with the aid of many leading reformers ; it was based upon the old Latin services, aiming however at greater simplicity and a more congregational character, and it took the Scriptures and the example of the Primitive Church as its test. The Prayer Book of 1552 went still further towards Protestantism, and widened the breach between the old and new religion by attempting to deny the Real Presence. But this was going too far for the majority of English- men. In spite of so much Protestant legislation the people were still Romanist at heart ; many of the parishes were sadly neglected, the people were often unable to read, and so new influences could have little effect. Hooper writes to BuUinger in 1549, "a great portion of the kingdom so adheres to the Popish faction as altogether to set at nought God and the lawful authority of the magistrates; so that I am greatly afraid of a rebellion THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 7 and civil discord. . . . The state of our country is indeed most deplorable." Men looked askance at the changes of doctrine, at the wholesale destruction of images and decorations in the churches which they loved, and the tremendous enthusiasm on Mary's accession voiced the dislike to these innovations, the disgust at Edward's ministers, and their self-seeking policy, and the jealousy of foreign reformers who had had so large a share in the new Establishment. Mary's reign however was one long horror. Hundreds were slain directly or indirectly on the plea of religion, hundreds fled to the Continent, and her death was a relief alike from persecution, alliance with Spain, and Papal subjection. The new religion was a more living thing after Mary had trampled on it, than it had ever been under the fostering care of the previous government. And then came "the blast of Queen Elizabeth's trumpet," and men waited eagerly to hear the orders which should follow it. The English Reformation had felt its first impetus from abroad in Calvinism, an influence which had touched those in high places rather than the mass of the people, and which Elizabeth at once set herself to check. Obviously her position was a very difficult one. On the one hand she had the large body who still remained Catholic, on the other the crowds of exiles hastening back from the Continent, and the many who had been in seclusion in England during Mary's reign, and who now came to the fore, all hoping for Protestantism. Even the Protestants were not united, save in their antagonism to Rome, for the English exiles at Frankfort had split into two schools of thought in 1554, and though most of them disliked ceremonial, there was every shade of opinion about its real importance. Elizabeth's own views were very clear. She wanted to return to the position taken up by Henry VHI., of national independence and national unity ; but unlike Henry VHI. and Edward VI., she did not wish the Church to be a 8 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS department of the State, but to have its own sphere of jurisdiction, subject to her as national sovereign, bu/ otherwise independent. To preserve the national unity, she at first announced that one form of service was to be used in all churches, and that all must go to church, but that opinion should be practically free. By this means she hoped to avoid persecuting those who still clung to the old religion, and to wait until the old generation should die out and the newly established Church should prove its claims to the allegiance of a younger race. She wished to adopt the Prayer Book of 1549 as the standard for the English church service, but there was a difficulty about this. Most of the divines who were not Romanists, had lived abroad and were by now very nearly Calvinists, and even the Prayer Book of 1552 seemed to them very backward in reform. So Elizabeth's Prayer Book was a compromise based mainly on that of 1552, but slightly exalting ceremonial. The Forty-two Articles which had been drawn up in 1553 by Cranmer and various foreign reformers, were reduced to thirty-nine, but no important change was made in them. Elizabeth's next difficulty was to find Bishops to carry out her policy. In Matthew Parker, who became Arch- bishop of Canterbury, she had just the moderate man she wanted, but the other possible candidates were much more Calvinistic than she liked, and only the necessity of filling the sees vacated by the Marian Bishops made her appoint such men as Grindal, Cox, and Jewel. They on their side were hardly more willing to accept appointments, feeling that they were thereby pledged to a policy they neither understood nor approved. Many were the groans they uttered to their friends in Zurich, and greatly they longed for the old peace of their life there, with its congenial companionship, and freedom from responsibility. " Oh Zurich! Zurich!" writes Jewel to Peter Martyr, "how much oftener do I now think of thee than ever I thought of England when I was at Zurich ... we are yet strangers THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 9 in our own country." 1 Some of them felt this so strongly that they declared that even a dog from Zurich would be a welcome sight. But they waived their scruples, and did violence to their inclinations, rather than desert the cause of English Protestantism, and Elizabeth knew very well that the form of Reformation which they would have pre- ferred would speedily have driven many of her subjects back into the arms of the Pope. Thus compromises were made on both sides ; both in the liturgy and the hierarchy, Elizabeth found herself urged to a further point of reform than she really liked, and she determined to go no farther. The Act of Uniformity, and laws against recusants were strictly enforced, and in 1566 Elizabeth, scandalised by the irregularities of service which she had noticed during her royal progresses, permitted Parker to issue a book of Advertisements, enforcing a minimum of ceremonial observance, and forbidding unlicensed preaching. By her settlement Elizabeth had checked the influence of foreign Protestantism, but she had chained her officers to a policy which they could only support half-heartedly. It seemed to many people too, that she had lessened the reality of the Reformation in England. Protestantism implied the shifting of responsibility from the Church and its officers to every human being, and now they thought that the great promise of Protestantism, the personal relation between God and the individual, was being obscured once more by a machinery of offices and observances. It now became a direct question with everyone whether he could or could not conform to the Church of England thus established. Up to this time, the Reformation had been helped on by a number of people with very different views, all eager to help in the work, and all under the impression that their individual consciences, their in- dividual interpretations of the Scriptures, were to count 1 Zurich letters, I. p. 23. lo A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS for something. But it became obvious that all were not aiming at the same mark; with the Elizabethan settle- ment an element of rigidity appeared, religious parties became more defined, and those who persisted in aiming too far sooner or later became dissenters.^ About this time (1570) the Puritans became a deiinite party under that name, so called by Archbishop Parker. They were men who desired a purer and simpler form of Church service, and wanted to urge greater purity of life ; they objected moreover, on .account of their significance and relation to the old religion, to the use of vestments, or any distinctive dress by the clergy ; to the practice of kneeling at the Communion service, and to the use of the cross in baptism, and the ring in marriage. The Puritans seem at first to have spent themselves in trying to make the Reformation intellectually complete, urging the abolition of everything which could connect the Church of England with that of Rome. The Vestiarian Controversy, which contained their first attack, concerned, as the name suggests, the observances and vestments of the Church. Elizabeth herself was not a religious woman, but she had a weakness for ceremonial, and especially delighted in the ornate services and decorations which the old religion implied. There are many passages in the Zurich letters lamenting this tendency of the Queen's, for where she led the way others would inevitably follow. Jewel writes to Martyr in 1559 : "That little silver cross, of ill-omened origin, still maintains its place in the Queen's Chapel. Wretched me ! this thing will soon be drawn into a precedent." ^ As early as 15 50, Hooper had preached against tokens of idolatry and superstition, and was with difficulty per- suaded by Bucer and Martyr to be invested with the scarlet robe of a Bishop. Now these objections had become much more general. Many appeals were made to the continental Protestants, who at first, as in the case 1 See Eaillie's " Dissuasive." 2 Zurich letters, I. p, 55. THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM ii of Hooper, advised conformity " lest our enemies should take possession of the places deserted by ourselves." ^ Bullinger writes, " I also exhort you all that every one of you should duly consider with himself; whether he will not more edify the Church of Christ by regarding the use of habits for the sake of order and decency as a matter of indifference, and which hitherto has tended somewhat to the harmony and advantage of the Church, than by leaving the Church, on account of the Vestiarian Contro- versy, to be occupied hereafter, if not by evident wolves, at least by ill-qualified and evil ministers." ^ But many, and no doubt conscientiously enough, could not accept his view. They felt that these details were of the utmost importance, not perhaps in themselves, but as relics of Popery, " as they are monumentes of idolatrie and stombling blockes to the weke, they are no to be receiued, though all the Princis in the world command them." ^ Gradually their continental friends, who had invariably urged conformity, came to appreciate the Puritan attitude of resistance. Beza writes, " I thought the diiificulty was only about the matter of the habits. . . . But if the case is as I hear it to be, (and indeed these things can scarcely be invented) where did such a Babylon ever exist ? " * In was not a controversy of the sixteenth century alone. Similar discussions have reappeared at intervals ever since, and show no signs of being settled at the present day. It is a question which, in the nature of things, never can be settled, since the historic or legal ground is by no means the only one to influence the disputants. There will always be people to whom the material accessories of worship are an aid to spiritual feeling, others to whom they are a distraction, and others again to whom they are completely indifferent. It is essentially a matter of temperament, and no one rule can ever satisfy all. ' Zurich letters, I. p. 142. ^ Ibid. I. p. 355. ' Quoted in Baxter's "The England and Holland of the Pilgrims," p. 117. * Zurich letters, II. p. 153. 12 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS But the Puritans soon found that they had more to fight about than ceremonies and vestments. It was of no use to make the Reformation intellectually complete for the few, when the many knew practically nothing about it at all. They saw that Protestantism had little real hold on the country and that the Romanist Church, invigorated by the reforms of the Council of Trent, and the zeal of the Jesuits, was making brave attempts to include England in the Counter Reformation. In 1568 was founded the Jesuit College at Douay, mainly for the education of English Catholics, who were taught and kept entirely free of charge, if they would promise to return to England as Roman Catholic missionaries. They saw, too, that the people of England were terribly neglected and ignorant, and that little good teaching could be obtained for them. The many religious changes of the last few reigns, had caused a dearth of suitable candidates for Holy Orders; Jewel writes in 1559, "In the meantime there is a dismal solitude in our universities. The young men are flying about in all directions, rather than come to an agreement in matters of religion." ^ Laymen and foreigners were often given charge of parishes and there is frequent testimony of the bad character of many beneficed clergy, and of the dire ignorance of all who lived under non-resident and non-preaching ministers.^ Undoubtedly the position of the Bishops was difficult. They themselves were in many cases anxious for reform, but they were hampered by the Queen's Romanist tendencies, and they had to maintain the Established Church with a very insufficient supply of clergymen. The Church of England was indeed at this time a mere skeleton of rules and regulations, the dry bones waiting to be clothed with living flesh and blood. All the zeal and fervour of Protestantism was to be found in the ranks of the Puritans, and the best hope of the Church was to open her arms a little wider and embrace them all. ' Zurich letters, I. p. 40. ^ S. P. Dom. 1565? vol. xii. 108. THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 13 A magnificent opportunity soon offered itself. There arose in Northampton about 1571, under the auspices of the parish clergyman and the Mayor of the town, a religious association, whose object, together with some inquisitorial investigation of people's manners and morals, was the holding of meetings called Prophesyings, for the discussion of theological subjects and the training of un- practised speakers. These Prophesyings spread rapidly from town to town, and Archbishop Grindal, seeing their value, and unwilling that it should be lessened by any abuses, drew up rules for their regulation. They were to be definitely under the direction of the Bishops, who could exercise a veto on the speakers, and no attack on the institutions of the Church was to be tolerated. No fewer than ten of the Bishops approved and encouraged these meetings, but Elizabeth, fearful of the free discussion they permitted, and dreading the introduction of new and heretical opinions, put an abrupt end to them in 1577. TheBishopswere commanded to suppress all Prophesyings, and Grindal, who ventured to show the Queen the dangers of such a proceeding, was disgraced for the rest of his life. Bacon, when urging the resumption of the Prophesyings in the early years of James I., admitted certain objections to them. It was possible, by so inveighing against a dumb ministry, to withdraw reverence from the liturgy, making it seem of no account ; it was possible, too, that men were so anxious for a preaching ministry, that they were not critical enough about the quality of the preaching. " For God forbid," writes Bacon, " that every man that can take unto himself boldness to speak an hour together in a church, upon a text, should be admitted for a preacher, though he mean never so well." ^ But he contended that " the silencing of ministers by this occasion is, in this scarcity of good preachers, a punishment that lighteth upon the people as well as upon the party." ^ 1 Pacification and Edification of the Church of England. Ibid. 14 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Certainly the value of the Prophesyings greatly out- weighed their drawbacks, and with their suppression, all hope of including the main body of the Puritans within the Church was at an end. They had ceased to hope for any active measures of reform from the Bishops, and in their despair, they began an attack on the whole system of Episcopal government. Many of them, influenced by the friendships they had made abroad, and seeing in Calvinism a logical system which would be the best weapon against Rome, had undoubtedly preferred the Presbyterian form of government from the first, and looked upon Elizabeth's first Bishops as deserters and renegades. But there is no evidence that they tried to impose it until they had lost all patience with their luke- warm, half-hearted efforts, and all faith in the reformation power of a Church so governed. They now commenced what is known as the Dis- ciplinarian Controversy, in which they frankly tried to discredit the hierarchy, to prove it unauthorised by Scripture, and to discover a form directly ordained by the Word of God. Naturally they turned to Calvinism. Calvin in his " Institutes " had drawn up a model of church government, often known as the " Holy Discipline," and this was now urged in opposition to Episcopacy. He had asserted that a separate ministry was an ordinance of God, and that only ministers duly called and ordained might preach and administer sacraments ; that a legitimate ministry was one in which suitable persons were appointed with the con- sent of the people, guided by other pastors, who finally ordained the elected one by the laying on of hands. From such passages as i Timothy v. 17, Romans xii. 6-8, and i Corinthians xii. 28, he deduced five orders, three of which were extraordinary and had lapsed. The remaining two, pastors and teachers, were for all time. With them was to be joined a senate of governors, or elders, for the government of the church, whose special THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 15 business was discipline. They were to be the representa- tives of the congregation, who must not rule as a body for fear of confusion ; but as the power of excommunica- tion really rested with the whole church, this must not be used by the elders without the people's consent. The position of the elders was, indeed, a fruitful source of discord. There were also to be minor officials, such as deacons and widows, who looked after the sick and poor ; and the churches collectively were to be controlled by a Presbytery, classis, Synod, General Assembly, and Moderator. In 1572, the first English Presbytery was established at Wandsworth in Surrey, and classes were gradually intro- duced in different parts of the country. The claims of Presbyterianism were upheld in the "Admonition to Parliament," which opened the Disciplinarian Controversy- The Admonition demanded a Church rightly reformed, shown by pure preaching, sincere sacraments, and a faithful discipline, the three marks which Calvin had said denoted a Church of the living God. It further demanded the restoration to the Church of its ancient officers, and the abolition of Popish abuses remaining to the Prayer Book, and it stated the objections to vestments and other matters. The authors of this Admonition were imprisoned, and their appeal denounced in a reply by Whitgift, but it was quickly followed up, and in the years that followed, Cartwright, Travers and Udall published able expositions of the Holy Discipline, pleading always that the Scriptures were a sufficient model of Church government, and a per- fect rule of all actions. Many counter attacks were made by the Church, most of them abusive, some few courteous. Here, again, was an almost hopeless controversy; different minds read the Scriptures differently, and since each side claimed that their polity was based on divine authority, and since there was in reality a good deal of human institution in both, it was impossible to come to any satisfactory conclusion. Hooker, the ablest defendant i6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS of the Church of England, happily took a different line. He maintained that though the Scriptures were supreme as to doctrine, they were not intended as a rule of discipline or government, that the practice of the Apostles need not be an invariable law to the Church in all ages. In fact he maintained that the Church was a society, capable of making laws for her wellbeing in accordance with the general commands of the Scriptures, and of appointing ceremonies and establishing order within its limits, and that all born and baptised into the Church must obey. Nothing could have been more displeasing to Eliza- beth than the Presbyterian form which nonconformity threatened to take, for its claims touched the power of the State, both with regard to the use of ceremonies and the interference of the civil power in discipline. Cartwright held that the ministry should dictate both as to doctrines and ceremonies, and Calvin expected the State to support the Church in discipline, since both were presumably working together to carry out the will of God. But this position would have been difficult, even with a State Church, and where the Church which claimed to be thus supported was not the State Church, but only a small body of men whom the State did not wish to recognise, it became impossible. Certainly Elizabeth had no idea of tolerating principles so limiting and disintegrating to her jurisdiction ; and the attacks on nonconformists were not by any means confined to literature. In the time of her struggle with Roman Catholic powers, the Queen had been less severe with the Puritans than the Papists, amongst whom her chief danger lay. But after the death of Mary Queen of Scots, and still more after the defeat of the Armada, she felt herself independent of the Puritans, her natural dislike to them revived, and after the death of Grindal she employed Whitgift, as Archbishop of Canterbury, to stamp out nonconformity in the kingdom. She charged him "to restore the discipline of the Church, and the THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 17 uniformity established by law, which by the connivance of some prelates, the obstinacy of the Puritans, and the power of some noblemen, is run out of square." ^ By the Court of High Commission, scarcely less arbitrary than the Spanish Inquisition, and by the oath " ex officio," through which men sworn to speak the truth could be made to accuse themselves and their friends, Elizabeth finally gave the lie to her original promise that thought and opinion should be free. The second genera- tion of her Bishops too was more convinced of the infallibility of the English Church, and less sympathetic towards scruples than their predecessors had been, and Whitgift found enough of them to carry out his work. In 1593 even the House of Commons, which formerly had inclined to some licence with regard to uniformity of church government, came over to the Queen's point of view, influenced perhaps by the violent attacks on the Church in the Mar-prelate libels. It was enacted that any recusant, or any who should deny the Queen to have any authority whatever in ecclesiastical causes, or who should frequent conventicles, should be imprisoned, and if obstinate should be banished from the realm within three months, and lose his goods and lands. Any who should not submit and leave the realm within the three months, or should return without licence, was guilty of felony, punishable by death without benefit of the clergy. This was the extremest point of persecution, and mean- while a new party had arisen. For a long time, although there had been great dis- content with the conduct of the Church, and consequently with its polity, there had been practically no Separatism. The Puritans remained within the Church, so far as they were permitted to do so ; some of them conformed, some of them did not, but all hoped to urge on a reformation within the Establishment. How they expected the Bishops to abolish themselves in favour of elders ; how they 1 See Strype's " Life of Whitgift," p. 114 et seq. 2 1 8 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS expected the State to minimise its control over the Church to the necessary extent, it is hard to imagine, but so it was. But Puritanism was not enough for all. All claims to establish a true Church, so far, had been based upon proof of continuity from the Primitive Church, which was ex- tremely hard to establish without the help of the hierarchy. Then every scheme had included within the Church all who had been baptised, without respect to character, and finally every scheme hitherto proposed was made practi- cally useless by its dependence on the civil power for initiative and support. It was those who saw the hopelessness of the efforts ot Cartwright and his fellows, and who felt that they could wait no longer for something to be done to remedy neglect and immorality, who split off into the various sects known as the Separatists. The subtle developments of foreign Protestantism were touching England once more, and this time its influence worked upon the common people, and in a way which appealed to them. Those who listened were not, as the disciples of Calvinism had been, men in high places ; they were unhampered by ambition, and looked at the problem of reform with different eyes. They would not shrink from drastic remedies, for they knew that the Church of England was doing very little for them, and they were not chiefly interested in the theory of a Church, but in its work. They wanted something direct and immediate, which should help them and their neighbours, and they cared nothing at all for a scheme which might be complete and ideal at headquarters, but which never reached them. The objections of the Separatists to the Church of England went far deeper than mere dislike to ceremonies and prelatical power ; they aimed at a visible Church of saints upon earth, and in their eyes the purity and reality of a Church was lost if it included, even nominally, within its ranks, the infidel and the evil doer ; if it were to be hampered in its choice of ministers and its duty of THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 19 discipline by any power outside the congregation ; and if it were to depend for maintenance on anything but the willing gifts of the devout. As to the Puritans who refused subscription to rites and ceremonies, and bemoaned abuses in the Church, the Separatists thought they were merely straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, since they waited for the arm of the State to effect a reformation, and were willing to have the whole land, good and bad,' once more included in the Church, making it as impure as ever. The Separatists demanded a spiritual and not a political reformation, and would have no man in the Church who had not experienced such a regeneration. The Act of 1593 helped to draw the line between them and the Puritans ; many of the Separatists fled to Holland, the rest fixed their hopes on the next sovereign. But James I. soon showed that there would be few reforms to meet the wishes of the nonconformists. As he had been trained by Scotch Presbyterians, and had pleaded for Cartwright and Udall, their hopes ran high, and he was met on his way from Scotland by a Puritan deputa- tion bearing the Millenary Petition. Its demands were far more moderate than those of earlier documents, such as the " Admonition to Parliament," and although not sufficiently representative of public feeling to be granted as they stood, many of them merited serious consideration. James at first seemed inclined to give them this con- sideration, in spite of the opposition of Universities and Bishops; but at the Hampton Court Conference, which he called to consider the Petition, he took fright, thinking no doubt that the doctrine of independence of the civil power would be advanced, and showed an attitude towards the reformers which was not only hostile but most insulting. The Separatists in exile had also presented a document, stating their differences with the Church of England, and praying for lenity ; and so many petitions on religious matters came to the King from all parts of the country. 20 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS that he became seriously annoyed, and issued a Proclama- tion bidding his subjects repose themselves, and leave such things to his conscience. The lack of results from the Conference, the new Prayer Book with its royal Proclamation against innovations, the conservative acts of Convocation, crushed all hopes. A code of Church canons was set forth, to which all were bound to conform within four months, or "dispose of themselves and their families some other waies." ^ So there was as little hope for the Separatists in England as there had been in the days of Elizabeth. James had less excuse for his persecution than she had had. Her Church policy seems harsh and cruel from a modern stand- point ; but weakness leads men to persecution, and indeed the nation was in such peril in her early days that, if the scruples of a comparatively small number were leading to disunion, they might well seem blameworthy, even to a far-seeing statesman. A much-quoted passage from the State papers illustrates the condition of England. " The Queen poor ; the realm exhausted ; the nobility poor and decayed ; good captains and soldiers wanting ; the people out of order ; justice not executed ; all things dear ; excesses in meat, diet, and apparel ; division among our- selves ; war with France ; the French king bestriding the realm, having one foot in Calais and the other in Scotland ; steadfast enemies, but no steadfast friends." ^ Protestantism abroad had seemed synonymous with disloyalty; the Queen had for examples of religious disunion France, divided by the civil wars of the Huguenots and the Holy League ; and the Netherlands, split up into Protestant Holland and Roman Catholic Flanders, and whilst her danger from France and the Pope was so imminent, she was determined that " division among our- selves " should be as little as possible, and that she would keep England united and strong. To blame Elizabeth ^ Proclamation, July i6th 1604. ^S.P. Dom. vol. vii. 73, Dec. 27th 1559. THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 21 for coercion in religious matters, is neither here nor there. The Puritans and most of the Separatists were just as much in favour of such coercion as she was herself, they merely objected that she was using pressure in a wrong direc- tion. The future career of the Puritans, both in England and Massachusetts, showed plainly enough that it was not religious liberty that they claimed, but Puritan domination. Again, it must be remembered that the Church of England was a very new organization, which had hardly had time to settle itself on any firm basis. It was essentially a compromise, made up of some Romanist ceremonial, a little reformed doctrine, and a great deal of royal supremacy. Time alone could adjust the balance between these elements, and until they were thoroughly welded together, and until the principles of the Established Church should be better known to the nation at large, Elizabeth was probably wise in allowing as few innovations and as little legislation concerning it as possible. Great changes bring to the fore extreme and dangerous men ; there was a tendency to " that negative and contradictory humour of thinking they are then rightest when they are unlikest the Papacy ; then nearest to God when farthest from Rome ; " ^ and but for Elizabeth's resolute support of the Church as established at the commencement of her reign, it might have been committed to doctrines and measures which would have imperilled its future usefulness. One may pity the harshness and blindness of her efforts to obtain conformity, and regret that she was not more urgent in the reform of real abuses ; in the matter of the Prophesyings she undoubtedly made a serious mistake, but it is difficult to criticise her general policy in the face of results, for when James came to the throne England was in a vastly different position, both at home and abroad, and the Church had attained that strength which should have resulted in toleration. Now was the time for those domestic reforms which had been pushed into the back- ' Sandys. 22 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS ground during more pressing dangers ; now was the time to do something to allay the religious discontent which was growing beyond bounds, and to make some sadly needed improvements in the educational and religious condition of the country. The need for change had been felt before Elizabeth's death, and at his accession, Bacon appealed to James I. on behalf of the Church. He protested against the idea that innovation in Church matters was bad policy, since there is a tendency to corruption there as well as in the State ; laws must be made to stem it, and no time is so good for correcting abuses as the beginning of a new reign. And he pleaded eloquently that all reformation need not be after the same pattern, and that some licence should be permitted with regard to rites and ceremonies. "For howsoever politic considerations and reasons of state may require uniformity, yet Christian and divine grounds look chiefly upon unity." ^ Many of the abuses he condemned were those which the Puritans petitioned against, many of his suggested remedies would have met with their approval; he wanted to include within the Church, if possible, all who would fight for Protestantism, being " partly persuaded that the Papists themselves should not need so much the severity of penal laws if the sword of the Spirit were better edged, by strengthening the authority, and suppressing the abuses in the Church." ^ James did not ignore Bacon's advice, he even took some steps towards investigating matters for himself. But the demands of the Puritans seemed to him a direct attack on his own power, his self love and vanity were wounded and he missed his opportunity. As he gradually grew to identify his own royal prerogative with the power of the Bishops, the great Puritan struggle became inevitable, and all chance of pacification was at an end. Like Elizabeth, James aimed at maintaining the in- ^ Pacification and Edification of the Church of England. THE ROAD TO SEPARATISM 23 tegrity of the Church of England, and in a very narrow sense he succeeded, though at enormous cost. It was perhaps too much to expect that he would see with the eyes of Bacon, but his policy would seem a worthier one had it included even some shght measure of hcence to nonconformity which would have diminished the number of those who filled the English prisons, and fled from persecution over seas, and still more had it included a real zeal for reform which would have gained for the Established Church a degree of respect even from those who disapproved of its constitution and government. After centuries have passed, it is possible through all the mistakes and failings of the Church and the Separatists, to see a beautiful ideal on either side. Nothing could be more noble, more divine, than the conception of a Church which had room even for the weakest and the most frail, which would hold out a hand to any who turned to her for help, though they should fall again and again. And this was the principle of the National Church. But the Church was temporarily living far below her ideal. The general standard of conduct was so low that Church membership has come to mean little or nothing. Too many worldly considerations had entered into the Reformation settlement, too much time was spent in elaborating the widespread and complicated machinery, which promised to be permanent, but which worked so slowly that generations lived and died without feeling its touch. The Separatists, on the other hand, had great immediate advantages. Their task as they saw it was so simple ; they had to think of no extensive scheme, but only to work among the two or three gathered around them, directly, and with no hampering machinery. They too had their great ideal ; their Church was to be a Church of saints upon earth, which should be a light and example to those without ; but it was an ideal which, in human hands, led to a narrow and judging spirit. 24 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Their strength lay in the practical work which they did, and in the protest which their Church embodied. They taught that to be a member of a Church should mean something in a man's life, that it was a privilege which he must earn, and which should not come as a matter of course. For a time they were left to uphold the ideal of a spiritual life, and no one can fail to appreciate the great- ness of their work. But when the Church of England became a living thing, and her spiritual life grew with her, the value of their protest necessarily grew less. Others were working for the same ends, though their methods might be different; the peculiar task of the Separatist Churches was accomplished, and they fell into rank amongst the honourable Churches of Christendom. CHAPTER II THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES THE whole meaning of Separatism in its early days was a demand for practical religion, for some relation between the spiritual profession of a Church, and the lives of its members. Many people within the Anglican Church had looked around for this, and failed to find it ; had been convinced that such a state of things was wrong, and had suggested this system or that as a remedy. They hoped, as the Church of England still hopes, to make the lives of the people correspond with their profession as Church mem- bers, but the Separatists had no faith in such a scheme. There were apparently so few who wished to live spiritual lives, the Church gave so little opportunity for disciplining themselves and others, and the good were apt to be con- taminated and overpowered by the bad. Their plan was different. They thought they would begin at the other end and form the nucleus of a Church out of the spiritual few, and so work from this centre that the whole visible Church should be spiritual, and should live out its profession as an example to all. This was to found a Church on an entirely new basis, independent of any historic continuity, or any authoriza- tion from civil powers ; and the scheme involved entire freedom from outside control, that it might regulate its own discipline, and keep itself pure and free from contamination. It was an assertion of the idea that to belong to this Church or that was not an end in itself, but a help 26 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS towards right living in this world, and salvation in the next. During their early life in England, the Separatist Churches were very much alike, they were so to speak merely Separatist, the further principles of their polity not having been yet worked out. Next came for most of them a period of exile abroad, during which they became differentiated, their new ideas crystallising into one shape or another, largely according to the personality of their leaders. Finally, the Churches returned to England or America, as more or less complete and distinct sects. Governor Bradford says ^ that the first Separatist church in England was that in which John Rough, minister, and Cuthbert Symson, deacon, were burned alive by Bonner ; but this church under Mary was rather an attempt to continue the national Protestantism of Edward VI. than an assertion of congregational rights. Later, under Elizabeth, an independent church was formed within the walls of Bridewell prison. About one hundred people had met together in Plumbers' Hall in June 1567, to celebrate a wedding, and to hold a religious service after their own fashion. This was strictly illegal ; they were surprised by the sheriff and his officers, and a number of them arrested. Once in Bridewell, instead of realising the enormity of their act, they put a seal upon it by uniting into a separate church, with Mr Fitz as their pastor and Rowland as their deacon. Both these men, and it is to be feared many others, died in prison, but the church thus founded lived on. But, although there are traces of various Separatist communities in the early days of Elizabeth, they had not as yet formulated their claims to be considered true Churches. They separated because they disliked the national assemblies too much to remain in them, and they ran the risk of being considered outcasts. Then they searched the Scriptures for support, and as the result of ' Dialogue in Young's "Chronicles." THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 27 that appeal the principles of Congregationalism, the claims of its adherents to be not only truly a Church, but the true Church of apostolic times, were first enunciated. It was the independent mind of Robert Browne which first dared a theoretical justification of Separatism, at a time when the idea of one Church for all Christendom had only just been abandoned, and when the idea of several Churches within one nation seemed impossible ; and from him its recorded history may be said to date. There are many varying estimates of Browne's character and aims, and indeed he must have been perplexing, even to his contemporaries full of apparent contradiction, of mingled greatness and weakness. To many historians he was never more than a restless, revolutionary democrat, "Trouble-church Browne," always warring against the established order, always resisting authority, no matter whose it might be, and yet unwilling to pay the penality of his own defiance. Later writers, studying those of his works which were then known, saw him to have been very earnest and eager for truth, impulsive and ill balanced perhaps, visionary and impractical through his too high ideal of human nature, but one who had a higher and clearer perception of Christ's rule on earth, than any other of his day. They felt it impossible to accept the earlier condemnations of Browne, however much known facts seemed to justify them, and seized upon the plea of insanity to account for inconsistency and weakness. But gradually new facts have come to light, and old ones have been discredited ; above all some of Browne's hitherto lost writings have been found, and he stands now before us as a man who mistook his own strength and the strength of his con- victions, but not as a cowardly traitor to his cause, nor yet as a man whose acts were invalidated by long insanity. It is said that he was a musician, " a singular good lutenist," and he had a musician's sensitive, highly- strung nature. To those who will look beyond the 28 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS surface weaknesses of his life, his story must have a deep and melancholy interest, with its contrasts between an energetic mind and a delicate body, between the obloquy which fell upon him personally, and the gradual strengthening of the cause which he had done so much to promote. Browne's position refutes a common idea about the Separatists, that they were all of low birth, having nothing to lose by dissent. He was a native of Tolethorpe in Rutland, and belonged to a family of wealth and influence. His ancestors were merchants of the Staple in 1376, and from that time onward they come into prominence again and again. Lord Burghley was his kinsman, and interested himself considerably in his career, saving him many times from the heavy hand of the law, though, as was to be expected from a privy-coun- cillor, he probably sided with the ecclesiastical authorities in attempting to force conformity upon him. Robert Browne was born probably about 1550 : he was "brought vp in schooles and in the Uniuersitie of Cambridge,"^ where he took his degree in 1572. At this time there were many men in Cambridge who preached extreme Puritan doctrines ; in 1570 Cartwright was forced to resign the Lady Margaret Professorship on account of the nature of his teaching, which undoubtedly persuaded others to a Separatism which he was not willing to adopt himself. The danger of the Cambridge Puritanism was beginning to be realised ; that the future ministers of the Established Church should be thus impregnated with feelings of disloyalty and doubt to- wards its institutions was perilous. Almost all the great Separatist leaders in after years were Cambridge men; the pupils went further than their teachers, and frightened those teachers in many cases back to orthodoxy. Even in these early days, Browne's views were suflfi- 1 True and Short Declaration. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 29 ciently advanced to get him into trouble, and in 1575 he seems to have begun to " teach schollers," probably- feeling that he was too unorthodox to take orders. For about three years he taught thus, whether in London or in the country is uncertain,^ but his teaching, according to his own account, was of rather a revolutionary nature, for the condition of the National Church was already preying upon his mind, and he did not scruple to criticise it. The plague broke out in 1578, and Browne was summoned home, but after a few months he went to Cambridge, to the house of Mr Richard Greenham of Dry Drayton, who encouraged him to preach publicly. With regard to the authority of the Bishops, Browne seems to have started where many Puritans ended, for he very early decided that they had no right to grant licences to preach. He hesitated to accept a parish in Cambridge, because this would involve ordination or licence by a Bishop, and when his brother bought for him the Bishop's seals which were to establish him there, Robert burnt one and lost the other. He preached in this parish until January 1580, but never took charge of it, in spite of the requests of his congregation ; he objected to their grounds of church government, and sent back the money they would have given him. In January 1580 he fell ill, and during his sickness was forbidden to preach any longer. From this time he began gradually to formulate the system on which all future Congregational churches were based. He decided that ordination was an abominable institution^ and that the " kingdom of God Was not to be begun by whole parishes, but rather of the worthiest. Were they neuer so fewe." ^ . This was the very corner- stone of the future system. Having evolved his theory, Browne lost no time in putting it into practice. He had heard much of some 1 See Baillie's " Dissuasive." 2 True and Short Declaration. 30 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS reformers in Norfolk, and there, together with Robert Harrison, a Cambridge friend who became Master of the Hospital in Norwich, he formed a church of the "very forwarde." At this time he was living with Harrison, and probably began teaching again. He convinced Harrison, who was at first inclined to conformity, that faith was wrought by the preaching of those sent by the Lord, and by them only ; he expounded to his hearers the necessity of separation from the ungodly ; and he abused in no measured terms the set and stinted services of the English Church. " Their stinted service is a popish beadrovv full of vaine repeticions, as if seauen paternosters did please the Lord better then syx : and as if the chattering of a pie or a parate were much more the better, because it is much more the enough. Their tossing to and fro of psalmes and senteces is like tenisse plaie, whereto God is called a ludg who can do best and be most gallant in his worshipp: as bie organs, solfaing, pricksong chauting, bussing and mumling verie roundlie, on diuers handes. Thus thei haue a shevve of religion, but in deed thei turne it to gaming, and plaie mockholidaie with the worship of God. For the minister and people are bridled like horses, and euerying appointed vnto them like puppies," etc. ^ By teaching and preaching, he gathered around him a company who liked his views, and feeling the need of some closer organisation, on an appointed day they met, and covenanted together with the Lord, to cleave to- gether and to separate from the wicked. They chose their teachers, and agreed as to the manner of their services, they arranged for the maintenance of mutual discipline, and the redress of abuses, and agreed to further the kingdom of God in themselves, their house- holds and friends, and " whosoeuer was worthie." Browne's new polity was first advocated on account ^ True and Short Declaration. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 31 of its possibilities of reform, not yet on the plea that it was more scriptural. He himself says that he gave up the parish system " with manie teares," feeling that " no man can serue twoe contrarie maisters." ^ He had much in common with the Puritans; like them he was shocked at the worldliness of those who entered into communion with the devout ; like them he thought that the Bishops who tolerated such a state of things were no true ministers of God. Like them too, he held that it was the duty of a Christian to seek the utmost purity of belief and life, but in the means he took to realise this ideal, he became a Separatist. For whereas at the meeting of the Presbytery in Wandsworth, it had been timidly asked whether the ministers might proceed to the work of Church reformation, without the help or leave of the magistrate, and the question had been answered in a decided negative, Browne had not a doubt that it was their right and duty so to do. What his views were at this time may be gathered from the works published a year or two later in Holland. " A True and Short Declaration " gives his autobiography up to 1583; and his early views on Church polity, on the need for separation, and on the relation of the Church to the civil power are expounded both in this and in the three treatises in which he defended his position in 1582. He taught that a true Church need not try to prove continuity, for any assembly of believers, who have separated from the irreligious, and whose members unite in a public covenant with God and each other, becomes by that act a perfect Church. He taught that the need for purity of life was so urgent, and the necessity of separation from corrupt Churches so great, that there was no obligation to wait for the authority of the civil power, which had given no hope of reform. Of the Magistrates he wrote, "yet haue they no ecclesiasticall authoritie at all, but onelie as anie other Christians, if 1 True and Short Declaration. 32 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS so they be Christians." ^ The Lord's Supper was to be the seal of the Church, to be received only by the worthy separated from those "unmeete to receaue." Thus Browne threw to the winds the conservative scruples of the Presbyterians and Puritans, creating a Church on an entirely independent basis. With regard to church government he followed the Scriptures in choosing a pastor, teacher, elders, deacons, and widows, but the one Head of the Church was Christ, who should manifest His supremacy and exercise His power through every member of the congregation.^ Hence the charge of democracy. All were to have a share in the mutual discipline, and the church was to be associated with other true churches in a bond of mutual friendliness and help. But it would not look to the secular power, nor to any ecclesiastical power outside the congregation, either for the calling of ministers or for the exercise of discipline, and thus it was a truly Congregational church, distinct from both Episcopalianism and Presbyterianism. Naturally these principles, when put into practice in the Norfolk Church, brought Browne into collision with the ecclesiastical authorities. Moreover, he did not con- fine his ministrations to Norwich, but seems to have travelled about Norfolk, rousing the people with " corrupt and contentious doctrine." Bury St Edmunds in particular felt his influence ; twice Bishop Freak of Norwich com- plained of him to Lord Burghley,^ and twice he was imprisoned in London. Alarmed at the first imprisonment, Browne's followers thought of fleeing into Scotland, but Browne, writing from prison, dissuaded them, thinking it cowardly, and unwise too, since Scotland was too conformable to England. Then they suggested Jersey or Guernsey, and this Browne ^ Reformation without Tarying, etc., p. 4. 2 Book which Sheweth, Def. 48. ^ Lansdowne MSS., xxxiii. 13020. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 33 liked better, though he thought there was no need for such haste to leave England. But the church was too often without its leader, and in 1582, after Browne's second imprisonment, it migrated to Middelburg for greater safety. There were an enormous number of Dutch people in Norwich, and perhaps some in Browne's own congregation. On November 21st 1583, the Mayor and Aldermen of Norwich sent to the Council a certificate of the strangers in their city, to the number of 4679, being Dutch refugees and others.^ They had been invited by the English to try and revive the decaying worsted manu- factures, and to remedy the consequent poverty of the town, and they had a flourishing church of their own there. They may have influenced Browne's opinions. It is noticeable that, unlike most writers of his time, he shows no aversion to the Anabaptists, who on account of their early excesses in Germany and Holland, were looked upon with quite unmerited horror. Many of his opinions, indeed, were singularly like theirs ; in doctrine he was orthodox, but the idea of a'church composed of believers only, into which none but believers should be baptised, was one of their principal tenets Southwark too, where Baillie avows that Browne taught, after leaving Cambridge, had a large Dutch population; a long list of the names of Lowcountrymen living there being published in 1586.2 It may have been that these affinities led to his choice of a retreat, but more likely it was the memory of Cart- wright that suggested it, for Cartwright had worked in the Channel Islands, and now had a church in Middel- burg which they may have joined for a short time on their arrival. A few of the congregation stayed in Norwich. George Johnson, in 1603, speaks of the church there, with Hunt as its Pastor, as elder sisterof the Amsterdam church. ' S.P. Dom. vol. clxiii., Nov. 21, 1583, no. 69. 2 Ibid. vol. cxc, Dec. 1586, no. 86. 34 A HISTORY OF THE PH^GRIM FATHERS Browne's church had but a short and inglorious life in Middelburg, the history of which he tells himself in the " True and Short Declaration." ^ If it joined Cartwright at all, it was not for long . it soon began to hold separate meetings in Browne's' "chamber." The obligation on church members to criticize and discipline each other could not fail to be abused amongst ordinary human beings, and quarrels and recriminations finally broke up the church. Browne laid down his pastorship three several times, and each time was induced to take it up again ; finally in despair he left his company to Harrison, and returned with a few followers to Scotland. But during the stay in Holland his most important literary work was done ; there he wrote the "Treatise on 23rd Matthew," the " Book which Sheweth," and the " Treatise of Reforma- tion," as well as the "True and Short Declaration." The first three treatises, and two from the pen of Harrison, published soon after they reached Holland, led to a special proclamation from the Queen against " schismatical books and Libels," and Elias Thacker and John Copping were hanged at Bury St Edmunds for distributing and defending them. After his return, Browne wandered about Scotland and England, possibly went "beyond sea" once more, but little is known of him until in 1585, wearied with his outlawry, his theories pruned by sharp experience, he made some form of subscription to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and became nominally conformable. It is probable that his subscription was so worded as to make considerable reservations possible, but his views seem really to have moderated somewhat. In the few writings known to belong to the later period of his life, although he is vehement as ever about the need for a preaching ministry, and for the true calling of ministers, although he rails as harshly as ever against the mistaking of forms ' True and Short Declaration, 21-24. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 35 and ceremonies for realities and truth, he shows more tolerance, and more disposition to respect the law and the magistrates, provided their decrees were not incom- patible with conscience. In other words, he seems to be realising that it would be wiser to follow the law where- ever possible, instead of combating it wholesale ; to make the best of existing institutions, instead of overturning all. His conformity was not indeed very pronounced, and in 1586 he and his wife were cited to appear before the Bishop of Peterborough as recusants. Soon afterwards, Browne began to teach once more, and became schoolmaster in St Olave's Grammar School, Southwark. His position was very anomalous ; when accepting the mastership he openly acknowledged certain "distinctions and exceptions" in his promise of conformity ; the accusations of his enemy, Bredwell, show how very loose was his adherence to the English Church, yet at the same time he was writing against Barrow and Green- wood, who echoed the extreme Separatism of his earlier years ; defending in some sort the preachers of the Church of England, acknowledging their calling since they could beget faith, and commending their war against abuses. " A letter to Mr Flower," 1 written for the New Year of 1589, shows the same appreciative attitude towards the Church of England, „ comparing it favourably with Presbyterianism. He says that some of his bitterest persecution was as the hands of the Scotch Presbyterians, a testimony very different from that of Penry, who bids his children " Show yourselves helpful and kind unto all strangers and unto the people of Scotland, where I, your mother and a couple of you, lived as strangers, and yet were welcome and found great kindness for the name of our God." Soon after this, Browne gave up his mastership and sought an ofifice in the Church. In June 1591 he was instituted to the rectory of Little Casterton, and in ' Reprinted 1904. "A New Year's Guift." 36 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS September was finally ordained deacon and priest, and became rector of Achurch-cum-Thorpe, which was in the gift of Burghley. Little is known of his later life, but he was rector there until his death in 1633. Probably he employed curates, and devoted himself chiefly to a little band of unorthodox people within his parish; it is possible that the story of his excommunication and submission, formerly given as the cause of his subscription in 1585, belongs to this period. The story of his death is that as a very old man he struck the constable of the parish, who too roughly demanded the payment of a rate, and for this offence was imprisoned. Too " infirme to goe, too unweldie to ride, and no friend so favorable as to purchase for him a more comly conveyance " he was placed on a feather bed in a cart and carried to Northampton jail, and there he died.^ Browne's defection was a sorrow and scandal to all who accepted his views ; he earned the fate of most men who adopt a middle course, and was reviled by those on either side. His conformity was too qualified to allay the suspicions of the Church, and to his former followers he appeared " as a coward and one that shrinketh in the wetting."^ Possibly in his early days he had not worked out his own arguments to their logical conclusion ; though he urged separation, possibly like the Puritans he clung in his inmost soul to the roots of the old Church, much as he condemned her outgrowths, and when his own attempts at reform had ended in ignominious failure, he grew to have more respect for her slower and more con- servative methods. Browne's calm exposition of his later views makes it impossible to believe that he became permanently insane, but there are some indications, both in his writings and in the traditions which grew up around his name, that his balance may occasionally have been disturbed. A mind capable of ranging so far beyond the 1 Fuller's "Church History," v. 70. 2 Bred well, quoted in "True Story of Robert Browne," p. 50. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 37 limitations of his age, must have been without some of the restraints which hold down ordinary men to safer planes, and physical suffering and mental excitement may have unhinged him. He writes touchingly in 1588, " For I am poor enough and broken to to much with former troubles, and therefore had no need of further affliction " ; ^ few men have suffered more for what they believed to be the truth, and yet all the honour and glory of martyrdom was denied him. But the success of his work was his true crown, though he might never wear it. He had set moving forces too powerful for him to arrest, even had he wished to do so, and soon another man was found to hasten them on and direct their course. This was Henry Barrow. He, like Browne, was a man of an impetuous and independent mind, but he had had a legal training, and Browne's writings seem archaic and mystical beside those of this valuable exponent, so clear headed and alive to every bearing of an argument. In his hands the movement passed, as it must do to be successful, to a stage where its constructive side was emphasized more than the other. Probably on account of the scandal of Browne's subscription, Barrow, like most later Separatists, denied all connection with the Brownists, yet it is diiificult to find any essential point in which he did not agree with them. He, too, asserted the uncon- ditional and supreme authority of the Scriptures, in- terpreted by the help of God's Spirit, he too defined a church as a faithful people separated from the unbelievers of the land, gathered by the Word unto Christ, and joined as members of one body. The order of church government he declared to have been immutably ordained in the New Testament; the power of ordination was not derived from the Apostles and Evangelists, but the true Church must call its own min- isters and depose them, and must be free from any servile dependence on the civil power or on ecclesiastical synods. 1 New Year's Guift, p. 43. 38 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Even its maintenance must have no worldly taint ; the ministers must be supported not by tithes, but by the . free offerings of their people. The former means of maintenance he thought should be put to civil uses; many of the Separatists suggested education, and this was actually done in Holland. The difference between the two men was chiefly one of emphasis. In reading Barrow's works immediately after Browne's, one is struck by a difference in the relative stress which they lay upon their points. Both men were im- pulsive and outspoken to the verge of recklessness, neither of them hesitated to overturn or to destroy, but Barrow was a shade less democratic in his views, a shade more high-church, if such a term can be used. While emphasizing the fact that a minister is still a layman, he gives on the whole more importance to the officers of the church ; he admits no equality among church members, though all have a like interest in the Word and the Faith, and all have the right of prophecy ; the church is to acknowledge and submit to its leaders. But he was far from adopting the Presbyterian idea of government by elders. " Elders are appointed to see the government and order of Christ observed, not to take yt al into their hands." ^ Discipline was to belong to the whole church, and it appointed and controlled its officers ; " every stone hath his beauty, his burden, and his order." ^ He seems also to lay greater stress on the sacraments as a means of grace, and has a strong sense of the indelible character of baptism, even when administered in a false church. He had a horror of the Anabaptists utterly un- known to Browne, and no doubt shrank from any semblance of agreement with them. So, although he holds that baptism in a false church is no baptism, and that with- out true baptism no people can proceed to the formation of a true church, thus creating a deadlock, he expressly ^ Brief Discovery, p. 223. 2 A Description out of the Word of God, etc. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 39 forbids that any should be rebaptised, saying that " The errours and faults of Baptism being purged by repentance, it pleases God, in pardoning the faults, to reserve, and not to have repeated, the outward action." ^ He is no less congregational than Browne with regard to the rights and duties of a church towards its members. He would not however forbid synods, if they did not interfere with the rights of the congregation, and if every member of the church had a right to be heard in them. He emphasizes the duty of the Prince in forwarding true religion, and rooting out the false, but he, too, says that " The Churche need not staye for the Prince in the re- forminge of any abuse, but may reforme it, though the Prince saye noe." ^ There are a few points in which Barrow does not carry our sympathy with him, where he seems unnecessarily fanatical. He considered it wrong for the Church to have any concern with marriages or burials ; he carried his objections to popish ornaments so' far that he wished to destroy not only them, but the very buildings and churches in which they had been, and in which the old services had been held. He had, too, a violent objection to pulpits, " a prescript place like a Tub,"* and complained that the clergyman " in that his privileged Tub," might preach what he liked, and no one might answer him. He further objected to the names of the days of the week, holding that they were heathen, and ought to be abolished. As the years went on his eccentricities were more pro- nounced, and he grew more rigid as Browne had. grown more flexible. The difference in their circumstances would account for this ; Browne's life was spent in bat- tling with strange experiences, in contact with men of all kinds, whilst Barrow's views came to maturity within the narrow walls of a prison. The two men were born pro- bably about the same year, 1550; Barrow came from 1 Brief Discovery, p. 119. 2 Examinations in Egerton Papers, p. 170. ' Brief Discovery. 40 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Shipdam in Norfolk, and was connected with Lord Bacon, distantly with Burghley, and possibly also with Aylmer, Bishop of London, one of his bitterest enemies. His family seemed to take little part in the tragedy of his life; we hear of no relatives intervening, either to reproach or help him ; save for his friendship with Greenwood he stands utterly alone. He took his B.A. at Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1567-70; later he became a member of Gray's Inn, but was never called to the Bar. He was much about the Court, and both at Court and University he had opportunities to learn a great deal that was pro- fligate and bad. Bacon says, that he " made a leap from a vain and libertine youth to a preciseness in the highest degree, the strangeness of which alteration made him very much spoken of" ; ^ and Bradford in his " Dialogues" relates the story of his conversation. " Walking one Lord's day, with one of his companions, he heard a preacher very loud as they passed by the church. Upon which Mr Barrowe said unto his consort, ' Let us go in and see what this man saith that is thus earnest' ' Tush,' saith the other, ' what ! shall we go to hear a man talk ? ' But in he went, and sat down." So touched and stricken was Barrow by what he heard, that " he left the Court and retired himself to a private life, sometime in the country and sometime in the city, giving himself to study and reading of the Scriptures and other good works very diligently ; and being missed at Court by his consorts and acquaintances, it was quickly hinted abroad that Barrow was turned Puritan." ^ How he took the further step and became a Separatist, we do not know, probably through the influence of his friend John Greenwood, who in his turn may have been influenced by Browne both at Cambridge, and later in Norfolk. He had been deprived of his benefice in Norfolk, and ' Observations on a Libel. 2 Bradford's Dialogue in Young's " Chronicles," p. 434. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 41 had for some time assisted at the meetings of a conventicle in the house of Lord Rich at Rochford. The Bishop of London put a summary end to these, and Greenwood came to London, where he, as well as Barrow, knew something of the Separatist church at Southwark, which since the days of Mr Fitz had been often scattered, never entirely rooted out. In the autumn of 1586, whilst reading the Scriptures to a number of people on the Lord's Day in the house of a friend, Greenwood was arrested and imprisoned for holding a private conventicle. Barrow visited him in the Clink six weeks later, was detained, and in spite of his protests against the illegality of the arrest, was taken to Lambeth to be examined by the Archbishop, and com- mitted to prison in the Gatehouse. Soon after he was indicted under a recusancy act of 1581 really intended for Papists, and from this time he was probably never again at liberty until his death in 1593. He was examined five times in the hope of making him retract his opinions about the Church of England, which he delivered with danger- ous freedom, but so far from retracting, he undoubtedly prejudiced his cause by his violence and the utter lack of conciliation in his manner. He refused persistently to swear upon the book, to call the days of the week by their ordinary names, or to admit even the Lord's prayer as anything but a model, and thus irritated not only Whitgift, but Burghley, who called him a " fantastical fellow " and threatened him with " straiter laws " even than those made for the Papists.^ These examinations, and the conferences which followed, served little useful purpose at the time, but, recorded as they were by the prisoners themselves, they give us a vivid picture of Barrow which we could ill afford to do without. On his knees before his interrogators, he is now the astute lawyer, exact in his phrases, anxious to have proofs in writing of all that is said, giving chapter and ' Examinations in Harleian Miscellany, vol. iy. p. 354 (mistake for 352). 42 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS verse for all his arguments ; now the passionate enthusiast, yearning to make himself heard of all, to give the message which is burning through him, cost what it may. He is dogmatical, almost a fanatic, through his sense that to him also, in a lesser degree, has been given the spirit of Christ and the Apostles, that through him the written Word may be interpreted. Again he is a man of very human frailties, filled with anger against the men who seemed to him to defile their office. Asked if he knew the Bishop of London, he answered " His name is Elmer, my Lord," and regretted that I laid him not open for a wolf, a bloody persecutor, and an aposta." ^ When asked the same question about the Archbishop of Canterbury, " The Lord gave me the spirit of boldness, so that I said : He is a monster, a miserable compound ; I know not what to call him, he is neither ecclesiastical nor civil, even the second beast that is spoken of in the Reve- lation." He was finding his reference when "the beast arose for anger and gnashed his teeth, and said, ' Will ye suffer him, my lord ? " ' and Barrow was plucked up from his knees by the warden's man, and led back to his cell. He had great provocation ; confined in a close and horrible prison, deprived for the most part of air, exercise, companionship, and the means to make his own defence, it was no wonder that his temper was irritable and uncompromising. His reply to Burghley's harshness, " O my Lord ; speak more comfortablie, we haue sorrowes ynough " ; his unanswered appeal for the " libertie of the aire," arouse our pity. He had a true humility, in spite of his hot temper ; and when Burghley accused him of taking the Lord's name too often in vain, he was touched to the quick, and prayed earnestly for grace to set a more careful watch before his lips. Barrow's ceaseless petition for a public conference with some dignitaries of the Church, in which their differences could be fairly argued out, at length met with a response. 1 Examinations in Haileian Miscellany, vol. iv. p. 353. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 43 In 1590 conferences were arranged between Barrow, Greenwood and other sectaries, and a number of preachers of the Church of England. The conferences were hardly public, being held in the porter's lodge of the prison, and the preachers were seldom even moderately open-minded, but Barrow made the most of his opportunities, for the burn- ing desire to speak his mind, to set out fairly his true, and as he thought, irrefutable position, overcame all prudence. No result came from the conferences, and Barrow and Greenwood, seeking some other means of utterance, began their literary work. The amount which they managed to write and to have printed from their prison was marvellous. Barrow has even been credited with the authorship of the Mar-prelate tracts, but their views on some points seem incompatible with his, and they were probably Puritan rather than Separatist. But apart from these, his literary achieve- ments were enormous, considering the difficulties in the way, the dim and noisome prison, the deadening effect of long confinement, the heavy risks which all who helped him must run. The prisoners were permitted visitors at times, and these must have smuggled out their writings sheet by sheet, to be given to their friends Robert Stokes and Robert Bowie, who paid the expenses, carried them over to Dort in Holland to be printed by " one Hanse," brought them back to England in Stoke's " clock bag," and circulated them so far as the Bishops' vigilance would permit.^ This traffic came to an end in 1591, when Whitgift's agents intercepted 3000 copies of Barrow's last treatises on their way over from Holland, and when Stokes became a member of the Church of England, and would do no more work for the Separatists. Nothing more was published until the next century; and now, the confer- ences over, his writings forced to remain unprinted and unknown, Barrow had no voice save in the lamentable peti- tions which set forth the sufferings of himself and his friends. ' Egerton Papers, p. 175. 44 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS The church at Southwark, persecuted as it was, had been growing, and had had some valuable accessions. Francis Johnson, convinced by one of Barrow's books, joined it in 1591 ; and a year later Penry, who began life as a Roman Catholic, and was later the Puritan evangelist of Wales, his native country, also became a member. In 1592 Greenwood was released for a time on bail, and the church was fully officered and reorganised ; Johnson was made pastor. Greenwood teacher, Daniel Studley and George Kniveton, elders, Christopher Bowman and Nicholas Lee, deacons. But in about three months its chief members were arrested once more; the prisons were full, sickness and death were busy amongst them, and their petitions sound like the last cries of men who feel that their lives, and something more precious than their lives are being crushed out. " We crave for all of us but the liberty either to die openly or to live openly in thcjland of our nativity. If we deserve death, it beseemeth the Majesty of Justice not to see us closely murdered, yea, starved to death with hunger and cold, and stifled in loathsome dungeons. If we be guiltless, we crave but the benefit of our innocency, viz. : That we may have peace to serve our God and our Prince in the place of the sepulchres of our fathers." ^ To the Queen, to^Burghley, to Parliament, and to the Privy Council, petitions came from the imprisoned Separatists, but they met with little response, and for Barrow and Greenwood the end was soon to come. They were convicted on March 23rd 1593 for publishing and dispersing seditious books, and condemned to death. Barrow was accused of having declared the Queen's Majesty to be unbaptised, the State to be wholly corrupt, and all the people of the land to be infidels, all of which charged he explained and denied. But there was no forgive- ness for him ; he had been kept in prison six years before committing the offence for which he died, and his enemies ^ Petition to the Queen. THE EARLIEST SEPARATIST CHURCHES 45 were not to be baulked now. Execution was deferred twice, it was said at the intervention of Burghley, who complained that their blood should be shed in a land where no Papist was touched for religion by death ; and in the interval, Barrow wrote earnestly to " an honourable lady and countess of his kindred," stating his defence. " Your ladyship, then, will do a right Christian and gracious act to inform Her Majesty of our entire faith unto God, unstained loyalty to Her Majesty, innocency and good conscience toward all men ; and so to procure our pardon," or, failing this, removal of "our poor worn bodies out of this miserable gaol (the horror whereof is not to be spoken to your Honour) to some more honest and meet place, if she vouchsafe us longer to live." This last appeal failed, and on April 6th Barrow and Greenwood " were, early in the morning, hanged." ^ It was not long before Penry, convicted most unjustly, shared the same fate for similar offences, and those members of the London church who were happy enough to regain their liberty, acted on his last words of advice, and made their escape to Holland. Governor Bradford tells some anecdotes which, if true, would show that Elizabeth regretted her severity towards Barrow and Greenwood. She spoke to Dr Reynolds and to the Earl of Cumberland about them, and the end they had made, but got no consolation, for there was nothing but good to be said of them. Finally " the Queen demanded of the Archbishop (Whitgift) ' What he thought of them in his conscience.' " He answered ' He thought they were the servants of God, but dangerous to the State.' " ' Alas,' said she, ' shall we put the servants of God to death ? ' And this was the true cause why no more of them were put to death in her days." ^ 'S.P. Dom. vol. ccxliv. no. 124, 1593. 2 Dialogue in Young's " Chronicles." CHAPTER III THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY ONLY a very few years after the death of Barrow and Greenwood, when the hopes of the Separatists were at their lowest ebb, there arose at Scrooby in Nottinghamshire the famous church of the Pilgrim Fathers. There was but little religious persecution in the last years of Elizabeth, for Browne had ceased to be a power ; Barrow and Greenwood were dead ; their church had escaped from imprisonment to Holland, and it seemed as though extreme Nonconformity were stamped out. As events proved, its effective work was just about to begin. Its vitality lay in the fact that it advanced a practical reform scheme, and was not merely based on intellectual differences of opinion ; the deficiencies and abuses that had given birth to it still remained, and so another group of serious people, who resented the neglect of the parishes, the tolerance of evil doers, and the vain insistence on ceremonies, began to see " How not only these base and beggarly ceremonies were unlawfull, but also that the lordly and tyranous power of the prelats ought not to be submitted unto."^ The next thing for these people to do, now that Browne and Barrow had pointed the way, was to form a church free from these defects; "they shooke off this yoake of antichristian bondage, and as the Lord's free people, joined themselves (by a covenant of the Lord) into a church estate, in the felowship of the Gospell, to walke in all his wayes made known, or to be made known unto 1 Bradford MS., p. 5. 46 THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 47 them, (according to their best endeavours) whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them : And that it cost them something, this ensewing historie will declare." According to Bradford's nephew, Secretary Morton, a church estate was first entered into in the Scrooby district in 1602, and Bradford says "These people became two distincte bodys or churches, in regard of distance of place, and did congregate severally, for they were of sundry townes and vilages, some in Notinghamshire, some of Lincollinshire, and some of Yorkshire, where they Border nearest togeather." These two churches were at Gainsborough and Scrooby, and a date given in the margin by Bradford or Morton fixes the division in 1606 ; but owing to the secrecy which necessarily attended their formation, and some difference in the evidence of historians, it is doubtful whether the two existed side by side in England, or whether the Scrooby Church was only formed after the Gainsborough people had gone to Holland. The Pilgrim district in England was a sort of triangle,^ having for its northern point Austerfield in Yorkshire, with Babworth and Worksop at the base ; Scrooby itself being in Nottinghamshire, close to the borders of Yorkshire. To account for such a church in such a district is very difficult. Its members were not, as in the churches of Browne and Barrow, inhabitants of busy mercan- tile centres, where the nature of their lives, and the constant foreign intercourse, fostered freedom of thought ; they were almost all farmers, scattered over a sparsely populated country. The extreme Reformists could hardly have expected so soon to touch the agricultural population, always conservative and slow to move. All the importance that Scrooby had, it owed to its position on the Great North Road, the main route from London to Scotland and the North. This was the channel along which flowed all the life that the little village ever ' Arber's " Pilgrim Fathers," p. 58. 48 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS saw; the current which would sweep past leaving the inhabitants high and dry on the bank, or again, would absorb them into its rush, carrying them on to good fortune or ruin. Crafts bound on every sort of enterprise passed by, and sometimes a melancholy wreck returned. Never since the time of the Roman occupation had roads been so inadequate and so badly kept as they were under Elizabeth. Kemp, a morrice dancer, who danced from London to Norwich in 1600, found the way so foul that sometimes he skipped in mud up to the waist; Ogilby writes that the road from London to Berwick, though one of the most frequented in the Kingdom, was none of the best way ; so probably the name of the Great North Road was much more impressive than the reality. Arber says, that it was " a mere horse track, and not fenced in, so that the traveller needed a guide to prevent his wandering out of the way." ^ Thoresby writes of it, as a place easy enough to mistake the way in, but such as it was, in those days of slow travelling and scanty news, it was for the country district the one link with the outside world. The " mene Tounelet of Scroby " as Leland calls it, was famed also for its Great Manor place, " standing withyn a Mote, and longging to th' Archbishop of York."^ This Manor, in which the Pilgrim Church congregated for a year or two before migrating to Holland, has now almost entirely disappeared. In 1535, an inventory was made of the " implements " in the thirty-nine rooms of the Manor House ; in 15 38 Leland, in his " Itinerary," described it as built in two courts, partly of timber and partly of brick, with a flight of stone steps ; but though these records, together with the mention in leases of the various buildings which were to be kept in repair by the tenant, seem to show that it was once of considerable size, successive demolitions have now reduced it to a mere farm-house. A bricked-up archway, a niche in a wall of unusual thickness, some beams in an outbuilding, which ' P- S'- " Leland's " Itinerary," i. p. 29. o 2; o o THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 49 look as though they might have supported the chapel roof, are almost all the traces that remain to suggest the ancient building. Outside, there are indications of the moat, and mounds where the fishponds have been filled up with debris. To this Manor House the Great North Road had brought both some of its triumphs and some of its failures. It had belonged to the See of York from very early times, and the Archbishop used it as a residence when he visited the southern part of his domain. Many differences were adjusted there at his informal courts in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and in June 1503 Margaret, the daughter of Henry VH., stayed there for a night on her way to Scotland, where she was to marry James IV. Leland writes that after leaving Tuxford she " drew her way right to Sirowsby (a Manayer of the Reverend Father in God my Lord the Archbishop of Yorke) to her Bedd." There must have been great preparations at the Manor House, for the Princess brought with her a great train of noblemen and ladies, both Scotch and English, besides minstrels, officers " ordonned to make space that more plainly the sayde Queene and her companie might bee better sene," retainers, and a large escort of the chief men of the country. All would be entertained at the Manor, for these were hospitable days, and when James I spent a night at Worksop there was such store of provisions that" it was left open for any man that would to come and take." ^ No triumphant escort followed a generation later, when Wolsey, driven from Court by the anger of the King, took refuge at Scrooby on his way to York. He was there for some weeks in the autumn of 1530, "ministering many deeds of charity. Most commonly every Sunday, if the weather did serve he would travel unto some parish church thereabout, and there would say his divine service ; and either hear or say mass himself, causing some one ' Nichols, " Progresses of Elizabeth and James." 4 5© A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS of his chaplains to preach unto the people. And that done, he would dine in some honest house of that town ; where should be distributed to the poor, a great alms ; as well of meat and drink, as of money to supply the want of sufificient meat if the number of the poor did so exceed of necessity."^ Tradition says that he planted a mul- berry tree there, which existed until recently. There must have been something very desirable about this old Manor; Henry VIII. stayed there in 1541,' and three years later bought it from Archbishop Holgate, but it was soon repurchased for the See. In 1582 Elizabeth attempted to have it leased to the Crown for seventy years, at a rental of ;^40 a year. Archbishop Sandys, almost broken hearted, remonstrated that to separate Scrooby and Southwell (which she also demanded) from the See for such a rent, would be a loss to it of ;^70,ooo at least, and that, far from misliking his denial, she should think him unworthy to live, should he consent to so great an evil. Elizabeth apparently relented, but in 1603 James I. also made an attempt to get possession of the Manor. Nichols relates that during his progress from Scotland to take his place on the English throne, he stayed one night with the Earl of Shrewsbury at Worksop. On his way there, on entering into Nottinghamshire, he was met by the High Sheriff, who " conducted his Majesty on till he came within a mile of Blyth, where his Highness lighted and sat down on a bank side to eat and drink." James was rather pompous, and possibly this style of entertainment was too rustic for his taste, for soon after, he wrote to the Archbishop, Matthew Hutton, saying that he wished for an abode near Sherwood Forest for use during his passages between the two realms, and that he had noticed Scrooby and Southwell as being suitable. James was extremely fond of hunting ; on his way south he had slain two deer in Northumberland, and had been delighted 1 Cavendish, "Wolsey," p. 260. Ed. 1825. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 51 by an impromptu hunt, with huntsmen " all in green," got up for his amusement by the Earl of Shrewsbury in Worksop Park, and perhaps he hoped to relieve the tedium of some future journeys in the same way. He offered a more adequate return for the houses than Elizabeth had done, but the transfer was not made, and the Manor to this day is owned by the See of York. Long before the time of James I., the prospective con- nection of Scrooby Manor with the Pilgrim Church had been established. The Archbishops were there but seldom, and the expense of keeping up the place was great ; so as early as 1558 parts were demolished, and the rest was leased to one James Byrne. He became receiver and bailiff for the Archbishop, and was bound to provide entertainment for him when he came ; and apparently the Manor became at the same time a house of call for travellers along the Great North Road. The next lease was granted to William Marshall, but he did not become bailiff, for in 1575 this ofifice was given to WiUiam Brewster, who then came to live in the Manor House. Probably he had come to the neighbourhood some four years before, when his son William, who was to give such lasting renown to the old house, was a child of about five years old. Scrooby Manor had now become a regular post-house on the Great North Road, and in 1588 the elder William was also appointed postmaster under the crown. There is no doubt that the Scrooby district was a religious one. There had been many monasteries about it, and if the strong Catholic spirit there was likely to oppose the Reformation at first, as indeed it did in the reign of Henry VHI., still a devout people, once they had accepted new principles, would probably be strenuous about them, and not lapse into indifference. But never- theless the strength of the revival there, and the form that it took, can only be explained by looking to its leaders and their previous history ; it seems as though the force and energy of a few men, working on a neglected popula- 52 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS tion, had carried the whole thing through, for after the departure of the Pilgrims, not a trace remained in the district of the spirit which had enforced them. There are three men round whom the early fortunes of the Pilgrims seem to centre, Clifton, Brewster, and Robinson ; and of -these, so long as they were in England, William Brewster was the leading spirit. With one exception, he was the man of most learning amongst them ; during his lifetime he read widely, taught clearly, and even knew something of the printing of books, and at his death he left a large and varied library in English and Latin, dealing with theology, politics, philosophy and general literature. Without any exception at all, he was the man who had most knowledge of the world, of states- men, and statecraft. We know little of his progress towards Separatism, but we have Bradford's testimony as to the work he did for it. He seems to have financed the cause, and to him was due no doubt its spread through- out the scattered neighbourhood. Brewster's education and training fitted him well for the leading position which he took among the Pilgrims. He was born probably about 1566; the place of his birth is unknown, but in 1571 his father was assessed for a subsidy in the township of Scrooby. In 1590 when his father died, the younger William was an only child ; there were other Brewsters living in the neighbourhood, and they may have been connections, but it is likely that the family came from Suffolk. Although little is known of them, they seem to have been of good position and well off. In December 1580, William matriculated at Peterhouse, Cambridge, under Dr Perne, whose skill in keeping his position during the many religious changes of the century, had gained him the reputation of being a turncoat. Martin Mar-prelate taunts him mercilessly, and his sermon before Elizabeth at Cambridge would have infuriated Browne and Barrow.^ ' MuUinger, ii. p. 190. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 53 But he was a good man and a scholar, devoted to his college and the University, and brave in their interests. He resisted stoutly the proposed royal nomination of fellows; he worked hard to improve the University Library, and himself left a large and valuable collection of books and manuscripts to enrich it. Probably it was from him that Brewster first gained his love o( books. If Perne were somewhat elastic in his convictions, Brewster must have come in contact with many men at Cambridge who were very much the reverse. Amongst these were John Udall, who died twelve years later in the Marshalsea, imprisoned for his vigorous writings against the Episcopacy ; John Greenwood, who died with Barrow at Tyburn ; George Johnson, brother of the pastor of the Ancient Church ; and William Perkins, afterwards a famous preacher and writer, who is mentioned by both Robinson and Bradford, and many of whose books were in Brewster's library. When to these names are added that of John Penry, the reputed author of the Mar-prelate tracts ; possibly those of Browne and his friend Harrison, it is obvious that the atmosphere into which Brewster entered at Cambridge was very largely tinged with advanced ideas on religious subjects, and whatever may have been his sympathies at the time, his serious and thoughtful mind must have been impressed by them. Theology was the chief study of the University at this date ; next came logic and rhetoric ; the study of Greek and mathematics was on the wane. But, whatever Brewster learned there, he turned it to good account later in Holland, where Bradford tells us that " he fell into a way, by reason he had the Latin tongue, to teach many studients who had a desire to learn the English tongue, to teach them English : and by his method they quickly attained it with great facilitie, for he drew rules to learne it by, after the Latine maner, and many gentlemen, both Danes and Germans resorted to him as they had time 54 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS from other studies, some of them being great Men's Sons."^ Nothing is actually known of Brewster's life at Cambridge, nor even how long he stayed there. Bradford says " some small time," but considering the number of years often spent there on a university course, " some small time " might mean as much as two or three years. After he left, he went into the service of William Davison, and so entered upon the second important part of his training. Davison may have been an occa- sional guest at the Manor House, on his numerous political journeys between London and Scotland in 1583-4, and Brewster seems to have been some sort of personal attendant to him. There was nothing de- rogatory in this ; Sir Henry Killigrew, whose nephew was likewise with Davison, begs him to " use him in all things as a common servant," ^ and in another letter, advises that he should be kept under, and from idleness. " He was wont," he writes, " to be called up of a morning, and given to keep his bed over long, which will do him no good." ^ Young men in those days, even of high rank, had a strict apprenticeship to serve. Whatever was Brewster's exact capacity, he showed himself worthy of trust, for we hear that Davison " found him so discreete and faithfull, as he trusted him above all others that were aboute him, and only ymployed him in all matters of greatest trust and secrecie ; he esteemed him rather as a Sonne than a servante ; and, for his wisdom and godli- ness, (in private) he would conucrse with him, more like a freind and familier, than a maister." Henceforth for several years Davison's fortunes were Brewster's too, and together they shared some exciting experiences. In 1584 Davison was sent to the Hague to conduct an extremely delicate negotiation. The Low Countries were in great danger from Philip II., who was 1 Bradford MS., p. 255. ^ S. P. Dom., Dec. 29th, 1580, vol. xxvii. no. 65. * Ibid. Feb. 22nd, 1578, vol. xxv. no. 74. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 55 bent on crushing out Protestantism and liberty, and they had appealed to Elizabeth to help them. She did not want the expense, nor did she approve of any revolt against a sovereign power, but on the other hand, as head of a Protestant nation, she felt some obligation to help the Dutch, and also she herself would be in greater danger from Philip, should they be wholly reduced. So Davison was sent over to see how little help she need give, and whether there was any hope that France would save her the trouble of giving any help at all. Brewster probably went with him, but they came back without making any terms, and not until Antwerp fell did Elizabeth send back her envoy to promise assistance. She then agreed to send over the Earl of Leicester to help govern the country, to provide some forces, and she was to receive the cautionary towns of Flushing, Brill, and Rammekins as a guarantee for payment. The keys of Flushing were given to Davison, and he handed them over to Brewster for safe keeping " who kept them under his pillow, on which he slept, the first night." When Leicester arrived, full of importance, and vain of the power he was to exercise, he made promises beyond the Queen's instructions, so that Davison, returning to report on what had been done, found that he, as well as Leicester, was in great disgrace. This was the first he had heard of Leicester's unauthorised doings, and pro- bably he had left Holland in good spirits at the success of his work, for so pleased were the States-General with his negotiations, that they had presented him with a gold chain, which he committed to Brewster's care, "and commanded him to wear it, when they arrived in England, as they rid through the country till they came to the Court." He was soon reinstated in the Queen's favour, for all spoke strongly of the great service he had done in the Low Countries, and in 1586 he became Secretary of State. But Queen Elizabeth's most faithful servants had a 56 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS very precarious time ; before long Davison was again employed in a delicate matter, and needless to say he got into trouble. It was about Mary Queen of Scots. She had now been absolutely convicted of conspiracy against Elizabeth's throne and life, she was closely im- prisoned at Chartley Manor, and Parliament was clamour- ing for her death, that she might no longer be the centre of foreign conspiracies and Popish plots. Elizabeth, under great pressure, finally signed the warrant, after suggesting to Davison that Mary's warder, Sir Amyas Paulet, might save her the odium of the execution by a secret murder, and it fell to Davison's lot to seal the warrant and have it carried into effect. Although he, knowing the Queen's methods, was most careful to do nothing which she did not expressly order, no sooner was Mary dead than Elizabeth accused him of violating her commands, and sent him to the Tower. There, apparently Brewster went too, for Bradford says " He afterwards remained with him till his troubles, that he was put from his place about the Queen of Scots ; and some good time after ; doing him many faithful offices of service in the time of his troubles." In spite of his manly and honest defence at his trial, Davison was imprisoned and fined enormously. He was still in prison on August 14th, 1588,^ but a letter from him to the Queen "from my poor desolate house in London," December 1590, shows that he was then at liberty, though ruined by the fine. Whether Brewster left him before the end of his imprisonment is uncertain, but at any rate he was back at Scrooby early in 1589. He must have carried back with him a knowledge of men and of affairs which would be invaluable to him in later life ; indeed his experiences no doubt determined, to a great extent, the course which the fortunes of the Pilgrims took. He had been in Holland, their future home for many years ; and must have acquired there ' S. P. Dom., Aug. 14th ? 1588, vol. ccxv. no. 19. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 57 entirely different views from those prevailing in England, both as to church government and the relations of Church and State ; he had encountered both in literature and in real life some of their chiefest enemies and their chiefest friends. Sir Edwin Sandys, who was their friend at court for many years, he may have known previously, as his father held the Manor House from Sir Samuel Sandys, the son of the Archbishop, but he probably had further opportunities of knowing him in London, for George Cranmer, a great friend of his, was in Davison's service at the same time as Brewster. Davison's personal influence too was an element to be reckoned with in the development of his religious views. Any Puritan tendencies which Brewster had acquired at Cambridge would surely be accentuated under it, for Davison had long been elder of a Puritan Church in Antwerp,^ where many English people found refuge in Mary's reign. He was a friend of Cartwright too, and apparently helped him with money, when he was forced to resign his position in Cambridge and live abroad.^ Although he may never himself have inclined to Separatism, he could sympathise with men of the most extreme views ; he even pitied such fanatics as Coppinger and Hackett, and so grateful were they to him, that they declared he ought to be the first magistrate in England.^ Probably he was by nature extremely tolerant, for even the Papists disliked Elizabeth's treatment of him, and this natural tolerance could only be increased by his inter- course with the broad-minded Netherlanders. Apart from any definitely religious influence, Brewster could not fail to learn valuable lessons of fidelity and self-sacrifice during his hfe with Davison. He was always a good friend and a peacemaker, a man whom all loved and interceded for, and no one could less have deserved 1 Add. MSS. 6394 2 S.P. Dom., July 22nd 1586, vol. xxix. no. 125. ' Ibid. July 19th 1591, vol. ccxxxix. no. 93. 58 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS his fate. " Put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man," might well have been the thought which Brewster took back with him to his quiet country home. Probably he found his father in failing health when he returned. On his death in 1590, the new Master of the Posts, Sir John Stanhope, not knowing the facts of the case, gave the office of Post at Scrooby to a friend of his relative, Samuel Bevercotes, but William Brewster, supported by Davison, made good his claim to it, on the ground that he had practically held the office and done all the work for eighteen months previously. A rough system of Posts had been established in Henry VIII.'s reign,^ exclusively for the use of the sovereign, who had previously had to employ special couriers on affairs of state ; but even after the establish- ment of Posts by Sir Brian Take, the first Master, they were often temporary, during a special emergency only. The first regulation of the Posts was issued by Queen Elizabeth ; for the forwarding of Her Majesty's packets from one stage to another, each Post was required to have four good horses always in readiness, three good leather bags lined with baize or cotton, to carry the letters, and three horns, for every man riding in post was accompanied by a guide, who was to blow his horn "so oft as he meeteth company, or passeth through any town, or at the least thrice every mile." Any packets but those of the Queen were to pass as by-letters, and to go as they could ; the Post was not to go on purpose for them, and was strictly forbidden to attend to them, until he had discharged his official duties. Not until the reign of Charles II. was any proper arrangement made for the transmission of private correspondence. The history of Posts, and the history of travelling, gradually became complicated, for as the horses were not always needed to carry letters, they were used also to pass on travellers from one stage or post to the next. ' Joyce, " History of the Post Office." THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 59 The roads were so bad, and so heavy for carriages, that it was still usual for all who could to travel on horseback. At first only travellers on the Queen's business could use the horses, but gradually, under one pretext or another, they were used by private persons too, and private persons began to carry letters. James I. issued further regulations forbidding this illicit carrying without a commission, settling the speed, the load, and the rate of payment of all carriers, and insisting that no traveller should take horses save from the authorised Post houses. So that the resources of travelling, as well as the privilege of letter carrying, were entirely in the hands of the sovereign. The office of a postmaster was a very important and responsible one, for besides having all the government dispatches under his control, he exercised a sort of supervision over all who travelled through the country, and the Posts became a detective network by means of which conspiracies were checked and any undue excite- ment noted. A postmaster too was often sorter, letter carrier, and everything else, besides having to deliver letters in his own town, but nevertheless the office was very badly paid, and frequently not paid at all. In 1628, " 99 poore men " complained that they had received no wages for nearly seven years. Brewster seems to have been luckier than most, and got his money fairly regularly. With the accession of James I., there was of course much more traffic between England and Scotland, and the importance of the Great North Road and the Posts along it increased accordingly. A copy of the accounts of Sir John Stanhope show that Brewster's wages as Post were raised in July 1603 from 2od. a day to 2s. a day, and the last payment made to him was from April ist 1607 to September 30th 1607.^ As he would probably hold his office as long as possible, this date helps to determine the date of the migration to Holland. Of the years that he spent at Scrooby, Bradford writes 1 Add. MSS. 25460. 6o A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS that he was "in good esteem amongst his freinds and the gentlemen of those parts, especially the godly, and religious; he did much good in the countrie wher he lived, in promoting and furthering Religion, not only by his practiss and example and provocking and in- couraging of others ; but by procuring of good preachers to the places theraboute; and drawing on of others to assiste and help forward in shuch a work ; he himselfe most comonly deepest in the charge, and sometimes above his abillitie." It is easy to see what a power this well-educated, studious man, with his wide experience of men and things, would be in the country district, and Brewster set about his missionary enterprise zealously. His position as postmaster helped him ; he would be kept in touch with new ideas, would meet men of all opinions ; he would always hear how things were going, and how much he could venture with safety ; and his large house was an excellent place for meetings, or to shelter his preaching guests. The most active agent for good whom he would find in the neighbourhood was probably Richard Clyfton, rector of Babworth since 1586. He was a Derbyshire man, educated at Cambridge, and during the time that he held the living at Babworth, he was known as a " forward " preacher, in other words a Puritan and reformer. There is a list extant^ of sixty parishes in the neighbourhood, amongst which were only twelve ministers "sufficient and painful," the rest being either non-resident, negligent, or even scandalous ; and Burghley openly accused the Bishop of Lichfield in Council of having made seventy ministers in one day for money, some tailors, some shoemakers, and other craftsmen,* so there was probably ample scope for such men as Brewster and Clyfton, who were both of course still members of the Church of England. ' Birch Add. MS. 4293, 41. See also S. P. Dom., 1565? vol. xii. 108. 2 S. P. Dom., Feb. 27, 1585, vol. clxxvi. no. 68. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 6i In 1601 Richard Bernard became Vicar of Worksop, seven miles from Babworth, and although he was later one of the bitterest enemies of the Separatists, in these early days he greatly sympathised with some of their views, and no doubt his preaching helped to spread them. He was a harsh opponent, but a shrewd and interesting man, and his non-controversial works, one of them an allegory in the style of "Pilgrim's Progress," deserve to be better known. Far more important however was the advent of the Rev. John Robinson in 1604. He was born in Lincolnshire, possibly at Gainsborough, about 1576. Both Emmanuel and Christ's College have been claimed as his, but it seems certain that he entered Corpus Christi College in 1592. Cambridge was still a hot-bed of unorthodoxy ; only two years before this date, Francis Johnson had been obliged to resign his fellowship for directing his very considerable influence against the State Church; William Perkins, Catechist at Christ's College, whom Robinson held in great esteem and often referred to, was giving offence to the authorities by his Puritan preaching, and controversies were going on between Peter Baro and the rigid Calvinists on such subjects as predestination and freewill ; subjects which Robinson was to deal with fully in later life. In 1598 he became a Fellow of Corpus, and presumably took orders at the same time, though it is possible that his scruples about vestments and ceremonies prevented the submission to the authorities necessary for obtaining full orders. He then probably came in touch with the Brownists and Dutch Protestants of Norfolk, for he took charge of a parish near Norwich, possibly Mundham, fourteen miles from Yarmouth, and this he held until 1603, when he was suspended for increasing noncon- formity. For some time he tried to retain a connection with the Church by using a leased chapel, or through the mastership of some hospital, where conformity might be 62 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS less strictly enforced, but in this he failed. Bishop Hall maliciously suggests that it was chagrin at this failure which led to his final separation from the Church of England, but we know from Robinson's own words how anxious he was to avoid separation, and how small a licence with regard to observances would have contented his conscience at first. Robbed of any such hope, he preached for a time to a small Separatist congregation in Norwich, and in 1604 went to Cambridge to resign his fellowship, and cast in his lot finally with those who could find no room in the English Church. He stayed sadly on for a few days at Cambridge, and there heard two sermons, one by Chaderton, whose text was " Tell the Church," and who emphasized the responsibility of discipline which lay with every true Church; the other by Paul Baynes on the separation of the servants of God from the wicked. Probably Robinson felt more strongly about self-purification, than about the harm that might come from contact with the wicked, intolerance being so far from his nature, but, con- firmed in his resolve by the words he had heard, he went to join Clyfton. It is not known when Clyfton resigned his living and definitely broke with the Established Church ; his youngest child Eleazer was born at Babworth in 1598, but no doubt by this time he and his congregation had become alienated from it. He must have been aged by much anxiety and persecution, for, though he was born only about 1553, Bradford describes him as "a grave and fatherly old man when he came first into Holland, having a great white beard." ^ Brewster too had striven hard for reforms within the Church, but when the parish services were ill-conducted, or not conducted at all, and when any private attempt to fill the gap was forbidden and severely punished, he lost hope, and persecution drove him to separation. Bradford ' Dialogue in Young's " Chronicles." THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 63 writes of him, " And in the end, by the Tyranny of the Bishops against the godly preachers, and people, in silencing the one, and persecuting the other ; he, and many more of those times, begane to look further into things, and to see into the unlawfulness of their callings, and the burthen of many anti-Christian corruptions, which both he, and they, endeavoured to cast of; as they also did, (as in the begining of this Treatis is to be seen). So about 1606 the Church at Scrooby was formally organised, "there was first one stood up and made a covenant, and then another, and these two joined together, and so a third, and these became a church." ^ The ecclesiastical organisation of the Pilgrim Church was never elaborate ; it did not model itself strictly on the lines of the Holy Discipline, but chose the best men it could get for the absolutely necessary offices, and did not insist on any others. Indeed, it was put to such shifts for many years, that it was far less rigid in its organization than were other Separatist churches, and it certainly does not lose in human interest on that account. Clyfton became pastor, with Robinson as his assistant ; they may have had one or more deacons, and in later years at least, Brewster was their elder. Under his roof they met to hold their simple services. " After they were joyned togither in comunion he was a spetiall stay and help unto them, they ordinarily mett at his house on the Lord's Day, (which was a Manor of the Bishops) and with great love he entertained them when they came, making provission for them to his great charge ; and continued so to doe whilst they could stay in England." Very little is known of the congregation which gathered there. They were poor, unimportant people, farmers for the most part, for there was little else to do around Scrooby ; their doings were not likely to cause remark, and to have gained notoriety as Separatists would have been suicidal. James had told the Puritans iMurton, "Description," p. 169. 64 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS at the Hampton Court Conference that, unless they con- formed, he would harry them out of the land, or do worse, and he meant to keep his word. A few, in spite of all precautions, became known to the authorities, and from the records of the Ecclesiastical court at York,^ we have the names of Gervase Nevile of Scrooby, who had to answer a charge of Brownism on March 22nd 1608; Richard Jackson and Robert Rochester, who, with William Brewster, were fined .^20 apiece for not appearing before the commissioners on April 22nd 1608 ; and Thomas Toller of Sheffield, who likewise failed to appear ; Hugo Bromhead may have been another member,^ and on July 26th 1608 John Drewe, Thomas Jessop, and Joan Helwys, accused of Brownism, were sent back to prison for refusing to answer questions upon oath ; but as the husband of Joan Helwys was a prominent man in the Gainsborough church, these may have been members of the sister congregation. A few more Scrooby names are to be found in the Leyden records ; Elizabeth Neal, who was betrothed and married to Edward Buckram ; Edward Southworth, who went to Leyden and died there ; and whose widow became the second wife of Governor Bradford ; Francis Jessop, a man of wealth and family, who married Frances White in Worksop in 1605, and became a citizen of Leyden in 1625 ; and George Morton, who married Juliana Carpenter in Leyden in 1622. If Morton belonged, as is supposed, to the Mortons of Bawtry, he was the only member of the Scrooby Church who could claim a noble ancestry. The family was more than locally important, and its members were zealous Roman Catholics long after the Reformation. Nicholas Morton was "a notable busy factor for the Pope in England " ^ and was much im- plicated in the intrigues which circled around Mary Queen of Scots ; it was he too who brought over the Papal Bull • Quoted in Waddington, p. 163. = Harl. MSS., 360. 'Strype, " Annals," ii. 577-9. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 65 denouncing Elizabeth in 1570. For a member of such a family to become a Separatist would be striking ; but certainly one named George remains unaccounted for about this time. George Morton was a prominent man among the Pilgrims in Holland, and was more than once their ambassador to England. He had intended to go with the Mayflower, but stayed on a little while in England, and saw to the publication of the account of their first winter in America, to which he wrote an intro- duction, and which is known as " Mourt's Relation." He went to Plymouth in 1623, but died less than a year after. But the member of the Scrooby Church who was to be of permanent importance to its fortunes was William Bradford. He was a very young man at this time, and not until the Pilgrims reached America, and the com- mercial and political side of their enterprise became of pressing importance, had he a chance to show his powers. From that moment he took the lead and was foremost in everything they did. He was not a scholar like John Robinson, nor a man of the world like Brewster; he knew little of Courts and Universities ; but he was a practical man of business, and had, besides, enough of both learn- ing and statesmanship to rule over the simple little community. Above all, he was tolerant, public-spirited, and a shrewd judge of men, and the success of the colony was the best tribute to his gifts. Already, however, he was recognised as an important member of the little band, partly through his position, but much more through his force of character and mental ability. He was born in 1588 at Austerfield in Yorkshire, a little village close to the borders of Nottinghamshire, only three miles from Scrooby. There is a record of his baptism at Austerfield Church in 1589, and the old baptismal font, which had come to base use as a drinking trough for cattle, has been lately rescued and reinstated, through American influence. Little is known of the 5 66 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Bradford family, save the records of their births and deaths J they belonged to the yeoman class, and were moderately well-to-do. The will left by Robert Bradford, William's uncle, committed his children to the care of the most considerable persons in the district, and the family seems to have shared the best of a very limited society. This same will vigorously declares the Christian faith of its author, and leaves los. to Austerfield Church ; but according to Cotton Mather, the spiritual opportunities of the district were few, and the people "as unacquainted with the Bible as the Jews do seem to have been with part of it in the days of Josiah." ^ Fletcher, the incumbent about this time, was, however, a resident minister, for his large family of children were all baptised at Austerfield, so they were better off than many parishes in England. William Bradford was a delicate child ; " soon and long sickness kept him, as he would afterwards thankfully say, from the vanities of youth." His father died in 1591, and his uncles, in whose charge he was, had intended him to be a farmer, but his ill-health made this impossible, and no doubt the same cause gave him time and inclination for thoughtful pursuits. Silvester, a clergyman living at Alkley near by, who received a legacy under Robert Bradford's will, and who was made guardian of William's cousin Mary, had a library of English and Latin books, and it may have been here that the boy studied. Brewster would be another tutor to him, after they met, and would give him more than book-learning. When he was twelve or fourteen years old, the Scriptures made a deep im- pression on his mind, and, being practical, he tried to find some counterpart of their teaching in actual life. Babworth was only ten miles away, and Clyfton's "illuminating ministry " soon led him first to Puritanism, and then, after much struggle and deliberation, to separation ; " although the provoked rage of his friends tried all the ways imaginable to reclaim him from it." Not unnaturally, ' Magnalia Christi Americana. THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 67 they were opposed to his indulging in such a very un- popular hobby as Nonconformity, and must have thought that he was wilfully endangering his prospects for a whim, and requiting very poorly their care for him. William, however, stood firm, lamenting the breach with his friends, but showing himself willing to suffer all things for the sake of a good conscience. He neither wished them to be angry with him nor to be sorry for him, and though "some lamented him, some derided him, all dissuaded him," he would not yield, and as the chief of his relations died soon after, he was convinced "what a folly it had been to have quitted his profession in expectation of any satisfaction from them," a touch of reasoning which helps one to understand the adamant stuff the Pilgrims were made of, and their perfect readiness to sacrifice themselves, and any one else, on the altar of principle. When they reached Holland, Bradford, like every one else, had to take a trade for his livelihood, and in Amster- dam he apprenticed himself to a French Protestant to learn the art of silk-dyeing. Evidently he had brought little private means out of England, but his uncle, Robert Bradford, who died a few months later, had probably been trustee for some property which William would inherit from his grandparents, for in 161 1, being of age, we are told that he converted his estates into money. He then set up in trade for himself, but was unsuccessful, and lost a great part of his substance. In the record of his marriage with Dorothy May, in 161 3, he is called a fustian worker, and he probably learned this trade when his commercial enterprise failed. His wife was only sixteen, the daughter of Mrs May, who was a member of Johnson's church in Amsterdam, and sister of Jacomyne May, who married Jean de I'Ecluse ; and she was drowned off the Mayflower before they landed at Plymouth. Bradford made use of his time in Holland to learn Dutch and French, having a talent for languages ; but he is mentioned very little in the records of this time. These 68 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS were years of preparation, the full account of his work belongs to the life at Plymouth. But his words must be quoted so often that one part of his later work cannot be left unmentioned any longer — his invaluable histories. Without them our knowledge of the Pilgrim movement would be very thin and colourless ; his " Dialogue " is prac- tically a defence of Separatism, and gives vivid pictures of many of its leaders ; his " Letter Book," or rather the fragment that remains of it, gives much of the early correspondence of the emigrants ; and his " History of the Plimoth Plantation " is the first authority on the early life of the colony, and the sole source of information on many points. Although the " History " was written probably during the last years of his life (1644-50), the project was an old one ; he mentions it as early as 1625-6, and no doubt he was then collecting his material. It is written in simple graphic style, sometimes with much detail, sometimes more scantily than we could wish, but always with moderation and a true sense of proportion, and its interest never flags. The language is quaint and biblical, and nothing in the book strikes one more than Bradford's sense of the high destiny of the Pilgrims. To him they were God's chosen people, working out His will towards them ; although he was by no means a super- stitious man, every success and every misfortune was interpreted as a sign that God's Providence was watching over them, to reward or to reprove. Bradford was the last man who would have written an autobiography ; he was so modest, so unwilling to draw attention to himself, that private matters of the greatest importance to him are hardly mentioned. Even the death of his wife is hardly recorded, and he evidently dislikes to mention his constant re-election as Governor. But a history of the colony in which he was the leading spirit must be autobiographical to some extent, and our best knowledge of him comes from it. Very plainly we can see his absolute absorption in the church and the THE CHURCH AT SCROOBY 69 colony, an absorption that would have made him narrow, but for his warm heart and tolerant mind. Not more marked than this devotion is the capacity which made it effectual ; his courage amidst difficulties, his many-sided qualities, his unfailing grasp of the most complicated situation. Lastly the book throws beautiful lights upon his personal character ; the high-principled austerity which yet never became narrow or harsh ; the generous affection which made all the orphans of the community his children ; the utter lack of selfishness which made him count his private interests as nothing before the good of the State ; the sense of humour which was not a very common attribute among men of his way of thinking. These are the qualities of a leader. Bradford found his opportunity, and no one who reads his works can be surprised at the place he took amongst^the Pilgrims, nor at the success of a colony which had him at its head. CHAPTER IV THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM THE Scrooby Church had been organised; the scattered seeds of Separatism had once more sprung into life, but it was impossible that they could bear much fruit in England. The plant had too many enemies ; it was hardly an English growth as yet, and it needed to grow strong in a more congenial soil and air. So in the early years of James I. the members of the church felt that they must, as the king had said, " dispose of themselves and their families some other waies." Excommunication, fines, prolonged imprisonment, almost any penalty the Bishops chose to inflict, was the result of any breach of the law against holding religious meetings in private houses. A Papist imprisoned on this charge could gain release by taking the oath of allegiance, and a Separatist was sometimes liberated on the same condition if he were tried by judges or justices, but never if he fell into the hands of the Bishops, and a petition from some Brownists for like privileges with the Popish recusants is endorsed " read and rejected." ^ The citations to Brewster and others have already been mentioned; Bradford writes that the Scrooby people were " hunted and persecuted on every side ; so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken and clapt up in prison, others had their houses besett and watcht night and day, and hardly escaped 1 Waddington, p. 167. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM 71 their hands ; and y'^ most were faine to flie and leave their houses and habitations and the means of their livelehood." It was impossible that the church could exist under these conditions, and the congregation, clinging to its newly-found beliefs, determined on flight. There could have been little question as to where they should go. In Holland alone could they hope for liberty of conscience ; it was the home of the other churches which had fled from persecution ; Brewster at least knew something of the place and the people ; and they were willing to brave the isolation from their friends and their country, the difference of language and occupation which would await them. When one considers the hardships of travel in those days, the little knowledge these country folk could have had of foreign life, and the deep roots which such people strike in their native soil, this migration seems little less heroic than the one that carried them on a longer voyage to their final home in America. It is very hard now to realise the difficulties of their journey. To begin with, the law forbade any persons, not soldiers or merchants, to leave the kingdom without the King's licence, excepting at Dover or Plymouth, and licences were not always to be had for the asking. There are many letters to Burghley and Walsingham extant, from noblemen and others, acknowledging, with what seems excessive gratitude, their help in obtaining them ; and Edward Leigh, in his "Hints for Travellers, 1571- 1671," says that " If any came heretofore to the Lords of the Council for a licence to travel, the old Lord Treasurer Burghley would examine him of England. If he found him ignorant, he would bid him stay at home, and know his own country first." A further paragraph suggests the perils which hovered around a traveller in those days. " Before his voyage, he should make his peace with God; receive the Lord's Supper; satisfy his creditors, if he be in debt; pray earnestly to God to prosper him in his voyage and to keep 72 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS him from danger ; and — if he be sui juris — he should make his last will, and wisely order all his affairs ; since many that go far abroad return not home." To take French leave and travel without a licence was an almost unpardonable offence. Henry, Lord Morley, in 1 57 5, wrote from Spain lamenting that both he and his wife had been compelled to do this, and that nothing would countervail against such a departure to lessen the Queen's indignation.^ But probably the Pilgrims could neither afford licences nor dare to apply for them, and all the ordinary difficulties of travel were increased a hundred- fold by the opposition which they encountered on every hand, which enforced secrecy, and left them at the mercy of any unscrupulous agent. The first attempt to leave England of which we have an account was in the autumn of 1607. They hired a ship from an English captain at Boston in Lincolnshire ; a day was fixed, and they awaited the ship in all readiness, but no ship appeared, and when it did come, and the captain took them on board by night, harassed with expense and weary of waiting, no sooner were they in his power, than he betrayed them deliberately to the officers of the law. They were put into open boats, robbed of all that they had, and carried back to be a spectacle to the town of Boston. Boston was strongly Puritan, as future events proved, and the Magistrates before whom they were brought pitied them, and used them well, feeling probably the unreasonableness of hindering the escape of Separatists who were liable to be banished by law, and for whom England was an impossible home ; but not until an order came from the Privy Council could they dismiss them. When the order did come, most of them were sent back to their native place, but seven of them, Brewster being one, and Bradford possibly another, were kept in prison and bound over to the Assizes. The winter of 1607-8 was a bitter one ; the Thames was frozen over for ^ S. P. Dom., Oct. 31st, 157s, vol. xxiv., no. 43. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM 73 many weeks ; the whole country suffered greatly, and the privations of these homeless people must have been terrible. Another attempt took place in the spring of 1608. Somewhere between Grimsby and Hull, on the edge of a large common, a good way distant from any town, the Pilgrims waited for the coming of a. Dutch shipmaster of Hull, who was to take them and their goods on board his ship to Holland, for having been so basely betrayed by an English captain, they hoped now to find more honesty in the Dutchman, and " he bade them not fear, for he would do well enough." Once more, therefore, a day had been appointed ; the women and children with the goods were sent to the place in a small barque, the men came to meet them by land. But again they were there before the ship, the sea was rough and the women very sick, and so they prevailed upon the seamen to run the barque into a little creek hard by, where it would lie on ground at low water, and so when the ship came next morning, they were fast and could not move till noon. The ship master, knowing the need for haste and secrecy, sent his boat to fetch off some of the men, who were walking about the shore. One boatload was got aboard ; the boat was putting off for a second time, when the master saw an armed company on foot and on horse- back, and realised that the whole district was roused to take these unfortunate people, who were neither allowed to stay in the kingdom nor to leave it in peace. Seeing this he " swore his countries oath ' Sacramente ' ! and hauing y^ wind faire, waighed jhis ancor, hoysed sayles and away ! " So those on board were carried away without so much as a change of clothing ; those on shore were left at the mercy of the troops. A few men stayed to help the women ; the rest escaped, knowing that on them the heaviest penalties would fall, and that their apprehension would do more harm than good to the others. Sad were 74 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS the lamentations of those unfortunate prisoners ; they were hurried from one place to the other, and the Justices were at their wits' end what to do with them. They could not imprison so many innocent women and children ; to send them home was still more impossible, for they had sold their houses and livings, and had no longer any homes to go to. Sir Walter Raleigh had asked who, if the Separatists were banished, should maintain their wives and children, and the predicament he had foreseen had now to be dealt with. Finally, both captives and constables were worn out, " necessity forced a way for them," and in spite of all their hindrances and discourage- ments, all got over to Holland at last. And so great and public had been their troubles, that by them their cause became more known, their conduct excited esteem, and their following was increased. Those who had been carried off in the ship had a terrible voyage, taking fourteen days to reach their port, during seven of which they saw neither sun, moon, nor stars, and were driven near the coast of Norway. The mariners cried " we sinke, we sinke ! " but the Pilgrims never lost their faith, and even with the water running into their mouths and ears they cried, " Yet, Lord, Thou canst saue ! Yet, Lord, Thou canst saue." And saved indeed they were, for the storm ceased and they came safely into port, to the astonishment of all beholders. Under the best circumstances the crossing to Holland then took several days, which might lengthen to weeks in bad weather. When William III. of England visited the country in 1690, his ship took three days to come from Gravesend within sight of the coast, after which he spent ten hours exposed to the wind and waves in a shallop, attempting to land on the island of Goree, and prevented by the fogs and ice, and this was no doubt considered a successful voyage.^ Even before getting aboard their ship, the Pilgrims ' Harl. Misc., vol. ii. p. 596. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM 75 must have encountered many hardships and difRculties. Cross roads hardly existed in England at this time, and the journey from Scrooby to the coast was a serious undertaking. On the tower of Boston Church, at York, at Bow Church in Cheapside, and on many other churches in the country, were placed lanterns which were lighted at night as marks for travellers to aim at in their journeys through woods and morasses, and the precaution was a very necessary one. The men, going to meet their families by land, must have walked over forty miles across country ; the women and children with their goods probably started from Scrooby by water on the river Idle, and travelling in flat-bottomed boats to the junction with the Trent, were there put into the barque, sailed in it to Hull, and thence to the point of embarkation between Hull and Great Grimsby, a tedious journey of some seventy miles. Once on board, after 200 miles of ocean voyage, the vessel had to skirt the Dutch coast for another fifty miles, and then, having entered the Zuyder Zee, to wind along narrow and crooked channels to the mouth of the Y and Amsterdam. These are the only accounts we have of the many efforts by which the Pilgrim Church finally reached Holland, and for them William Bradford is the sole authority. No doubt he took part in both attempts. Mather's history of his life ^ states that he was one of those imprisoned at Boston, but that being a young man, only about eighteen years old, he was dismissed sooner than the rest. His account of the storm leaves no doubt that he was one of the men on board the Dutch ship, and he had not been long on land when he was falsely accused by an envious passenger of having fled out of England for crime. He was arrested, but the truth was soon known, and Bradford went to join his brethren. An entry in Zachary Clyfton's Bible states that his father, the Rev. Richard Clyfton, came into Amsterdam in Holland in ' In Magnalia Christi. 76 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS August 1608, and as he was probably one of the principal members whom Bradford says stayed to the last to help the weakest over before them, the whole congregation was by that time most likely assembled there. Holland was at this time the resort of the persecuted of all nations, and no part of it so much so as Amsterdam. An English traveller about 1690 writes of it, " The great care of this state has ever been to favour no particular or curious inquisition into the Faith or Religious Principles of any peaceable man, who came to live under the Pro- tection of their laws, and to suffer no violence or Oppression upon any man's conscience, whose opinions broke not out into expressions or actions of ill consequence to the State. A free form of Government, either making way for more Freedom in Religion, or else, having con- tended so far themselves for liberty in this Point, they thought it the more unreasonable for them to oppress others." 1 Their independence and love of self-government had for centuries prevented any union between the seventeen provinces of the Low Countries, and had, moreover, made them claim very decided rights in return for their oath of allegiance to Spain. The charter which secured these rights was the most valued possession of any town. This spirit of independence, and their constant intercourse with strangers, had tended to break down uniformity of opinion on any point, and so the Provinces were ex- cellent ground for the seed of the reformed religion. And there were plenty of hands to scatter the seed, for the foreigners who were attracted to the Low Countries by their wealth and trade, brought in new religious ideas, and the young nobles who went to study at Geneva came back full of the teaching of Calvin. Not all the torments which Charles V. and Philip II. devised for the punishment of heresy could succeed in driving it out ; instead, they did succeed in welding the ^ Harl. Misc., ii. 600. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM yj Protestant States together, and in teaching them through suffering a measure of toleration before unheard of. William of Orange was among the first to urge the use- lessness and barbarity of religious persecution ; and when, about 1573, the reformed religion as taught at Geneva was admitted into the public churches, the rest of the sects that endeavoured to promote the Reformation were like- wise permitted the exercise of their religion in private meetings. If any sect became so numerous as to desire a public place of meeting, and was willing to bear the charge of a pastor and teacher, it might procure this privilege on paying for it to the public treasury, with the approval of the Magistrates, and on condition that one or more commissioners should have free admission to all its meetings. At first an exception was made of Roman Catholics, seeing that their allegiance to a foreign power might make bad subjects of them ; they were allowed to exercise their religion in private, but might hold no public meetings ; but they had fought with the Protestants in the siege of Leyden, they had proved good citizens and loyal comrades, and they were connived at, so that the Roman Catholic religion was " as free and easy, tho' not so cheap and so avowed, as the rest."^ Holland persistently refused a truce with Spain which made liberty to the Catholic religion a condition, but this was on political grounds. To have accepted it would have been to make every Catholic in the country look to the Spanish king as his benefactor, and the Dutch were far too wise to risk a divided allegiance of this kind. They would grant the boon themselves, but it should not be owed to any foreign power. Great was the scorn poured upon Amsterdam by more exclusive neighbours, on account of her hospitality to all creeds ; she was the Staple of sects, the Mint of schism, the Bank of conscience, where no opinion was so strange that it would not find credit. But men found when 1 Harl. Misc., ii. 600. 78 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS persecution was no more, that the venom and sting of their differences was marvellously removed ; and this same traveller of 1690 concludes, " However it is, religion may possibly do more good in other places, but it does less hurt here ; and wherever the invisible effects of it are greatest and most advantageous, I am sure the visible are so in this Country." ^ All the writers of the time marvel that whereas most countries after long wars are ruined for many generations, Holland, both during her terrible struggle with Spain, and after it, had been steadily growing more populous and wealthy. Fynes Moryson frankly gives up the puzzle, and says, after mentioning the fall of Antwerp and the waterways of Holland as possible reasons, " If any man require truer and greater reasons of these Prouinces growing richer by warre, let him make curious search thereof, for it is besides my purpose." ^ No very lengthy search is needed ; the ultimate cause was the sea, which, as Guicciardini said, was not only a neighbour, but a member of these Low Countries. Nothing could have seemed more unpromising than the geographical conditions of Holland ; the sea ap- parently was her greatest enemy, threatening constantly to flood and engulf her, and to make health impossible in this half-swamped land. But the Dutch were deter- mined to master their conditions, and the sea became their friend, providing them with means for the traffic which was life and wealth to them, and training their characters until they became the most remarkable nation of the age. Their country was such, that only with extreme care could they preserve a foothold on it at all ; looking as if " after a long contention between land and water, which it shc5uld belong to, it had been at length divided between them." It is not to be wondered at that such conditions stimu- ^ Harl. Misc., ii. 6oi. ^ Itinerary, Part III., Bk. IV., Chap, vi., p. 287. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM 79 lated engineering enterprise, so that land was wrested from the very jaws of the ocean, the most untenable positions were held and defended, and the natural water- ways, which were Holland's one and only geographical advantage, were so extended and utilised by the people, that rivers and canals ran to every town and every village, and almost as many people lived in boats as in houses. Agricultural science was as important as that of en- gineering; to produce the maximum returns from their restricted lands, no effort of research or skill could be neglected, and the Dutch became the first agriculturalists of the world ; their cattle the most famous, their produce in vegetables and flowers the most profuse. But they did not content themselves with fighting the sea; they made it their friend and partner, and never was there such a nation of explorers, merchants and fishermen. "Sailors are as common with them as beggars with us," wrote an English observer; they had enormous fleets, both for fishing and commerce, and they became the carriers for every nation ; their ships were to be found in every quarter of the globe. In this great shipping trade, Holland owed nothing to the excellence of her havens; Amsterdam, the best of them, was on such shallow waters that ordinary ships had to await the tide to come in, and great ones had to unlade at any time. But it is " not a Haven that draws trade, but Trade that fills an Haven and brings it into vogue." They were not merely carriers, but great manu- facturers and merchants at home. Theirs was the best cloth, the finest linen which could be obtained ; and besides these home products, the markets of Holland teemed with the produce of other lands, and the country came to be the greatest storehouse of merchandise in Europe. The art of finance the Dutch learnt from the Lombards and the Jews, and when the Bank of Amsterdam was 8o A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS founded in 1609, they were as prominent as financiers as they were as merchants. They never missed an oppor- tunity ; every opening afforded by the discovery of the New World, and the consequent expansion of trade, they utilised to the full ; and after the fall of Antwerp, when its great trade was diverted to Amsterdam, the popula- tion of that city was so enormously increased that it had to be practically rebuilt to accommoo <"e it. And having got their opportunities, the Hollanders '-new how to make use of them. They were extremely industrious. Fynes Moryson, writing at the end of the sixteenth century, ascribes most of the industry to the women, and says that while the husbands " snort idly at home," their wives for traffic sail to Hamburg, and manage most part of the business at home and in neighbouring cities.^ They were as frugal as they were industrious. With so much wealth in the country, the people were not luxurious, they lived well and with refinement, but there was little display, and an enormous proportion (as we should think) of their incomes went in taxes and contribu- tions to the public works. The institutions and buildings of their country reaped the benefit ; but such heavy taxa- tion could only have been possible where frugality was the order of life, and also where there was no possible sus- picion of corruption in the administration. The people practically taxed themselves, and did it generously, knowing that their money went to enrich the country and not a set of officials. They spent their lives, as well as their money, for the State ; great men educated and trained their children for public service, and a large number of offices were unpaid, and practically compulsory. It was the sea that had been their tutor ; it had taught them constant watchfulness and untiring industry ; it had taught them public-spiritedness, for in that long struggle every man knew that to save himself he must save his country; only by high intellectual and moral ' Itinerary, III., II. iv. p. 97. THE MIGRATION TO AMSTERDAM 8i qualities had they conquered it, and these qualities lay at the root of all their other successes. To Amsterdam, perhaps the busiest town in all that busy country, thronged with people of every nation, so crowded that men lived in tents and hovels in the suburbs, waiting till houses could be built to receive them, came the poor storm-tossed congregation from Scrooby. Governor Bradford describes their amazement when they arrived and saw the walled and fortified cities, guarded by armed men, the different customs of the people, their strange dress and uncouth language, so that it seemed they were come into a new world. A new world indeed it was, after Scrooby, but they had little time to speculate on these things, for they saw the " grimme and grisly face of powertie coming upon them like an armed man," and against him they must fight. How they fought him we do not know ; coming as they did from an agricultural district, few of them could have known any trade ; but Bradford tells us that, after great hardships, they were fairly successful during the year they spent in Amsterdam, enough so, no doubt, to make the prospect of another move unwelcome. When all the principal members had arrived, the affairs of the church were organised, Robinson now apparently becoming pastor, and Clyfton teacher. Probably the congregation numbered from lOO to 150 persons; one marriage at least is recorded amongst them, but the church does not seem to have applied for a public meeting- house. The life of the Pilgrims in Amsterdam seems to have been transitory and unsettled, and very little is known about it. It has been suggested that they never intended to settle permanently there, but Bradford's language does not give this impression. According to him, it is in the history of the other churches exiled from England that the explanation of their speedy removal is to be found, " Seeing how Master John Smith and his companie was 6 82 A HISTORY OF THE PH^GRIM FATHERS already fallen into contention with the church that was ther before them, and no means they could use, would doe any good to cure the same, and also that the flames of contention were like to break out in the Anciente Church itselfe, (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 estats, both at presente and in likelyhood in the future, as indeed it proved to be. For these and some other reasons, they removed to Leyden." i ' Bradford MS., p. 12. CHAPTER V THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM THE story of the other churches in Amsterdam is a very melancholy one, full of disaster and humilia- tion. When one finds good men who had given up everything to do what they thought right squabbling over details, so carried away in anger as to disgrace, not only their own high profession but the common charity of human beings, and others covering their ambitions and spiteful actions with a cloak of religion, one would like to pass it over as briefly as possible. To tell the story simply as a background for the brighter history of the Pilgrim Church would be cruelty, but it must be told, not only to show the difficulties which these early congregations had to meet, but because, out of the fire of hatred and enmity, came new ideas, new principles, which cooled and hardened into distinct and permanent forms. Separatism in England, in spite of the works of Browne and Barrow, was rather indefinite, and only the general principles common to all free churches had been fixed. They had declared the need for a new visible Church on earth, its necessary independence of higher ecclesiastical powers, and its right to keep itself pure and well disciplined; all men who desired these things, and left the Church of England to find them, became Separatists, but naturally there were many differ- ent opinions among them, many different views as to how the reform scheme could best be carried out. It was the clash of these conflicting views that made life in Holland turbulent, but, at the end of it, the Separatists were formed 83 84 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS into distinct and definite churches, which, in many cases, have kept their characteristics to this day. Of the several British churches which found a haven in Amsterdam, the Barrowist church from Southwark was the first to settle there for any length of time, and to it was given the title of the " Ancient exiled English Church." Before Penry died in 1593, in one of his last letters, he had counselled flight, urging the stronger members of the church to help the weaker ones to a safe place of refuge, and pleading that his own " mess of fatherless and friendless orphans " should be taken with them. Most of the church members who were free at the time took his advice ; they were followed by others, as they were liberated from prison, and though some few remained in London, and possibly formed the nucleus of a future church, the greater part of the congregation and all its officers settled in Amsterdam. Their pastor, Francis Johnson, was a very remarkable man, who had already had a sufficiently varied e'xperience. He was born about 1562, probably at Richmond in Yorkshire. We hear of him first at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he seems to have been a trouble to the authorities, for in 1589 he preached a sermon at St Mary's Church, exalting the system of government by elders, and on being called to account for this, he frankly avowed his liking for the new Presbyterian system. This was too much, even for Cambridge ; Johnson was im- prisoned, expelled, and, as he would not leave, imprisoned again. He seems to have had a following in the Uni- versity, for a number of its members petitioned in his favour ; but finally he resigned his fellowship and departed in 1590, after having caused a ferment on all sides. Though he favoured innovations in church government, he was not as yet a Separatist, and he became preacher to the Company of English merchants of the Staple at Middelburg, an office which Cartwright and Jenner had held before him, and for which he received the comfortable salary of ;^200 a year. He also employed himself in THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 85 trying to detect those Separatist treatises which were often sent over to Holland to be printed, and was finally commissioned by the English Ambassador to keep a watch on the secret press known to exist in the city. About this time, Barrow and Greenwood were having printed their " Plaine Refutation of Mr Giffard's Booke," which was to defend their cause against the many slanders heaped upon it. This was a second attempt at publication, the first edition having been seized by Whitgift's agents at Flushing and Brill in 1591. The second had no better fortune ; Johnson got wind of the matter, and, first allowing the book to be completely finished, he seized the whole edition, burning all but two copies, one of which he kept to look at himself and the other to give to a friend. ^ But the book avenged itself. Johnson in his study first glanced at it, then read it through and through, and was finally so convinced of its truth, that he had no peace of mind until he had crossed the sea to confer with its authors. The interview confirmed him in his new opinions; he threw up his appointment in Middelburg, and joined the Barrowist society in London, which met in woods and fields and gravel pits ; or in winter in some friendly house under cover of darkness. Fourteen years later he had printed at his own expense, a new edition of the book which had led him to leave the Church of England. As we have seen already, when the church was re- organised in 1592, during Greenwood's temporary release from prison, Johnson became its pastor, and paid dearly for his promotion, for he speedily found himself in prison, with most of the important members of the company. Here he wrote a petition to Burghley, complaining of his treatment; here, too, he received a visit from Henry Jacob, a Puritan minister of Kent, who hoped to convince him of his errors, but who ended by being convinced himself and joining the Separatists. 1 Bradford, Dialogue in Young's "Chronicles." 86 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS The executions of Barrow, Greenwood and Penry, and the sufferings of the Separatists in prison, had excited some sympathy in the country, and not a little indigna- tion against the Bishops for their cruelty. The Privy Council therefore determined in future to banish the offenders instead of punishing them with death. A petition was received by the Council about 1593 from some subjects "falsely called Brownists" for leave to emigrate to Canada, where they might worship God according to their consciences, and serve Her Majesty,^ and in 1 597 certain merchants, who were undertaking an expedition to Rainea (near Newfoundland) made suit to the Queen "to transport out of this realm divers arti- ficers and others, persons that are noted to be sectaries, whose minds are continually in an ecclesiastical ferment, whereof four shall at this present sail thither in those ships that go this present voyage." Leave was given to Francis Johnson, his brother George, Daniel Studley and John Clark, to join the expedition, and on the under- standing that they were not to return, unless they would conform. The voyage was a failure ; they were attacked by French pirates, and one ship was wrecked ; the four exiles returned secretly to London, and thence to Amsterdam, where most of their church, after sojourning first at Campen, and then at Naarden, had by this time assembled. They were very, very poor. George Johnson writes that many weeks he had not above six, seven, or eight pence the week to live upon, and Ainsworth their teacher, was for some time porter to a bookseller, and lived upon "nine pence per week with roots boiled."^ But Amsterdam was a busy and growing town, and when they were familiarised with its language and customs, they found trades by which to live. Barrow had left most of his substance to the church, and they were helped too by contributions from friends 1 S.P. Dom., Vol. ccxlvi., no. 56, 1593? 2 Williams, "Answer to Mr Cotton's Letter," p. 39. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 87 in London and in the Separatist church at Middelburg; possibly also from the charities of Amsterdam. As soon as they were somewhat settled, the church issued anew its Confession of Faith and the reasons for its separation from the English Church. It also tried to justify its position to its Dutch neighbours, in a correspondence with Junius, divinity reader in the University of Leyden, but these overtures were coldly received, and Junius evidently thought that the less attention they drew upon themselves the better. " Having found a place of rest, by the mercy of God, where ye may be quiet," he wrote, " pity yourselves, your flock, your entertainers, the whole church. Ye shall do wisely if ye do not stir," etc.^ Not until 1607 did they have any regular church building, and before their first chapel was finished it was burnt down, and the work had to begin again. Clyfton gives a description ^ of their service after he joined them, first prayer and giving thanks by the pastor or teacher, then the reading of the Scriptures with explanations, then a sermon on some passage of Scripture, the administration of the Sacraments, and finally a collection for the support of the church and the poor. The Psalms were sung, and prophecy was allowed when the spirit moved, but it had no formal place in the service. As to the conduct of the Ancient Church there are two very different views. Bradford praises both pastor and people, describing Johnson as a grave man and an able teacher, performing the duties of his office with dignity and reverence ; an excellent and convincing disputant. He couples the church with that of the Pilgrims at Leyden in his praises, " If you had seen them in their beauty and order as we have done, you would have been very much affected therewith we dare say." He says that, when united, the church numbered about three hundred com- municants, with pastor and teacher, four ruling elders, three deacons, and one ancient widow for a deaconess. " She ^ Waddington, p. 120. ^ Clyfton's "Advertisement." 88 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS honoured her place, and was an ornament to the congre- gation. She usually sat in a convenient place in the congregation, with a little birchen rod in her hand, and kept little children in great awe from disturbing the congregation." ^ This deaconess had much authority ; through her, alms were dispensed ; she looked after the sick ; and although more than sixty years of age when chosen, she did them service many years. Bradford was certainly in a position to know all about the Ancient Church, and here is a picture of a most orderly and reverent congregation, ruled over by a man of wisdom and intellect. But in face of this eulogy, we have some very ugly evidence both as to the personal character of the pastor and the scandals and disorders of the church, and it has been argued that it was owing to these troubles that the Pilgrims so soon left Amsterdam for Leyden. The charges are mainly contained in four books — one by George Johnson, one by the Rev. Thomas White, and two by Christopher Lawne and others, and it is fair to say that these persons had all either been excommunicated or had left the church under unpleasant circumstances. The first dark shadow on the character of the pastor came from his relations with his own family. In 1594, whilst still in the Clink prison, Francis Johnson had married a widow named Mrs Thomasine Boys, whose first husband, Edward Boys, a haberdasher, had been a strong supporter of the Separatists. At his house at Fleet Street the meeting had been held at which Johnson was arrested^; he himself underwent many imprison- ments, and finally died in the Clink. George Johnson had tried hard to dissuade his brother from the marriage, urging that Mrs Boys was much noted for pride, and that it would give great offence to the brethren. But it was in vain, and all George could do 1 Dialogue in Young's "Chronicles." ^ jj^rl MSS., 7042. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 89 was to obtain a promise from the widow that, if she married Francis, she would " do as became his estate." 1 Instead, she became more garish and proud in apparel than before ; the church was deeply offended, but left it to George to deal with her. He wrote to Francis, protest- ing against her gold rings, her busks and her whalebones, which were so manifest that "many of ye saints were greened"; he begged that her schowish hat might be exchanged for a sober taffety or felt ; and he even offered to raise money to provide her with more suitable garments should the question of expense stand in her way. She did reform a little ; her hat was not " so topishly set," and George was encouraged to hope for further reforms ; but when members of the congregation urged him on to more complaints, the pastor's wife became " very peert and coppet." Naturally Francis bitterly resented these criticisms on his bride ; her clothes were all provided out of her own money, and Bradford says they were perfectly suitable to her rank. The quarrel, however, was patched up, and more friendly feeling existed between the brothers on their voyage and journey to Amsterdam. But once there, George felt himself slighted and meanly treated by his brother, who did not invite him to share his large house ; and thinking, perhaps, that the pastor's wife was to blame for this neglect, his criticisms on her broke out once more. Before a church council, George was called upon to answer for this criticism ; he had charged her amongst other things with sin in the using of musk, and the wear- ing of a topish hat, and he was not inclined to withdraw his charges. The poor lady seems to have been un- fortunate in her choice of headgear, for a " veluet hood " was also a cause of contention. The church, after de- liberation, declared the hat to be " not topish in nature," whereupon a lengthy discussion ensued as to whether a hat not topish in nature could, under any circumstances, be ^ George Johnson's "Discourse," p. 94. 90 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS considered topish, it having been particularly condemned in her as the pastor's wife. George, who was not very- bright, asked to have this problem reduced to writing, and he made further accusations of flightiness and sloth. He had other disagreements with his brother, about the appointment of elders and the government of the church ; and after vain endeavours to keep him quiet by bribes of office, Francis finally excommunicated him publicly in 1599. In 1603 was published an unfinished "Discourse" by George Johnson relating the story. One is not surprised that poor Mrs Thomasine was overheard to say that she wished she were a widow again, but it is amazing that, considering the perils they had gone through, the straits they were in to earn a bare existence, the church should have been shaken by such trivial matters as these. The instinct to criticize and call to account was strong, as it had been in Browne's church, and equally fatal. The kindest explanation of George's conduct was that he had, as some said, " a crackt brain." He had suffered enough to account for it; in 1594 his father petitioned for the release of his two sons, saying that " the younger called George (in the Fleet) hath been kept sometimes two days and two nights together without any manner of sustenance ; sometimes twenty nights together without any bedding save a straw mat ; and as long without any change of linen ; and all this sixteen months in the most dark and unwholesome rooms of the prison they could thrust them into ; not suffering any of his friends to come unto him." ^ His book shows that he was really conscientious and well-meaning, but his littleness and obstinacy must have b6en irritating in the extreme, and when Francis found that he was determined to disturb not only his domestic peace, but the peace of the church, he had some excuse for the excommunication. Robinson and Ainsworth, both just and moderate men, approved of it. ^ Waddington, p. 105. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 91 It is more difficult to excuse his treatment of their father. John Johnson came over to Amsterdam in 1602, in a vain attempt to make peace between his sons, and a letter written by him, and published by Lawne, in his " Prophane Schism," testifies to the gradual accumulation of neglect, slights, and indignities put upon him, ending in his public excommunication by his own son. Only the belief that he came not to make peace, but to awaken the old dispute after three years' slumber, can in any way modify the unpleasant impression which this letter gives. Francis had indeed shown that he was sincere, that he could sacrifice wealth and security for his convictions, but he was proving himself also to be proud, domineer- ing and cruel, and this was a bad augury for his church. Both White and Lawne make terrible accusations of immorality and misconduct of various kinds amongst the congregation. They were never satisfactorily refuted, but the charges are so indiscriminate and so violent that it is quite impossible to believe them as they stand. Francis Johnson wrote a reply to White's book, and two other members of the church brought a counter accusation of slander against him. But neither the Dutch church nor the Dutch magistrates had any desire to be mixed up in the quarrels of the Separatists ; the case hardly received a fair hearing, White was discharged, and returned to England. Against Lawne no case was brought in the Courts, the attempt probably being considered futile and unwise ; Clyfton, who joined the Ancient Church in 1609, wrote a reply, but it was not in itself a very complete defence, and it included an answer by Daniel Studley, who was the chief offender, and who was cast out of the church in 1612, actually admitting some of the charges, though professing sincere repentance. He was un- doubtedly a bad character — a daring man, since he had helped to smuggle out Barrow's manuscripts from prison, but an unscrupulous man too. It was evidently very 92 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS harmful to the church to retain such a man in office, and it gave some justice to Lawne's taunt that to separate from other churches on account of their ungodly members, and to hold communion with Studley, was to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. The second of Lawne's books, " Brownism, etc.," is very unconvincing ; it consists of a contrast between the profession and practice of the Brownists, in parallel columns, and the temptation to make it complete at all costs has evidently proved irresistible. The profession is practically Barrow's " True Description." Robinson, writing in 1614, speaks strongly of Lawne's libel and the falsity of many of the accusations it con- tained,^ but some grains of truth lay at the bottom of them, and it seems certain that many things went on in the Ancient Church which the Pilgrims would be anxious to shun. No doubt, too, they dreaded to be involved in the discord which began about 1609 between Johnson and his teacher Ainsworth, with regard to the government of the church, and the proportion of power which was to lie with the elders and with the congregation. It may be that Elder Studley was the origin of this difficulty too ; complaints had been made of him by members of the church, who wished to depose him, and this naturally inclined him to deny any such rights on the part of the congregation. Johnson, however, had begun his career as a Presbyterian, and though Studley's influence may have had some effect, it is likely that the recent disputes and troubles had given him a distaste for popular government, and had led him to think kindly of an autocracy of elders which would have made very short work of such disturbances. Ainsworth watched with alarm these Presbyterian tendencies, for, though far from advocating the democratic government of Browne's Church, he thought, as Barrow ^ Works, iii. 96 and 99. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 93 had done, that the congregation as a whole had certain very real powers, notably with regard to the choosing or deposing of its officers, and the receiving or excom- munication of members. But the middle course between government by the people and government by elders was a vague, if not impossible one, and so Ainsworth found each time he tried to define it, a true balance being impossible without the goodwill of both parties. Leaning more and more towards Presbyterianism, Johnson at last conceded to a local church only the power to elect elders, not even to ordain them ; it could not " cast out an offending member or depose an erring elder." His views were certainly an innovation on the original Confession and Articles of the Church published in 1 596, 1 598 and 1607 ; and he seems to have supported them with great narrowness and want of consideration. Ainsworth, on the other hand, was very moderate and reasonable, anxious always for peace, but feeling that the issue involved the very principles of a Congregational Church. He was far the most cultured man and the finest character in the congregation — in fact, his nobility and uprightness are the strongest arguments against Lawne's wholesale attacks on the church, and one is led to believe that, if evil existed, it was confined to a very small number of his following. Very little is known of his early life; he was born about 1579, probably at Swanton near Norwich, though some say in Lancashire, and his father was a yeoman. Roger Williams says of him that " he scarce set foot in colledge walls," ^ but this is probably a mistake, for he seems to have been for a time at St John's College Cambridge, and afterwards at Gonville and Caius. But though he was at the University four years in all, he did not graduate. No doubt he fell under the Puritan in- fluences so rife in Cambridge, for it seems that, on leaving, 1 " Bloudy Tenent," etc., 1644, p. I74- 94 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS he joined the half-formed Barrowist Church in London. Later he went to Ireland, but being persecuted for dissent he returned to London, and went on to join the emigrants in Amsterdam. When he came out of Ireland he was very poor, a single man, and content with very little, living on his gd. a week, without letting anyone know of his poverty. But presently people found it out and helped him, and when, in 1607, he married a widow from Ipswich named Marjorie Appleby, he and his family had all that they needed. Paget, a Puritan Minister of Amsterdam, and one of those who attacked most fiercely the Ancient Church, accused Ainsworth of having turned his coat and changed his religion five several times, and Lawne said he was " spotted again and again with apostasy," but according to Bradford, all that this vacillation amounted to was that he occasionally, after having separated, attended services in the Church of England. [In Amsterdam he became Teacher in the place of John Greenwood, and as the elders and pastor were still imprisoned in London, he apparently directed this branch of the congregation until the church was reconstituted in 1597, when he still re- tained his office. He was also their chief scribe, and undertook the trans- lation of their confession into Latin, and probably the preparation of their petition to King James ; he may, too, have been one of those sent to England to present it. Besides being a very good linguist, he was a notable Hebrew scholar, and has left commentaries which are still of value. Bradford writes : " A very learned man he was, and a close student, which much impaired his health. We have heard some, eminent in the knowledge of the tongues of the University of Leyden, say that they thought he had not his better for the Hebrew tongue in the University, nor scarce in Europe. . . . He was powerful and profound in doctrine, although his voice was not strong; and had this excellency above many, THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 95 that he was ready and pregnant in the Scriptures, as if the Book of God had been written in his heart." 1 When the dispute about the power of the elders became very heated, Ainsworth at first urged that the two parties should remain united, adhering to their original Confession of Faith, and that no change should be made in the work- ing of the church. This was of course refused. Then he proposed that they should part peaceably, and form two distinct congregations. This was also refused, unless his party would leave Amsterdam ; and this was not a thing to be lightly done, seeing that they were, after a time of great poverty, established in trades and business in the city. Then Ainsworth proposed a conference with the Pilgrims,^ who were already settled in Leyden, but Johnson was now going against another article of their Confession, and he disliked to ask counsel of any other church. They did, however, confer, and Robinson was one of the deputation sent from Leyden. His view was, that power belonged to the whole church under Christ, and that to its officers belonged only the government and guidance of the church in the use of this power, and he advised that matters should first be discussed by the elders and then submitted to the whole congregation. But no con- clusion could be reached, and finally, in spite of Ainsworth's desire for peace, Johnson took the violent measure of de- posing him and excommunicating his following. The Ancient Church thus split asunder ; Ainsworth's people withdrew, and worshipped in a Jews' Synagogue, only one door from the old meeting-house. But later, it was decided that to them this meeting-house belonged, as it had been owned by two men and a widow of their party. Ainsworth was loth to bring any quarrel before the magistrates, but these persons felt that they could not brook their unjust loss, and made good their claim, although the land on which the building stood had been held in trust by a member of Johnson's party. 1 "Dialogue." 2 ggg Robinson's Works, iii. 460-84. 96 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS In 1613, deprived of their meeting-house, Johnson and his followers went to Emden, returning, however, to Amsterdam before 1617. Probably some, including Clyfton, had never left the city. Here, in 16 18, Johnson died. " A Christian Plea," written in the last year of his life, shows how far he had strayed from the teaching of Barrow. He was still, as he had always been, a Calvinist in doctrine; but in polity he had become rather a Presbyterian than a Separatist, save on the one central point, the right of a particular church to regulate its affairs without the interference of any other ecclesiastical body. But he allowed great authority over the church to princes and magistrates, and looked to them to help in its maintenance, should the contributions of the members not suffice. His view of the eldership was entirely Presbyterian ; " tell the church " meant " tell the elders." Unlike Barrow, he would permit the teachers of the church to teach outside their own congregations in schools and universities, and so submit to the approval of alien authorities ; and would advocate suspension, or the with- holding of the Sacraments, from the unrepentant, as an alternative punishment to excommunication. The marriage ceremony he considered to be a civil matter, but he would not forbid its performance by a minister, and whereas he, like Barrow,^ had once insisted that even the buildings in which Popish worship had been held should be destroyed, he now thought that images, vest- ments, and temples need neither be done away with nor made a cause of separation. One of the elders of his church, Francis Blackwell, pre- pared to lead the remnant of the flock to Virginia. They were arrested in London, and only by treachery and denial of their principles did they escape from the hands of the Bishops to continue their journey. It was a fatal journey to most. They had won the blessing of the Archbishop 1 See Confession of Faith of the Ancient Church, and Barrow's " Brief Discovery," p, 133. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 97 by ill means ; they were so disunited that they cursed one another in the streets of Gravesend ; they were packed like herrings in the ship, and most of them died of disease and starvation before ever they saw Virginia. The other section oftheAncientChurch under Ainsworth, lived uneventfully, as far as we know, until their pastor's death in 1623. They were officerless for a time, until John Canne became their pastor, and disorders seem to have quickly broken out, for John Robinson writes sternly to them in 1624. It is said that Canne suffered excom- munication at the hands of his congregation, but the church lived on until 1701, when it was finally absorbed in the Scotch Presbyterian Church, founded in Amsterdam in 1607. It was not, however, only the troubles in the Ancient Church existing and foreseen, which convinced the Pilgrims that Amsterdam was not a good place to settle in. The Rev. John Smyth and his Gainsborough church were involving themselves in considerable difficulties, both in their relations to Johnson's church and in the development of their own creed and polity. This would no doubt be a great disappointment to the Scrooby people, for though apparently, daring their stay in Amsterdam, they maintained a separate church organi- zation, there must have been some practical intercourse ; they would probably be obliged to worship occasionally in each other's meeting places, and it was to Smyth's church that the new-comers would chiefly look for fellow- ship and help. It had come over most recently, its members were from the same part of England ; they may at one time have been a single congregation, and it was hard to find that it would prove, not a guide, but a stumbling- block in their way. Even supposing that the Gainsborough church had been distinct from that of Scrooby from its earliest founda- tion, its pastor, the Rev. John Smyth, must have been very well known to Robinson and his fellows. 7 98 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS His commonplace name has made his history difficult to trace, but he was born probably about 1572, and was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, 1586-93, where the Rev. Francis Johnson was his tutor. Here no doubt he absorbed some heterodox ideas, but he took his M.A. in 1593, was ordained by William Wickham, and was a conforming minister at Lincoln probably as late as 1605, a book published in that year, called " A Pattern of true Prayer" by John Smyth of Lincoln, having been identified as his work. John Cotton, an eminent New England divine, tells us that " the tyranny of the Ecclesiastical Courts was harsh towards him, and the yokes put upon him in the ministry too grievous to be borne." Anxious to find some place where he could exercise his ministry with fewer restrictions, he heard of the " forward " people at Gainsborough, and came amongst them. But separation from the Church of England was a violent measure, and he spent nine months in doubt before finally joining the Gainsborough church. In 1606 he became its pastor, and the church may have migrated to Holland soon after, but it is much more likely that it remained in England almost as long as the Pilgrims did. Bishop Hall in 1608 addresses a letter to Smyth and Robinson as " Ringleaders of the late separation " and Robinson mentions Helwys, a prominent member of Smyth's church, as one who more than any other had furthered the passage of his congregation into strange countries. " If any brought oars," he writes, " he brought sails." 1 However this might be, Smyth was in Amsterdam in 1608, and seems for a short time to have united with the Ancient Church. But he did not long remain with them. He was a little like Robert Browne in his eagerness to find the true way, and in his complete indifiference as to how far it would lead him. He was accused by his fellow-Separatists of much innovation and inconstancy ^ Works, iii. 159. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 99 but to an outsider he seems merely to have worked out the theories which they all held, to an extreme point. He was morbidly conscientious ; anxious to follow any course which seemed right, regardless of expediency, but at the same time lacking in stability and sense of pro- portion, so that, for the slightest flaw discovered in that course, he would abandon it, and in all sincerity seek for more light elsewhere. He says of himself, " Now I have in all my writings hitherto received instruction of others, and professed my readiness to be taught by others, and therefore I have so oftentimes been accused of incon- stancy, well, let them think of me as they please, I profess I have changed, and shall be ready still to change for the better, and if it be their glory to be peremptory and immutable in their articles of religion, they may enjoy that glory without my envy, though not without the grief of my heart for them." ^ His very openness of mind, admirable in itself, made him a difficult leader for the times. It was so necessary for the Separatists to find a foothold somewhere, to establish some rule to which they might cling, and they felt that Smyth exposed them to a charge of mere vagary. As soon as he reached Amsterdam, he began to publish Separatist literature, and it is by his books alone that the rapid development of his opinions can be traced. His early views on separation, and his relation to the Church of England, are given in " Principles and Infer- ences concerning the Visible Church" (1607 or 1608), and in " Parallels," an answer to an attack by Bernard. But within a year he had separated from the Ancient Church, and had published a pamphlet declaring "The Differences of the Churches of the Separation." They disagreed, first, because Smyth refused to permit the English Bible to be used in worship, holding that a written translation of the Scriptures was apocryphal 1 " Retractation " in Barclay, Appendix to chap. vi. loo A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS and unlawful, and that teachers should translate verbally from the Greek or Hebrew. Gradually he came to for- bid the use of any book in divine service, either for reading or singing. The next difficulty arose when Smyth decided that lay elders were anti-Christian, and that all elders should be pastors. Naturally Johnson, who was at this moment exalting the power of the lay eldership, could not agree here. Smyth's views about elders were the very reverse of Presbyterian ; he held that "Whatsoever the eldership hath it hath from Christ through the body of the Church, and by the Church's disposition," and that " When the Church hath chosen and ordained herself elders, then she loseth none of her former power, but still retaineth it entire to herself, to use when occasion ariseth." The difference between the two views was characteristic of the men ; Johnson, rather hard and domineering, bent on forcing men to be good with all the machinery he could use ; Smyth, warm-hearted and impetuous, trusting all his reform schemes to impulses within the human heart, and so only anxious to place his followers in the closest relations possible with Christ. There were some further difficulties, because Smyth thought, as indeed Barrow and Johnson had done, that contributions to the church treasury should be " a separa- tion from them that are without," and being an act of worship should be accompanied by prayer and thanks- giving. And finally, he objected to infant baptism, even when confined, as it was by the Separatists, to the seed of the faithful. The rite had been connected for ages with the false churches ; it was impossible that the child should^ make any confession of faith, or understand the meaning of its privileges. Possibly, too, he foresaw the confusion which actually came to pass in later generations, when the seed of the faithful might be no longer faithful themselves, and the church would come THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM loi to contain as many unregenerates as the Church of England had done. These were the dififerences between Smyth and the Ancient Church in matters of government, but there were some doctrinal points of difference too. As early as 1 591, James Arminius had begun to teach his system of theology in Amsterdam. Calvin's theory had been, that every soul was predestined to salvation or everlasting torment, and that the saints could not fall from grace ; Arminius taught in opposition to this, that Christ's atonement had placed the means of salvation within reach of all, but that only by individual belief and effort, constantly renewed, could it be grasped. Smyth espoused his beliefs, as an unprejudiced man of his temperament naturally would, whilst the Ancient Church clung, as the Puritans, and most of the Separatists did, to Calvin's harsher doctrine. Smyth determined to form a separate church organiza- tion, and he was followed by a number of people from the Ancient Church. He was at once confronted with the problem which Barrow had puzzled over ; he held that their former baptism was false, and yet believed that only those truly baptized could set about the formation of a church estate. Braving, as Barrow could not bring him- self to do, the charge of Anabaptism, Smyth baptized first himself, then Heiwys and his other followers, each making his confession of faith. In 1609, in " The Character of the Beast," he published his views on baptism Smyth's ; church was erected ; the " second English Church of the Separation." Its service, in the original form, began with prayer, then came the reading and expounding of one or two chapters of the Bible, the successive prophesyings by different speakers on some text, followed by prayer and collection, the services lastingNthe formidable space of four hours in the morning, and three to four hours in the afternoon, with no singing. Smyth did, indeed, permit the " singing such psalms as the spirit declares to any person immediately without 102 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS book," but this does not seem to have happened very often among his disciples. He quickly repented of his se-baptism. At the time he had believed that no true Church existed with which he could join, and from which baptism might be had, but he came to see that the Mennonite or Baptist churches of Holland were true churches, and felt that this being so, it was not right that persons should baptize themselves, and set up new churches, without trying to join those already existing. It was not lawful " for everyone that seeketh the truth to baptize, for then there might be as many churches as couples in the world." Always ready to act upon his convictions, Smyth and thirty-one members of his church applied in March 1610 to the Waterlander Mennonite Church for admission. But Helwys and a few of his followers held staunchly to the old views. To their minds, Smyth was admitting the old heresy of apostolic succession in denying their right to baptize themselves, and they felt very bitterly towards him. Although they too, apparently, agreed in all essentials with the Mennonite Church, which rejected infant baptism and held many of the views afterwards advocated by George Fox and the Quakers, they would not join it, and returning to London in 161 1, they formed there under Helwys the first genera,] Arminian Baptist Church in England. Two very interesting works were issued by this church in the succeeding years ; one by Helwys condemning flight from persecution, and one by Murton condemning persecution for religious views. In the latter, Murton entirely separated spiritual and civil authority, giving the magistrate no right of interference whatever in the church. " Earthly authority," he declared, " belongeth to earthly kings, but spiritual authority belongeth to that one spiritual king who is King of Kings." Neither of these books were quite in accordance with the Pilgrims' views. Robinson thought ^ that men were ^ Works, iii. 155-164. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 103 free to fly or to abide, as seemed best to God's truth ; and that the magistrate might " use his lawful power lawfully, for the furtherance of Christ's kingdom and laws." Smyth's application to the Mennonite Church was not immediately successful ; and with a few followers he found refuge in a bakehouse belonging to a kind-hearted Waterlander. These bakehouses were often attached to churches, to bake bread for the poor, and perhaps to shelter poor members. Here Smyth, far gone in con- sumption, and unchurched altogether now, remained until his death in 1612. In 1615 the remainder of his company was admitted to one of the Mennonite churches, and though for a short time they had a separate English service in the bakehouse, they were finally absorbed among the Dutch. Smyth's Arminian and Baptist tendencies were so abhorred by his fellow Separatists, that he got very scant justice from them, and they are harder on him than we can quite understand. He had been a cause of reproach, and Robinson answering Bernard speaks sternly of him, " his instability and want of wit, is his sin and our cross." ^ Bradford too reproaches him, "his inconstancy and unstable judgment, and being so suddenly carried away with things, did soon overthrow him." ^ Yet he had many noble qualities. He was a learned man, as even his enemies allow; he was one of the first to realise the stupidity of persecution for religious opinions, and to assert the freedom of man's conscience from earthly control ; the " Confession " of his church shows a broad tolerance and kindliness of spirit which one can onlyadmire. In his last and most beautiful book, the " Retractation " of his errors, written when the light of another world was very near him, illuminating and putting into perspective all that had been dim and distorted before, Smyth writes with great sweetness and humility of his past mistakes of judgment, and* laments the harshness and narrowness which may have blotted his former utterances. " My 1 Works, i. 62. ^ " Dialogue," p. 450. 104 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS desire is to end controversies among Christians, rather than to make and maintain them, especially in matters of the outward Church and ceremonies ; and it is the grief of my heart that I have so long cumbered myself and spent my time therein, and I profess that difference in judgment for matter of circumstance, as are all things of the outward Church, shall not cause me to refuse the brotherhood of any penitent and faithful Christian what- soever. And now from this day forward do I put an end to all controversies and questions about the outward Church and ceremonies with all men, and resolve to spend my time in the main matters wherein consisteth salvation. Without repentance, faith, remission of sin, and the new creature, there is no salvation, but there is salvation without the truth of all the outward ceremonies of the outward church." Smyth was a very lovable man, and had a great power of attracting friendship and affec- tion. The very members of his church who separated from him, speak with the deepest feeling of their love and devotion to him, and the good cause they had for it, so that all their love was too little and not worthy of him. He was unselfish and kind-hearted, without any trace of self-seeking ; he had no salary from the church, supporting himself as a doctor, and from the sick poor he took no fees, and from the richer sort only one-half as much as other doctors did. Rather than that any should want, he would neglect himself and his family, so careful was he of the poor. " Upon a time, seeing one slenderly apparelled, he sent them his gown, to make them clothes," thinking it but his duty " according to that speech in the Gospel, ' He that hath two coats, let him part with him that hath none,' so that he was well beloved of most men, and hated of none save a few of our English nation, who had nothing against him, but that he differed from them in some points of religion," ^ It must be admitted that the Separatist churches so far ^ Barclay, Appendix to chap. vi. THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 105 had not covered themselves with glory. The churches of Browne, Johnson, and Smyth had each been devastated by disputes and disagreements, and in each case their leaders had very greatly modified their early opinions about Separatism. Disunion was perhaps inevitable, " they only, who enjoy liberty," wrote Robinson, " know how hard a thing it is to use aright And when I see them in England wondering at the dissensions in this way, methinks I see two prisoners, being themselves fast chained and manacled together by feet and hands, wonder- ing to see that other men, at liberty, walk not closer together than they do. Their thraldom makes them unequal censurers of the abuse of our liberty." ^ The whole movement too was a reaction, and though reaction has a certain strength of its own, it has one very great weakness, that it is apt to go to extremes. More- over, this was a reaction directed by foreign influences ; the leaders were not carrying out ideas which they had gradually grown up to, but ideas which they had adopted, sometimes rather hastily. Eager for some new system, they had copied that of the Calvinists, or the Anabaptists, and it was some years before they learnt to modify their ideas, and to make them part of themselves. But if the leaders suffered from this kind of mental indip-estion, the body of the church was worse off still. It followed its pastor often with surprising docility, only accountable in a people long accustomed to priestly rule, but it followed in reality far behind. And for this reason the men who, like Browne and Smyth, saw abstract truth most clearly, and announced it most boldly, were not necessarily the best leaders ; they were too far ahead of their times, their light dazzled people and made them blinder than before. They wanted complete religious freedom, they aimed at a spiritual church, and they forgot that freedom to most men only meant supremacy, and that human nature was frail and faulty. The very qualities ' Works, iii. ICX). io6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS which made men Separatists, made it hard for them to agree ; those who would not give way under such pressure as the Church of England put upon them, were likely to retain their rigidity, and moreover, the principle of separation from the ungodly itself fostered a pharisaical and critical spirit. So their leaders had a difficult task, enough so to excuse some harshness ; the soft and amiable side of their nature had not much play. Like the Socialists of to-day, they were fighting with their backs against the wall ; in their deadly earnestness they could not afford to take things lightly. Like the Socialists, too, they had a great con- structive work before them. The ultimate principle of separation was, that a church is a means, and not an end ; an agency for the salvation of men, and that where a church does not fulfil its office thoroughly, other agencies will spring up. These men had rebelled against the existing order because they could not bear things as they were ; to find new and effective methods of dealing with the problem was more difficult than to criticize and to denounce. It is interesting to note that those leaders who were most extreme in their Separatism were those who found later that they must modify their programme ; to note, too, how under this burden of construction, they grew less ready to condemn, and drew gradually nearer to the churches they had once despised. Amsterdam, too, was an unsettling place for churches in such an undeveloped stage of polity ; there was a lack of stability in the very air. The complete freedom which it gave to all opinions at a time where uniformity was everywhere else enforced, the variety of nationalities, religion and politics to be found there, naturally attracted extreme men of every kind, and the barriers of tradition were all broken down. But although the life of the churches there reads like a failure, it was not fruitless. The great questions of adult or infant baptism, of the limit of civil and spiritual authority, of the power of the elders, which ultimately THE CHURCHES IN AMSTERDAM 107 caused the distinction between Baptist, Independent, and Presbyterian churches, had found exponents on either side. Moreover, the influence of Mennonite ideas, carried over to England by Helwys and Murton, paved the way for the foundation of another great Society, that of the Friends, and explains ths rapid growth of that body in later days. Much remained to be done, and it was probably Robinson's knowledge of the great work which still lay be- fore the churches of the Separation, which led him away from the turbulent atmosphere of Amsterdam to seek some quiet refuge where his church might grow strong in peace. There is still extant amongst the Court records of the city of Leyden for February 12th, 1609, the following application : — " To the honourable the burgomasters and court of the city of Leyden, With due submission and respect, Ian Robarthse, Minister of the Divine Word, and some of the members of the Christian Reformed Religion, born in the Kingdom of Great Britain, to the number of one hundred persons or thereabouts, men and women, represent that they desire to come and live in this city, by the first day of May (N.S.) next ; and to have the freedom thereof in carrying on their trades, without being a burden in the least to anyone. They therefore address themselves to your Honours, humbly praying that your Honours will be pleased to grant them free consent to betake themselves as aforesaid. This doing," etc. The court replied that " they refuse no honest persons free ingress to come and have their residence in this city ; provided that such persons behave themselves, and submit to the laws and ordinances ; and therefore the coming of the Memorialists will be agreeable and welcome. " Thus done by the Burgomasters in their session at the Council House the 12th day of February 1609 (N.S.). (Signed) "J. VAN HOUT, Secretarius." ^ 1 Dexter, "England and Holland of the Pilgrims," p. 468. CHAPTER VI LIFE IN LEYDEN HERE and there, underlying the story of Separatism in England, traces of Netherland influence have shone out, like sparks of electricity that betray the motive force. It could not be a coincidence that so many of its leaders were men who had been in contact with Dutch ideas ; nor that the districts in which the Netherlanders had lived and worked, the towns in which they thronged, should have been those which found, first followers for Wyclif, then opponents of the luke- warm Episcopal reformation, and in days to come the strongest supporters of Puritanism and the Commonwealth. It might have been coincidence, but that this active spirit of freedom has so exact a counterpart in the history of the Dutch at home. It is said now that cob- bling and dissent go hand in hand, and that the smell of shoe leather breeds Socialism, and certainly there seemed to be something about the manufacture of cloth, the chief Netherland industry, which was just as incompatible with subjection in those days. Cecil declared in ISS9 that " those who depend on the making of cloths are of worse condition to be quietly governed than the husband- men,"^ which shows that he realized the effects of the Dutch occupation, though not perhaps their cause. But the influence had been vague. It had filtered in by means of friends and neighbours, and by hearsay evidence of a successful fight for liberty elsewhere, and it had created a powerful disturbance, but so far it had not enabled any one to make his particular cause a success. ^ Froude, viii. p. 442. LIFE IN LEYDEN 109 Now, however, after long catching at the fringe of Dutch ideas, the English Separatists had a chance of grasping them completely. The most important of all their churches, the one which contained the best material, the finest instruments for the play of new ideas, had come to make its home in the heart of Netherland life and thought. It is this which makes the twelve years spent by the Pilgrims in Holland of such immense importance. All we know of the facts of their stay there could be very briefly told, for neither their own writings nor the town records throw much light upon it. They did not belong to a class likely to write a great deal, and the few literary men among them were engaged in church controversy, and did not record much of their everyday life. The accounts of Bradford and Winslow were written many years after, when their minds were busy with the later development of the colony and church, when the years of their poverty and struggle in Leyden had faded into insignificance, and seemed a very small part of their life history. Again, the Pilgrims with one or two excep- tions were not important enough to gain much notice in the town records, or contemporary documents. No labour has been spared by modern historians in trying to find out the true facts of their history, and every notice in the Leyden archives referring to persons known, or supposed to have belonged to Robinson's church, has been published,^ but these are for the most part mere records of marriage or death ; admission to citizenship or membership of the University. But the importance of their life there is altogether out of proportion with what we know of its facts. We judge of it first of all by the gradual development of opinion in the church at Leyden, tested by their decisions on various matters of dispute, and plainly to be seen in the writings of their pastor : again by the difference between the Pilgrims and later New England colonists in their 1 Dexter, " The England and Holland of the Pilgrims." 1 10 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS methods of government, civil and religious, and in the spirit which they brought to bear on their problems : and finally, in the ultimate similarity between many American institutions and those of seventeenth-century Holland. This last point must not be pressed too far; for much of this similarity may be due to the Dutch colonies in America, and to the work of Penn and the Quakers, who were saturated with Dutch influence, but where Dutch institutions were at once adopted by Plymouth colony, and transmitted from the New England States to other parts of America, perhaps embodied in the constitution itself, it is fair to trace their origin to these quiet, formative years in Leyden. From these years they emerged in a condition attained by no English Separatist church before them, able to use their freedom without instability, to exercise authority without tyranny : and to understand in any way the temper of the men who sailed in the Mayflower, who gave an example of wise government and religious charity to those who came after them, no circumstances of their environment can be lightly overlooked. It is one of the difSculties of history that to understand anything one must know everything, and it seems as though before one can "place" the Pilgrim Fathers and their work, one must realize the whole of English civilization before them, the whole of American develop- ment after them, and above all, must do justice to the part which Holland played in both, and the history which prepared her for that part. But this is no place for a history of Holland, and a very rough idea of the principles which had guided her in her fight for freedom must suffice. Centuries before she became a Republic, Holland had begun unconsciously to prepare for it. Her constitutional rights were very early secured, when in 1476 she bargained with Mary of Burgundy for her Magna Carta, the " Great Privilege " which, amongst other things, claimed that the LIFE IN LEYDEN in cities and estates should hold diets when they chose, and that their consent should be necessary before war was waged, or fresh taxes levied. But Holland went further than demanding that her people should be well governed, she educated them to govern themselves. At a very early date the towns had become practical re- publics, appointing their own officials, and voting their own taxes. They were not democratic, quite the opposite in fact, though the strict rules against the relationship of officials, prevented the government from falling into the hands of one family, as it did in Italian towns. But this system of city government, like the township system in New England, had the great merit of training citizens for rule and giving them insight into practical politics. Bryce writes that " The Town meeting has been not only the source but the school of democracy," ^ and the same may be said of the City councils of Holland. Above the city government were the provincial estates in which deputies from the towns and cities chosen by the people during their pleasure met the nobles to decide their common interests. The clergy, unlike the custom in France and England, never formed an estate in the Netherlands. These provincial estates chose from amongst themselves one, two, or three burgesses to represent each province in the States-General. " They are," writes Moryson, " wholly in the power of the citizens who chose them." An in- teresting point, having regard to future American history, was their equality of voting. The largest province, however many representatives it might have, had only one vote like the smallest, and the deputies of the nobles had only one vote conjointly. In the same way, when the Federal Constitution of the United States was drawn up it was decided that each State, without respect to size or population, should be equally represented in the Senate, whereas in the House of Representatives, the States should have a number of deputies proportionate to their size. 'American Commonwealth, i. 621. II 2 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS The idea was due to Connecticut, but the principle of the equality of States in matters concerning all had been recognized even in the confederation of the New England States in 1643, when each of the four plantations had (nominally at least) equal representation and equal power. With their traditions and training, it was no wonder that, when unjust taxation and cruel persecution drove them to revolt, the Dutch were the iirst successful ex- ponents of modern democracy. They had been educated in their local assemblies to govern themselves, and public spirit was the breath of their nostrils. When the crisis came they asserted a principle familiar enough now, but very daring at that time, namely, that government exists for the good of the people, and that where that is neglected all claim to allegiance is at an end. Still they clung to the name of a monarchy, they were asserting a principle, not attacking a system, and only when they were thwarted in their search for a King did they formally establish a republic. But, once established, there was none of the difficulty about working it that we find in England later, for the simple reason that it was not a reaction, but the natural outgrowth of generations of training. So too the success of the American Constitu- tion is due largely to the fact that its framers "knew better than to commit the folly of breaking with the past. They were not seduced by the French fallacy that a new system of government could be ordered like a new suit of clothes." ^ It has proved most successful where it grew directly out of old institutions and habits of mind, least satisfactory where it was artificial and empiric. One cannot cherish ideas of freedom in one direction and not in another, and the religious views of the Dutch were instinct with the same love of liberty. It is a question whether, as things were then, any monarch could have granted complete toleration without being considered a heathen, since the creed of his people was 1 Lowell, Address, Oct. 1884. Quoted in Bryce, i. 34, note. LIFE IN LEYDEN 113 held to be his especial charge and care. The idea that the subjects of a prince must take their creed from him was a fixed one, and fatal to toleration, since it con- fused spiritual and temporal allegiance hopelessly, and a difference in religious opinion was held to mean political disaffection. Where the people were themselves the rulers, there could be no such fear as this ; the principle of toleration is in itself democratic, and so it is not strange that it was the Republic of Holland which first felt able to uphold it. Calvinism contains some elements of democracy, being hostile to the theories of divine right which led to such an infinite deal of oppression and bad government ; still more democratic were the many sects, such as the Anabaptists and Familists, which sprang up for the most part in Germany, and whose members, persecuted everywhere else, were unmolested, and even admitted to rights of citizenship in Holland. The real strength of Dutch democracy lay in the fact that it was not only a theory of government. Nothing which had gone to make up the civilization of the Netherlands had belonged to a single class, or had been unshared by the people, and so there was a genuine equality long before it was politically recognized. Since the battle of Courtrai in 1 302, when the burghers defeated a feudal army, the nobility of the Northern Netherlands had never had an overweening importance. There were great families even in Holland, and they had their share of influence, but neither in political importance nor in social estimation could they equal the men of the cities, and so many of them had been driven to take refuge in the fortified towns, that they almost ceased to be a class apart. "They marry their children," writes Guicciardini,! "into strange towns, yea and Forraine Countreys, and marry noble with ignoble, yoong with olde, maister and servant, which is not commendable," and Moryson says that "those who come to greatest 1 " Low Countries," IS93. P- 'S- 114 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS honour in this Commonwealth, are either advocates of the Law, or Sonnes of Merchants," and that " The vulgar sort so despise Gentlemen, or any superior if he affect greatnesse, as upon like occasions they proverbially use to say ' If he be rich, let him dine twice '."^ So that class distinctions were probably less marked there, than in any other country of the world. The people of Holland, too, had all that sense of responsibility towards their fellow-citizens which should be the strength of a democracy. Guicciardini tells us that there were no beggars ; the poor were amply provided for, eight thousand poor children were annually kept and taught; the families of soldiers and sailors were well looked after. In every town were hospitals and asylums for the poor, the sick and the insane, not only of their own nation, but of strangers. " Poverty and madness," writes an observer, " do both inhabit handsomely." Nor were art and learning the exclusive privilege of a small class as in England. Education was universal. Guicciardini notes that all had "some smackering of their Gramer " ; every one, even the husbandmen, could write and read, and many who had never been out of their own country could speak French, German, Italian, Spanish and English. As soon as printing (an invention in which Holland played a large part) became general, it was determined that all should learn to read and write, and schools were established in every town and village. At first the teachers were paid by the pupils, but by 1609 the schools were the common property of the people, paid for out of the municipal rates.^ The Protestants of the Netherlands saw the immense importance of education to their cause, based as it was upon a study of the Scriptures, and the general education of the people, and, the wide diffusion of printed books, especially the Bible, had much to do with the reality of ' "Shakespeare's Europe," p. 289. 2 Motley, " United Netherlands," iv. 567. THE COURT OF A DUTCH HOUSE DE HOOCH LIFE IN LEYDEN 115 the Dutch Reformation, and with its popular character. As well as state schools, there were greater facilities for higher education than in other countries. The University of Leyden was famous throughout Europe, and Franeker in Friesland, established eleven years later, was free to all. When the Hollanders despoiled the Roman Catholic churches, there was no loot, and their wealth, instead of enriching private persons, was used to support the clergy, and to carry on charities, and also to endow schools and Universities. They met the challenge of the Jesuit College at Douai by rival foundations which attracted Protestants from all countries. The art of Holland belonged to the people, as much as its learning. Good architecture was to be found not only in churches and palaces, but in municipal buildings, and even private houses. Every house, too, had its pictures and decorations. "The lining of their houses is more rich than the outside, not in hangings, but in pictures, which even the poorest of the boors are there furnished with ; not a cobler but has his toys for ornament." ^ Guicciardini ascribes to the Netherlanders the invention of oil-painting, and their genuine love of art was proved by the rapid spread of wood-engraving, which enabled every one to obtain cheaply a reproduction more or less artistic. This diffusion of artistic sense and taste, even among the poorest, was remarkable at a time when in England there was little real comfort or refinement for any class, when splendour and show was reserved for the great, and when the lot of the common people was unutterly sordid and mean, and it had its effect on the development of the Reformation. Whereas in England, all that was beautiful was associated with the Church which the Puritans condemned, or with the Court, which they knew to be frivolous and bad, in Holland there was beauty in the things of everyday life, in what they knew to be good and wholesome, and so they never felt that ' Harl. Misc. ii. 596- ii6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS perverted hatred of the beautiful which has done so much to harm the reputation of Puritanism. Here again, as in their rational and cheerful views on Sabbath-keeping, they were saved because there was no reaction. The only form of art which they seemed unable to square with their Puritan convictions, was unfortunately music. Guicciardini says the people were all natural musicians ; they had done much to restore the art of music, and had invented many musical instruments, but after the Reformation this was all given up. All the legal and social features of Dutch life are of the greatest interest, showing as they do a very remarkable degree of civilization, but only a few points can be touched upon which seem to have influenced American life directly through the Pilgrims. First of all, perhaps, comes the high position of women. In Holland, boys and girls were educated alike, the same schools being open to both, and the woman was almost the more important factor in family and business life. Her equality in business matters was so clearly recognized, that in most cities husband and wife were equally bound for each other's debts. Naturally the English writers of the time do not admire this characteristic ; according to Moryson, the husbands were in absolute bondage, and he mentions one wife who said that her husband " had newly asked her leave to goe abroade," " I may boldly say," he adds, " that the women of these parts, are above all others truly taxed with this unnatural domineering over their Husbands " ; ^ and even Guicciardini writes, " The Women governe all, both within doores and without, and make all bargaines, which joyned with the naturall desire that Women have to bear rule, maketh them too too im- perious and troublesome." Within the family, the rights of the wife and children were very carefully guarded. A wife could not only dispose by will of her own dowry as she liked, but could " Shakespeare's Europe," 28. LIFE IN LEYDEN 117 if she had no children, bequeath to her kinsmen, after her husband's death, half of any of his goods which he had acquired since marriage. Should husbands " either break in lifetime, or be found banckerouts at death the wives are preferred to all debtors in the recovery of their dowry." 1 So | also it was enacted in Plymouth in 1636 that lands might be seized to pay the debts of a deceased man, but that the portion reserved for the support of his wife and family was to be untouched. And in 1646 the consent of the wife became necessary to the sale of lands or houses. A second interesting point was their manner of inheritance. There was far greater equality amongst members of the family than in England. In Holland, the father's estate was usually left to all his children equally, so that few could live on their inheritance, but must learn a trade to support themselves. A son might only be disinherited for certain causes approved by the law, and a father might only leave two-thirds of his estate away from his children. Moreover, after their mother's death, the children could compel their father to divide his goods with them, lest he should waste all. Moryson, himself a younger son, is lost in admiration of this plan of equal inheritance, and is never tired of inveighing against the English law of primogeniture, which leaves the eldest son lying sluggishly at home, and thrusts the younger out into wars and foreign travel in a state of penury which (he implies) makes decent behaviour impossible. This injustice alone, he thinks, is enough to account for the bad name which the English have abroad. In 1627, when De Rasieres visited Plymouth, he found that " In the inheritance they place all the children in one degree, only the eldest son has an acknowledgment for his seniority of birth." ^ ' Moryson's "Itinerary," III. II. iv. 97. ^ De Rasieres' letter, quoted in Palfrey i. 227, note. See also " Plymouth Records " (iii. 207, 1C60). ii8 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Not less important was the law respecting the transfer of land. No land in Holland could be bought or mortgaged but by writings before one of the Eschevins (Municipal Officers) and one secretary of the town, who enrolled it in the public registers : after fifteen or sixteen months the title could not be disputed.^ A law was passed in Plymouth to the same effect in 1636, and was later adopted by the Court of Massachusetts and by other States, and the system has done much to give simplicity and security to legal transfers. It is not necessary to press the analogy, or to insist too much on the resemblance between Dutch and American institutions. No one can fail to see that the principle of equality in political and religious matters, which is the basis of American life, their ideas on education and philanthropy, and much of their legal procedure, had some origin other than English, but this belongs to a wider field of inquiry. What one must insist upon is the share of Dutch influence in the broad liberal spirit of the Pilgrims, a spirit which waned sadly after the death of the first generation, and which was overshadowed, almost obscured by the narrower English Puritanism of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims could have found no more beautiful and interesting home than Leyden. It had been an important town ever since the thirteenth century, when the growth of the cloth trade necessitated the first great enlargement of the city. The towns of the Netherlands were the chief market for English wool, and the skill of their weavers made the cloth trade one of their chief sources of wealth. Leyden was famous for its manufactures of woollen cloth and serge, and three times already had the city boundaries been extended, a fourth enlargement being commenced in 1 6 10. With all this growth, the town remained curiously unchanged in its older districts, the new sections forming outer shells or ramparts to the original city. ^ Guicciardini, p. 31, verso. Z 3 SI 5, P 5 ?•■. » A - ~ A ■ ^4 C k LIFE IN LEYDEN 119 About the thirteenth century, too, Leyden became a municipality, and the citizens gradually gained a larger and larger share in self-government. In the sixteenth century it was one of six towns which sent deputies to the Assembly of States to consider taxation. But important as the city had long been, it was the cruel siege by the Spaniards which gave it its final pre- eminence. From October 1573 to March 1574 it was besieged by Valdez, and when his troops were called off to intercept Count Louis of Nassau, the citizens actually neglected to revictual the place. So when, after the defeat of Louis, and the patriots at Mookeheyde, Valdez returned and opened a second siege, their sufferings were terrible. They endured them staunchly, though to famine was added pestilence, and when a few grew fainthearted and reproached the burgomaster Van der Werf, he offered them his body for bread rather than that they should yield. " I can die but once, " he said, " whether by your hands, the enemy's, or by the hand of God. . . . Your menaces move me not ; my life is at your disposal ; here is my sword, plunge it into my breast and divide my flesh among you. Take my body to appease your hunger, but expect no surrender so long as I remain alive." His courage put new heart into the defenders, and they hurled defiance at the Spaniards. " Ye call us rat-eatens," they cried, " and it is true. So long, then, as ye hear dog bark or cat mew within the walls, ye may know that the city holds out, and when all has perished but ourselves, be sure that we will each devour our left arms, retaining, our right to defend our women, our liberty, and our religion against the foreign tyrant."^ When finally the dykes were cut, and at the beginning of October a fleet slowly floated in, relieved the town, and drove off the Spaniards, Leyden was famous for ever. She had proved to the Spaniards the mettle of the men they were fighting against, she had proved to her own countrymen that they 1 Motley, " Dutch Republic," p. S76- 120 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS could defy their powerful enemy with success ; moreover, she had proved that men of different creeds could fight and suffer side by side against a common oppressor, and so the groundwork of a future toleration was laid. A series of pictures in the Leyden town-hall represent the most notable events of the siege. There too, were placed after death, fastened up by the wings, the pigeons which had been sent into the town to announce the coming relief. To commemorate their triumph, an annual fair was established lasting ten days. It was the event of the year in Leyden ; on October 3rd the bells pealed, the civic guard marched through the city, armed and in gala dress, a solemn review took place, then the corporation chose their magistrates for the year, and a great banquet was held. It was a general holiday, because, as Moryson says, "that day Leyden was besegged by the Spaniards, in memory whereof they have publike playes, poorely representing the Actions and Crueltyes of that siege." ^ Moryson, coming from Shakespeare's England, is always scornful of the dramatic efforts of the Dutch. But the real reward which Leyden received for her service to the States, was the establishment of the University. She chose it in preference to exemption from taxation, and it was founded by Charter in 1575, established first in the cloister of St Barbe, and then transferred to the chapel of the Jacobins, and endowed with property formerly belonging to the Roman Catholic churches. By a pohte fiction, the charter was supposed to be granted by Philip of Spain " after ripely deliberating with our dear cousin, William, Prince of Orange," and he was thus represented as founding a University to reward Leyden for rebellion against himself. The object was by no means only to do honour to Leyden. There had been very famous Dutch scholars, and some of the world's most valuable inventions are '■ " Shakespeare's Europe," 376, LIFE IN LEYDEN 121 due to them,^ but so far they had had no university of their own, but had depended on the Roman Catholic Universities of Flanders. Now they were cut off from these by their difference in religion. Even had they wished it, they could no longer safely attend them ; the eldest son of the Prince of Orange, who was a student at Louvain, was carried off by the Spaniards during the war, and kept prisoner in Spain for twenty years.^ It was felt necessary to have some University of their own, where Protestant clergy and scholars could be trained. The University of Leyden was under the general control of William of Orange, its real founder, and he had power to name the Rector. Later, this duty devolved upon the States, who also paid the stipends and elected the three curators who, together with four burgomasters, controlled the officers and support of the University. Its establish- ment filled such a crying need, and it was conducted on such liberal lines, that some of the greatest men of the day were at once associated with it ; such men as Junius, Justus Lipsius, Scaliger, Vossius, Hugo, Grotius, Spinoza, Cheverius and Peter Paaw. There were Professors in divinity, medicine (including anatomy, chemistry,' and botany), classics, civil law, logic, mathematics, and oriental languages, their stipends varying from 200 guldens to 1200, the highest being paid to Francis Junius, professor of divinity. In addition to this, all professors had houses allotted to them by the States, save two, who had in- stead the rent of some lands. The divines disputed twice a week, other professors occasionally, not on set days, but each in his special auditory. As the authorities were extremely broad-minded in their appointments, and in- troduced men of very varying shades of belief, these disputes were sometimes heated. Gomar and Arminus were joint-professors of theology when the Pilgrims first arrived in Leyden, and all through their stay fierce ' See Guicciardini and Motley, iv. 569-71. " Fynes Moryson, "Itinerary," III. IV. vi. 279. 122 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS warfare was going on between the representatives of different schools of thought, Arminians and Calvinists, Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants. At the time of Moryson's visit (1598), there were about four hundred students in the University; he talks of seeing the " Professors and Studients, partly in gownes, partly in Cloakes, all wearing hatts (for I never sawe any cornered Capps worne by Graduates in any University be- yonde the Seas)." As time went on, they had many foreign students, English especially, and never so many perhaps as in the eighteenth century, when the religious tests at the English Universities closed their doors to all dissenters. Besides the University proper, a special college of theology was founded in Leyden in 1591 for divinity students. It was in the convent of the " Cell-brothers," and admitted two students from each city, who were supported by scholarships from these cities. It is this college which Moryson refers to, when he speaks of some poor scholars maintained in a ruinous college, each having only Thirty Flemish pounds yearly, and being given only six years to take their degrees ; but in spite of his scorn, this college had some very famous professors, and it met the needs of those unable to afford the cost of education at the University. So henceforth, Leyden was not only important for commerce, but also for learning, and the population grew by leaps and bounds. The students lived for the most part in the houses of the citizens, and the burghers with whom they lived shared in the privileges which the University gave to her members, so the two elements of manufacturing and student life could never have been very distinct and separate, much less antagonistic. Besides the interest and variety of its life, Leyden had great natural beauties. Polyander, a member of the University in 1610, thought it the loveliest city in the world, and all contemporaries admire it. Moryson speaks of it as a city of much beauty, with houses fairly > H « '.A > !5 K O P" H Q O W LIFE IN LEYDEN 123 built and uniform ; and one street much fairer than the rest, in the midst of which was a piece of ground railed in, where the merchants used to meet. The imposing buildings, the spacious streets and squares, all gave an idea of prosperity and order, and the city regulations show how much importance was given to the care of the town. If a cry of fire were raised, the owner of the house had to pay six guldens as the penalty of his care- lessness ; a night watch paraded the streets to guard against accident or evildoing ; and each time the clock struck, a trumpet in the steeple assured the citizens that they might sleep again securely, for all was well. Another writer^ calls Leyden the neatest and cleanest of all Dutch towns. As the Rhine water surrounded much of the city, and passed through it in many streams, shaded by limes, poplars, and willows, small canals making almost every house accessible by water, the moist atmosphere compelled the inhabitants to be very careful lest the air should become unwholesome. This was the more necessary, because about Leyden the waters were not easily renewed, and were, as Moryson says of those at Haarlem, subject to stinking. Haarlem Meer, the great lake of fresh water, refreshed the town, and helped to renew the canals, and so Leyden long refused consent to the draining of this inland sea. The general moisture compelled them to have very well-paved streets, and to make long causeways between towns, and so careful were they of these, that at the gates of Leyden the men dismounted from their waggons, and only women might be carried into the city, lest the wheels of the loaded waggons should break the brick pavements of the streets.^ Much of their traffic was, of course, done by boat, and at a set hour every day boats passed from Leyden to all the next cities. Probably the Pilgrims made all their journey from Amsterdam by water, along the Haarlem canal to the entrar.:e of Haarlem Meer, where their boats 1 Harl. Misc. ii. 598. ^ Moryson's " Itinerary," I. I. iv. 45. 124 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS would have to be lifted by force of hands over the dam into the lake. Then, after travelling about five miles along its waters they would pass through one canal after another into one of the channels of the Rhine, and so to Leyden. It was a privilege granted to the people of Haarlem that all boats should be lifted by hand over the dam, so that heavy freights could not go that way, and the merchants, travelling by land, might be forced to pass through their town. Not splendour, but comfort, and comfort widely diffused, was the keynote of Dutch life. The houses were as well kept within as without, and ornamented with shining vessels of brass and copper. The house linen was a marvel of purity and fineness, and bed was a luxury, though hard to attain, for it was generally like a berth on board ship ; high enough up to need a ladder or stairs, and walled in with wainscot. As for the dress of the people, the men wore modest attire suited to their rank as merchants, without much lace or ornament. Generally they had short cloaks of English cloth, with one small lace to cover the seams, and a narrow facing of silk or velvet. Their doublets were made close to the body, their breeches were long and fastened under the knees, and made mostly of cloth or thin stuff, occasionally of silk or velvet. The women were beginning to imitate the English and French fashions, both married and unmarried covered their heads with a coif of fine Holland linen ; they wore gowns of some light stuff, mostly black, with little or no lace, and small but fine neck ruffs. All their linen indeed was of the finest. When going out, the women put on a veil over their heads hanging down behind, below the waist, with a kind of horn rising over the forehead. Most foreign observers seemed to think that their mode of dress disfigured their natural beauty, especially the custom of wearing earwires, which pinched in the cheeks and gave a curious appearance to the face. According LIFE IN LEYDEN 125 to one " Unless it be themselves, they let none of God's creatures lose anything of their natural beauty." For their diet, Moryson tells us, that butter was the first and last dish at table. "Men of butter," Alva had called them in derision. On their frequent journeys by boat from town to town, they would carry with them cheese and boxes of butter for their food. They lived well though simply ; all, even the servants, had four meals in the day, but two of them were of butter and cheese only. They also fed much upon roots, and used fresh meats almost entirely, keeping salted food only to pro voke drinking. It was, indeed, due to the extensive cultivation of winter roots by the Dutch, and the possi- bility through this of keeping cattle alive through the winter, that scurvy and leprosy ceased to be the awful and unavoidable scourges they had formerly been. Life in Leyden was simple enough, but gay, and perhaps too free to suit an ultra-Puritan conscience. The people were by no means ostentatiously religious ; there were three Reformed Churches in Leyden, but Moryson did not consider it at all a religious city, observing that at the time of divine service there were far more people in the market-place than in the church. But their re- ligion was of a practical kind, not kept for Sunday, or for church; their moral standard was high, and their commercial integrity a byword. " They will not," writes Moryson "cozen a chylde or a stranger in changing a peace of gold, nor in the price or quality of thinges they buy." 1 He thought them hard to persuade, and seldom deceived, for they trusted nobody, paid no compliments, and expected none. They were indeed not much given to observances of any kind. Holland in general had few ceremonies, shows or feasts At the opening of the University, Leyden per- mitted herself a dignified and classic pageant. Follow- ing the burgher Militia and five companies of infantry, ' Shakespeare's " Europe," 369. 126 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS came a female figure representing the Holy Gospel, clad in snowy garments, on a triumphal car, attended by the four Evangelists. Then came Justice riding blindfold upon a unicorn, with four learned doctors of classic times in her train. Then the goddess of medicine on horseback, with four ancient physicians, and finally Minerva, with Aristotle, Cicero, Plato, and Virgil, fully attended. After these came the city band, the officers of the town and University, and the body of the citizens, and when the procession reached the Nuns' Bridge, Apollo and the nine muses floated down the Rhine, stepped from their barge, and greeted each Professor in turn with a kiss. There were certain ceremonies, too, when new doctors were admitted to the University, and at the annual fair there was amusement of a less dignified kind, mountebanks and players, and general festivity. But the chief rejoic- ings were at the time of a wedding. Most of the people were betrothed or married very young ; sometimes the betrothal was a long one, and great liberty was allowed to the betrothed pair. Often a girl would go for long voyages with her sailor lover, and where the master of the ship was a wooer, a garland of roses would be hung from the top of the main mast. At the time Moryson was in Holland (1598), marriage was solemnized in church, though somewhat privately, but within ten years it had become almost entirely a civil ceremony, taking place before the magistrates. The wedding festivities lasted for several days, and friends of all ages were entertained. For two or three evenings, friends and strangers came in to dance ; the elders went to bed, and the young men and maids " danced all night and at the twilight in the morning they danced about some of the next streets, and so taking theire leaves went home." Such were the surroundings to which the Pilgrims came in May 1609, and amongst which they were to make their home for almost a dozen years. We know little as to how far they joined in the everyday life of Leyden and LIFE IN LEYDEN 127 adopted its customs. Probably from the reasons given for their iinal departure, they tried to live a life of their own in religious and social matters, but in the two main occupations of the town, its commerce, and its student life, they certainly shared; in the first, through their necessities, in the second, through the tastes of some of their number, and on account of the privileges which membership of the University conferred. Many became citizens for business purposes, for only a citizen could gain admittance into the trade guilds. Many became members of the University, which gave them, besides literary opportunities, immunity from the jurisdiction of the city police, from the billeting of soldiers and military duties and levies, besides obtaining them a fixed amount of wine and beer free of duty. This last was a considera- tion ; it was held to be a great hardship to drink water in those days, and-probably was, and except at Middelburg, the staple for French wines, and Dort, the staple for Rhenish, the impost was as great as the price of the wine. But these admissions came later ; the first necessity on arriving in the city was to be housed, and to find some employment which would bring them daily bread, and neither of these things was easy. Leyden was full to over- flowing, as the need for enlargement in 1610 proved ; some may have found shelter in the small houses often built on convent ground, which would now be in the hands of the State ; some may even have gone to the numerous hospitals founded by the charity of the Dutch in every city for the sick, poor and aged of their own and other nations. The fact that many families are known to have changed their dwellings very soon, shows that their first abodes were often temporary and unsatisfactory ; Brewster for instance, lived first in a street with the unpleasant name of Stinksteeg, there he lost a child, and quickly moved to a better house in St Ursula's Lane, and finally to Choir Alley near to St Peter's Church. Gradually most of the people collected in the neighbourhood of St 128 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Peter's, which was near to the University, and on the whole the best part of the town. As to their work, they were forced to be content with very humble trades. The records of marriage usually give the employment of each of the people contracting or witnessing, and most of the trades mentioned are unskilled. They were poor, few of them had experience in anything but agriculture, in which they would be entirely outclassed by the Dutch, and Leyden gave less scope for untrained work than did a seaport town like Amsterdam, which must have afforded plenty of miscellaneous employment. Many of them became say or serge weavers, wool-combers and carders ; the record of the marriage of William Bradford with Dorothy May in 1 6 1 3 calls him a fustian worker. Brewster set up a printing press, of which we shall hear more later, and Winslow probably helped him. Some few became merchants, some made bombazine, and some made hats. There are twenty-two sets of records in Leyden in which traces of the Pilgrims may be found ; but the names are often indistinct and ill-spelt, and it is difficult to be sure of the identity. Chief amongst these records are those of betrothal, marriage, and burial, of people to be taxed, tenants and property owners, of admissions to citizenship and to the University, and of the doings of the Court. None of the notices found can be without interest to those who trace their descent from members of the Leyden Church, but the one of the greatest general interest is the record of the purchase of Robinson's house in Bell Alley in 161 1. Where he lived, and where the church assembled before this time, is quite unknown. They did not apply on arrival (as did the Presbyterian Church under Durie) for a place of worship, either because they were too poor to bear the necessary charges, or because they feared to make any demands, and courted peace in obscurity. The " house of the Green Door," as the new purchase was called, had a garden, and a large piece of ground LIFE IN LEYDEN 129 adjoining, and was nearly opposite the belfry of St Peter's Church. It was bought in the names of John Robinson, William Jepson, Henry Wood, and Ralph Tickens (brother-in-law to Robinson), and the price paid was equivalent to ;£^I400 then, £sSo being paid down, and the remainder to be paid in annual instalments of £8^, los. The seller reserved to himself the room over the door, which seems generally to have belonged to the master of the house, for an English traveller a few years later writes, " It is sure his fear that renders him suspicious ; that he may therefore certainly see who enters, you shall ever find his window over his door." In the house of the Green Door Robinson lived. Winslow says that before the departure for America " they, I say, that stayed at Leyden feasted us that were to goe, at our Pastor's house being large." ^ Apparently Robinson and his family were the sole occupants of it, and the share borne in the charge by the three other men makes it seem likely that it was a church investment. The house was probably enlarged and used as a meeting-house, or possibly a separate chapel was built, and the size of the piece of land would permit not only of such enlargement, but also of the building of some smaller houses and workshops for the use of other members of the church. After Robinson's death, Jepson bought out the interest of the others, and the house was pulled down and rebuilt in 1683. A tablet has been placed on the present building to mark the site of the labours of John Robinson and his fellows, the sole land- mark of their life in the city. Though poor and humble, the Pilgrims had a good character in Leyden, they were trusted by all, and the magistrates recognized them as law abiding citizens. They had many valuable additions to their number, so many in fact that the personnel of the church from which the Mayflower passengers were drawn, was probably very different from that of the Scrooby church. Some of the ' Hypocrisie Unmasked, p. 90. 9 I30 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS men who were to be the backbone of the new colony joined them during these years in Leyden. Edward Winslow, a native of Droitwich in England, was travelling on the continent, and learning something of the Leyden church, was so attracted by it that he joined it about 1617. He went with the colonists to America, was governor for several years, and being a literary man, is, after Bradford, the chief source of our information about their early life there. He is the only one among the Pilgrims of whom any portrait is known to exist ; and the only one who attained any eminence outside the colony, for much of his later life was spent in England. He conducted many of the negotiations between Plymouth and the English government, not always unscathed, for in 1635, whilst on a mission to England, he was imprisoned on the charge of having taught in church, although a layman, and of having married people in his capacity of magistrate. He was always foremost in any dealings with the Indians, and in 1649 founded a corporation for propagating the gospel among the Indians of New England, probably the earliest of English foreign missions. Under Cromwell he held several important appointments abroad, and died at sea in 1655. Miles Standish was another who cast in his lot with the Pilgrims at this time, though he never joined their church. Born at Duxbury Hall in Lancashire, of good family, he was in some way deprived of his inheritance, and became a soldier of fortune in the Netherlands. His name will always be associated with the romantic story of his court- ship of Priscilla Mullins, but it is a prosaic fact that, in spite of its unsuccess, he was twice married. His kind heart and fiery temper, his absolute intrepidity and un- bounded resource, make his name stand out in all accounts of their life in America. The Dutch army had been reorganized by Prince Maurice on democratic principles ; rank was given according to merit, not birth ; the pay was high and regular, the discipline of the strictest, and Standish probably learnt military lessons from it, as did LIFE IN LEYDEN 131 Cromwell's future leaders. He was not only an excellent military leader, but prominent in the government of the colony, and acted as governor's assistant for nineteen years. In 1631, when the colony grew and scattered, he settled on Captain's Hill in Duxbury, named after his birthplace, and there he died in 1656. Amongst others who probably joined the church in Leyden, were Samuel Fuller, a physician of London, who became deacon both there and at Plymouth, and was one of the chief men of the colony ; John Carver, also a deacon in Leyden and the first governor of Plymouth; Robert Cushman, who, with Carver, made most of the arrangements for their voyage ; Isaac Allerton, who married Brewster's daughter Fear ; and was the commercial agent of the colony, until he proved untrustworthy ; and many others of lesser importance. It may be thought that the Pilgrims lived so obscurely in Leyden, so aloof from the life around them, that they could not have been influenced by it so deeply as had been represented. This may be true of some, though they probably learnt more than they knew. But the new colony, mere handful as it was, would be moulded by the ideas of its chief men ; its leaders were men of parts, able to profit by experience, to discriminate between good and bad precedent, and the share they had taken in Dutch life was not really so small: Robinson disputing with divines and studying their views ; Brewster teaching English to " Great men's sons " and learning from them ideas of government and policy unknown in England ; Standish serving in the Dutch army, observing its discipline and efficiency ; others, in the university and in commerce, were each fitting themselves to transmit to their new home the best and most vital elements of the civilization around them. They did not do it unaided, for direct Dutch influence on America was not wanting, but they did their share, and not only America, but England through America, has felt its lasting power. CHAPTER VII THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN THESE years in Leyden, important as they were in affecting the social and political future of New England and America, had an influence just as great, and much more immediate, on the history of Congregationalism. The free churches were, so to speak, in the making; the process of differentiation amongst the Separatists, begun with such unhappy quarrels at Amsterdam, was still going on ; and in Leyden, where the church was neither persecuted nor bewildered by too much variety of opinion, the main principles of congrega- tional rule were established. So far as we know, the work was done peaceably ; there seem to have been none of the quarrels and recriminations there that had caused such scandal in Amsterdam. Difficulties arose, as they must in all human societies, but they vanished before Robinson's judgment and charity. " And if at any time," wrote Bradford, " any differences arose or offences broak out (as it cannot be but some time ther will, even among the best of men), they were ever so mete with and nipt in the head betimes, or otherwise so well composed ; as still love, peace, and communion were continued ; Or els the Church purged of those that were yncurable and yncor- rigible ; when after which patience used, no other means would serve ; which seldom came to pass." ^ After the troubles and disasters of the earlier churches, it is a relief to come upon this happier history, and there is no doubt that the peace and kindliness in the church, ' Bradford MS. p. 13. THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 133 on which both Winslow and Robinson are eloquent, was very largely the work of the latter. As Brewster had been the central figure at Scrooby, as Bradford was to be the leader in the early days in America, so John Robinson was the very soul of the life in Leyden, and his influence impressed itself not only on the men he knew, but on generations to come. The churches of the Separation in their earliest days depended on the pastor for more than ordinary teaching and guidance ; he held the reins, whatever the theory of rule might be, and he must hold them tightly lest his people should be scattered, and fail to tread out a straight path for themselves. They had to work out now the same problem that had faced the Church of England fifty years before, the finding and keeping of a new rule where the old one had been abandoned. It was a hard task, and probably nothing but the character and personal influence of Robinson saved his church from a fate like that of the earlier ones. Browne, Johnson, and Smyth, men with great qualifications and real religious aspiration, had each made shipwreck of his cause. There were indeed other men of great power in the Leyden church, but the piety and learning of Harrison, the saint- liness and moderation of Ainsworth, the staunchness and affection of Smyth's followers, had availed little when their pastor's judgment was at fault. To Robinson, there- fore, must be given all honour for the happier lot of the Pilgrim Church, and his people were the first to acknow- ledge their debt to him. The importance of the character of the Leyden church, and the development of its religious views was very great. Congregationalism, in fact the free church system altogether, was on its trial, and the respect won by the church among the citizens of Leyden, the reputation gained by John Robinson amongst scholars and divines, established its credit once and for all. It was by no means a barren credit either. The good name of the church decided the kind of recruits likely to be attracted 134 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS by it. It has already been noticed, that many of those who were afterwards to be leaders, joined the Pilgrims in Leyden. Such men as Winslow, Carver and Cushman, did not cast in their lot with these poor people for any worldly advantage, in fact we hear that the hardships of their life frightened many away. It was the sanity of their religious views, and the goodness of their lives, that gained them such valuable support, and so caused New Plymouth to be peopled by a picked body of men. The Leyden church too had other friends, men who later influenced the religious thought of England, and the chief of these was perhaps Henry Jacob. Being sent to argue with Francis Johnson in prison, he had himself been converted to Separatism, and taking refuge at Middelburg, had long corresponded with John Robinson on church matters. In 1609 he came to live in Leyden ; and in 1616, moved perhaps by the picture Helwys had drawn of the neglected people in England, and the cowardice of the Separatists who fled from persecution, instead of ministering to them, he returned to London, collected the scattered remnants of Southwark congregation, and established the first permanent Independent church in England. Thus the principles of the Leyden church were transferred, with little modification, to England and America, and practically decided the form of Congrega- tionalism in both countries. The history of the growth of thought in the church, the modifications of its position due to practical experience, and the influence of the life around, are of course best studied in the writings of Robinson himself. " Only God," he once wrote, " is not taught by experience," and they show a gradual broadening of principle and a growing liberality, in all matters of government and external policy, together with the most rigid conservatism in doctrine. Like most reformers of his day, whether Church of England, Puritan or Separatist, Robinson was a Calvinist in doctrine, and he never saw any need to modify his THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 135 views on this point. In Calvinism, he saw the greatest possibilities of practical reform, and he was unaffected alike by the Arminian doctrine of freewill, and the Anabaptist doctrines of inner light and personal revelation. All he heard of these ideas in Leyden, seems only to have intensified his views, for his theology became more rigidly Calvinistic as years went on. Arminianism, in particular, had gained much ground in Holland, and many were the discussions of it in the Uni- versity of Leyden, for one of the Professors of Divinity preached for it, and the other against it, and each had a following amongst the students. Robinson listened both to the one and to the other, and gained such a mastery of the subject, that he was asked by John Polyander and the Calvinist preachers of the town, to dispute against Episcopius, the Arminian Professor, who was putting forth his best strength, both in writing and debate. Robinson was unwilling at first, being a stranger, but when it was urged upon him that he alone was able to uphold and defend the truth, he consented, and not only once, but three times, he defeated the great Professor in argument. He had become a member of the University in 161 5, and now its Professors would have willingly given him some preferment out of gratitude, but that they feared to offend the English government. James I. recognized and feared the power of Leyden University; he claimed a very decided right to interfere in their appoint- ments, and had strongly objected to Vorstius, an Arminian Professor, threatening " to forbid all the youth of our subjects to frequent a university that is so infected as Leyden," unless he were removed; and he was not likely to approve of any honour done to one of the hated English Separatists. So long as Arminianism remained only the subject of theological discussion in the schools, the tolerant Dutch were not likely to interfere with it, but unfortunately it became identified with a political party which demanded 136 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS a national church controlled by the state, and a prolonged truce with Spain. The Calvinists, on the other hand, wanted a free church in a free state, and sided with Prince Maurice in favouring war with Spain. The question was a very complicated one, involving not only the relations of Church and State, but the choice between State rights, advocated by John of Barneveldt, and a united Holland. To settle it the Synod of Dort was held in 1618 ; as a result of it the Arminians were declared heretics and schismatics ; Episcopius and many others were banished ; and the Remonstrants, as the Arminian followers of John of Barneveldt were called, were forbidden to hold office in church or university. The verdict was a blot on the Hollanders' reputation for tolerance, but it was aimed at the political, rather than the religious views of the Arminians. Their theological arguments were hardly listened to at the Synod; the deposed ministers were paid and supplied with funds ; many of them were allowed to return within a few years, and other sects, holding identical religious beliefs, were left in peace. As Robinson had sided with the Calvinist party at the University, so he upheld the decrees of the Synod on every point. In a controversy with Murton in 1624, called "A Defence of the Doctrine propounded by the Synod of Dort," he supports its Calvinism unflinchingly on the five points of predestination, election, falling away, free will, and the original state of man. In matters of polity, however, he was far more flexible ; his views on separation show very striking modifications, and all in the direction of tolerance and fraternity. He could not fail to be influenced by the tolerance around him; by the practical demonstration of different forms of church government living side by side in peace. In his earliest treatise, " An answer to a'censorious Epistle," written in reply to Hall and published at Amsterdam in 1608, he defends separation as the first step towards communion with God, and is proud to be a " ringleader " O H O S s ° G y z -g w . p " > g w « THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 137 in so good a thing. He claimed to have separated, not from the ceremonies or the corruptions of the Church, but from the Church itself, since whilst it was so composed and governed, it could never cease to be corrupt, and could not be a true church. It was the system which could permit such corruption, that he objected to. Briefly, his position was this, that the Church of England must be false, because by the nature of its organization it could not be purified, and because its government was un- scriptural. (This consideration, as with Browne, came later than the practical one to Robinson.) From such a church, separation was a duty, first because no Christian could remain in a false church, and also because to remain in communion with corrupt members would constitute connivancy in their sin. From this position, Robinson never definitely receded, but he grew to interpret the meaning of communion much more broadly than at first. In his earliest works he permits of no intercourse what- ever with members of a false church, even if personal relations with Christ could be discerned in them. In 1612, after a controversy with Mr Ames, he allowed communion in private prayer and other exercises with the godly members of the Established Church, but no share must be taken in their church communion, or in any service authorised by the church power and ministry. With the reformed churches of France and Holland, however, he now permitted full communion. Later came a tract " Of the lawfulness of hearing Ministers in the Church of England," which shows a still further advance. He speaks in it of the many in that Church who belong to the true faith, just as he had done himself before separating, and shows that it is useful, and even necessary, to hear their teaching on occasions ; and when his advice was asked by Jacob, he upheld a member of his congregation who had attended Anglican worship. " Men must not," he said, " lose the benefit of that which is good, because it is mingled with what is erroneous." 138 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS By the two distinctions he made, on the one hand between private and church action, and on the other between communion in that which was lawful in church order, and that which was unlawful, Robinson was able to modify greatly the position of the Separatists. In speaking of his private life, Bradford says, " And none did more offend him than those that were close and cleaving to themselves, and retired from the common good ; as also shuch as would be stiffe and rigid in matters of out- ward order, and ynvey against the evils of others, and yet be remisse in themselves, and not so carefull to express a virtuous conversation." ^ The same views guided his conduct in the relations of churches. Others emphasized differences ; he dwelt on likenesses, and found more and more as he grew older. His broad mind and strong sense of proportion led him to ignore surface differences where there was an underlying sameness of principle, and wher- ever his very real convictions permitted it, he aimed not at isolation, but at union and brotherhood. It was not a matter only of temperament, but of policy. Robinson knew that, for his church to gain credit, not only must the personal character of the members be as immaculate as possible, but also the church must establish some satisfactory relations with other reformed churches. He knew perfectly well, and had always admitted that there were scores of excellent men in churches which he considered false ones, and he knew too that if this fact were not recognized and acted upon, first the usefulness, and afterwards the very existence of his church, would be threatened. An entirely isolated position was neither wholesome nor possible for any length of time, and so we hear from Bradford that Robinson always urged communion with the French and Dutch reformed churches, and with the Scotch. With the Church of England, only private communion was allowed ; there could be no official communion, for episcopal government, the liturgy and 1 Bradford MS. p. 13. THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 139 stinted prayers, and the confusion of the corrupt with the worthy in the Lord's Supper, Robinson testified against to _the day of his death. Nevertheless, he allowed none to boast of their separation from the Church of England, and if any new-comers gloried in it, they were reproved and told " That we required no such things at their hands." ^ With regard to the independence of each church, Robinson admitted no ecclesiastical power superior to the congregation. Each congregation, he claimed, had complete powers of self-organization, it could and must call and ordain its own officers. To Synods he allowed no great authority, though he thought them helpful ; but he did allow the interference of lay authority, and never completely severed the functions of Church and State. The magistrates, according to him, could make no law forcing an unholy person to church, or forcing a church to receive him ; union with the true church must be purely voluntary. But he could repress idolatry, and use the civil sword against it ; he could ensure the right preaching of the Gospel in his own domain, and force the people to hear it, and even punish them if they per- sisted in preferring the false to the true church. In short, the magistrate could not compel any man to join the church, but he could punish him for his obstinacy in refusing to do so voluntarily. This narrow view of spiritual liberty, joined with the still narrower views of the Massachusetts Puritans, accounted for many of the mistakes and difficulties in the religious history of New England. Within the church, Robinson's ideas of government were democratic. A church, he thought, could exist without its officers, and whilst they were obviously necessary for orderly government, the elders were to be in no sense " the church." They merely prepared, instead of transacting business in their private consistory; and the people were responsible for their good government ; to give the rule entirely into their hands, he thought, ^ Hypocrisie Unmasked, p. 99. 140 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS would be like enclosing commons on the plea that they were badly kept. The leadership of the elder in the Pilgrim Church was mostly moral and non-official ; his function was to instruct and guide the people into con- currence with his views, and where such a man as Brewster held the position, this became practicable and worked for the general good. Moreover, Robinson acknowledged no merely " governing " elder ; he was to be " apt to teach," and so entirely unlike the Presbyterian elders who were concerned with discipline only. For some time after the Pilgrims reached America, Brewster was more like their pastor than their elder; he conducted all the services of their church, save that Robinson, when con- sulted in 1623, denied his right to administer Sacraments, and they were forced to forego these privileges of the church for many years. Lay preaching was also en- couraged, and came to be a necessary preliminary to a call to office ; but he restricted it to those only who were qualified, thinking that it came "within the compasse but of a few of the multitude," two or three perhaps in each church. If his views on the eldership were Brownist, Robinson was very much at one with Barrow on the subject of Baptism. He saw no necessity, as Smyth and the Anabaptists did, for repudiating baptism, even when administered by a false church. Such a false order could not vitiate the sacrament itself; by faith and the spirit it was sanctified to those who received it rightly. It was a covenant between God and man, originated in a true church, and unimpaired by any later intervention of false orders ; a covenant, too, which comprehended the children of the righteous in their fathers as branches in the roots. He agreed with Barrow, too, that the ceremonies of marriage and burial, being common to all men, whether christian or heathen, were no part of the services of the church, and should be performed not by the pastor, but by a civil magistrate. THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 141 Hardly less interesting than the controversial side of Robinson's writings, is the light which they throw on his personal character. His " Observations Divine and Moral," possibly the abstracts of the many sermons preached to his people, show a man eminently practical in all that he thought and did, a man to whom a merely intellectual view of religion would be impossible. Re- ligion to him was " the secret relationship which the soul bears to God," a relationship which must mould the entire life of a man, and find expression in everything he did. " We must take heed," he wrote, " of a shadowish love of goodness and piety only in the abstract, and must love it in the concrete." And again, " God is not partial, as men are ; nor regards that church and chamber religion towards Him, which is not accompanied in the house and streets with loving kindness and mercy and all goodness towards men." To such a man the, position of condemnation into which his Separatism forced him, could not fail to be painful, and indeed the suspicion of schism was one of the sorrows of his life. He saw all its evils, the harm done by leaving a former course of religion lightly, the danger of religious disputes, however necessary, the fear lest men should be driven to wish their adversaries worse than they were, that they might be the more justified. But if his people had been forced as a church to condemn others, he gave them no encouragement to do so in private life, constantly urging charity, kindliness towards everyone, and patience with the evil-doer. The cord of friendship with such a one would be rather untwined than broken, in sorrow rather than in anger, and a disposition always shown to resume the friendship. His was a serious turn of mind, seeing little purpose in mirth, possessed of a passion for truth and sincerity which made him suspicious of flattery or flowery speech. Such words seemed to him mere wantonness ; " As a woman over curiously trimmed is to be suspected, so is a speech." 142 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS But though serious, he was very far from being morbid or gloomy, never exalting self-sacrifice for its own sake, never making a bugbear of conscience. A large con- science he thought good, but an over-large use of conscience was not ; crosses were not to be desired simply because they were natural evils, for by no means all the crosses which Christians took up were really the crosses of Christ. He was still further from any tinge of fanaticism, or any blind belief in prayer without effort, marvelling that men should neglect the help of physicians in illness, trusting to God's special help ; and saying that " For us to ask anything at the hands of the Lord which withal we do not offer ourselves ready instruments to effect and bring to pass, is to tempt God's power and to abuse his goodness." Nor was he superstitious. The belief in witchcraft, responsible for so much cruelty elsewhere, had no hold amongst the Dutch, nor amongst the Leyden church, and not until the death of Bradford and the early settlers were any witches put to death in Plymouth. None of Robinson's utterances, however, are more expressive of his moderation, sound sense, and charity, than his farewell address to those leaving for America, and his letter sent after them to Southampton. A sketch of the farewell address was preserved by Winslow in his account of the Leyden church ; in it, he exhorted all to follow him no farther than he followed Christ, and to be ready for any truth and light which should break forth out of the Holy Word. For that here was more light to come he was convinced. He begged his people to shake off the name of Brownist, and lamented the rigid- ness of Lutheranism, and Calvinism, whose followers would move not one step further than Luther and Calvin had done. Bradford says in his " Dialogue " that " the Devil getteth great advantage by names amongst Christians," and evidently Robinson had the same feeling, and dreaded a form of religion which should take its name and characteristics from one man, however good, THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 143 feeling that it would thereby become cramped and in- capable of growth. He begged his flock to study union, rather than division ; and to close as far as possible with the non-conforming Puritans of the English Church, prophesy- ing that there would be little difference between them when they came to the practice of the Ordinances out of the Kingdom, which indeed proved true. Amongst these, he thought that they might find a pastor, and they were not to hesitate out of loyalty to him, for a flock with two Shepherds "is not indangered, but secured by it." Controversy has raged round the command to receive more light. It has been taken on the one hand to imply a certain vagueness and indecision in Robinson's theo- logical views, and has been used as ground of justification for many departures from the original creed. Others read a different meaning into the words, and take them to refer, not to the dogma of the church, but to its polity, and this is far more consistent with what we know of the speaker. He never showed signs of wavering from the theology of Calvin, but the form of church government was to him, in the first place, a matter of practical expediency, and it could be modified to suit the time and circumstance. It would be in keeping with his character to sacrifice the letter to the spirit, and to throw down the training walls when the river had worn out a safe channel for itself The letter of farewell to Southampton is full of sound sense and practical advice. He urged his people to peace with God and man, for they were coming amongst unknown dangers and perils. They must be careful neither to give or take offence readily, for they would have great provocation to it through circumstances ; and they must be more than usually thoughtful for the common good, and wise in choosing their leaders and obeying them. That this advice, and the teaching that had gone before it, bore good fruit, no one who reads an account of the early years of the settlement can doubt. Of Robinson's private life very little is known. He 144 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS moved into the Bell Alley house in May 1612, and in 1622 was living there with his wife (Bridget White), six children and a maid-servant. He lost three children during his Hfetime, in 1618, 1621, and 1623, and on March 1st, 1625, he died himself, not of the plague which was then raging, but of a sort of inward ague. His friends were all with him in his short illness ; Roger White wrote full of grief to the Pilgrims in America, " If either prayers, tears, or means would have saved his life, he had not gone hence," and much as he had been loved in his lifetime, not until he died did they realise how irreparable was their loss. He was buried in a humble grave at St Peters, the small sum of nine florins giving a right to it only for seven years, when all bodies were removed. Most of the graves so rented, just below the pavement, were tenanted by very lowly artisans, journeymen, and weavers, and the church must indeed have been poor which could afford no better burying place for its beloved pastor. But the University and Ministers of the City did all honour to him who was to rest there, and followed him to the grave with all their accustomed ceremonies, bewailing the loss not only to his own church, but saying " That all the churches of Christ sustained a loss by the death of that worthy Instrument of the Gospel." He was a man for whom even his adversaries had a good word ; slanderer Lawne respects his judgment and honesty : Baillie calls him " the most learned, polished and modest spirit" that ever separated from the Church of England." ^ His widow and children went to New England in 1629. It had been the great hope of his church, both in Holland and America, that they might be united once more under their pastor's rule, but it was not to be. Robinson never saw the triumph of the men he had trained, he shared all their trials, and died before success came. As he himself wrote, " Religion is not always sown and reaped in " one age. One soweth and another reapeth." ^ 1 Dissuasive, p. 1 7- ^ Works, ii. 66. THE CHURCH IN LEYDEN 145 At his death the Leyden church stood out clearly distinct from the other churches of the separation. It advo- cated a milder form of separatism than that of Browne and Barrow, a semi-separatism which Baillie calls " a fair bridge, at least a fair arch of a bridge, for union." It acknow- ledged a limited power of the magistrate in ecclesiastical matters, and claimed the right to flee from persecution, and so differed from the followers of Helwys and Murton, whose views on these two points were derived from the Anabaptists, and were curiously similar to those later held by the Quakers. It differed, too, from them and from Smyth on the subject of Baptism, for it denied the necessity of rebaptism, and administered the rite to all infants who were the seed of the faithful. Finally, it diff'ered from the Ancient Church in its popular view of church government, and in its insistence on a teaching, and not merely a governing, eldership. In America, this position underwent certain modifications largely through the influence of Massachusetts. The confusion of the functions of Church and State grew until the church ruled the state ; the whole power of the church came to be embodied in its officers, often in the pastor alone, condi- tions of church membership became so strict that the "Half way covenant" (1662) was devised to procure baptism for the children of good and orthodox people, who yet could not obtain full church privileges, and these changes led to laxity and decay in religious life. Every remedy tried was in the direction of Presbyterianism ; the power of church officers, the authority of Synods, were exalted until all the churches, even that of Plymouth, lost for a time their true congregational and democratic character. But the work of John Wise and Nathaniel Emmons restored them to their old position, and modern Congregationalism still owes its main features to the work of the church in Leyden, and John Robinson. CHAPTER VIII THE PILGRIM PRESS THERE was one weapon of democracy which the Separatists had learned to value long before they went to Holland, namely, a free press. Perhaps we appreciate this advantage rather reluctantly nowadays, when its abuses are so glaring, and its good work taken as a matter of course, but according to all authorities, it has done more to secure freedom and justice than any other single agent. The very efforts made to strangle it were a testimonial ; as an organ of public opinion it was a thing impossible, save in a free country, free both in politics and religion, and Elizabeth, always quick to see where things were leading to, recognized this from the first. In England, where education was confined to a very small class, comparatively few books were issued in the early years of printing, and these for the most part were aristocratic in nature ; but so soon as the Reformation movement began to take hold, and its tendency to make people think for themselves was perceived, the press was placed under censorship. Elizabeth did not approve of people thinking for themselves, and if any of her subjects had acquired the bad habit, she was determined that the outcome of their thoughts should have as little influence as possible. Censorship of the press had in pre-Reformation days belonged to the Church ; afterwards it became part of the prerogative of the Crown. A monopoly of printing was granted to the Stationers' Company; presses were 146 THE PILGRIM PRESS 147 allowed only in London, Edinburgh and Dublin, and at each of the Universities, and even there, the number of them was strictly limited. By the injuctions of 1559, all publications were to be licensed either by the Queen, or by six of the Privy Council, the Archbishops, the Bishop of London, the Chancellors of the Universities, or the Bishop and Archdeacon of the place at which they were printed. In 1576 the Stationers' Company was ordered to make a weekly search to prevent the printing of any unlicensed books, and the control of the press was at this time largely in their hands. But with all their precautions, many books of which Elizabeth strongly disapproved, saw the light of day ; the very number of her proclamations against the publishing of " seditious libels," show that they were not very effective ; in June 1583 Bishop Aylmer complained to Burghley of one Thomas, who had issued books under the pretence of being a printer of the University of Cambridge ; ^ and the heavy penalties for possessing a private printing press did not deter some bold spirits. As most of the offending publications were on religious matters, censorship of the press became the affair of the Bishops; in 1584 came a decree of the Star Chamber against unlicensed printing, and two years later, under the influence of Whitgift, a second decree made such publication liable to the severest penalties. Under these decrees Barrow, Greenwood, Penry, and Udall were condemned. It was a question whether the Star Chamber had not exceeded its powers, and Selden, years later, maintained that no just law of England restrained the liberty of the press, but James and Charles feared it as much as Elizabeth had done, and Prynne, Bastwick, Burton and others, suffered under decrees of the same body. The restrictions on the press did not end with the downfall of the Star Chamber, and only in 1695 was direct censorship exchanged for the indirect control of the libel laws. ^ S. P. Dom., June 1583, vol. clxi. no. I. 148 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS What the actual dangers and difficulties of unlicensed printing were, we know from the story of the printing of the Marprelate tracts, which came out at the trial of some of those concerned.^ How the first Martin was printed at Mistress Crane's house at Moulsey, Kingston on Thames, where Waldegrave, a Puritan printer, had a press and a basket or two of letters ; how the implements were fetched from there in a cart to Sir Richard Knightley's house at Fawsley in Northamptonshire, where a second tract was issued ; and how, from there, they were taken in another cart to " The Friary " at Coventry, where a tenant of Sir Richard's hid them and the workmen, until a third and fourth were printed. The search grew hot then, and Waldegrave retired from the business, taking with him the "Dutch letters" or German black letter type, but the press and some letters which remained were taken to Newton Lane, near Manchester, and another printer found, who was hard at work when their lair was surprised, the press and letters seized, and the sheets destroyed. Still the work went on ; the printer escaped, obtained a second lot of letters, and issued the final tracts from a " low parlour " in Mr Weekston's house at Wolston, kept there under the name of " an Embroyderer." Chased from one end of the country to the other, in the utmost danger, one does not know whether to admire the printers most for the pertinacity which managed to produce the tracts, or for the fidelity which kept the name of their author secret. The Marprelate tracts might fairly be open to objection, but even a harmless publication was not easy to procure. In 1607, Sir T. Wilson writing to Sir Thomas Lake, asks for privilege for the printing of certain books, and begs that the bill should "have reference to none but the King's Counsel, for if I have to do with Bishops or others, I shall never have an end." He offers in return for the ^ Harleian MSS., 6849 and 7042, and Arber's introduction to the " Marprelate Controversy." THE PILGRIM PRESS 149 favour, a gratuity of forty or fifty angels "to buy my lady a velvet gown, and a most devoted and thankful heart!"! These restrictions on printing were peculiarly hard on the Separatists. Not only were they personally injured and attacked, but the cause to which they were sacrificing everything was open to every kind of slander and mis- representation, and neither by preaching nor writing had they any chance to defend themselves. As they them- selves complained in a petition to the Queen in iS93i " The followers of Reformation lack liberty to answer in their own cause. If they speak they be silenced ; if they write, they want printers. They be shut up in close prisons ; their hands as it were bound, and then buffeted." Private printing in England was too great a risk, and we should have known very little of the Separatist churches had there been as severe restrictions elsewhere. But in Holland, the press was practically free, the only proviso being that private character and public morals were not to be attacked. So far as their own country was concerned, the Hollanders' plan was quite safe and worked well, for where the government was controlled by the nation, and no form of religion was interfered with, there was no outcry from oppressed people to be feared ; but their printers were far too obliging in printing foreign books, to suit the autocrats of other countries. If pro- vided with some English type, and a manuscript, they would print it off" as a matter of business, no matter what it contained. Protests were made from time to time, and when it was realized that religous exiles from England meant to flood their country with separatist literature, the emigration which had been encouraged before was looked upon in quite a different light. Probably to this was due the hostility which the Pilgrims encountered in their attempt to sail from Boston. As a matter of fact, all the earliest separatist books were 'S. P. Dom., Ap. I2th, 1607, vol. xxxix. ISO A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS printed in Holland; the first thing which every exiled community did on reaching its shores, was to publish some justification or explanation of its conduct, or to rush into wordy warfare with opponents across the Channel. Browne's chief works were printed in Middelburg ; Barrow and Greenwood, as we have seen, sent their manuscripts over to Dort, or to that secret press in Middelburg which Francis Johnson helped to destroy ; at Amsterdam Giles Thorpe, first deacon and then elder in Ainsworth's church, had set up a press of his own, and there printed many important works by Ainsworth, Clyfton, and others, among them probably Robinson's "Justification of separation." And now Leyden was to become another such centre, and to send across the seas some of those literary bombshells so much dreaded by James and his Bishops. The city was very famous for its printing ; the Elzevir press, whose works were within the precincts of the Academy, printed in exquisite form all the theses of the University, and the great books of every country, but so far as we know no English controversial works had been printed in Leyden- When Brewster settled there, like all the rest of the church, he had to earn his living, for although it was the custom in later days for the elder of a church to receive a salary, the Leyden congregation was probably too poor now to support any officer besides the pastor. Bradford tells us that he taught English " and also had means to set up printing, by the help of some freinds ; and so had imployment ynough ; and by reason of many books which would not be alowed to be printed in England, they might have had more than they could doe." From other sources we know more about this printing concern. With Brewster was associated Thomas Brewer, a man of means and position, who had settled in Leyden, and who spent his life in furthering the Puritan cause. Apparently he did not take an active part in the business, but supplied the funds, and on him fell the penalties when THE PILGRIM PRESS 151 King James discovered what was going on. Edward Winslow was possibly in it too, though his name is not mentioned, as in the notice of his marriage at Leyden in 1618 he is described as a printer. No mention is any- where made of a press, and it is possible that they simply set up types, and had them printed off by some Dutch printer in the city. The first books were issued by the firm in the autumn of 1616, and were entirely non-com- mittal ; Thomas Cartwright's '\Commentarii in Proverbia Salomonis," with a preface by Polyander, and Dr William Ames' "Rescriptio Contracta." Unlike the works which followed, these two were marked with Brewster's name, and that of the place where they were printed, but this was dangerous, for the similarity of type led to the identification of other less innocent publica- tions. About a dozen other books, which may with tolerable certainty be ascribed to the Pilgrim Press, were issued in 1617, 1618, and 1619; all strongly Puritan, if not separatist in character. In 1619 the partners brought a hornet's nest about their ears by printing two books of David Calderwood's ; "De regimine Ecclesiae Scoticanse Brevis Relatio, " and " Perth Assembly." At this time, James I. was trying to force Episcopacy down the throats of his Scotch subjects, and they resisted it with an obstinacy equal to his own. The General Assembly, held at Perth in 1618, had nominally accepted the " Five Articles " which James urged upon them, and which enforced certain ceremonies distasteful to the Presbyterian mind, but the people were in reality as far from accepting them, as from accepting the Bishops who nominally ruled over them, and David Calderwood was sure of sympathy when he wrote his version of the " Perth Assembly." But he could not get it printed. There was no chance for it in Great Britain, and finally it was done by Brewster at Leyden, and the copies smuggled over to Scotland in vats as if they had been wine and spirits. The Archbishop of St Andrew's passed them by without 1 52 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS suspicion on the landing-place at Leith, but once they were unpacked, wine and spirits could not have had a more exciting effect. The King and the Bishops were furious ; Calderwood was at once suspected of being the author, and he was hunted from house to house and town to town till finally, financed by the women of Edinburgh, he reached Holland in safety. On Cathkin, a printer of Edinburgh, fell the first suspicion of having published this notorious work, and he was examined and bullied by the King himself; but was set at liberty after three weeks, having proved that he had had no hand in the matter. Naturally enough, they looked next to Holland, and Sir Dudley Carleton, Ambassador to the Hague, was deputed to find the offenders. He at first thought the book had come from Middelburg, and one Richard Schinders of that city was examined, but managed to prove his innocence.^ Then Carleton, having seen so many copies of " Perth Assembly " in Leyden, became suspicious of some press in that city, and when he discovered there Calderwood's earlier book also, and heard that Brewster was the printer, the thing became a certainty. Nothing could have enraged the King more than any help given to the Presbyterians whom he was trying to subdue, and when the Pilgrim Press was found to be the guilty one, a long correspondence took place between Sir Dudley Carleton and Sir Robert Naunton, Secretary of State, who wrote on behalf of the King urging that every effort should be made to bring the partners to justice. It was not altogether a simple matter. The States wanted to stand well with King James, and would probably have been willing to hand over Brewster, the active partner and an insignificant man, if he had really committed an offence against England, but Brewer was a member of the University, entitled to special privileges, and there was some delay in getting permission from the town and ' Carleton Letters, p. 353. THE PILGRIM PRESS 153 University authorities to make a search. Finally it was given, and ofiScers were appointed to examine Brewster's library for any unauthorised works. In an attic in his house in Bell Alley were found the books and printing materials ; the types were seized, the garret door was nailed in two places, the seal of the officer, impressed in green wax over paper, was placed upon the lock and nails, a catalogue was made of the books, and the chamber door where they were found was sealed with the aforesaid seal upon the lock and nails. This was all very well, but what James wanted was the persons of the offenders, and Brewster, the chief of them, had disappeared. They thought they had him in Leyden, but the officer was " a dull drunken fellow, " and took the wrong man. He was heard of in London, in Leyden, in London again ; they searched for him vigorously in both these places, in Leiderdorp and in Amsterdam, but where he spent the year before sailing from Delfshaven in July 1620, is a secret which has been kept up to the present day. He was certainly in London part of the time, arranging for the voyage to America, and was pursued there by the Bishop of London. He had removed his family and belongings from Leyden, and whilst in England his son conformed and went to church.^ An attempt was made to discover Brewster's hiding place by means of an inter- cepted letter from him to his son, but though the messenger was imprisoned he would not reveal it. Brewer was less fortunate ; possibly he relied on the fact that he had been a sleeping partner only, and took fewer precautions. He was examined, and detained in the place assigned for members of the University, and when James understood that Brewster had escaped him, he wanted to have Brewer over in England, that he might examine him, and try to gain some admissions about his partner. There were difficulties about this, as there had been about his imprisonment, for the University was 'S. P. Dom., Aug. 3rd, 1619, vol. ex. no. 7. 1 54 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS jealous of its privileges ; but although it liked to protect its many foreign students, it also liked to be in favour with foreign princes, and a compromise was at last effected. The University got from Brewer a statement that he went of his own free will, and in return. Brewer got from Carleton very exact promises as to the kind of treatment he should receive, and finally he set out ; not as a prisoner, but escorted first by officers of the University, and then from Rotterdam by Sir William Zouche, who was travel- ling that way. They were long delayed at Flushing by a storm, so great " as the streets, in some places, have run with salt water that hath scaled the walls, and in other, it hath made pools and lakes, and kept the people within their own doors " ; and Carleton writes that Sir William had scandalized the Brownists by teaching Brewer to drink healths.^ Not for nearly three weeks did they reach Whitehall, and James was ill-pleased with the delay; still more so with the conditions which made him power- less to injure Brewer by so much as a hair. He turned on his Ambassador, as Elizabeth might have done, but Carleton had never outstepped his authority, and further, he urged that any ill-treatment of Brewer would cause the Leyden University to refuse the King's demands another time. Altogether James got very little satisfac- tion out of the examination, and Brewer was allowed to return. He had escaped this danger, but shortly after Robinson's death he left Leyden for good, and went to live in England, where his separatist principles made him a suspected character. He was imprisoned in 1626 for a denunciation of the prelates, and being released in 1640 under the Long Parliament, lived only about a month to enjoy his freedom. His types and papers remained in the keeping of the Leyden University ; the Pilgrim Press was of course utterly at an end. Moreover, the States, who in 16 18 had made some restrictions on libellous publication within ' Letters, p. 423, THE PILGRIM PRESS 155 their own country, probably as a result of the Arminian disturbances, at the urgent request of Sir Dudley Carleton enlarged the edict in January 1620 to forbid the licentious printing of libels and pamphlets, either in strange languages or their own, extending it to foreigners in amity with the State as well as themselves. So that it became much less easy to have printed in Holland books offensive to the English government. But the work which had been done could not be undone ; the Separatists had spoken, and it was Holland that had helped them to articulate. Here again, the Pilgrims had done their share on behalf of liberty ; here again, it was the conditions of their life in Leyden which helped them to make themselves felt in England, to perpetuate and to carry over to America some of the monuments of their church history. CHAPTER IX THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA AFTER about eight or nine years in Leyden, welcome refuge though it had been, the leaders of the Pilgrim Church began to realize that their settlement there was not satisfactory. No doubt they had hoped that it would be permanent, and had looked forward to a time when they could enjoy some rest from the grinding toil and poverty of the early days, and when they would have assured not only the existence, but the spread and growth of their denomination. Or they may have hoped that exile was only temporary; that a day might soon come when they could go back to England, and live in peace in their own land, amongst their own people. But as the years passed by their hopes grew fainter and fainter ; there was nothing in the state of affairs in Eng- land to encourage them, and meanwhile, evils which they had not foreseen in their present life made themselves felt. They found the life in Holland very hard, and it did not grow much easier with time. Many spent all their means there, and failing to gain a livelihood, were forced to return to England ; others, although they endured hardships bravely, grew old before their time, and threatened to sink under their burdens. The church had grown in numbers, but not so much as had been hoped ; so hard was the life that few would join them from England, and fewer still would stay when they had ex- perienced it. Even the prisons of England, terrible as they were in those days, seemed preferable. 156 THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 157 Perhaps the strongest inducement to change was the thought of their children. It was difficult to educate them in a foreign country ; and they, too, had to take their share of toil ; those who were willing and industrious worked so hard for their parents that their strength was overtaxed, and their health injured with their heavy labours. Whether on account of the change of climate and diet, or the hardness of the life, the death-roll amongst infants and children was very heavy during these years in Holland. Not only did they fear for the health of their children, but for what was even more precious in their eyes, their character. So much licence was allowed to young people among the Dutch, a licence indeed very seldom abused by them, but liable to be entirely misunderstood by people of different traditions. Then, too, the equality amongst members of a family, the different relations between young and old, were quite opposed to the more patriarchal English system, and so the chroniclers, Bradford and Winslow, are much too hard on the Dutch, and speak too strongly of the evil influence of their example. Not but what it may have done harm. Freedom may be harmless enough as a birthright, but dangerous at first to those accustomed to artificial restraints. Moreover, for the children to act in defiance of the accepted standards of their community would give them a sense of outlawry ; conscience would be burdened, and self-respect would be injured almost as much as by actual wrong-doing. Naturally the gaiety and freedom of the young Dutch people appealed to these poor children, who could have so few pleasures in their lives. Some of them left the close toil of the city, and became soldiers and sailors, beyond the reach of the influences which their parents craved for them ; others revolted against the greyness of their lives, and fell into the many temptations which a great city offered, so that there was real fear that posterity would not carry on the high traditions of the Pilgrims. 158 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS The children were " getting ye raines off their neks, and departing from their parents." ^ Dutch Sabbath keeping was also a great trial to them. Most of the Reformed Churches abroad kept Sunday as it had been kept in the Church of Rome, with religious services in the morning, and amusements in the afternoon ; but in England the Puritans had very early demanded stricter rules. In Holland, where the standard of morality and industry had always been high, no one saw anything to object to in innocent amusements on the one holiday of the week ; but Puritanism in England always went to extremes, because it was a protest. English society was so corrupt and frivolous, that a firm stand was perhaps necessary, and though the Puritans were unreasonable in their condemnation of all sports and amusements, there was something to be said on their side, for until they had made changes there was no day of rest in England, work went on, and Parliament sat as usual on every day of the seven- The Pilgrims, too, felt that they could not live happily under a foreign government, however generous. They feared that in time they would lose their native language, and the very name of English, and there was some ground for this fear, for of the very considerable number who remained in Leyden, no subsequent history can be traced, and it has been said that there are not more than three names of families in Leyden now that bear any resemblance to the names of the exiles. Apart from this, their position was bound to be un- satisfactory. A large and growing community, they yet had no real ties with the country in which they lived. To a limited extent they shared in its organizations, but they could feel no identity of interests with them, and they could find no scope for their own powers. They were in fact isolated, and their life was too narrow. Their religious interests held them together, but without those political and social duties which go to make up a 'Bradford MS., p. i6. THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 159 man's life, there was danger that these interests would become exaggerated ; that all their unspent powers would be wasted on petty quarrels and futile arguments, and that the church would be shipwrecked like those of Amsterdam. If they were to preserve their nationality and their religious principles beyond the first generation, they must have more room, a free space in which to grow. And finally, beyond all these personal reasons, and illuminating the gloom and uncertainty of their position, was the great hope they had that they were not living for themselves alone, but to be a beacon to others. They thought it might be their lot to lay the foundations of a great church, and to advance the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in some remote part of the world. This was the hope that cheered them through all their difficulties : this was the great responsibility that decided their conduct towards each other, and towards all with whom they dealt; it forced self-interest into the background, and gave an extraordinary weight and solemnity to all that they did. Their enterprise was, as it were, consecrated from the first, and though they say little about it, it is quite evident that, by the older leaders at least, the idea was never lost sight of. They were grateful to the city which had sheltered them for so long, and anxious to prove that they left it on good terms with all men. Amongst the many reproaches cast upon their church, it was said in later years that the departure for America was on account of their disagreements ; that they could not live peaceably together, and that the Dutch were anxious to get rid of them, and both Bradford and Winslow write to disprove the charge, and to give the true reason for their going. They wanted a place where they might enjoy such liberty of religion as they then had, but under the protection of the King and State of England ; they wanted to show the way to other Englishmen to enlarge the Church of Christ. i6o A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS After first Robinson and Brewster, and then some other chief members of the church had privately discussed and matured this idea of removal, it was made public, and the whole congregation joined in the great discussion. Some were at once in favour of a change, and did their best to arouse enthusiasm for it. But others were daunted by the dangers and difficulties which they saw and guessed at ; they remembered the trials of their voyage to Holland and the early days there ; they feared the longer voyage, the famine and nakedness, the sickness from unaccustomed climate and food, which might await them in a strange and uncivilized land. There, too, they would find no friendly help such as the Dutch had given them ; instead, if they had neighbours at all, they would be fierce inhuman savages, the tales of whose cruelty caused the blood to curdle. And besides these difficulties, and the chance that they might fail, as many other would-be colonists had done, how were they ever to start on this enterprise, since few of them had ever been rich, and those few had lost much of their estates? Not only would the voyage and necessary outfit be quite beyond their means, but they must be sure of reinforcements to be sent after them until they could find food for themselves. Many of these drawbacks were very real ; but finally the enthusiasts carried the day. They admitted the difficulties, though some of them were only conjectural, but they argued that all great actions were attended with great difficulties, and although the scheme would not be easy to carry out, they claimed that it was possible. Again, they were not undertaking it lightly, they had good and honourable reasons for the attempt, and might surely expect a blessing on it. They were poor and in exile, the years of the Truce between Spain and the States were out ; if war began, the persecution of the Spaniards, and the pestilence and famine of an invaded country, might be as hard to endure as the hardships of THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA i6i colonization, and they might then have no chance to escape from them. So, after much argument, it was decided by the majority that a move should be made, and that every effort should be used to make it successful. And now came the great question as to where they should go. From the first, the choice seemed to lie between Guiana and Virginia, both of which places had been much talked and written of in recent years. Sir Walter Raleigh was in Guiana in 1595, the first English- man to visit it, and in 1609 Robert Harcourt with his brother Michael, and a company of adventurers, sailed for its shores, and took possession in the King's name of the land between the Amazon and Dollesquebe rivers. Robert Harcourt stayed only a few days, leaving his brother and the adventurers to colonize the country; he obtained letters patent empowering him to plant and inhabit the land, and the grant was renewed in 161 3 to his heirs, but he never visited it again. Possibly he too had had hopes of founding a home of religious freedom, for he was a recusant. In 161 3 was published a delightful account of his adventures written by himself, and called " A Relation of a Voyage to Guiana," part of which was incorporated by Captain John Smith in his "Travels and Observations." ^ Captain John Smith, the hero of the Pocahontas story, and of many other notable adventures, had intended to join a projected English settlement in Guiana in 1606, but the scheme fell through, and Smith joined the one hundred and five emigrants who set out in 1606 to found Virginia. With this colony his name will always be con- nected ; he was of invaluable service in its early days ; he explored the country and made maps of it, and when he returned to England in 1612, he devoted himself to the encouragement of English colonization, and both by his words and his books urged it on with untiring en- ' See also Hail. Misc. vi. 487. i62 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS thusiasm. Of New England and Virginia he writes : " By that acquaintance I have with them I may call them my children; for they have bin my wife, my hawks, my hounds, my cards, my dice, and in totall my best content, as indififerent to my heart as my left hand to my right." Probably the Pilgrims gained their knowledge of both Guiana and Virginia from his writings ; Brewster's library contained copies of his travels. But the Dutch were also hard at work at colonization. A band of Zealanders was flourishing on the banks of the Essequibo River in 1613, and the Dutch were attempting to form organized settle- ments on the American coast. The attraction about Guiana as a settling-place was its rich and fertile soil, and the warmth which would make the want of sufficient clothing and other comforts less felt. One can imagine that the chill winds of Holland made these poor half-starved people think longingly of the sunshine, the perpetual summer, of a warm climate. Then, too, the Spaniard had not yet planted there, and might be content to leave them alone, having already more land than he could possess. But there were serious risks. The warm and fruitful climate, though it might bring wealth with less toil, might bring disease to bodies unused to tropical heat, and even if they escaped disease, should they prosper and grow rich, the Spaniard would never leave them in peace, but would jealously seize all that they possessed and turn them out. There were drawbacks about Virginia too. If they lived amongst the English there, or so near that they were under their government, they would have no more liberty of religion than they had in England, and on the other hand, if they lived far away from them, they would have no help or protection from them, and would be weak and defenceless. However, some risks had to be taken, and it was finally decided to " live as a distincte Body by themselves, under y= generall gouernment of Virginia ; and by their freinds THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 163 to sue to his majestic that he would be pleased to grant them freedome of Religion." ^ At the beginning of the seventeenth century, the first romance of exploration and discovery was wearing off. These were not the days in which Drake came home loaded with Spanish treasure, and Sir Walter Raleigh sailed up the Orinoco in search of an El Dorado. Not that the importance of newly discovered lands had by any means waned in men's minds ; but it had ceased to appeal to their imaginations only, and, instead, was appeal- ing to their business instincts. They were no longer dazzled by the prospect of fabulous wealth to be had for the asking, but were settling down to a clear-sighted view of how, by diligence and hard work, these discoveries might be turned to account. Anyone who reads first a volume of Elizabethan travel, and then the practical words of Captain John Smith, will appreciate this change of spirit. The usual method of starting a colony, and establishing trade relations, was by forming a Chartered Company. Virginia, since 1606, had been in the hands of two such companies ; the London Virginia Company, to which was given land in America between 34° and 41° North Latitude, and the Plymouth Virginia Company (so called because most of its promoters were West of England men), to which was given land between 30° and 45° North Latitude. These companies had the right to grant patents, subletting portions of land to intending colonists under conditions to be agreed upon between themselves. It was to the London Virginia Company that the Pilgrims determined to apply for a grant of land within their territory, encouraged no doubt by knowing that Brewster's old friend, Sir Edwin Sandys, was one of the Council. Not only, however, would they need a patent from the Virginia Company to settle on their land, but they must 1 Bradford MS., p. l8. 1 64 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS obtain from the King, through the Privy Council, per- mission to worship freely after their own fashion, and to conduct some form of government in the colony ; and also they must, somehow, get financial help to pay for their passage and outfit, and to enable them to establish trade by which they could live. It was in 1617 that the decision to leave Leyden was made, and in the autumn of that year two members of the church were sent over to England to open the three- fold negotiations. These two agents were John Carver and Robert Cushman, both of whom seem to have joined the church during its life in Holland. Carver was ap- parently in Leyden as early as 1609, for there is record that a child of his was buried at St Pancras Church in July of that year. He is also mentioned as being witness at weddings there in 1616, 1617, and 1618. He was a deacon in Robinson's church, and evidently an important member, for besides being trusted with these delicate negotiations, he was made governor of one of the ships for the voyage, and chosen governor of the new colony as soon as they reached Plymouth. Of Cushman, little is known before this time, save that he was a wool-carder, that his home was at Canterbury in England, and that he married in Leyden, as his second wife, Mary Singleton in 1617. With regard to the first point, the obtaining of a patent to colonize. Carver and Cushman made a good beginning. Sir Edwin Sandys befriended them from the first, and they found the Virginia Company very willing to grant them a patent with ample privileges, and to help them in any way possible. Robinson and Brewster received a letter from Sir Edwin Sandys giving them encouraging reports of their business, which was not to be finally settled until the agents had returned to Leyden, and had some conference with the church. They answered this letter, full of gratitude, and put forth some other inducements to convince their friend, as he might well be convinced, that THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 165 they were worthy of his help. They were undertaking the work in the full belief that the Lord was with them, and would prosper it according to the simplicity of their hearts ; they were " well weaned from y' delicate milke of our mother countrie," used to hardship, and patient to overcome it. No more industrious nor frugal people could be found, nor any more careful of each other's interest, through the sacred Bond and Covenant of the Lord. And finally, they were not men to be discouraged by little things, nor daunted in their enterprise by small dis- contents. They knew what life had to promise them, both in England and in Holland ; they knew that they risked all by going away, and that, few as their comforts were, should they fail and be forced to return, they could never hope to regain them, nor indeed to attain to so great ones in any other place. Such brave and modest hopes courted no disappointment, such quiet courage was their best claim to help and support. As to the second point, permission to worship freely in their new home, the agents brought back less cheering news. Robinson had drawn up and sent over by them the following Declaration of Faith and Church polity. It is most skilfully worded, and without yielding any of the essential points of difference, it draws the church as closely as possible into line with the Church of England. " Seven Articles which the Church of Leyden sent to the Council of England to be considered of, in respect of their Judgements : occasioned about their going to Virginia, anno 161 8, (really before November 1617). " I. To the Confession of Faith (39 Articles of 1562) published in the name of the Church of England, and to every Article thereof ; we do (with the Reformed Churches where we live and also elsewhere) assent wholly. " 2. As we do acknowledge the Doctrine of Faith there taught, so do we the fruits and effects of the same Doctrine, to the begetting of saving faith in thousands in the land (of England) Conformists and Reformists, as they are 1 66 A HISTORY OF THK Jfllvlittim rAJ.xaj:ix%o called ; with whom also, as with our brethren, we do desire to keep spiritual communion in peace; and will practice in our parts all lawful things. " 3. The King's Majesty we acknowledge for Supreme Governor in his Dominions in all causes, and over all persons : and that none may decline or appeal from his authority or judgement in any cause whatsoever: but that in all things obedience is due unto him ; either active, if the thing commanded be not against God's Word; or passive if it be, except pardon can be obtained. "4. We judge it lawful for His Majesty to appoint Bishops, Civil Overseers, or Officers in authority under him, in the several Provinces, Dioceses, Congregations, or Parishes, to oversee the Churches, and govern them civilly according to the laws of the land : unto whom they are, in all things, to give an account ; and by them, to be ordered according to godliness. " 5. The authority of the present Bishops in the land, we do acknowledge, so far forth as the same is derived from His Majesty unto them ; and as they proceed in his name : whom we will also therein honour in all things ; and him, in them. " 6. We believe that no Synod, Classes, Convocation, or Assembly of Ecclesiastical Officers hath any power or authority at all, but as the same by the Magistrate given unto them. " 7. Lastly, we desire to give unto all Superiors due honour, to preserve the unity of the Spirit with all that fear God, to have peace with all men what in us lieth, and wherein we err, to be instructed by any. " Subscribed per John Robinson and William Brewster." * This document seems to concede a great deal, but if it is closely examined, the main positions of the Separatists will be found inviolate. No official communion with the Church of England is admitted, only spiritual communion with the righteous of that Church ; no power is recognized 'Arber's "Pilgrim Fatliers," pp. 280-281. in either the King or his magistrates against private conscience, and the power of Bishops and Church officers is not based upon the continuity of their order. Sir Edwin Sandys tried to help them here too, and had persuaded Sir Robert Naunton, one of the chief Secretaries of State, to move the King in favour of them. He represented that they could not live comfortably under the government of another State, and desired to enjoy their liberty of consciepce under the King's protec- tion in America, where they would both advance his Majesty's dominions and the spread of the Gospel. "This, His Majesty said, was a good and honest motion : and asking, what profits might arise in the part wee intended ? (for our eye was upon the most Northern parts of Virginia) 'twas answered ' Fishing.' To which hee replyed, with his ordinary asseveration ' So God have my soule 'tis an honest Trade, 'twas the Apostles owne calling, etc' But afterwards he told Sir Robert Nawnton, (who took all occasions to further it) that we should confer with the Bishops of Canterbury and London etc. Whereupon wee were advised to persist upon his first approbation, and not to entangle ourselves with them." i The church had hoped to have the right of liberty of religion granted to them, and confirmed under the King's broad seal, but all the messengers could obtain was a qualified permission. The King promised that he would connive at them, and would not molest them, if they were peaceable ; but he would not allow or tolerate them by his public authority under his seal. This was a great discouragement. Many felt that they would have been better off" if they had asked no leave at all, than to have been answered thus ; and they were ready to abandon the whole enterprise. But some of the chief men thought that the King meant well by them, although he could not countenance them officially, and on the ^ Winslow, " Hypocrisie Unmasked," p. 90. 1 68 A HISTORY J.XXJL4 X XJ_i\JIA».JLATX X J.i. JL -«. AJLJ^*.!^ other hand, they argued that if harm were intended against them, a seal as broad as the house floor would not protect them, for some means would be found to reverse or evade its privileges, "They must rest herein on God's Providence, as they had done in other things." Early in 1618, letters were sent to Sir John Wolsten- holme, a member of the Privy Council, and of the Virginia Company, further explaining their ecclesiastical position with regard to the ministry, the two Sacraments, and the Oath of Supremacy, and recommending themselves as reasonable Christians, and not sowers of dissension. " Who shall make your ministers ? " Sir John enquired ; and when they answered that the power of making was in the church, this reply put their cause in great danger, but Sabine Staresmore, the man whom Francis Blackwell betrayed into the hands of the Bishops a few months later, and who presented these letters, wrote to them that all was going well. Nothing had been done by the first agents about the third point, the raising of funds for the enterprise. The next messengers sent were Cushman and Brewster ; when they started is not exactly known, but they had certainly been in England some time in May 1619. They went to conclude with the Virginia Company about the patent, and to treat with any merchants who were favourably inclined to advance money for their adventure. Probably they expected that the business of the patent would be very straightforward, as most of the arrangements had been made beforehand ; but when Cushman and Brewster arrived, they found that the London Virginia Company was in such a state of dissension, that nothing could be settled. The Council had split into two factions about the appointment of a Treasurer and Governor, the real discord being one of principle, between royal nomination and popular election. Sir Edwin Sandys led the popular party, and his election by them was disputed by the other faction, and THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 169 meanwhile no business could be done. Cushman wrote that Brewster was ill, and he himself weary of the long delay; their supporters were fast falling away; but finally, on the 19th of June 1619, a patent was granted to them, and confirmed under the Company's seal. By the advice of their friends it was not taken in the name of their own people, but in the name of Master John Whincop, a religious gentleman of the household of the Dowager Countess of Lincoln, who intended to go with them, although, as things fell out, he never did. This patent is not extant ; but it probably embraced a tract of territory near the mouth of the Hudson River, and we have Bradford's word for it that it cost them much in time and money. There now remained only the financial problem. The Pilgrims wanted not only free shipping, but money for their outfit, and trading goods to establish some way of living in the new colony. In this the Virginia Company could not help them, for it was penniless, and, indeed, became bankrupt a few years later (1624).' They had had some offers of help in England, but these friends had cooled off during the long delay ; and now came an offer from some Dutch merchants, who were willing to transport them to the Hudson River, and to provide them with cattle, if they would live under their Govern- ment. From a petition made by the New Netherland Company to the Prince of Orange, in which mention is made of this plan, their object seems to have been to use the Pilgrims in the foundation of a new common- wealth under the Dutch Government, and to forestall any attempts to establish an English colony in the district. Nothing but extreme necessity could have made the Pilgrims listen for a moment to such an offer, since one of their great anxieties was to preserve their nationality, and to live under English government. They did, how- ever, consider it for a time, when fortunately another opportunity came their way. There came to Leyden about this time one Thomas I70 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Weston, a merchant of London, who was to be an im- portant factor in their lives for many years to come. He had known some of them previously, and had befriended them, though in what way is not known ; and he came now to tell them that he and some Merchant Adventurers who were friends of his, and who had taken out a patent from the London Company in the name of John Pierce, would advance money to supplement what the Pilgrims had, and would provide them with shipping and all that was necessary. Articles of agreement were to be drawn up, showing the terms of the contract, to assure his friends that they wovild have some return for their money. Weston's offer was accepted, negotiations with the Dutch were broken off, and the terms with the Adventurers drawn up and agreed to. Captain John Smith says that these Adventurers were about seventy in number, some gentlemen, some merchants, some handicraftsmen ; they adventured small sums or great, according to their condition. They lived mostly about London, and were not a corporation, but joined to- gether voluntarily in a society aiming to do good and to plant religion. A President and Treasurer were elected annually; for ordinary business, the vote of the majority held good, but in weighty affairs all must consent. One cannot help thinking, from their dealings with the Leyden people, that their motives were less purely philanthropic than Smith represents ; they seemed to have talked religion and dragged it in the dust, making it a cloak for both greed and dishonesty. Weston also told them that a patent was to be granted to certain lords for New England, the northerly portion of the land granted to the Plymouth Virginia Company, which was to be distinct from the Virginia Government, and he afterwards advised them to obtain a patent for land there, thinking that the fishing would be more profit- able, and perhaps that they would be less interfered with. They thought of doing so, but as the Council for New THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 171 England did not obtain its charter until November 1620, nothing was actually done, and they sailed under the earlier patent from the London Company. And now they had received their patent from the Virginia Company ; they had gained a qualified permis- sion to carry on their church in America, and they had the promise of financial support from the Adventurers. Carver and Cushman were sent once more to England to receive the funds, and to provide for the shipping and other necessaries, with strict injunctions to depart in no way from the agreement already made. Active prepara- ' tions began in Leyden ; some were appointed to make the necessary arrangements there ; those who were going made ready, sold their property, and put any money they could spare into the common stock. A public and solemn fast was held, and it was resolved that one part of the church should go at first, and the other remain behind ; that the youngest and strongest should go first; that none should go but those that freely offered themselves, and that if the majority went, the pastor should go with them, if not, the elder only. If those who went were forced to return, their brethren should help them ; if they prospered, they should help the others to join them. A small majority determined to remain behind for the present, though all but a very few intended to follow after. One hundred and fifty persons, with Brewster their elder, prepared to go, and it was decided that each part should be an absolute church of themselves, since they might never meet again ; but if they were once more joined together, they should all be accounted members of the same church, without any ceremony of readmission. Meanwhile the preparations did not go altogether smoothly. The money was not easy to raise, for some of those who had promised withdrew altogether, some wanted them to go to Guiana, others to Virginia ; with others again Virginia found so little favour that they would not adventure a penny to send anyone there. The poor 172 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS people in Leyden, who had sold their property, were in great straits, but finally a settlement was made, and the majority of the Adventurers agreed for Virginia. But now came a still greater difficulty. Weston and some of the others insisted on altering the articles of agreement drawn up and agreed to in Leyden, making the conditions much harder for the colonists. The new articles were as follows : — " I. The Adventurers and Planters do agree. That every person that goeth, being aged sixteen years and upwards, be rated at ;£'io, and £io to be accounted a single share. " 2. That he that goeth in person and furnisheth himself out with ;^io, either in money or other provisions, be accounted as having ;^20 in Stock, and in the Division shall receive a Double Share. " 3. The persons transported, and the Adventurers, shall continue their Joint Stock and Partnership together the space of seven years ; except some unexpected impedi- ment do cause the whole Company to agree otherwise ; during which time, all profits and benefits that are got by trade, traffic, trucking, working, fishing, or any other means, of any person or persons, remain still in the Common Stock until the Division. " 4. That at their coming there (Virginia), they choose out such a number of fit persons as may furnish their ships and boats for fishing upon the sea ; imploying the rest in their several faculties upon the land, as building houses, tilling and planting the ground, and making such commodities as shall be most useful for the Colony. " 5. That at the end of the seven years, the Capital and Profits (viz: the houses, lands, goods and chatties) be equally divided betwixt the Adventurers and Planters, which done, every man shall be free from other of them, of any debt or detriment concerning this Adventure. " 6. Whosoever cometh to the Colonyhereafter, or putteth any into the Stock, shall, at the end of the seven years, be allowed proportionately to the time of his so doing. THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 173 " 7. He that shall carry his wife and children, or servants, shall be allowed for every person, now aged sixteen years and upwards, a single share in the Division ; or, if he provide them with necessaries, a Double share : or if they be between ten years old and sixteen, then two of them to be reckoned for a person, both in Transportation and Division. " 8. That such children as now go, and are under the age of ten years, have no other share in the Division but fifty acres of unmanured land. " 9. That such persons as die before the seven years be expired, their Executors to have their part or Share at the Division, proportionately to the time of their life in the Colony. " 10. That all such persons as are of this Colony are to have their meat, drink, apparel, and all provisions out of the Common Stock and goods of the said Colony."^ The chief difference between these and the original articles was in clause five, where it had formerly been agreed " That the houses and lands improved, especially gardens and home lots, should remain, undivided, wholly to the Planters, at the seven years end." And also there had been an eleventh clause: "That they should have two days in a week for their own private employment, for the more comfort of themselves andftheir families ; especi- ally such as had families " ; and this was now left out. The responsibility of accepting these conditions seems to belong to Robert Cushman. The agents had been expressly forbidden to make any new arrangement with- out permission from the church, but, harassed by the difficulties of his task, seeing that the Adventurers would give up the scheme on the slightest provocation, and knowing what would be the plight of those in Leyden, who had already abandoned their property and trades, Cushman felt forced to agree. Fearing that the news would cause dissension and further delay at Leyden, he lArber's "Pilgrim Fathers," pp. 305-6. 174 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS tried to keep the new conditions secret, but rumours travelled to some at least of the church, and a lengthy correspondence ensued ; urgent protests from the planters and attempted self-justification on the part of Cushman. First came a letter from four chief men of the church, Samuel Fuller, Edward Winslow, William Bradford, and Isaac Allerton, to Carver and Cushman, complaining that the rumoured conditions were unreasonable, and that the agents had no right to exceed their commission in any way, but evidently hoping that the report was false. More letters must have passed before Cushman's reply to the church in general on June 20th, 1620. In it he urged that, as the Leyden people complained that the conditions had been changed without their knowing them, so the Adventurers might complain that the original articles had been framed without the knowledge of any of them, save Mr Weston ; and he based his whole justification on the fact that without the alterations, they would neither have had means for the voyage, nor supplies when they reached the new colony. Money had already been withdrawn on account of the fifth clause as it first stood ; Sir George Farrer alone withdrew ;£^500. He answered at length a paper of objections which had been sent to him, but his arguments are not very convincing ; there was no blinking the fact that the new conditions were hard ones, and his best excuse was necessity. Robinson wrote also on the subject to Carver, lamenting that conditions should have been made which would be such a hardship to the planters, and would bring so little extra advantage to the Ad- venturers. Comparatively few of the colonists would work upon the land and in building, almost all at trading and fishing. " So as y= land and house will be but a trifle for aduantage to y* Aduenturers ; and yet the deuission of it a great discouragmente to y= Planters ; who would with singuler care make it comfortable, with borowed houres from their sleep. The same consideration of cornone ymploymente constantly by the most, is a good THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA i;5 reason not to have y^ 2 daies in a weeke deneyed y* few Planters for priuate use, which yet is subordinate to coinone good. Consider also, how much unfite that you and your liks, must serue a new prentishipe of 7 years ; and not a daies freedome from taske." ^ DifiSculties seemed to increase, both in England and Leyden, as the preparations went on ; the confusion of carrying on negotiations at a distance, and between so many parties, threatened ruin to the scheme. Besides the Leyden people, a number of colonists were to go from London, Essex, and other places, and these appointed an agent of their own, Christopher Martin, to join with Carver and Cushman in making arrangements and procuring supplies. Possibly some of Ainsworth's people from Amsterdam thought of going too, for Cushman speaks of troublesome negotiations with them, and Weston was there early in June. Martin seems to have been hard to work with, and would go his own way, without counsel or advice. He and Carver were doing the provisioning at Southampton, against the advice of Weston and Cushman, who were in London, and thought it would have been better done there ; salt and nets were to be bought in Holland, the centre of the fishing trade. It was difficult to make arrangements simultaneously in three places ; money was not coming in so well as had been expected ; Weston was growing weary of the whole affair, and threatened to abandon it ; and meanwhile, the summer was slipping by, and the most favourable season for the voyage already past. Cushman's letters sound positively distracted ; obviously, though well mean- ing, he was not the man to move calmly through this turmoil. Robinson blamed himself for having employed him, for though a good man, he was " most unfit to deal for other men by reason of his singularity and too great indifferency for any conditions." The Leyden people thought of buying a ship for the voyage ; Weston made 1 Bradford MS., p. 30. 176 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS merry over their idea, and advised hiring, but finally the Speedwell, of some sixty tons, was bought and fitted in Holland, the intention being to keep it in the colony for fishing and trading purposes. Another ship, the Mayflower, of one hundred and eighty tons, was hired in London to transport the remainder of the people. Strange to say, Bradford does not mention the names of either of these ships, calling them throughout " the bigger ship " and " the lesser ship," and this although he gives the name of almost every later ship that came to the colony. No authentic picture or model of the historic Mayflower is known to exist ; judging by other vessels of that date, she was probably square rigged, with two or three masts, and a bowsprit pointing upwards ; very high in the bow and stern, and broad in the beam ; a slow, clumsy vessel, but very roomy. But the many pictures of her are all imaginary ; even the name of the " bigger ship" is not mentioned by the chroniclers until 1623, when it occurs in a heading in the official records of the Old Colony. The name of the "lesser ship" was first given by Nathaniel Morton in his " New England's Memorial." When all preparations were complete and the Speedwell ready to depart, a Day of Humiliation was appointed in the Leyden church. Robinson took as his text, " 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 way for us, and for our children, and for all our substance." From this text he gave the famous " Farewell Address " which Winslow has recorded, and most of the day was spent in hearing his advice and in tearful prayers to God. The time of departure came, and those of the church who were to stay behind went with their brethren to Delfshaven, a few miles away, where the ship was waiting to receive them. " So they lefte y' goodly and pleasante citie, which had been ther resting place nere twelve years ; o H P O THE DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 177 but they knew they were pilgrimes, and looked not much on those things ; but lift up their eyes to y® heauens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits." From Amsterdam, too, came others to take leave of them, and they spent the night in friendly discourse and farewells. The next day they went aboard with their friends ; their pastor commended to the Lord and His blessing the people he was never to see again, then went ashore with the remainder of his flock, and the real parting took place. Even the Dutch strangers on the shore were moved by the sorrow of it, " but the tide, which stays for no man," called them away. From the ship a volley of small shot was fired, and three pieces of ordinance, and so they set sail for Southampton. They had a prosperous voyage, and probably arrived on August sth, to find that the Mayflower had already brought from London the rest of their company. There was no time to waste in Southampton, and any moment might bring danger to some of them from the hostile Bishops, but some business still remained to be done. The new articles of agreement with the Adventurers were not yet signed ; the altered clauses now became known to all, and great was the discontent. Carver denied all responsibility for the changes, as he had been busy with other work ; Cushman pleaded the consent of his fellow agents, and also the necessity for what he had done; Weston came down from London, and urged them to confirm the conditions ; but, in spite of all that could be said, the people absolutely refused to abide by Cushman's promises, and would not sign the agreement. Weston departed in a rage, telling them " They must then looke to stand on their owne leggs." As they needed about £i New England's First Fruits. INDIAN RELATIONS 259 Pokanokets to the south-west of Plymouth ; the Narragansetts further south still, and the Massachusetts around Boston Bay. After three years' life among these tribes, Winslow has left an interesting description of them and of their customs,^ and his account may be enlarged from that of Roger Williams, who knew them perhaps more intimately than any white man of the day. Their in- stinctive devotion to the idea of a God, their interest in religious questions, their curious doubting attitude towards their own deities, are noted by every writer. They were always a little half-hearted about their own particular creed, a little doubtful as to the omnipotence of their gods, and very willing to learn something of a God who might be greater. "They have," writes Williams, " no clothes, Bookes, nor Letters, and conceive their Fathers never had ; and therefore they are easily persuaded that the God that made the Englishmen is a greater God, because Hee hath so richly endowed the English above themselves : But when they heare that about sixteen hundred yeeres agoe England and the inhabitants thereof were like unto themselves, and since have received from God, Clothes, Bookes, etc., they are greatly affected with a secret hope concerning them- selves." ^ According to Winslow, they acknowledged many divine powers, working under one supreme deity which had existed from all eternity. This was Kiehtan, " the very aged one," the chief and maker of all. Kiehtan had peopled the earth, and dwelt in the heavens, and to him, when they died, went all men, good and bad, to knock at his door. The good were admitted at once, but to the bad he said " Walk abroad," and so for ever "they wander in restless want and penury." Kiehtan no man had ever seen, but Hobbamock, the spirit of evil, appeared in many shapes, mostly in that of a 1 Good News from New England. Arber, pp. 581-592. ^ Williams' "Key." To the Reader. 26o A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS snake, to holders of high office and renown, and "all of them strive to attain to that hellish height of honour." Others worshipped the far south-west, where the great god Cantantowwit held his court, and where dwelt the souls of their forefathers. From the south-west, they believed, came all their plenty, sprung from a grain of corn, a French and an English bean carried by a crow from the fields of the Great God. " And indeed," adds Williams, "the further north and west from us their corn will not grow, but to the south, better and better." The crow for this reason was sacred, and no man would ever kill one, however mischievous. However they might divide the Godhead, all Indians believed that God made all, and that He would reward or punish, and that the soul was immortal. "Though the natives hold the soule to live ever, yet not holding a Resurrection, they die and mourn without Hope." They would disturb no man, themselves, the English or Dutch, in their conscience and worship. The ruler over each tribe was a sachem or governor, whose office was hereditary; the greater sachems, such as Massasoit of Pokanoket, and Canonicus of Narragan- sett, were kings ; the lesser were under their protection, and did homage to them. Each sachem knew the bounds of his own territory, and out of it he granted land to his people for corn-growing, receiving in return a yearly tribute of corn, and of venison also from the hunters. The sachem could conclude nothing which concerned all without the consent of the people, but the administra- tion of justice was one of his chief cares. He not only passed sentence upon wrongdoers, but executed it with his own hands, unless a mutiny was feared. Then he would send one of his warriors to " fetch off a head " unex- pectedly. To his care were left the aged and destitute, the widows and fatherless, and Williams says that no beggars were found among them, nor fatherless children INDIAN RELATIONS 261 unprovided for. The sachem, too, dispensed the hospitality of the tribe, and in his house all travellers and strangers were lodged. The hospitality was sometimes rude, as Winslow himself experienced, but it was ungrudging. Anything they had to eat they would share with a stranger ; Williams found more free entertainment among them than among Christians : " In wildernesse, in great distresse, these Ravens have fed me." Chief among the men of every tribe were the Powahs or medicine men, who were supposed to have intimate dealings with the devil, and who exercised strange rites over the sick and wounded ; and the Pineses, who were men of great courage and wisdom, chief in the field and in council. They stood as much upon their reputation as any men, and scorned deceit, discourtesy, or cowardice. They were men of great stature and strength, trained to hardness in their youth by extreme severities, and their fortitude under pain and torture was ex- traordinary. Toothache was, said Williams, " the onely paine that will force their stout hearts to cry " ; to cry out under punishment was counted far greater shame than any fault, and under the most prolonged tortures the victim at the stake would heroically sing his death song, and hurl scorn upon his enemies and tormentors. The men of the tribes spent their days in hunting and fishing, the women tending the [corn and doing all house- hold duties. The only labour in the fields which men would do was setting tobacco, which was their sovereign remedy for colds, toothache and exhaustion. In any special work, such as the breaking up of fields, or the cutting up of a whale, the whole tribe worked together, the women doing most, but the men sometimes helping a little. There was little reverence from man to woman, but much from youth to age, for the younger folk would do all mean offices for the elder, even if they were strangers. On the other hand, Williams says that their strong love 262 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS towards children made those children sometimes " saucie, bold and undutiful." They showed great kindness to one another in sickness ; they had no remedies, so the only consolation was in the visits of friends. If a person were ill, the women and maids blacked their faces ; if he died, the men would do it too, and would remain so for weeks and months in token of mourning. They disliked to mention the name of a dead person, and if any one else had the same name he would change it. Often too they would desert the place where one had died, and move their huts elsewhere. The chief possessions of a man were buried with him. They were naked generally, save for a skin or mantle hanging over the shoulders, and a little apron. Indoors they would take the mantle off, for their houses were hot, and they kept fires burning all night, instead of bed- clothes. Sometimes they had a coat or mantle, curiously made from the feathers of turkeys, woven by the old men of the tribe who could no longer hunt or fish. They had leather leggings and stockings in one, with moccasins made of deerskin, and the women and girls decorated themselves with strings of beads about their legs. English clothes, and mantles of Dutch and English cloth they prized greatly, so much so, that they would taken them off when it rained, and go naked so as to keep them dry. For food, they lived mostly on parched meal, with a little water either hot or cold, save that three or four hundred miles inland was a tribe that lived on the bark of trees, mixed with the fat of beasts, or of men. These were the "Tree-eaters," the terror of the neighbouring tribes. Their language was very copious and diflScult, and varied somewhat in different districts. They counted with grains of corn, and measured their days by the stars, for they slept chiefly in the open air, and were very observant of the heavenly bodies. They had many towns, INDIAN RELATIONS 263 but moved often, and very quickly. Williams tells how once on a journey, he lodged in one of their houses, and hoped to do so again on his return, the next night, but the house had vanished, and he was glad to find shelter under a tree. "This question they oft put to me : Why come the Englishmen hither ? and measuring others by themselves they say. It is because you want firing ; for they, having burnt up the wood in one place (wanting draughts to bring wood to them) they are faine to follow the wood ; and so to remove to a fresh new place for the wood's sake." 1 Instead of written history, they had a volume of tradi- tion. Where any notable act had been performed, a round hole was dug in the ground near by, that all who saw it might ask its meaning, and hearing it, might tell others. It was a primitive means of record, but by it a journey became a lesson in history and patriotism, and things of great antiquity were kept in remembrance. The first object of the Pilgrims was to ensure their safety from attack, and to establish trade relations. With their honest intentions and straightforward dealing, they were not long in gaining the confidence of the savages. The treaty with Massasoit was the first bond between them, and it held good for fifty years. The king was per- suaded by Squanto that if the English should be his friends, he need not fear any enemies in the world, " so did he become a wall to the English at Plymouth against other Indians." Moreover, their success at the first en- counter had impressed the natives, and so did their habit of prayer and fasting. When, after a long drought, rain came in answer to their prayers, falling gently and gratefully upon their parched crops, the Indians were filled with respect both for the English and their God. The first treaty was followed up by an embassy to the king. Governor Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Winslow, guided by Squanto, and bearing a horseman's ' Key, p. 60, 264 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS coat of red cotton as a present, and a copper chain to be the badge of the king's messenger, went to continue with the king the league of peace, to ask him to restrain the disorderly visits of his followers, whose appetites were quite out of keeping with the poverty of Plymouth, and to make payment for the corn which they had taken on first landing at Cape Cod. Travelling from morning till night, resting in the open fields, and being well entertained and kindly treated by the Indians everywhere, they came after two days to Pokanoket. Massasoit received the coat with pride, put it on at once to the great admiration of his followers, and granted their requests. Then, gathering his men around him, he asked them was he not the king, and were they not all his people, and should they not bring their skins to these traders, and one by one the men from thirty towns agreed, so that thankful as they were to get their trade started, the Englishmen soon grew weary enough. They then had a taste of savage hospitality. Massasoit had but just returned home, and to his great chagrin had no food to offer them ; a bed the emissaries shared with the king and his wife and two of his chief men. They stayed another day and night, com- pleting their negotiations, and then, weary and half starving, but happily finding food on the journey, they made their way home, well satisfied with their work. It was soon the Englishmen's turn to carry out their part in the treaty of mutual defence, for Corbitant, a petty sachem of the district, in league with the Narragansetts, began to stir up revolt against Massasoit, and the plan- ters heard that he had been put from his country, and that their interpreter Tisquantum had been killed. This news proved false, but Standish with ten men marched to Namaschet, where Corbitant had been, and struck awe into the hearts of his followers, making them answerable for Massasoit's return, and threatening them with vengeance if any violence were offered to him or to his subjects. More serious alarms came later, from the Narragansetts INDIAN RELATIONS 265 and the Massachusetts, who were to be a menace to the English for many years to come. The Narragansetts hated Massasoit and his friends, and when in 162 1 fresh colonists came in the Fortune, all unprovided and ill-fitted for the place, and the colony was pu«-. to its direst straits, their chief, Canonicus, sent by a messenger a bundle of new arrows wrapped in a rattlesnake's skin, in token of his defiance. But the handful of colonists had staunch hearts, and Governor Bradford came of a good Yorkshire stock, which was not likely to be cowed by a threat. So they put a bold face on their weakness, and sent back the snake's skin filled to the brim with powder and shot, with a message from the Governor to say that only lack of ships prevented him from sending his men to Narragansett, and saving Canonicus any long journey to attack him. The bold stroke told ; the awful implements of war and the undaunted message terrified the king, the rattlesnake's skin he dared not touch, and by one messenger and another it was passed on, until it came back unopened to Plymouth. The planters did not content themselves with bold words ; they knew their weakness, and lost no time in taking what precautions they could. A palisade was put around the town, and regular guards appointed for defence, and in the following spring a fort was built on Burial Hill, from which could be obtained a wide view of the surrounding country, and timely warning given of any threatened invasion. So far they had had few dealings with the Massachusetts. A voyage had been made to establish trade there and to make a compact of peace, but though the emissaries admired the country and did good trade, the voyage was fruitless in some respects, for they could not see the queen, and, could make no treaty. A second expedition was about to start, when they were warned that the Massachusetts were allying with the Narragansetts against them, that the former intended to cut off Standish and the members of the trading expedition whilst they were 266 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS with them, and that the latter would attack Plymouth in their absence. In spite of the warning, they decided not to show fear, nor to mew themselves up in their enclosed town, since not only would it be impolitic to show their weakness, but to live much longer without fresh supplies of food would be impossible. Further alarms delayed the expedition, but either these were exaggerated by Squanto, who liked to make himself of importance, and to think that he could lead men to peace or war as he wished, or else their boldness had the desired effect, for no trouble ensued. For the first two years, therefore, in spite of some rumours of war, and much uncertainty and fear as to the temper and good faith of the savages, the good judgment, courage, and honesty of the Plymouth men maintained peace, and had they been left to themselves, they might have extended their treaties to all the neighbouring tribes, and lived in safety for many years. But, just as they were beginning to live down the hatred of the English which Hunt the slave dealer had inspired, it was justified and revived by the ill-doing of some of the' later plantations. In June 1622 came two ships of Mr Weston's, the Charity and the Swan, bringing fifty or sixty men sent over at his own special charge, to plant for him. Weston cared only for speedy profits, and the men had no higher motive ; moreover, they seem to have been improvident, lazy and worthless, without a particle of the industry or judgment necessary to found any colony. They landed at Plymouth, and were entertained there until they could make a settlement, and badly they abused this hospitality, which, indeed, the Plymouth men could very ill afford. They stole the corn before it was ripe ; they spread abroad slanderous tales and complaints of the rulers of the colony, and mocked at its poverty and weakness, boasting of the great things that they would do, being all strong men, unhampered by women and children. From what they saw of them, the INDIAN RELATIONS 267 Plymouth men from the first dreaded their treatment of the natives, and when Wessagusset (Weymouth) was chosen for their plantation, and they removed there in the autumn of 1622, it was but a short time before the Governor's ears were filled with complaints from the Indians there, that Weston's men stole their corn and abused them in other ways. The two plantations joined in partnership to trade for corn at Manamoycke, Massachusetts, Mattachiest, and Nauset, and everywhere Weston's men spoiled the trade, giving more for a quart of corn than had formerly been given for a beaver skin, and everywhere the Indians renewed their complaints of their conduct. Tisquantum died on the first of these voyages, the Plymouth men lost both a guide and an interpreter in him, and the expeditions were fraught with a danger that only the vigilance of Standish contrived to elude. From the time Weston's men arrived, there seemed to be a disposition to treachery all around, and finally Standish, on one of these expeditions, and Winslow, on an errand of mercy, simultaneously discovered a plot to kill the men at Wessagusset, and knowing that vengeance from Plymouth would surely follow, to destroy that colony too. Hearing that King Massasoit was ill, and knowing that the Indians in times of sickness liked to receive visits from their friends, Winslow and Hamden, guided by Hobbamock, had gone on an expedition to Pokanoket, taking with them such simple remedies as they thought might be of use. On their journey, they heard many reports from Corbitant (the next heir) that the king was already dead, but though they knew that, if so, their lives were in danger from his enemies, they determined to go on. Arrived at Pokanoket, they found him still alive, though far gone in weakness, surrounded by medicine men "making such a hellish noise as it distempered us that were well, and therefore was unlike to ease him that was 268 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS sick." They gave him some remedies which speedily took effect, he ate and slept, and made a marvellous recovery. " Now," said the king, " I see that the English are my friends and love me, and while I live I will never forget the kindness they have shown me." He kept his promise, and as an immediate sign of gratitude, revealed to Hobbamock the conspiracy against the two plantations. The people of Nauset, Pamet, Succonet, Mattachiest, Agowaywam, and the Isle of Capawack were all joined with the Massachusetts. Massasoit alone, in deference to the treaty of peace, had refused to help in the plot. Winslow returned to Plymouth to find that Standish had heard the same news at Manomet, and with the Governor they debated what should be done. They dis- liked greatly to shed blood unprovoked, yet feared to let the Indians strike the first blow, and being assured of the truth of the plot, it was made known in public court, that the permission of the whole court might be obtained for war. The business was difficult and grievous to all, but finally Bradford, Allerton, Standish, and any others they chose, were appointed to decide the matter, and they agreed to take a strong body of men to give warning to the English at Wessagusset, and then to go on, under pretence of trade, amongst the Boston Bay Indians, to take notice of their behaviour. If there were any need to fight, Standish was to bring back the head of Wituwamat, "a notable and bloody villain," who had been foremost in insulting him on their former expedition. Dire reports came as to the state of things at Wessagusset, how Weston's men made themselves servants to the Indians for bread, and had been so dishonest that they could no longer either buy or borrow corn. They thought of taking it by force, and had fortified their town, but Bradford wrote and strongly dissuaded them from such an outrage. The departure of Standish and his eight men was hastened by the coming of one of Weston's men, Phinehas INDIAN RELATIONS 269 Pratt, who reached Plymouth half dead with exhaustion, with pitiful accounts of the colony, and of its subjection to the Indians. To satisfy them, a man had been hanged for stealing corn. As the thief was strong and well, they thought of putting his clothes on a sick man and hanging him instead, " but that one with a ravenus voyce begunne to croake and bellow for revenge."^ Still they feared to hang the strong man, so took him and bound him, as it were in jest, and then hanged him in earnest. The Indians were not propitiated, the colonists were naked and starving, scattered and defenceless, and the Indians took their food and ate it before their very eyes. On hearing Pratt's story, Plymouth was put in a state of defence, an Indian who came to spy upon them was chained up in the new guard-room, and Standish set out. He landed near Wessagusset, told the heads of the plantation of the plot, and of Bradford's offer to receive them at Plymouth for a time, collected all the people in the town, and put them on an allowance of food, having brought some corn spared out of their seed. An Indian came presently, to spy under pretence of trading, thinking something was amiss; Standish gave no sign, but the man saw anger in his eyes, and knew that the plot was discovered. Signs of insult and defiance occurred daily, but still the Captain made no move, until one day he came upon Wituwamat and Pecksuot, two of the chief aggressors, and two of their men, together in a room. Then having four also on his side, Standish gave the word ; Wituwamat, Pecksuot, and another were killed, the fourth was taken and hanged. Two or three more were killed by another company, but one Indian escaped, warned the tribes, and so dis- appointed their hope of avenging the whole conspiracy. A few went in pursuit, but with Obtakiest their sachem, 1 Morton's " New English Canaan," p. no. 270 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS the Indians entrenched themselves in a swamp, and the Captain was forced to return, sparing the native women and children, and not allowing the least dis- courtesy towards them. Master Weston's people had had enough of Wessa- gusset, and determined to go to Monhegan, to get passage to England in one of the fishing ships. The scorn of Captain Standish at this desertion can be imagined; he told them he durst live there with fewer men, but according to his orders, he gave them all the corn he could spare for their provision, and any that wished he took with him in the shallop to Plymouth. This was Standish's triumph, his notable adventure, and he returned from it, bearing the head of Wituwamat with him. He had ample proof that the bloodshed was not unnecessary ; one of the Boston Bay Indians, always a friend to the English, told the Captain that the conspirators were only waiting till Weston's men had made them two more canoes, and that they then meant to take the ship and kill all. When the expedition got back to Plymouth, the spy confessed the same, and he was sent back to Obtakiest with a strong warning and justification of what had been done. Obtakiest was also requested to give up three Englishmen of Wessagusset who had sought his protection, but after a long time, word came by a woman that they had been already killed, and that the sachem feared to come before the English to make his peace. Justifiable and necessary as this punishment had been, it was an episode regretted by all, and when Robinson heard of it in Leyden, he wrote to the Governor, sadly lamenting that the blood of any Indian should have been shed before one had been converted. But the severity of Standish had done its work. The tribes who had joined with the Massachusetts, seeing their punishment, were filled with fear. They ceased INDIAN RELATIONS 271 to plant their corn, and hid in swamps and places so unhealthy that many of the chief of them died; the rest of them dared nothing against the English, and for many years peace reigned around the colony of Plymouth. But the Pilgrims could not fail to be involved in the troubles which came upon the neighbouring colonies, whose settlement interfered more directly with the lands and liberties of the Indian tribes. As the white population grew and spread in all directions over New England, the natives began to feel the pressure, firm and relentless, of an unwelcome civilization. By an ironic fate, it had been through the enthusiastic descriptions of three Indians who had been brought to London, that the zeal of Sir Ferdinand Gorges had been aroused for colonizing New England, and the coming of the white men does not seem to have been much resented at first. The Pilgrims were, on the whole, well received : Miantonomoh of the Narragansetts became the friend and guest of Winthrop, and when Massachusetts colony was founded, one tribe after another offered alliance and craved protection, until finally even the fierce Pequods brought gifts and attempted to make a treaty with the English. All the New England states made great efforts to deal fairly and equitably with the Indians ; all had a body of laws like those enacted at Plymouth, regulating inter- course between the two races. Each state in turn was founded with the consent and sometimes at the request of the neighbouring tribes ; the land required was fairly purchased, though doubtless for a very inadequate price, and in 1676 Josiah Winslow could write, " 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. Nay, because some of our people are of a covetous disposition, and the Indians in their 272 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS straits are easily prevailed with to part with their lands, we first made a law that none should purchase or receive of gift any land of the Indians without the knowledge and allowance of our Court. . . . And if at any time they have brought complaints before us, they have had justice impartial and speedy, so that our own people have frequently complained that we erred on the other hand in showing them overmuch favour." The Indians were like children, living altogether in the present ; they were willing enough'to sell their lands, thinly populated as they were, in return for comforts and necessaries which, for the moment, meant much to them ; they were willing enough to offer friendship to men whom they knew to be powerful, whom they felt to be trustworthy and kindly towards them, in return for protection, for food when they were in want, for help in the awful epidemics of smallpox and fever from which they suffered. But presently they began to feel that the price was too great, that the English demanded in their allies conformance to an impossible standard. They were asked to forego their primitive joys of revenge, and the exercise of power, to submit to arbitration which could take small account of their tribal diff"erences, of 'their traditions of love and hatred. They felt cramped and restrained, and finally the vision of their future, ever driven back into narrower, more limited territories, ever more and more bound down by laws which they had not made, until finally their land, their creed, even their nationality, would be wrested from them, rose before them, and goaded them to a passion of hostility that nothing could allay. The first serious conflict, the Pequod war, followed closely on the settlement of Connecticut, but it was probably caused less by hatred of the English than jealousy of their action in supporting the Mohegans against the Pequods. It is hard to know what else could have been done : the Mohegans offered honest friendship, the Pequods were obviously treacherous, and moreover INDIAN RELATIONS 273 the Mohegans were in the right in their dispute. But to interfere in tribal warfare is dangerous, and the Pequods never forgot their grudge. In 1633 two traders named Stone and Norton, sailed up the Connecticut River to trade with the Dutch there. They took some Pequod Indians on board, and were murdered by them in the night. Representatives of the tribe, however, on being summoned to Boston, urged that they had acted in self-defence, and the plea was accepted. Stone was not a very desirable character ; not long before he had seized a barque belonging to Plymouth traders, and it had only been rescued by the help of some friendly Dutch seamen, so it was felt that he might have given the Indians some extreme provocation to violence. The Pequod chief promised to surrender the only two assassins who were still living, to pay a tribute to the Court in Boston, and to cede some ground for a settle- ment. At the time, he was on bad terms with both the Narragansetts and the Dutch, and feared to make enemies of the English also, but when he had made his peace with them, they in turn negotiated peace for him with the Narragansetts, and his position became more secure. In 1636, feeling able to defy the English once more, some Pequod Indians murdered John Oldham, a man of eventful history, who had been expelled from Plymouth with Lyford, but had apparently later redeemed his character, had been with Conant at Cape Ann, had suc- ceeded to part of Gorges' claim in Massachusetts, and was one of the earliest explorers of Connecticut. A small boat belonging to him was seen off Block Island, evidently in the hands of inexperienced sailors, and when it was approached, the deck was seen to be covered with Indians. Some of them jumped into the water, some were taken prisoners, and the dead body of Oldham was found on board. In command of about ninety men, Endicott and Underhill, a soldier who had served in many countries, undertook to punish this assault, but though they did much damage 18 274 A HISTORY OV THE PILGRIM FATHERS and lost no men, they seem to have exasperated rather than intimidated the Pequods. Thirsting for revenge, their chief sought to ally with his old enemies, the Mohegans and Narragansetts, that to- gether they might wipe out the whole of the New England settlements. Such a combination would have been dangerous in the extreme, and Roger Williams, who had been one of the first to hear of it, and to warn the Governor of Massachusetts, spared no effort to prevent its taking place. Relying on his friendship with the Indians and his influence with them, he made his way to the house of the sachem of the Narragansetts. The Pequod ambassadors were already there, and Williams describes the horror with which for three days and nights he endured their presence, feeling that they reeked of the blood of his countrymen, and looking for their bloody knives at his own throat also. But his mission was successful ; the wavering Narragansetts gave him their promise that they would not move against the English, and even advised how the campaign should be conducted ; the Mohegans also refused to join the conspiracy, and the Pequods were left to stand alone. Their murderous attacks soon roused Connecticut to action, and sixty men under John Mason, joined by twenty from Massachusetts under Underbill, commenced the attack. One hundred and sixty men from Massa- chusetts, and forty from Plymouth were promised as reinforcements, a slender army against the one thousand Pequods already in the field, and the large numbers held in reserve. But before the Plymouth men had started, they got word to stay, as the victory was won. Mason had chosen the least expected point of attack ; leaving the mouth of the river, he had sailed easterly into Narra- gansett Bay in full view of the Pequods, who thought he was retreating. Landing there, and advancing towards the rear of the Pequod camp, he fell upon them two hours before dawn, when the Indians, worn out with their INDIAN RELATIONS 275 war songs and rejoicings over a terrified foe, were sleeping in fancied security. Mason on one side, Underbill on the other, leapt within the palisade that guarded the fort, and held their own alone, until their men cut a way through and joined them. The struggle was desperate, and Mason, fearing to be overpowered by numbers, gave the word to burn the Indians out. The matted roofs of the wigwams flamed easily; the English stationed themselves outside the palisades, shooting all who sought to escape. They lost but two men, the Indians more than six hundred. Mason, on landing, had been joined by large numbers of Narra- gansetts and Mohegans, but though faithful, they took little part in the struggle, soon falling to the rear and leaving all the fighting to the English. To the natives, according to Bradford, was due the horrible suggestion of burning the camp, which even the plea of necessity finds it hard to excuse, for it held women and children as well as warriors. But the complete extermination of the race had been determined on, and Mason vigorously followed up this first victory. Those of the Pequod tribe who remained, were remorselessly pursued and killed, their wigwams were burned, their land devastated : Sassacus, their chieftain, fled in despair to the Mohawks, who slew him, and then the feeble remnant of the tribe surrendered to the English. Some were sent as slaves to the Ber- mudas, some were incorporated with the Narragansetts, some with the Mohegans, some with the Niantics ; their country fell under the jurisdiction of Connecticut, and the Pequods as a nation existed no more. This horrible war secured peace for a time, though the questions arising out of it required careful adjustment and arbitration, and were an immediate cause of the Con- federation of the New England Colonies, whose Commis- sioners first met in 1643. Seeds of jealousy had been sown between the Narra- gansetts and Mohegans, when the English divided the 276 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS remnant of the Pequods between the tribes, for the Narra- gansetts thought they should have had sway over all, whereas the English favoured Uncas of the Mohegans, who had put himself under their protection, and whom they made responsible for collecting the tribute due for the Pequod captives. Moreover, both chiefs were a little jealous that the English should have gained so complete a victory over any of their race. They thought their success was ominous, as indeed it was, and they resented the complete control which the English assumed over the fruits of their victory. The tribute fell into arrears, and the Pequods were constantly trying to free themselves from the control of Uncas, and to be taken directly under the government of the English. In 1640 Miantonomoh of the Narragansetts had been accused by Uncas of treachery against the English, and had been summoned to Boston to explain himself. This he managed to do satisfactorily, but in 1643 further fears were aroused, for it was said that he had attempted to murder Uncas, because of his accusation, and his friend- ship with the white men. Again he was summoned to Boston, and again he answered the charge, but so strong were the suspicions against him that all was held in readi- ness for war with the Narragansetts. Miantonomoh gained further disfavour from his con- nection with Samuel Gorton, an enthusiast with awkward opinions and not very nice ideas of conduct. Gorton had fallen foul of the Massachusetts people on account of his Antinomian views ; had been expelled from Plymouth for questioning their judicial procedure, and championing a woman who had transgressed their rule of conduct, and had been whipped out of Rhode Island. He then settled at Shawomet, getting a deed for the land from Miantonomoh, which was witnessed also by Pumham, the petty sachem of the district. But he got into difficulties with some English settlers near by, who had bought their land from another petty sachem, INDIAN RELATIONS 277 Sacononoco, without the consent of Miantonomoh, their chief. Under the influence of these settlers, the two petty sachems asserted their independence of Miantonomoh, and asked to be taken under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, Pumham declaring that he had been forced into selling his lands to Gorton. Massachusetts consented to protect them (overlooking the fact that their land was within the Plymouth patent) ; Gorton was summoned to answer for his conduct at Boston, and finally brought there by force, tried, and sentenced first to imprisonment, then to banishment. This complication blackened Miantonomoh in the eyes of the Massachusetts government ; his right to sell the land at all was questioned, and in any case, it was taken ill that he should have sold it to one of their enemies. He was summoned to Boston once more to support his claim, and failed to do it satisfactorily. Full of anger and chagrin, feeling that life had no zest where such interference and humiliations were possible, the Narragan- sett chief, with his warriors, fell upon the Mohegans, in defiance of the treaty of peace made in 1638, by which it had been agreed to submit all disputes to English arbitration, instead of going immediately to war. His army was defeated, and he himself brought prisoner to Uncas, who, with the permission of the English Commissioners, given after anxious deliberation, and under their strict supervision, took his rival beyond the limits of the white men's jurisdiction, and put him to death. Miantonomoh was proved to have plotted against the life of Uncas in time of peace, and to have tried to arouse a conspiracy against the English, but the reasons for his execution read unconvincingly, when one thinks of him as the faithful friend of Roger Williams the champion of the Rhode Island settlers. The Narragansetts burned to avenge his death; out- 278 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS rages occurred, and they demanded of the Commissioners leave to take the life of Uncas, on the ground that he had received a ransom for Miantonomoh, and then executed him. But the English still stood by Uncas, and after careful examination of the evidence, it was decided that no ransom had been taken. In 1645, Williams contrived a meeting at Hartford ; the Narragansetts promised to restore all they had taken from Uncas, and to pay a fine to the English for breaking their former treaty; both sides promised that they would give thirty days' warning to the Commissioners before commencing hostilities, and so they were forced to a reluctant peace. The troubles with the Pequods had been rather the affair of Massachusetts and of Connecticut, than of Plymouth, though deeply affecting all the colonies. But the next great struggle, after many years of peace, came nearer home, and almost wrecked the slowly growing prosperity of the little colony. The early treaty of Plymouth with Massasoit had been the basis of a long-lived peace, but with the death of the actual parties to the treaty, it became less of a reality. Brewster died in 1644, Winslow in 1655, Standish in 1656 and Bradford in 1657; Massasoit their faithful friend died in 1660, and thus the personnel of both sides of the treaty was changed. Although nominally the alliance continued, it was per- ceptibly weakened when the old bond of personal friendship was no more. The Pokanoket Indians, too, repented the alienation of their best lands ; they resented the English rights of jurisdiction they had themselves consented to ; even in their old pursuits of hunting and fishing they saw themselves outdone by the English with their superior methods and weapons. For greater security, they had been driven gradually back into narrow strips of sea-girt land ; and, hemmed in, oppressed, and restricted, with the sense of their nationality, the INDIAN RELATIONS 279 remembrance of their old freedom burning within them, the Pokanokets at last turned upon the English, in a war more fatal than any that had gone before. In 1675, when the war actually broke out, it found Plymouth somewhat unprepared, somewhat enfeebled in fighting capacity, since the days of Standish's notable adventure — those early days, when they were conscious of carrying their lives in their hands, and every man was trained for military defence and strategy. But there had been signs, since Massasoit's death, that might have given them warning. He had been succeeded by his sons Wamsutta and Pometacon, who, asking from the General Court of Plymouth the gift of English names, were called Alexander and Philip. Alexander, the elder, had given some cause for suspicion, and it was said that he died as a result of the anger and shame of being called to account for it at Plymouth. His brother succeeded him, and was summoned to Plymouth to give solemn assurances of his fidelity. But this practice of calling Indian chiefs to answer charges against them, was one of the most galling results of English domination ; it made them feel that they were dependents, and not allies, and Philip bore it no better than Miantonomoh had done. Being suspected of alliance with the French and Dutch in 1667 and 1671, he was forced to surrender the English arms possessed by his tribe, to find part of the expenses of the expedition sent to summon him, and to pay a heavy tribute ; and when he was once more informed against, this time by a converted Indian of Natick called Sausamon, the informer was murdered, and Philip showed himself openly hostile to the English. For the murder of Sausamon was punished by the execution of three Indians, and their comrades, thirsting for revenge, killed several English people, and Philip was thus forced into a war that he only half desired. He must have known that his cause was desperate, 28o A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS that even with the alliance of other tribes he could not hope for ultimate success against the English, with their supplies of arms and of food, their superior houses and fortifications, but to live longer in subjection was impos- sible. " For them as a nation there was no to-morrow," and they fought to the last breath, meaning, if ruined they must be, to carry many with them in their downfall. Not unattended would each warrior go to knock at Kiehtan's door; before him he would drive the souls of the white men whom he had slain for their attempt to rob him of all that he cherished most, even the faith of his fathers, and from within the gates of Paradise he would glory in their dismissal. The war was at first confined to the places around Mount Hope, Philip's stronghold, which was in Plymouth terri- tory. The English were quickly alive to their danger; Plymouth sent to Boston for help, and the little town of Swansey, which was first attacked, was speedily reinforced by troops from the two colonies. Philip and his companions, driven out of their own country, took their canoes across to the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay and entrenched themselves in a swamp. There the Plymouth men mounted guard over them, but could neither get at them nor prevent them from raiding the towns of Dartmouth, Taunton and Middleborough, burn- ing and massacring wherever they met. The Massachusetts forces meanwhile had marched into the Narragansett country, hoping by an armed demonstra- tion to persuade this tribe to keep peace. The move was dangerous, more likely to provoke than to intimidate, for the sachem, Canonchet, was son of Miantonomoh; they remembered their own wrongs only too clearly, and their promises of peace were worth less than nothing. Before the troops were reunited, Philip had escaped from his swamp and made his way into Massachusetts, where, in spite of all attempts at dissuasion, he was joined by the Nipmucks. The seat of war had now removed to INDIAN RELATIONS 281 central Massachusetts and the Connecticutvalley. Mendon was attacked, Brookfield was besieged and partly burnt, the inmates being rescued only by the timely arrival of Major Willard, an old man of seventy, in command of forty- seven horsemen. So stubborn had been the defence, and so vigorous his onslaught, that the Indians lost eighty men killed and wounded. Tales of heroism were many, though the English had been so awed at the opening of the war that they read portents in the sky, and augured ills for themselves from the howling of wolves and the moaning of the winds. Connecticut was now drawn into the struggle, and began to take vigorous measures for defence ; the Com- missioners took affairs in hand, and voted a further levy from each of the colonies, but to find men enough to defend and to attack was difficult, for the Indian raids were as unexpected as they were fatal. Deerfield and Northfield were attacked during the temporary absence of the troops; Hadley was surprised when the inhabi- tants were at church, and was only saved from panic and utter annihilation by an unknown man, white-haired and wearing garments of antique cut, who appeared in their midst and directed the defence with the skill of a practised soldier. The Indians were driven out, and the people turned to thank their leader, only to find that he had vanished. It was the regicide Goffe, in hiding from the vengeance of the Stuarts, and this heroic incident is the last record of his life. The worst disaster of all occurred near Deerfield, at a place which was ever afterwards known as the Bloody Brook. A convoy under Lathrop attempted to bring the harvest loads from Deerfield down to the lower towns, and apparently no scouts were sent ahead of the teams. Thick woods hung on either side of the brook, and as they reached it, the soldiers, laying their arms in the waggons, scattered right and left to gather grapes from the vines along the banks. They paid dearly for their 282 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS rashness ; a host of Indians surprised them, Lathrop was shot dead, and only seven or eight escaped to tell the tale of their disaster. The ambush was punished by Moseley, who secured the return of the waggons, but Deerfield was abandoned, and the Indians remained supreme in the district. The towns in immediate danger naturally wished to concentrate on defence ; those at a safer distance advised a vigorous attack, and the work of the Commissioners and the commanders was not easy. But the tide began to turn, as it was bound to do. By this time winter was setting in, and the Indians suffered even more heavily than the English. They gained less advantage from the woods, ever their securest point of vantage, for in open field the English always gained the day, and they decided to take refuge with the Narragansetts, and postpone their devastations till the spring. The Narragansetts refused to give them up, as in their treaty they had promised to do, and so the suspicions of their bad faith were confirmed. The Commissioners issued general orders for an ex- pedition, and in December 1675, the troops of the United Colonies, and one hundred and fifty Mohegan warriors made a determined attack on the principal forces of the Narragansetts. Josiah Winslow, son of Edward, and Governor of New Plymouth, was in command, and hearing from a prisoner where their chief camp was situated, he set out, with the united forces of New England at his back. The camp was near the present town of North Kingston, and after sleeping in the open and marching from early morning over the snow-clad ground, they reached the spot, and opened their attack. The fighting was desperate, for the Narragansetts were prepared, and after some three hours, when leader after leader had lost his life in trying to gain ground within the palisades, Winslow, like Mason before him, decided to burn the wigwams. INDIAN RELATIONS 283 It was done, and the victory was complete. Not only did hundreds of men, women and children perish by sword or fire, but the wigwams, their only shelter against the storms of winter, all their stores of food, their treasures of mats and wampum, were destroyed. Church, one of the attacking officers, protested against this needless waste, urging the comfort that the warm wigwams would be to the wounded English, many of whom died with cold before they could be got under shelter; the value to themselves of the stores of corn and provisions. But Winslow was inexorable. As Mason had been bent on reducing the Pequods at any cost, so he had determined on the downfall of the Narragan setts, and he spared nothing to achieve it. Living in swamps, protected only by the boughs of trees, digging under the snow for acorns and nuts to save them from starvation, the tribe was reduced to the depths of misery. The greatness of their spirit is revealed by the bearing of Canonchet under these appalling disasters. To the last man he declared they would fight rather than be slaves to the English ; he preferred death to a treaty with his enemies, and welcomed its coming before he should have said anything unworthy of himself. The downfall of the Narragansetts did not end the war, though it made the issue certain. The remnants of the tribe allied with the Nipmucks, and devastated the border towns of Massachusetts, of Plymouth and Rhode Island. In the early spring town after town was harried in one or another of the colonies, Lancaster, Medfield, Weymouth, Groton, Marlborough, Scituate, Rehoboth, Providence, Northampton, Hadley and Hatfield, and many others. Mary Rowlandson of Lancaster has left a pitiful account of her captivity among the Indians, when with her house burnt, and her children killed, she was driven with one poor wounded child in her arms through the snowy forests, having for days no food, no resting-place but the frozen ground, and forced, when death ended the 284 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS piteous plaints of her child, to leave it behind on the snow, and follow her captors with every circumstance of privation and insult, the unwilling witness of their barbarities and pillage. But the sufferings and reverses of the savages led to divisions and complaints among themselves. Philip became the scapegoat; on him, as the first insurgent, all their disasters were blamed, and there grew up a party amongst the Indians willing and even anxious for peace. Some surrendered, encouraged by a government proclamation promising mercy ; others wandered off to join the tribes of the north ; the English were successful in the field, and active in detaching from him Philip's less devoted allies, so that finally he was left with but a handful of warriors. Peace he would not hear of, but in the summer of 1676, he determined to go back once more to his own country and meet openly the fate which should await him. His followers attacked several places in Plymouth colony, but with small success. Church determined to hunt them down, and to capture Philip, and on August 12th Phihp was surprised by an ambush, and shot dead by a man of his own race. His only son was transported as a slave. The war had been one of excessive cruelty on both sides, and in the whole story of the relations between the races, it is impossible not to give one's sympathy to those whose only crime was a backward civilization. The New England Colonies were, indeed, disastrous to the natives, who rejected much of what was highest and best in the civilization which came to them, and drank to the dregs what was degrading and bad. All their primitive virtues were tarnished ; they had shown manly trust at first, but only servile subjection now ; their industry was undermined when they realised that, by selling lands and goods for the moment useless to them, they could live with comfort in idleness. They had learnt an immorality, not natural to them, from the vicious offscourings of the INDIAN RELATIONS 285 English community ; drunkenness, with all its attendant vices, had become more and more common ; oppression had fostered in them a cruelty greater than the ordinary. By destroying their independence, the English had de- stroyed their self-respect, and had brought to the fore the weak and worthless who would bear the yoke, whilst the noble and high spirited had no refuge but in revolt and death. Surely great wrongs are done in the name of civiliza- tion. If one studies the history of these Indians, even the success of the New England Colonies, even the great- ness of their future, seems to have been too dearly paid for. And yet the colonists could hardly be blamed ; they had striven for peace and justice, they were only the instruments of a great principle. The Indians were doomed by the fact that the white men came at all, though neither the one nor the other realised it, till the inevitable results had come. CHAPTER XIV THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY IN nothing was the work of the Pilgrims more lasting and more important than in the form of civil govern- ment which they established, and nowhere was their actual position more different from their nominal one. With their relations to the Merchant Adventurers and to the New England Council, and their allegiance and submission to the English king, it would have been natural if their government had borne signs of pro- prietary, feudal, or monarchical influence. To all appear- ance they were a community possessing no intrinsic rights whatever, ruling only through a patent from the New England Council, which granted them, together with land and trading privileges, permission to issue necessary ordinances, and to elect officers to enforce them. Some further rights of government were promised in the future, but such favours were entirely invalid without a charter from the king, for the New England Council had no power to grant them. Even this pre- carious claim to government was not in their own hands at first, but in those of the Adventurers to whom they were bound, the patents of 162 1 and 1622 being taken out in the name of John Pierce and his associates. In 1629, when they were freed from the joint-stock company, another patent was taken out in the name of William Bradford, and the colony came more nearly into possession of its own liberties. This it finally did in 1 64 1, when Bradford resigned his patent into the hands of the freemen of the colony, who formed the General Court. 286 THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY 287 In holding these patents, the colonists were liable to many dangerous attacks on their privileges, from the Adventurers, the New England Council and the king. Pierce in 1622 attempted to become proprietor instead of trustee of the colony, obtaining instead of his patent a " deed Pole," by which he could make the colonists " to hold of him as tenants, and sue to his courts as chiefe Lord." 1 His design was fortunately frustrated, though not without great expense to the planters. The inter- ference of the New England Council, its efforts to establish government through Gorges, West and Morrell, and its constant attempts to embroil the colonies in some difficulty with the king, have already been noticed. In 1635 the Council yielded up its Charter, and King Charles assumed direct government over the colonies, proclaiming in 1637 that he did so, " knowing it to be a duty not to suffer such numbers of his people to run to ruin." ^ As a result of this cession, and of Laud's enmity to the Puritan colonies, the Commission for regulating Planta- tions was established in England. Massachusetts armed herself to the teeth on hearing of it, but the Scotch War and the opening of the Long Parliament checked the proposed policy of interference, and not until after the Restoration did it have any active influence. It was not however on grants or patents, vague and liable to change and revocation, that the government of Plymouth colony was really based. Its form was neither proprietary, feudal, nor monarchical, but democratic, and it stood firm as a rock through storm and tempest, sup- ported by the voluntary compact made in the cabin of the Mayflower, deriving its power from the men who by this act had become the first freemen of the colony. As almost all the male passengers signed the compact, practically the whole company would be freemen at first and the government of the colony was in the hands of this 1 Bradford MS. 2 S. P. Col., 23rd July 1637, vol. ix. no. 60. 288 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS General Court, or primary assembly. Bradford gives many examples of the kind of business that was put before it. It chose the Governor, first Carver, and then, on his death, William Bradford, w^ith Isaac Allerton as his assistant. It elected too a military commander, and that meeting at which Standish was chosen, and military orders settled, and which was so often interrupted by the coming of the Indians, has been already noticed. Besides exercising elective functions, the members of the General Court decided on the place of settlement and the laying out of the town ; they were consulted about the danger from the Massachusetts, and sent Standish off on his notable adventure. They were consulted later as to the conditions on which the "particulars" should be admitted to the colony, and they agreed upon the division of lands and cattle at the break-up of the joint-stock sytem. Finally, the whole company was summoned to do justice in the case of Lyford and Oldham. Later on, when ship after ship had brought colonists to Plymouth, and other freemen had been admitted on the approval of those who signed the compact, the General Court still remained the source of power, but it became impossible for it to remain a primary assembly. Other towns had grown up, and the number of freemen had greatly increased ; it would have been difficult for all to attend, and business would have been impossible in such an unwieldy gathering. So it came about that the general body met as a rule only once a year, at the great meeting in which officers were elected, and laws were framed or repealed, and which was held originally on the first Tuesday in March, but later, on account of the severity of spring weather, and the difficulties of travel, on the first Tuesday in June. Other courts were held, in March and October, and these were also called General Courts, but to them the freemen might send elected deputies instead of coming themselves. The tendency was for the primary assembly to let its powers lapse; in 1658 voting THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY 289 by proxy was allowed even at the June Court, and the freemen were not obliged to appear in person unless some special reason, as for instance the repeal of various laws in 1659, made it necessary. As early as 1652, aged free- men had been permitted to send their votes sealed up, a presage of the ballot system which came probably from Holla.nd, where it was used largely in the elections of the Reformed Church. Finally the primary Court did little beyond electing officers,^ and all the other business of the colony was done by the Governor and assistants, who had increased in number from one to seven, as the work became heavier. It was done either in their own monthly courts, or in the three annual General Courts, in which they were joined by deputies or committees from each of the towns. But although with the growth of representation each freeman no longer had a personal share in the decisions of the colony, it did not cease to be democratic. The machinery of government, the legislative and judicial systems, landowning, finance, and military matters, all showed the same principle of equality, and all were ulti- mately controlled by the will of the people. It is true that the conditions of the franchise were strict, for although freemen were not, as in Massachusetts, com- pelled by law to be church members, it is certain that these would be most readily approved. But the limitation was one of character and not of wealth, and not until 167 1 did active citizenship involve the possession of property. All offices were elective, they could not be refused, and few if any had regular salaries attached to them. The chief civil officers of the colony in early days were the Governor and assistants, who agted as magistrates; the treasurer, who managed the finances ; the constable, who saw to the keeping of the peace, and was responsible for the payment and collection of rates ; and the marshal, or 1 Records xi. p. 79, 1658. 19 290 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS messenger, who had to enforce the decisions of the Court. He collected fines, and was apparently the executioner too, for one Jonathan Pratt in 1675 undertook to do all the duties of a marshal, "excepting puting to death," which the Court promised to arrange for otherwise. In 1646 a receiver of excise was appointed in each town, and a town clerk to keep the registers of marriage, birth, and burial; and in 1658 a coroner was appointed, whose office was to be as like that in England as possible. All these officials, great and small, were elected annually at the June Court, and as has been shown, election was the function of all others which was most actively exercised by every holder of the franchise. Legislation, which was perhaps the next most important work of the General Court, was of a very varied character, local and temporary regulations finding a place amongst general laws and moral restrictions. For sixteen years the colony was governed by the laws of England, but in 1636 a special committee of men from each township, together with the Governor and assistants, drew up a code more suited to their needs. This was revised and added to several times during the century, the special co-operation of all freemen, either personally or through committees, being invited in the work. The interests of all classes of persons, English and Indians alike, were safeguarded, and legislation was generally impartial. But the codes show a growing tendency towards the severity of the Jewish law, and laws dealing with religious matters became more frequent in later years. In jurisdiction the General Court was supreme, and formed a court of appeal ; it assumed the right to inflict capital punishment for wilful murder, compact with the devil in witchcraft, treason against king or commonwealth, of England or the colonies, and the wilful burning of ships and houses. In some other offences against morality it might be decreed at the discretion of the magistrates. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY 291 The first recorded law of the colony (in 1623) established trial by jury, the code of 1636 applied it to all cases, and provided also for a grand jury of presentment. The Governor and two assistants were allowed to judge cases of less than forty shillings, and minor powers of jurisdic- tion were granted to the towns as they grew up, though Plymouth parted with her powers reluctantly, and always reserved a right of appeal to herself. Justice was dispensed as impartially as laws were framed, and though penalties were severe, and in some cases brutal to modern minds, they were for that age comparatively mild. Here again, however, the growing religious intolerance after the death of the first settlers marred the records of the colony, and the treatment in Plymouth of witches, Quakers and other persons anathe- matised by the church became only a degree more just than that which they met with in the stricter colonies. The granting of land was another important function of the General Court, which was practically in the position of a proprietor. To have the ownership of the colony vested in all its freemen led inevitably to a democratic state of society, and this was perpetuated by the way in which these freemen made their grants. They were almost all made to towns, thus putting other freemen in a similar proprietary position ; other grants made to individuals were as a reward for some signal service, usually in connection with the founding of the colony or town. For instance the Purchasers or Old Comers, who had borne the burden of the debts of the colony, were in 1652 permitted to choose some lands for themselves. But even this was exceptional in Plymouth, and as mining, trading and manufacture were less lucrative pursuits than agriculture, the lack of extensive land pro- prietors made any great inequality of wealth impossible. Land in Plymouth was invariably granted in the towu meeting ; it was not sold by the colony to its settlers and very rarely leased, and even after a tract of land had been 292 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS granted for a town, the General Court exercised a good deal of control over its distribution and the government which might be established. In spite of the democratic element in the land-system this distribution was by no means rigidly equal, for regard was had both to the expense and trouble which any particular inhabitant might have had in the founding of the town, and to his ability to be of value and service when it was founded. At first too an inhabitant was liable to own several pieces of land scattered about the settlement, as the tract granted to a town was usually divided into home lots, meadow land, marsh, etc., according to the quality of the ground, and a share of each was given to every man, but by exchanges, sales, inheritance and marriage, a greater consolidation of estates gradually came about. And although the distribution was not equal, it was usually fair ; great efforts were made to suit the grant to the individual, and to remedy natural inequalities in estates, and an appeal was almost certain to bring justice to any injured owner. The General Court controlled the finance of the colony and had at once assumed the right to levy taxes, and to allocate the sums necessary to support its government. Taxation, like military service, was a burden which fell on the freeman and the mere inhabitant alike, and a very early law prevented the freeman from taking advantage of his position as a legislator to secure exemption from or reduction of his taxes. The financial work of the Court was made peculiarly difficult, if interesting, by the extreme scarcity of coin in the colony. Taxes, like wages, had to be paid in kind, and to fix the current price of corn or cattle, to assess and levy with any degree of fairness, must have added greatly to the ordinary difficulties of making up a budget. The perplexities of the treasurer were not at an end even when this was done; these cumbersome and perishable commodities had to be collected, and in 1666 the THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY 293 constable was authorized to press boats and carts into his service for bringing in the rates. When collected they had to be stored until they could be made use of; stockyards must be impaled for the cattle, granaries built for the corn, and the government was liable to heavy losses through the spoiling of its goods. Taxes were levied strictly in proportion to what a man was able to pay, " according to goods, lands, improved faculties and personall abillities." It is to be feared that a tendency to disguise this ability existed even in those days, for in 1676 the rules for rating various towns end with this significant sentence, "if any haue not given a true list of his estate it may happily be discouered and made manifest by some naighbours." ^ The lump sum needed by the government was divided between the towns, each of which was responsible for assessing, and collecting from its own inhabitants. Each town chose men to make a list of its rateable property ; this was read and corrected in the town meeting and handed on to the General Court, and then the treasurer empowered the constable to make his collection. It was an onerous task; in 1643 it was ordered that the constable should pay the rate himself if he neglected to bring it in ; fines for non-payment were frequent, and in 1658 the constable was made responsible for these also, so that he had a strong personal interest in doing his duty by the government. Plymouth never levied either a poll tax or an income tax, but like all the other New England colonies she added to her revenue in later years by indirect taxa- tion, the proceeds of which seem usually to have been devoted to some special work. Timber, boards, planks and tar, oysters and iron were all subject to an export duty, and an excise on the sale of wine and strong drink, tobacco and oil, imposed in 1646, went to defray the charges of the magistrates' table. A receiver was 1 Records xi. p. 242. 294 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS nominated in every town, who received the excise on four days in the year, and paid it to the treasurer annually. Besides the licences for keeping inns and ordinaries, without which no man might sell wine save in case of sickness, there was a licence fee for fishing at Cape Cod, collected by a special "water bayley," and appropriated to the support of schools. The Court also demanded some share in the profit of drift whales cast up upon the coast, and the money thus raised helped towards the maintenance of the ministry. Most of the money raised was used for defence ; some of it went in pensions or as rewards for public services. Few of the officers of the colony appear to have had a regular salary at first ; in some cases, as for instance that of the magistrates, their expenses were defrayed whilst they were on duty ; in others they received gratuities varying in amount, and at more or less irregular intervals. For example in 1633-4 Standish and William Holmes were appointed to teach the use of arms in Plymouth and Duxbury, " to be paid ;^20 for this present year."^ In 1639 it was ordered that ;^20 should be paid to the Governor, as well as a contribution from each town. The deputies from the townships were paid daily wages, and so were the Commissioners of the United Colonies, and by degrees the gratuities of other officials became so regular as to amount to a salary. Finally the General Court controlled the military as well as the civil government of the colony, issuing military laws, appointing commanders, and ensuring, through the clerk of the military company, regular attendance at trainings and an efficient supply of arms and ammunition. As the colony grew and towns multiplied, powers of local government were granted. The court of each township, the town meeting, had in a lesser degree the same duties as the General Court of the colony. It too was composed only of freemen as active members, ' Records i. 38. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONY 295 though non-freemen apparently voted sometimes for deputies, for there was a complaint in 1658 that as the inhabitants outnumbered the freemen, unsuitable persons were often chosen.^ In 1667 too came an order that no one might vote in military matters unless he were an inhabitant over twenty, and had taken the oath of fidelity,^ so apparently all voting was not strictly confined to freemen. Each township had its own officials, a constable, select men, receivers of excise, a clerk to keep the registers, all elected by its own freemen. Towns might distribute and dispose of their lands, subject to the approval and occasional interference of Plymouth ; they might make orders for themselves which were not repugnant to the general law, but each must possess a book of the laws of the colony, to " bee read oppenly once euery yeare."^ They had their magistrates, one of whom was specially authorised to perform marriages in the district ; their select men were empowered to judge minor disputes, to enforce fines, to levy rates and to distrain for non-payment. Each town had to provide itself with a place of defence, and to see that its inhabitants had the regulation supply of arms, and attended the military trainings. Each was responsible for its own poor ; for the keeping of its boundaries, the repair of its highways, bridges, and fences; and in later years each was compelled by law to build a meeting- house at public cost, to enforce church attendance, to collect the maintenance of ministers, and to support a school. Thus the towns of Plymouth colony possessed all the elements of self-government, and were practically in the position of small republics, just as the Dutch cities were. The town meeting was the scene of the citizen's greatest power, the school of his training, but ' Records xi. 91-92. ^ Ibid. xi. 219. ^ Ibid. xi. 121. 296 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS local and central government were linked by the annual meeting of all freemen, by the sending of deputies from each town to the other meetings of the General Court, and by the right of townships to nominate candidates for the assistantship, who were voted on by the whole country. After the Confederation was formed in 1643 the General Court of the colony was linked in its turn with the government of New England through the meetings of the Board of Commissioners. Thus local and central government alike were in the hands of all who possessed the franchise. For more than thirty years Plymouth was fortunate enough to enjoy all the benefits of popular rule with very few of its drawbacks. The ordinary evils of democratic government, its tendency to encourage place-seeking, to be unstable and to lack unity in its component parts, were all held in check by counteracting influences. And the chief of these influences was the personality of Bradford. He it was who put self-seeking to shame, and stimulated public spirit by holding office without salary, and by introducing social and philanthropic reforms ; he it was who promoted unity in the colonial government by insisting on the pre-eminence of Plymouth, and by super- vising and controlling the growing townships ; he it was who gave stability to the popular government and prevented it from going to extremes, religious or other- wise. So conservative were the people in their choice of officersf so consistently was Bradford elected to the post of Governor, that government, whatever its forms might be, seems to have been summed up in his person, and one is apt to think of the colony as one huge family, guided in every department of life by this wise and kindly leader. With the exception of about five years, when at his earnest request Winslow or Prince held the office, Bradford was Governor from 1621 till his death in 1657, ■ o a o fa n < « o > O O THE GOVERNMENT OP THE COLONY 297 and though nominally the Governor had merely a general power of direction and a double vote on the Board of assistants, a man like Bradford, occupying the position he did in the church and in the commercial system of the colony, with his force of character, could not fail to have an immense influence in guiding its policy. The change that came over the colony, in the character of its legislation and the spirit of its judicial decrees after his death, is sufficient proof of this. Public spirit waned, and neglect of civic duties became more common; very frequent fines had to be imposed for the non-payment of rates, non-attendance at the General Courts, and neglect of military duties. Religious observance and belief became more and more the subject of legislation, and with this confusion of the duties of Church and State came a sense of greater danger from dissent, and consequently harsher judicial decrees. The franchise was narrowed, and some- thing like the sectarian oligarchy of Massachusetts grew up in Plymouth also. And so much of the spirit of the Pilgrims was lost. But their early work is interesting through its adaption of English and Dutch ideas in representation, local government, elective unpaid officials, state registration of births, deaths, marriage and land transfers, state schools and pensions; it is important because so many of its principles and details passed into the later constitution. It had its permanent value as an example and a train- ing, and much that was best in it has survived to the present day. CHAPTER XV THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION WITH MASSACHUSETTS IT was impossible that the colonies of New England could long be blind to the advantages of some sort of union. Situated as they were, they could have no umpire in England ; Massachusetts indeed would have been too proud to appeal to any ; Plymouth did appeal on one or two points, but got no answer, and the English govern- ment was altogether too disturbed and too unsympathetic at the time to be of any value as an arbitrator. And yet some arbitration was essential. The old colony at Plymouth, small and weak as it was, naturally had in early years the prestige of experience, and it held out a generous helping hand to all new-comers. Weston's men for some time owed their subsistence, and ultimately their lives, to Plymouth colony ; Bradford helped Captain Gorges so far as he was able, and Samuel Fuller, the physician of the colony, was tending the sick people of Salem through the whole of the first winter. In spite of goodwill, however, collisions were inevitable. The colonists had vague and ill-defined patents, and as they developed their resources, disputes were certain to arise about the boundaries. Plymouth grew slowly, but the energy and determination of the colonists made them put out feelers in every direction. At Kennebec their trade was threatened by the men of Piscataqua, at Cape Ann by the Dorchester fishing company, on the Con- necticut by emigrants from Massachusetts, although they had been the pioneers in each of these places. And finally 398 THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 299 Massachusetts claimed that the land on which stood Scituate and even part of the town of Plymouth was really included in her grant. Thus it was absolutely necessary to have some body which could settle the boundaries and just limits of trade for each colony. Apart from any disputes, the colonies had many common interests about which they would want to con- sult. Most of them, Plymouth and Massachusetts in particular, had definite religious aims, both as to their own people, and the Indian tribes about them, and they very quickly came to an understanding about church affairs. The first comers to Massachusetts had been prejudiced against the Pilgrims, dreading the obnoxious name of Brownists, but they had not long been at Salem, under the ministrations of Fuller, who was a church deacon as well as a doctor, before Endicott wrote to Bradford that they had been much misrepresented, and that he found their church " far from ye common reporte that hath been spread of you." ^ When the church at Salem was set up, Plymouth was asked for counsel and help, and Governor Bradford would have been present at the ceremony, but that he was delayed by cross winds, and only arrived later in the day to offer them the right hand of fellowship. When Winthrop landed in the colony he too asked Ply- mouth for help in church organization, and Fuller wrote to Bradford that the Governor wanted Plymouth to set apart the day on which his church was formed, and to offer up prayers for their help and guidance. In 1632 Winthrop and Mr Wilson visited Plymouth and took part in the church service there; and as early as 1637 a Synod was held, consisting of all the teaching elders in the country, and messengers from the churches, to debate on the errors of Antinomianism. So there was likely to be much intercourse in religious matters. 1 Bradford MS., p. 173- 300 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS In external affairs their interests could hardly be separated. Each colony was in danger from the Indians, from the Dutch and French, and from a hostile religious party in England, and an injudicious act on the part of one would be liable to have fatal consequences to all. This was proved by the harm done to Indian relations by Weston's men and Thomas Morton. Possibly it was this sense of mutual responsibility which led Massachusetts to claim a right to interfere in an unfortunate affair which happened in 1634 on the Kennebec. A man called Hocking of Piscataqua attempted to trade within the limits of the Plymouth patent, and as he refused to desist, the chief man there, Howland, ordered his canoe to be cut loose. As this was being done, Hocking in a violent passion shot one of the men who did it, and a friend of his in revenge shot Hocking. The incident was very unfortunate for Plymouth, as Lord Saye and Lord Brooke, who had some rights in Piscataqua, did all they could to enrage the English government against her. Massa- chusetts, fearing no doubt to be involved in the disgrace, went so far as to imprison John Alden as hostage when he visited the Bay colony, thus making quite unjustifiable claims to jurisdiction. Finally, however, an assembly of ministers decided that Hocking alone was to blame for his death, and the two colonies were reconciled. In military as well as judicial matters there was the greatest need for combination. The Dutch, in spite of their early overtures to the Pilgrims, did their best to injure the English in Connecticut, where they had undoubtedly prior rights of settlement. The French were also hostile, though their settlements were further north, and collisions less frequent. Twice, however, the trading houses near Penobscot, belonging to Plymouth, were robbed by them. The Indians were a further difficulty, and the first united action of the colonies, except for the subscription to send Morton to England, was in the levy for the Pequod war in 1637. This, together THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 301 with the Synod held in the same year, led naturally to the idea of some definite confederation. Massachusetts proposed it first, but Connecticut and Plymouth were' unwilling, being afraid probably that they might pay dearly in liberty for the help they gained. In 1643 however, when the air was full of Indian dis- turbances, they consented to the scheme, Connecticut indeed being the prime mover now, and in May of that year commissioners from Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and Newhaven met at Boston to consider the terms of their union. Maine was excluded on account of the difference in her civil and religious administration, and possibly the same objection was felt to Rhode Island, which twice applied in vain to join the Confederation. Possibly the form of union was suggested by the Plymouth men, who had had some experience of the confederation of Dutch states. It provided for a Board of eight Commissioners, two to be chosen annually by the General Courts of each of the plantations, the first delegates from Plymouth being Edward Winslow and William Collyer. The Commissioners were to meet once a year, or on any occasion of emergency, to discuss military and civil questions relating to the whole of the United Colonies, but each of the four was to retain separate jurisdiction within its own limits. No new member was to be received into the League, nor were any two members to be united, without the consent of the rest. In the preamble to the Articles of Confederation ^ the colonies urged in favour of their union their common aims, their scattered settlements, the dangers around, and the "sad distraccons" in England. These causes had led to the formation of a " consociation " for mutual help and strength, to be known as the " United colonies of New England." The consociation lasted until the reign of James II., although by that time New Haven • For the Acts of the Commissioners, see Records, vols. ix. and x. 302 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS had been joined to Connecticut, and Plymouth made some difficulties about continuing a league of three. Its practical importance, however, save for a short time during King Philip's war, ended with the Restoration. As the chief cause of the Confederation had been danger from without, it followed that its chief functions should be military. It was empowered to decide upon offensive and defensive war, peace, leagues, aids, charges levies of men, money, and supplies, and to divide the spoils of war. If the danger were slight the nearest colony might help, but on urgent appeal the entire force of the Confederation was called out, the number of men from each colony being fixed by the original Articles, one hundred from Massachusetts and forty-five from each of the three others, proportionately to the number of male adults in the population. No colony could be called upon to pay on behalf of another colony unless the Commissioners declared the war to be a just one, and the booty was divided according to the charges borne. The Confederation also provided for extradition laws between the colonies, and exercised a general supervision over justice and Indian affairs. Four Commissioners might act on an emergency, the unanimous vote of the eight became law, a measure could be passed by a vote of six, but was then only advisory. The weak point of the Board was that it had no executive, and no power to raise money ; its real source of power lay in the General Courts. If any colony refused to obey its decisions or changed its religion, it would be held to have broken the Confederation, but there was no way of punishing it. Two members could prevent any recommendation from becoming law, and even if the Board were unanimous it had no means of enforcing its regulations. Its main power, that of deciding. peace or war, was called seriously into question, and in 1670 it was finally decided that it could bind the colonies to war only with the express consent of the General Courts. THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 303 Thus it was really able only to advise, the efficacy of the advice depending entirely on the co-operation of the colonial executives. In 1643, when the Board first met, there were many matters for the Commissioners to deal with. The boundaries between Plymouth and Massachusetts had been settled by a special commission in 1640, but similar questions arose in the succeeding years. We find the Commissioners deciding that Seakunck belonged to New Plymouth, Martha's Vineyard and Woroanoke to Massa- chusetts, and Southampton to Connecticut ; there was an interminable dispute between Massachusetts and Con- necticut about jurisdiction over the town of Springfield, and later about the sharing of the Pequod country ; and another between Plymouth and Massachusetts about the lands of Pumham and Sacononoco, two native chiefs who yielded up to Massachusetts jurisdiction over a tract belonging to the territory of Plymouth. In some cases the Commissioners seem to have supervised not only boundaries but the making of roads between the colonies, for in 1644 they ordered that a way should be made between Massachusetts and Connecticut, the charge of which was to be borne by the whole of the United Colonies.1 But their chief sphere of action was undoubtedly foreign policy. From 1643 to 1650 there were constant disputes with the Dutch about their trading house at Hartford in Connecticut and about the encroachments of the people of Newhaven. Kieft the Governor com- plained in 1646 of "an unsatiable desire of possessing that wch is ours,"^ and a determination "to fasten your foote neare Mauritius River [the Hudson] in this Province," and threatened immediate war. Complaints were sent backwards and forwards, the English com- plaining of disorderly trading with the Indians, and of interference with a ship belonging to a Dutch planter 1 Records ix. 25- ^ Ibid. ix. 62. 304 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS of Newhaven whilst in English waters, the Dutch being equally urgent about the usurpations and encroachments of the English, the restrictions imposed upon their trade, and the detainment of Dutch fugitives in Newhaven. Finally in 1650 Stuyvesant, the new Dutch governor, arrived at Hartford to treat with the Commissioners, and after much negotiation some terms of " neighbourly union " were ageed upon, and the question of the Dutch in Connecticut was settled. But only a year later disputes began about Delaware, and the agreement as to boundaries was of little avail. In 1663 Stuyvesant asked once more for some mutual agreement about trade, and for some kind of neighbourly union of Christian people living amongst savages, and his proposal was referred to the General Courts. But he was coldly answered and there was no cordiality between the two nations. There were French complications too at the moment when the Commissioners first met. Disputes were going on between Charles de la Tour of St John's River, and D'Aunay Charnissay of Port Royal, who had succeeded to the claims of the French governor in Acadia, and Massachusetts had rashly involved herself in them. Each asserted his authority in the district, D'Aunay deriving it from the French crown. La Tour through the Company of New France. The merchants of Massachusetts had traded with La Tour, and when matters came to a crisis he was permitted to raise a force in the colony to fight for him. Four ships and seventy men were hired, and although the leaders became convinced that D'Aunay was right and refused to attack him, some of their men engaged in a skirmish, killed three men and plundered a pinnace-load of furs belonging to D'Aunay. About the same time another expedition was planned to make good the injuries done to Plymouth by the robbing of her trading houses. So that by 1644 D'Aunay THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 305 had great cause of complaint. He reinforced himself by having his claim to authority confirmed in France and then threatened to seize the vessels of Massachusetts and to make immediate war upon her for the help given to his rival and the injuries done to him. By this time Massachusetts began to fear that she had acted foolishly. A large party within the colony condemned her action in persisting in trade with La Tour, partly on the score of his Roman Catholicism, and in allowing a levy of men to be used against the genuine representative of France, and before the matter was brought before the Commissioners she had already decided to try and make peace with D'Aunay. This the Commissioners approved, though they contemplated the possibility of fighting him in defence of La Tour should he continue hostile. Plymouth, the really injured party, who had been robbed by the French at Penobscot in 1632 and 163 5, and who had sent out one fruitless expedition, and vainly asked for help from Massachusetts, now petitioned through the Commissioners for some satisfaction for the second robbery, which had been done by D'Aunay, but was told to wait until an answer had been received to the peace terms, and it does not appear that she ever got any compensation. D'Aunay however defeated La Tour, and made peace with Massachusetts, and there was little more trouble with the French until expansion towards the north had much advanced. The Governor of New France in 165 1 proposed a league offensive and defensive with Plymouth and Massachusetts, but this was refused for fear of in- volving the colonies in unnecessary war with the Mohawk Indians. But more critical even than French and Dutch relations were those with the native tribes. Indian policy played a large part in the work of the Commissioners, for 30 3o6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS every colony alike had a very strong interest in it. It was important too that this policy should be uniform, and the Commissioners did good work in settling the rela- tions of the various colonies to the natives round them, and in preventing selfishness on the part of less exposed settlements in times of danger. It was to Indian difficulties that the Confederacy largely owed its origin, and for many years after its formation it was busy settling the disputes which arose out of the Pequod war. The Pequod tribe had been almost wiped out in this struggle, the remnants were forbidden to keep their tribal name, and were divided between the Mohegans, the Narragansetts and the Niantics. But this led to jealousy between Uncas of the Mohegans and Miantonomoh of the Narragansetts; and the death of Miantonomoh at the hand of Uncas, far from settling matters, caused perpetual outrages between the two tribes. By a treaty with the Narragan- setts in 1645 the English made themselves arbitrators in their disputes, and exacted a tribute, and much of the Commissioners' time was taken up in holding the natives to their agreement, and in apportioning the lands of the conquered Pequods. In later years they had to deal with the Indian reservations, appoint their governors, and superintend the administration of justice, and at the time of King Philip's War the Commissioners issued general orders for some of the expeditions, managed the finances, levied men from each colony, and in some cases appointed commanders. All that they did with regard to the Indians was, how- ever, but a tithe of what was done by New England as a whole, for so vital was the question that every colony had its own distinct legislation concerning it, a body of laws which was constantly being added to or in some way modified. Not only did the Commissioners set boundaries to the THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 307 colonies, and issue advice and orders on foreign policy, but they took an immense interest in the moral and edu- cational welfare of New England. They seem to have felt responsible for the moral tone of the colonies, the orthodoxy of the churches, and the support of the ministry, and seem to have felt too that Plymouth was the parti- cular member of the Confederation who was most apt to lag behind and fail. In 1644 they issued orders for the maintenance of ministers, payment from unwilling members to be exacted by the civil power. A year later it was suggested that the elders should publish a confession of doctrine, which might confirm the weak, and stop the mouths of ad- versaries abroad, and a year later again religious and moral considerations were set strongly before the league ; it was reminded that mutual aid in asserting the liberties of the gospel was a part of its original programme, and that Anabaptism, Familism, and Antinomianism, must be crushed. The several colonies were exhorted to keep a watch at the door of God's house that none might enter but such as had an effectual calling, and were at union with Christ through their covenant, and that only such members and their immediate seed should receive the privilege of baptism. Plymouth demurred a little at the last clause, and asked to consider the matter further, but it sounds like a protest against the growing laxity of church membership. At the same time the Com- missioners urged that steps should be taken against oppression either in commodities or wages, against ex- cess and disorder in apparel, and indulgence in drink. In 1656 Plymouth again failed to come up to the views of the Commissioners, and Massachusetts complained that the people of that colony were wanting to themselves in due encouragement of the ministers of the gospel. The flood of error was again lamented, this time in reference to the Quakers, and two years later the colonies were advised to pass special laws against them. In the same 3o8 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS year it was proposed that the colonies should make a collection of instances in which God's Providence had been showed towards them in any special way. In 1667 the Commissioners once more found it neces- sary to remind people of their duty in maintaining the ministry, and it was ordered that Synods should be held when wanted, at or near Boston. The Commissioners were exclusively appointed from church members, and so were throughout on excellent terms with the churches, and took the advice of the elders on many important points, such as a war with the Narragansetts in 1644, negotiations with the Dutch in 1653, a war with the Dutch in the same year, and in 1654 they requested them to justify to their congregations an Indian expedition which had just taken place. Their efforts on behalf of schools and colleges were more interesting and valuable. Education was a subject of common interest to all the colonies, and so had its place in the work of the Commissioners, more particularly in regard to its centre, Harvard College. The project of a college had been started in 1636, when the General Court of Massachusetts agreed to give ;^400 to be paid the next year in two instalments towards a school or college. The first needs of the colony had been attended to, and " one of the next things we longed for and looked after was to advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches, when our present Ministers should lie in the Dust."^ In 1638 John Harvard died, leaving to the College the half of his estate, a sum equal to about ;^700, and all his library, and in grati- tude the new foundation was called by his name. They had other gifts, the state added what was wanting, and the College was built. "The edifice is very fair and comely within and without, having in it a spacious Hall ; (where they daily meet at Commons, Lectures, Exercises) and a large Library with some Bookes to it, the gifts ' New England's First Fruits, 1643, P- 23. THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 309 of diverse of our friends, their Chambers and Studies also fitted for and possessed by the Student and all other rooms of the Office necessary and convenient, with all needfull Offices thereto belonging. And by the side of the Colledge a faire Grammar Schoole, for the training up of the young Schollars and fitting of them for Academicall Learning, that still as they are judged ripe, they may be received into the Colledge of this Schoole." ^ Over the College were twelve overseers chosen by the General Court, six magistrates, and six ministers. So far the College belonged to Massachusetts, though of course it received pupils from elsewhere, but very shortly came a proposal to found a species of scholarship fund, by gifts from all New England towns, a proposal which stimulated the interest of the other colonies, and resulted in giving the Commissioners some voice in the admini- stration of its affairs. At the second meeting of the Board a letter from the Rev. Thomas Shepard, pastor to the church at Cam- bridge, was read and recommended to the General Courts of the colonies. He urged that from the schools and College would come the future ministry, that parents could not always afford to pay for the education of their children in full, and he proposed therefore that families who could affiard it should give one-quarter of a bushel of corn in a year, or its equivalent, for the maintenance of " poor schollers " at Harvard " that Schoole of the pro- phets that now is." ^ Scholars from the towns which contributed were later declared to have the first claim on the fund so raised. He asked for a limited amount of help only, so as not to " suck and draw away all that nourishment wch the like Schooles may neede in after tymes in other Colonies." The contributions given were more or less appropriated by the Commissioners, for three years later the President, Henry Dunster, wrote to 1 New England's First Fruits, 1643, p. 24. ' Records ix. 20, 1644. 3ro A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS them asking for advice about the disposal of funds, finding it too great a responsibility for himself alone. Scholars who received such help were expected to stay in the country afterwards, and exercise their ministry there, or else repay the sums that had been granted to them. When Indian scholars began to attend and special buildings and enlargements were needed, the Commissioners were asked to apportion some of the money they received from the Society for Propagating the Gospel to the College, and this seems to have been occasionally done. One of the latest recorded acts of the Commissioners was a motion for erecting English schools among the Indians, to teach them English, and " Reduce them to Ciuillity." i And this motion leads naturally to the consideration of another great branch of their work, the missionary enterprise amongst the natives, which, when once the Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England was founded, was regulated entirely by them. Missionary work among the Indians had been a great object to the settlers both of Plymouth and Massachusetts, and the Society was formed in England in 1649 largely through the efforts of Edward Winslow. It was created by an ordinance of the Council of State, with a President} Treasurer, and fourteen assistants ; it possessed consider- able property in land and money, gained by a general collection throughout England and Wales, and it looked to the United Colonies of New England to appropriate and account for part of these funds, to order and dis- tribute the necessary books, clothing and tools, and to direct and control the labours of the missionaries. The greater part of the missionary work was done in Massachusetts, and it had begun long before the foundation of the Society. As early as 1644 the General Court there had urged upon the County Courts the task of civilising and converting the Indians in 1 Records x. 368. THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 311 their districts, and a year later it was agreed that two ministers of the churches should be allotted annually for the work. But it would hardly be true to say that the work which began at this time was due to the orders of the Court. John Eliot, a Cambridge man who had become minister of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and who like Williams was a student of the Indian language, had for some time been urging upon the natives the virtues of a regular life and Christian prayer. They pleaded their ignorance, and he set out to teach them in their own camps, not only preaching to them, but helping them to understand the arts of agriculture and simple industrial life. Soon he realised that his pupils must be separated from their own surroundings before his work could bear much fruit, and in 1647 land was bought for an Indian town, and an organised community was begun. One by one these villages of "Praying Indians" grew up, marked off from the other native camps by better houses, by greater industry and a more civilized way of living amongst their inhabitants. Side by side with the work of Eliot among the Massachusetts Indians was that of Thomas Mayhew and his son on the islands outside Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Isles, where the condition of the Indians had been one of extreme wretchedness. The younger Mayhew had laboured there for thirteen years, when he set off on a voyage to England, and neither ship nor passenger was ever heard of again. At first the work was entirely in the hands of the missionaries, with occasional grants and supervision from the Court and churches of Massachusetts,"but with the creation of the Society in England control passed into the hands of the Commissioners. They were very zealous in trying to extend the work, though the funds were not always administered to Eliot's satisfaction ; their Records are full of correspondence with the Society 312 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS injEngland and with the missionaries about the provision of books and other necessaries, and about the educating of Indians to be teachers of their own race. In 1653 an additional building at Harvard was proposed to accommodate " six hopfull Indian youthes," and Mayhew and Eliot asked for an allowance from the Society towards the expense. In 1652 the native town of Natick on the Charles River was begun and to it were moved the Indians from the scattered reserva- tions. An order was given for the formation of other similar towns ; magistrates were appointed to hold courts amongst them, and they were governed like the Hebrews in their wanderings, by a ruler of one hundred, two rulers of fifties, and ten rulers of tens. An attempt was made to govern by Indian officials, but it failed, and all was under English supervision, one of the most important superintendents being Daniel Gookin, who wrote a valuable account of the work. After the control had been given into the hands of the Commissioners, missionary enterprise became more general in other colonies. Connecticut had already adopted the reservation system as a means of civil protection, and by that time had two important mission- aries at least, but only one small community of praying Indians. In Rhode Island there were none; Roger Williams was an ardent missionary, and believed that no red man existed who had not the impulse of religion, but in spite of his understanding of the Indian language and character, in spite of the warm affection between him and many of the Pokanoket and Narragansett Indians, he effected very few conversions. Any efforts he made, however, were quite outside the influence of the Commissioners, and find no place in their considera- tion of the work. The Plymouth men were apparently never very active in proselytising. They had imagined a great missionary enterprise before them when they embarked for America, THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 313 but probably, taught by their experience in Leyden, they realised the almost impossibility of shaking a faith which had generations of tradition behind it. Winslow, return- ing from the sick-bed of Massasoit in the early days of the settlement, spent a night in the house of Canonicus, and whiled away the time with theological discussion. Canonicus, with the keen interest in such subjects which all Indians showed, asked many questions as to the faith of the white men. Much of their creed he approved, but objected to the seventh commandment, thinking there were great inconveniences in a man being tied to one woman. There were other cases in which Indians actually sought instruction in the Christian faith, prompted more by the spirit of inquiry than by any thought of adopting it, but though the Pilgrims were always ready to explain their creed and testify to the power of their God, they seem to have relied a good deal on the testimony of their lives, and to have been contented with imposing a superior moral code on the Indians, not interfering very actively in their beliefs. They could indeed have been able to spare little intellect for the missionary field, being forced to work so hard for bare existence that their own educational needs were in danger of being neglected, and moreover the Pokano- ket Indians, their nearest neighbours, were of all tribes the most adverse to Christianity. They were far more high spirited and sturdy in their beliefs than the Massachusetts Indians ; Massasoit, friendly as he was to the white men, would have liked to insert in all his treaties a clause, to which they never consented, promising that no attempt should be made to convert any of his followers. Whatever the reason was, Plymouth seems to have done little missionary work until the Commissioners took it in hand. Then reservations or colonies of praying Indians began to grow up, the most extensive one being at Sandwich. Richard Bourne was recom- 314 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS mended in 1657 as a suitable worker and he became the chief missionary of the colony. In the accounts sent by the Commissioners to the Society for Propagating the Gospel in 1664, the following items occur : — " To Mr Richard Bourne in Plymouth Colony £^0 o To 2 scool Masters in those prtes . . ;£^io o To Gours of Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven ;^I5 o o for the encouragement of well deserving Indians." ^ In 167s a magistrate was appointed to hold courts amongst them, with authority to punish any but capital crimes, and to judge all civil cases subject to a right of appeal to the court of Plymouth. The work of propagating the gospel amongst the Indians, backed as it was by a Society in England, by the Commissioners, and by the individual efforts of the colonies, really achieved very little success. Most of the sachems opposed it as undermining their power and lessening the tribute due to them, and although in 1674 there were said to be four thousand converted Indians in New England, many who were nominally Christians seem to have been moved by fear, or desire to please the English, rather than by conviction. Apparently those who embraced Christianity were the feeblest, the most weak-spirited of their race, and their sincerity could stand no test. Mrs Rowlandson, a captive in King Philip's War, said the worst treatment she received was at the hands of the praying Indians. Their physique too suffered under civilization, and the plan of teaching by native missionaries, perhaps the best chance of success, had to be abandoned through the high mortality amongst those who were being trained. The number of converts gradually decreased, colleges had to be closed as useless, and the work was then, and has been ever since, an apparent failure. ' Records x. 317. THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 315 There seem to have been two great reasons for its ill-success, besides an instinctive dislike to change in religion, and the apparent irreconcilability of Christian teaching with the savage worship of strength and glory in physical power, and both are shrewd criticisms on the would-be teachers. First was the number of religious divisions and disputes amongst the white men. A sachem of the Narragansetts, answering Experience Mayhew, bade him go make the English good first, and told him that with so many sects and parties his people would not know which to follow, should they become Christians at all. And in the first part of his answer he touched on the second great reason of failure. Christianity was identified in the minds of the red men with all they had suffered at the hands of the English, whether through their injustice or by the mere fact of their presence. Their first experience had been of Hunt, who kidnapped their people and sold them into slavery ; in the years which followed they saw some of their finest men, Miantonomoh, Canonchet, and Philip, meet their death through the English ; and lastly Philip's son, the heir of Pokanoket, the descendant of men who had befriended the English to their own cost, was transported as a slave. No wonder that the number of converts grew less as the years passed on, and the red men saw clearly the annihila- tion which lay before them ; no wonder that those who had been beguiled by the justice, benevolence and power of the early settlers into respect for the God who supported them, vowed vengeance later on a creed which would permit such misery for their countrymen. The hold of Christianity over them could only be through the personal trust which its ministers inspired, the creed itself was too repugnant to their natures, too much an emblem of their conquerors. It could hardly be expected that the Board of Commissioners, with its delegates from colonies so unequal in strength, and dealing as it did with such 3i6 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS variety of questions, would always work in harmony. As a matter of fact it did not, and the cause of difficulty was always the superior power and pretensions of Massachusetts. When a union was first thought of by the colonies, Massachusetts, who had least to gain by it, proposed so many clauses which would give her a leading position that the scheme fell through for a time. But a leading position she was determined to have, and when the Confederation actually came into existence, she quickly claimed that her name should have first place on all acts or orders of the Board, and this was permitted, though not as a right. Moreover it was provided by the Articles that meetings should be held twice at Boston for once in each of the other colonies. These were comparative trifles, but more serious pretensions came later. In 1647 the Commissioners had to consider whether Springfield, which had been declared to be within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, was bound to pay a custom towards maintaining the fort at Saybrook. Connecticut declared that Springfield benefited by it as much as her own River Towns and had exacted the tax for the past two years, and Plymouth and Newhaven supported her. Massachusetts, angry no doubt at finding herself outvoted, attempted to alter the Articles of Confederation, complaining that her share of the burdens was unfair, that it would be enough for the Commissioners to meet only once In three years, and that it should not always be necessary for the colonies to be guided by their advice. Naturally the rest of the board did not agree, and in 1649 Massachusetts avenged herself for the tax on Springfield by taxing Plymouth, Newhaven, and Connecticut for all goods passing through Boston Harbour, in order to repay the cost of fortification. So Plymouth and Newhaven were punished for giving advice which displeased the powerful member of the Confederation. Finally in 1650 Massachusetts repealed the duty, on THE C!ONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 317 condition that Connecticut did the same with the duty on Springfield, and apparently this was agreed to. In the same year it was agreed that the Governor and Commissioners for Massachusetts should undertake the affairs of the Board during the intervals of their sessions, for by this time the work of Indian conversion had been placed in its hands, and correspondence on the subject was continual. In 1651 it was Plymouth who had to complain of the overbearing ways of the larger colony. Massachusetts had taken into her jurisdiction the lands of two sachems, Pumham and Sacononoco, on which Samuel Gorton had settled. But she failed to keep Gorton in order, and the matter was referred to the Board of Com- missioners. There Plymouth claimed that the lands were within her jurisdiction and could not fairly be yielded up to Massachusetts by the sachems ; Massachusetts declared that the Plymouth commissioners had agreed to it, Plymouth declared that they had not, and that if they had, they had not the power to bind their colony to any such cession. The case was decided in favour of Plymouth, after a great deal of ill-feeling, but the lands finally became part of Providence plantation. In 1653 Massachusetts was at loggerheads with all the other colonies. New- haven and Connecticut, alarmed by a threatened attack from Dutch and Indians, were anxious to open an offensive war against them. Massachusetts, being less concerned, and perhaps realising that the alarm was false, flatly declined to make war, although the vote of the Board was in favour of it, and denied that by the Articles the Commissioners had power to bind their governments to attack, but only to defend. She was accused of attempting to destroy the Confederacy, but held out until the next year, when, all danger of war being over, she revised her reading of the Articles, and agreed with the other colonies in their interpretation. In this case she had done good service, though it was 3i8 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS done illegally, and when the Articles of Confederation were revised in 1667 and 1670, it was agreed that the Commissioners should not be allowed to involve the colonies in any war without the consent of their General Courts. The Board was undoubtedly of value. It could only advise the General Courts, not compel them, but it did suggest and in many cases impose, a more uniform policy throughout the four colonies than could have been ensured in any other way. In external affairs this was an advantage. It provided a corporate whole with which savage or alien European powers might treat, and although the Confederation was not recognised at all in England except by the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and very slightly by other nations, there was at all events unity on one side in the negotiations, and the danger of colonies taking different sides in a foreign quarrel was avoided. But on the whole the working of the Confederation was ominous to the weaker colonies. They might benefit by the additional support, but there was little chance that they would get much say in New England policy, in spite of their being equally represented on the Board. As this body had no executive and could only recommend measures to the General Courts, a victory on the Board meant nothing if the stronger colonies chose to defy the rules of Confederation. This both Massachusetts and Connecticut did on occasion, and there was no way of punishing them. Plymouth complained in 1667, when protesting against a confederacy of only three colonies, that the Commissioners' decision was not always attended to even when it was backed by six or eight votes, and that there was no use in belonging to a Confederation if after all the expense and trouble of meeting, the matters agreed upon were not carried through. As far as Plymouth was concerned its benefits ended with its support in foreign policy, and were even a little THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 319 dubious there. Plymouth's relations with the Dutch were more friendly than those of any other colony, chiefly because their claims did not overlap very seriously ; in her difficulties with the French she got no help at all from the league ; and until King Philip's War she was on completely satisfactory terms with the Indians. In that war however her existence was threatened, and could hardly have been saved but for the support of the Con- federation. In other ways Plymouth suffered greatly by the connection. Her church government was originally conducted on a much more popular and broad-minded basis than that of Massachusetts. When the Synod met at Cambridge in 1646 to decide on a uniform platform, the version sent in by Samuel Partridge, her representa- tive, gave less authority to the elders, less control to Synods, and was far more inclined to limit the power of the magistrate over the church than that finally adopted. In actual life too her churches were more tolerant : a freeman's rights were not limited by law to church members ; Williams and other dissenters were less vehemently accused ; the Quakers were leniently treated for many years. But after the death of the original settlers, pressed on one hand by the decisions of the Commissioners, on the other by the decisions of the Synods which they encouraged, Plymouth lost much of her independent, individual policy. She became less democratic, more intolerant ; laws such as that of 1658 against Quakers follow hard upon the recommendations of the Board, and becoming identified with the harsh, overbearing policy of Massachusetts, she gained a name for aggression which her own inclinations did not warrant. It would be idle to blame the Confederation entirely for this loss of individuality, for the very remarkable character of the first comers was much weakened in the second and third generations, but there is no doubt that Plymouth had lost her true independence of thought and policy 320 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS before she was finally called upon to renounce inde- pendence of government. Her rulers were conscious of their position — Prince wrote sadly to the Commissioners in 1667, " The truth is wee are the meanest and weakest, least able to stand of ourselves, and little able to contribute any healpfulness to others ; and wee know it tho. none should tell us of it." ^ Their sense of weakness and the constant pressure of the stronger state of Massachusetts probably led to the protest before mentioned in 1667. Newhaven had just been absorbed by Connecticut, and Plymouth, feeling her own independence trembling beneath her, made one last bid for liberty. But neither was the Confederation responsible for her loss of independent government, for though it certainly paved the way for it and made union with Massachusetts seem a natural conclusion to their relations, the act of union was dictated by the English Crown, which had never even recognised the Confederation. After the Restoration, when England had leisure to appreciate the wealth and honour which her colonies brought with them, their regulation and supervision became a matter of importance, and English policy, ignoring the various circumstances of their origin, aimed at establishing a uniform government throughout New England. Massachusetts, the least tractable of the colonies, bore the brunt of the attack ; in Plymouth the forms of government were very little interfered with — Charles II. had been proclaimed there, though tardily, his Commissioners were so well received that submission disarmed interference, and in 1666 the king issued a circular letter to the New England colonies, commending the attitude of all but Massachusetts. But in 1684 the charter of Massachusetts was finally cancelled, and with the work of establishing a new government there came a chance to further the aim of consolidation — Plymouth had no charter, and her annexa- ' Records x. 325. THE CONFEDERATION AND FINAL UNION 321 tion was an immediate certainty ; one by one the other colonies shared the same fate, till Sir Edmund Andros ruled as governor over all New England. Local and individual tendencies, however, proved too strong for this levelling process; simultaneously with the overthrow of James II. came a revolution in New England, Andros was driven out, old forms were everywhere revived, and Plymouth returned once more to the old constitution established on the Mayflower. Under William and Mary more attention was paid to the individuality of the colonies ; charters were in many cases renewed, local government usually went on undis- turbed, though in central government checks were imposed by a royally appointed governor. But their accession saw little change in the policy of consolidating the smaller colonies ; in the charter granted to Massachusetts in 169 1 Plymouth was included within its boundaries, and the colony of the Pilgrim Fathers ceased to have a separate history. CHAPTER XVI LIFE IN PLYMOUTH TO picture to ourselves the society in which the Pilgrims summed up all their great ideals and all their past experiences, we are left chiefly to the evidence of laws and Court records, and to chance references and criticisms from outside sources. Plymouth had few literary men, and Bradford, absorbed in the history of its government and commerce, flashes only now and then a gleam of light on the everyday life and social habits of the people. Above all things, life in Plymouth was a life of defence, on the one hand against external foes, on the other against the powers of darkness. The Pilgrims felt that they were living in a state of siege, and this defensive attitude is the keynote to their society. Their weakness and constant fear of attack influenced the growth of the colony, its compact, defensible townships differing widely from the large scattered plantations of Virginia ; it influenced the very aspect of the towns, with their forts and garrison houses, their stockades and barri- cadoes, with gates upon the highways. Nothing is left of the ancient town of Plymouth but a fragment of the rock on which the Pilgrims landed, their buildings were too humble to last, and all pictures are more or less imaginary. But we have a description by De Rasieres, in a letter to the Hague written after a visit to the town in 1627. " New Plymouth lies on the slope of a hill stretching east towards the sea-coast, with a broad street about a cannon-shot of 800 feet long leading LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 323 down the hill, and with a street crossing in the middle northwards to the rivulet, and southwards to the land. The houses are constructed of hewn planks, with gardens, also enclosed behind and at the sides with hewn planks, so that their houses and courtyards are arranged in very- good order, with a stockade against a sudden attack ; at the ends of the streets are three wooden gates. In the centre is a square enclosure upon which four patereros are mounted, so as to flank along the streets. Upon the hill they have a large square house with a flat roof made of thick sawn planks, stayed with oak beams, upon the top of which they have six cannons which shoot iron balls of four or five pounds and command the surrounding country. The lower part they use for their church, where they preach on Sundays and the usual holidays." ^ The colony, handicapped and poor, grew very slowly, but in 1641 Bradford mentions nine townships, Duxbury, Scituate, Taunton, Marshfield, Sandwich, Yarmouth, Barnstaple, Seekonk, and Nauset. A few more, Reho- both, Bridgwater, etc., were added later, and probably all were built upon the same lines. The Plymouth people were too poor for the more ambitious architecture found in other colonies, of which Coddington's house at Newport is an example, but the chief feature of every township would be the church and some fortification against attack. Then there would be the pound, in which animals found trespassing were kept ; the stocks and the whipping post, which play too large a part in all New England annals. Plymouth had a prison in 1638, and a house of correction was later proposed for Quakers, idlers, and vagrants. The houses were mere huts and hovels built of logs daubed with earth or clay, and thatched with long grasses, until the danger from fire led to a law that all Jiouses should be roofed and not thatched. The windows at first were not of glass but of oiled paper, for Winslow, ' Quoted in Palfrey i. 226. 324 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS in 1 62 1, in a letter to coming settlers, warns them to bring a supply of it for the purposed Possibly the brick pavements, which were a feature of later New England towns and which were copied no doubt from the Dutch, would be found in Plymouth, for bricks were made in Salem as early as 1629. If the fear of attack had much to do with the arrange- ment of the towns, it influenced still more the lives and occupations of the colonists. They were farmers for the most part, for corn was their staple commodity. In corn they paid their debt to the Undertakers, in corn they traded with the Indians for furs, in corn they paid the taxes of the colony. For money was scarce, and the little they had speedily found its way to England to pay for the commodities which they were forced to import. They grew other grains too, besides hemp and flax and many fruits and vegetables, both native and English, although De Rasieres writes that their land was stony and unsuitable for the plough, and less good than that around New Amsterdam. Hunting and fishing were other occupations of the colony, but lesser ones. They could get birds and fish for food, but Bradford, as we have seen, spoke very slight- ingly of fishing as an industry. Even trade with the Indians, at first the great source of wealth, through which the Undertakers were able to pay off their heavy debts in England, in time gave place to agriculture. In June 1639 Bradford and the partners gave notice that they would hold the trade only until the November following ; in the next year it was offered on lease for a year or a. term of years, and bought by some of the Company for one-sixth of their profits. With the first-fruits of this lease the prison was built, but it does not seem to have yielded largely, probably on account of the greater com- petition of the surrounding colonies. Of manufactures there were few. In 1624 a saltmaker 1 Arber, p. 493. LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 325 had been sent over from England by the Adventurers to start works, and make salt for the fishing. But all he could do was to boil salt in pans, a process in which the colonists needed no instruction, and he ended by burning the house and spoiling their pans. Salt works were, how- ever, established later. The smelting of iron was also attempted, rather un- successfully. Hatherley set up an " iron mill " at Scituate in 1650, and in 1655 three men of Taunton asked to be exempted from military training on account of their duties at the iron works. In 1663 leave was given to the inhabitants of Taunton engaged in the iron industry to cut wood on certain lands for the use of their works, but two years later the Court had received complaints of the bad quality of the iron made there, and issued a mandate concerning it. Most of the trades which one would expect in a community forced by its isolation to be self-sufficing were to be found in Plymouth. Blacksmiths were requisitioned to mend arms and household utensils ; probably all were carpenters as far as their own house- holds went, for the furniture of the houses was simple in the extreme, home made save for the few articles brought out of England. The traders too needed ships, and in 1623 a ship's carpenter came out in the Charity, and built them two shallops and a lighter. But they were too poor to do much shipbuilding, and not until 1642 was a vessel of any size constructed in the colony. Then a ship of forty or fifty tons, costing ;£^200, was built at the expense of thirteen men, four of them taking " charge of the work. In a corn growing community there were naturally millers, to whom the people took their own corn to be ground. There were windmills in Plymouth as early as 1634, and in the Court records are found not infrequent charges of dishonesty against the millers for keeping more than their proper due of the flour they ground. 326 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Cloth was at first imported from home, though with the growth of hemp and flax, linen was soon made in New England, and it is hard to believe that the Pilgrims with their Dutch experience did not very early set up handlooms in their own houses. Tailors they certainly had, for in 1641 John Jordaine was presented before the Court "for takeing stuff to line a dublet throughout and yet lyned not the skirts, and restored not the rest."^ There could have been but a poor living for tailors, for dress was no doubt of the plainest and usually sombre, though Brewster possessed a blue cloth coat, a violet colour cloth coat, and a green waistcoat, and the clothes mentioned in the inventory of Bradford's estate were by no means all " sad-coloured." A pair of red silk stockings however once attracted so much notice in the streets of Plymouth that the matter was investigated, and it was found that they had been stolen from Boston. There were no shoemakers in the early years, and shoes were the commodity which Bradford specially undertook to import from England when taking over the trade in 1627. ;^5o worth of shoes and hose were to be brought over yearly to be sold to the planters for corn at six shillings a bushel. But when cattle became plentiful and were killed for food, leather could be obtained in the country, so that the author of "New England's First Fruits " rejoices in 1643 that " God is leading us by the hand into the way of cloathing." No matter what his occupation might be, however, every colonist had imperative military duties. The colony was carefully organized on the militia system, and the whole male community formed an army, bound to possess adequate arms and ammunition, and to attend the regular trainings which were held six times a year in every township. Again and again towns were pre- sented and fined for neglecting to enforce this stringent ^ Records ii. p. 5. LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 327 rule, they were not even permitted to be " defective for want of a drum." Cromwell himself was not more careful than the Pilgrims to have in his army men "as. made some conscience of what they did " ; some townships limited membership of their company to freemen of good repute (though all male adults were liable to be called upon for defence), and great care was taken to ensure a high moral tone by discipline of the strictest nature. The exercises at each training began and ended with prayer, and once a year a sermon was preached before the company, at the election of its ofificers. There was no cavalry in Plymouth until 1658, and the companies were not organized in regiments, though towns might train together if they wished, and sometimes did, for in 1668 Plymouth, Taunton, and Yarmouth agreed to hold their trainings at each town in succession. In very early days the body of freemen not only formed the army, but gave its opinion and vote on military projects, but in 1643 a council of war was established consisting of the Governor, three assistants, and Miles Standish, and into its charge this power of direction was delegated. A similar body existed for the same purpose during the whole life of the colony. The chief officer was a Major, but like the President of the Dutch Republic, the Governor of each New England state was commander-in-chief. From the first, careful arrangements were made for sounding an alarm, and so constantly were the Pilgrims on the alert against attack that De Rasieres describes them assembling for their church service "by beat of drum, each with his musket or firelock, in front of the captain's door; they have their cloaks on, and place themselves in order, three abreast, and are led by a sergeant without beat of drum. Behind comes the Governor, in a long robe ; beside him, on the right hand, comes the preacher with his cloak on, and on 328 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS the left hand the captain with his side arms and cloak on, and with a small cane in his hand ; and so they march in good order, and each sets his arms down near him. Thus they are constantly on their guard night and day." This was in 1627, and in 1641 it was enacted by law that all should go to meeting on the Lord's Day armed. But the armour which they wore as they prayed and listened was not only against external foes, it was a visible sign of their attitude to the world and its vanities. All their social as well as their political life was moulded by their religious views, and they regarded anything that trenched upon them as more deadly than the tomahawk of the Indian. And so they armed themselves spiritually and lived in a mental state of defence. They set a moral stockade around their towns, and would admit none as inhabitants who were not approved by the church or the Court ; no one might even take a lodger without special leave. The franchise grew stricter as time went on, the goodwill of those in authority was always necessary, and in 1657 the privilege was definitely denied to Quakers and to all opposers of law and worship. Control was kept over the population too by the pro- hibition of any sale of lands without the consent of the Court, and land was not granted to any township until its founders showed that they could support a church and a ministry. The Pilgrims too tried to encase their people in the armour of righteousness, to strengthen them by frequent religious observances, and to arm them with a knowledge of God's Word. They had few educational advantages, fewer amusements, all their lives centred in that Sabbath- keeping, that compulsory attendance at public worship, which seem so wearisome unless one can regain the fervour of the early enthusiasts. In newer townships the church was the central feature of the settlement ; at Plymouth, first the common store- o K 6 g m p H O a o LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 329 house, and then a room under the fort, served for a meeting-house. There they had usually two services on each Sabbath, with extemporary prayers, psalms sung in the metrical version without any instrumental music, and finally a sermon lasting for an hour by the hour-glass. Henry Ainsworth's version of the Psalms was used there for seventy years. Occasionally there might be prophecy, but reading of the Bible without exposition was rare. Governor Winthrop and Mr Wilson visited Plymouth in 1632, and we have from the Governor's Journal an account of the service there at that date. " On the Lord's Day there was a sacrament which they did partake in, and, in the afternoon, Mr Roger Williams (according to their custom) propounded a question, to which the pastor, Mr Smith, spoke briefly ; then Mr Williams prophesied, and after the Governour of Plymouth spake to the ques- tion ; after him the Elder ; then some two or three more of the congregation. Then the Elder desired the Governour 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 their duty of contribution. Whereupon the Governour and all the rest went down to the deacon's seat and put into the box, and then returned." ^ Baptism took place usually on the next Sunday after birth ; marriages and funerals were civil affairs, and had no place in the church service. Bradford writes in 1621, "May 1 2th was ye first marriage in this place; which according to ye laudable custom of ye Low Countries in which they had liued, was thought most requisite to be performed, by the magistrate, as being a ciuill thing." ^ There can be no quarrel against the Pilgrims for trying to protect the moral character of their settlers, nor for trying to arm them with the best weapons of which they knew. So long as the first settlers lived and the tone of the colony was largely of their making, it was only the 1 Winthrop's Journal. ^ Bradford MS., p. 67. 330 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS negative side of their work which could be found fault with, the neglect of many gifts and faculties which might have made life a better and happier thing. They had set themselves to found a community of saints upon earth, and it was perhaps inevitable that with a programme of such high seriousness some things which we now think valuable should have been left out, those fruits of culture and sociability that only a spon- taneous joy in living can produce. They were not always to blame, for the hard con- ditions of their lives left little room for recreation, whether learned or otherwise. Brewster's library is the only one of which we know in the colony ; the earliest press in New England was not at Plymouth but at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it was founded in 1639, Joseph Glover giving a font of printing letters, and some gentle- men of Amsterdam contributing ;^49 to the furnishing of a press. Neglect of education was one of the charges of the Adventurers against the colony in 1624, and Bradford was forced to confess that the children depended for it on their parents, as they had no common school. They must have had schools of some sort ten years later, for in 163 s the widow of Dr Fuller was allowed to have an apprentice on condition of keeping him at school two years, but common schools were not established in Plymouth until 1677. In that year it was ordered that in every town of fifty families and more there should be a " gramar scoole, " for which the town was to pay a rate of ;£^I2, the balance being paid by those whose children attended it. The idea of having a school in every town had been mooted in 1662 and a year later it became a proviso in settling new plantations, that they should have a schoolmaster. In 1673 it was proposed that the charges of a free school, calculated at ;£'33 a year, should be paid out of the profits of the Cape Cod fisheries, and after the act of 1677 these profits were divided amongst the towns LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 331 with schools, not more than £5 being granted to any one. A town with no school of its own had to pay ;^5 a year to the next town that had one. Delay in providing education, however, resulted not from any depreciation of its importance or prejudice against secular learning, but from the poverty and toil which were the order of life in Plymouth. The Pilgrims had no time to be cultured, no time to read anything but their Bibles, but recreation in the sense of amusement was taboo for very different reasons. Without insisting upon the austerity and gloom which obtained in later years, there is no doubt that the Pilgrims from John Robinson onwards would have regarded unre- strained mirth as unseemly, and would have condemned any organised form of amusement as sinful waste of time and opportunity. One cannot think that Bradford, with his kind heart and his keen sense of humour would prohibit innocent pleasures and merriment, but they would have to be strictly kept in their place, and that place would be a very small one. On Christmas Day in 1621 some of the young men had been excused from work because they said it was against their consciences to work on such a day, but as Governor Bradford returned from the fields he found them playing games in the street. He " took away their impliments and told them that was against his conscience that they should play and others worke." On that day he would have no " gameing or revelling in the streets." Seriousness was indeed the leading characteristic of the Pilgrims, and the one which their rulers took most pains to foster. They had need to be serious, for they felt that they must be always on their guard lest evil should creep in and destroy the fruit of all their labours. But a de- fensive attitude is not a wholesome one for most people, and they walled in their garden so closely that the fruit grew sour instead of ripening. In later years, when one portion of the community had 332 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS grown lax, and the other unduly severe, the broad-minded tolerant spirit which had been the characteristic of John Robinson's pupils was lost sight of, in social and religious life even more than in civil government. Everywhere restrictive legislation took the place of the old mutual conscientiousness ; and the multiplying of sins, the utter loss of all sense of proportion in conduct, led to the growth of that Puritan conscience which had been respons- ible for so much misery and such a violence of reaction. There grew up a tendency to regulate man's whole life by law ; not only could no one build, keep house, have a lodger or entertain strangers and Quakers without consent of the Governor, but single persons were forbidden to live of themselves, or in any family but such as the select man of the town should approve, and no one might live in an inn or ale house in his own town. Intercourse between certain people was also restricted as the govern- ment thought fit, a servant could not be married without his master's consent, no one could be married without the consent of parents or the Governor. Sometimes these restrictions were valuable, as for instance when Francis Crooker, who wished to marry Mary Gaunt, was ordered by the Court to get first a certificate " that the disease from which he is sometimes troubled is not the falling sickness." And indeed the philanthropic regulations in Plymouth as to pensions, the care of pauper children, and of poor and distracted persons were far in advance of the age, and can only be ascribed to Dutch influence. No one was permitted to live idly ; extortion either in wages or prices was severely punished. Presentments were made on several occasions of people who had taken pay for their work and of people who sold wine and beer at too high prices. John Barnes was presented for selling black and brown thread at ss. 4d. per lb,, Peter Hopkins for selling a looking-glass for i6d. which could be bought in the Bay for gd., and Thomas Clark for ex- LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 333 tortion in buying boots for los. and selling them again for 15s. Thus anything resembling usury was sternly repressed. The regulations limiting the sale of drink, the keeping of inns and " ordinaries," and the use of tobacco were frequently reinforced and defined. In 1637 the taking of tobacco on the streets was forbidden by law ; this was crossed out, but reinforced later ; it might not be taken on juries nor near the meeting-house, and in 1645 persons were again forbidden to take tobacco "in very unciuil manor " on the streets. Inns were carefully licensed, and no " profane singing, dancing or revelling" was permitted in them. Amuse- ments were more strictly forbidden, though very often there was some aggravating circumstance when " revel- ling " was attacked and the penalties were not as a rule heavy. A culprit presented for "mixed daunsing" was released with an admonition, and in 1652 a lady with the graceful name of Mercy Tubbs, presented on the same charge, shared no worse fate. The introduction of cards and dice was forbidden by law in 1656, and in 1663 several people were fined twenty shillings each " for play att cards on the Lord's day." This was a double crime, but in the same year five people, two of whom were women, who were fined forty shillings each for play- ing cards, presumably on a week day, had their fines remitted. In 1637 a man was fined for allowing people to drink and play " shouell board " at his house, but the words "contrary to the orders of the court" are expressly added, the probability being that he had no licence. Although some of the penalties on the statute book are very severe, particularly for offences against morality, some traditions of mildness lingered in the colony and they were seldom executed in their full brutality. After the first thirty years of the colony, when a less zealous generation had grown up, there was a good deal 334 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS of severe legislation on the subject of Sabbath keeping. In 1649 John Shaw was condemned to sit in the stocks for attending to his tar pits on a Sunday, in the following year Elizabeth Edy was presented for wringing and hanging out clothes on the Lord's Day in time of public exercise, and several people were summoned for holding meetings on that day from house to house. Trans- gressions of this kind led to many acts against vilifying the ministry, profaning the Sabbath, and attempting to set up different churches or meetings. Unnecessary travelling on Sunday was also restricted, and on that day no wine or liquor might be drawn except in cases of sickness, and none might smoke tobacco within two miles of the meeting-house. Not only was Sabbath keeping strictly upheld, but the maintenance of ministers, formerly the voluntary privilege of the faithful, became one of the cares of a magistrate, who was even authorised for a time to distrain upon those who neglected to take their share of the burden. Thought and opinion as well as the outward life of a man had to conform to the required standard, still with this rooted idea of sheltering the community from any evil influence. Just as the rulers dreaded any unguarded outpost among their settlements, so they dreaded any alien act or thought which could not be harmonized with their rigid rules of conduct. Several circumstances, however, mitigated the severity with which new opinions were received in Plymouth. There was less close connection between Church and State than in Massachusetts and relations with the English government were less strained. So that repression of religious views was not confused with political issues ; a difference of religious opinion could neither shake the foundations of government, nor play into the hands of enemies in England, and there was no need to unite ministers and magistrates into one gigantic sledgehammer to crush it. LIFE IN PLYMOUTH 335 Moreover they had few ministers, and those not of the greatest. In Massachusetts the orthodox ministry was the learned class, dictating opinion and gaining undue political importance. But Plymouth, first through the lack of sympathy of the Adventurers, then because her poverty and small population offered no attraction, had few shining lights in her churches, and what she lost in learning she gained in secular independence and freedom of thought. It was only when, through Synods and the Confederation, New England practice became equalized, that difference of opinion was harshly treated in the Old Colony. By degrees there too anything unfamiliar came to be suspected, and if a man lived amongst them who liked to wander -outside the barriers, who thought for himself and valued spontaneous instincts above rigid rules, who thought it right to enjoy rather than to question the beauty and wonder of life, it had been better for that man if he had never been born. Perhaps the picture of life in Plymouth is disappointing when one thinks of the high ideals that had gone to the conception of it, perhaps the spiritual liberty, the freedom from worldly considerations which had been the great cause of Separatism, seem very much obscured. But to bring practice into line with theory is difficult, and it must be admitted that whilst the Pilgrims lived they had overcome this difficulty as far as human beings could. That they could not bequeath their spirit as well as their system to their children takes nothing from their personal greatness, nor does the overshadowing and final absorption of their colony by Massachusetts take anything from the value of their work. They had been the pioneers, on them had fallen the burden and hardships of any such "undertaking, and they have been blamed for faults and failings which were not theirs at all. With reaction, and a truer view of the elements which went to the making of New England, the great importance 336 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS of the Pilgrims in the political and religious world becomes more and more clear, and no better epitaph could be found for them than the words written to Bradford by a friend out of England. " Let it not be grievous to you, that you have been instruments to break the ice for others. The honour shall be yours to the world's end." INDEX Acadia, 304 Accomack, 204 Achurch-cum-Thorpe, 36 Act of Uniformity, 9 " Admonition to Parliament," 15, 19 Adventurers, Merchant, 170, 171, 172. 173= 174. 177, 179. 214 to 233, 244, 286, 287, 32s, 330, 335 Advertisements, Parker's, 9 Agawam, 202 Agowaywam, 268 Ainsworth, Henry, 86, 90, 92, 93, 94, 9S. 97. i33> 150. I7S. 329 Alden, John, 185, 187, 189, 226, 300 Alexander, 279 Alkley, 66 AUerton, Bartholomew, 183, 186 Isaac, 131, 174, 183, 186, 189, 190, 211, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 268 John, 185, 189 Mary, 183, l86, 190 Remember, 183, 186 Alva, 125 Amazon, R., 161 America, i, 26, no, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 140, 142, 144. I4S. ISS. 159, 163, 167, 171, 179, 181, 191, 209, 241, 248, 256, 313 Ames, William, 137, 151 Amsterdam, 33, 67, 75. 76. 77. 79, 80,81,83,84,86, 87, 88, 91. 94. 95, 96, 97, 98. 99. loi. 106, 107, 123, 128, 132, 136, 150, 159, 175, 177, 234, 330 New, 324 Anabaptism, loi, 135, 307 Anabaptists, 33, 38, 105, 113, 140, 145 Ancient Church, the, 53, 82, 83 to 97, 145 Andrews, 226, 232 Andros, Sir Edmund, 321 Ann, Cape, 226, 239, 273 Anne, the, 219, 222 22 "Answer to a Censorious Epistle," 136 Antinomianism, 307 , Antinoraians, 251, 252, 276, 299 Antwerp, fall of, 55, 78, 80 Appleby, Marjorie, 94 Arminians, 122, 135, 136, 155 Arminius, loi, 121 Articles, the Thirty-nine, 38, 165 Ashley, Edward, 229, 230, 231 Austerfield, 47, 65 Aylmer, Bishop of London, 40, 41, 42, 147 Bab WORTH, 47, 60, 62, 66 Bacon, Francis, 13, 22, 40, 215, 256 Bahama Isles, 185 Baillie, 33, 144, 145 Ballot system, 289 Baptism, 38, 100, loi, 102, 140, 145, 329 Baptist Churches, 102, 107 Barbadoes, 187 Barnes, John, 332 Barneveldt, John of, 136 Barnstaple, 323 Baro, Peter, 61 Barrow, Henry 5, 35, 37 to 45, 46, 53, 83, 85, 86, 92, 96, 100, loi, 140, 146, 147, 150 Base, 225 Bastwick, 147 Bawtry, 64 Baynes, 62 Beauchamp, 225, 226, 227, 232 Bell Alley, Leyden, 128, 144, 153 Bellingham, 241 Bermudas, the, 275 Bernard, Richard, 61, 103 Bevercotes, Samuel, 58 Beza, II Billingsgate Point, 202 Billington, Ellen, 184 Francis, 184, 207 John, 184, 188 John, 184 Billington's Sea, 207 337 338 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Bishops, 8, 13, 14, 17, 29, 31, 43, 46, 70, 96, 147, 154, 166, 167, 177 Blackwell, Francis, 96, 168 Blaxton, 244 Block Island, 273 Bloody Brook, 281 Blyth, so Bonner, 26 " Book which sheweth," 34 Boston, Lincolnshire, 72, 75, 149, 244 Boston, Mass., 244, 248, 249, 251, 252, 2S4, 273, 276, 277, 280, 301, 308, 311, 316, 326 Boston Bay, 259 Indians of, 268, 270 Boston Harbour, 310 Bourne, Richard, 313, 314 Bow Church, 75 Bowie, Robert, 43 Bowman, Christopher, 44 Boys, Edward, 88 Mrs Thomasine, 88 to 90 Bradford, Dorothy, 183, 204 Robert, 66, 67 William, 3, 26, 40, 45, 47, 52, S3, 59. 62, 64, 65 to 69, 70, 72, 75, 81, 87, 94, 103, 109, 128, 130, 133. 138, 142, 150, IS7, 159. 169, 174, 176, 181, 183, 186, 191, 198, 199, 202, 206, 215, 216, 217, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 225, 226, 228, 229, 233, 236, 249, 256, 263, 265, 268, 269, 275, 278, 286, 288, 296, 297, 298, 299, 322, 324, 326, 329', 330. 331. 336 Braintree, 238 Bredwell, 35 Brereton, Sir William, 237 Brewer, Thomas, 150, 152, 153, 154 Brewster, Fear, 131 Love, 183, 186 Mary, 183 William, 51 to 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 70, 72, 127, 128, 131, 133, 139. 150, 15', 152. 153. 160. 162, 163, 164, 166, 168, 169, 171, 183, 191, 206, 222, 225, 226, 229, 231, 278, 330 Wrasling, 183, 186 Bridgwater, 323 " Briefe Relation of the Discovery and Plantation of New England," 235 Brill, 55. 85 Bristol, 208 Britterige, Richard, 185, 189 Bromhead, Hugo, 64 Brook, Lord, 253, 300 Brookfield, 281 Browne, John, 246 Samuel, 246 Peter, 185, 189 Robert, 27 to 37, 38, 39, 46, 53, 83. 90, 92, 95. 105. 133. 137. 145. 150 " Brownism turned inside outward," 92 Brownism, 215, 221 Brownists, 37, 61, 70, 86, 140, 142, 154, 221, 234, 299 Bucer, 10 Buckram, Edward, 64 BuUinger, 6, 11 Burghley, 28, 32, 36, 40, 41, 42, 45, 60, 71, 85, 147 Burgundy, Mary of, no Burial Hill, 206, 213, 265 Burton, 147 Bury St Edmunds, 32, 34 Butten, William, 183 Byrne, James, 51 Calderwood, David, 151, 152 Calvin, 14, 16, loi, 142, 143 Calvinism, 3, 5, 7, 14, 61, 113, 135, 136, 142, 248 Calvinists, 105, 122, 134, 135, 136 Cambridge, 28, 40, 52,153, 54, 57, 60, 61, 62, 84, 93, 98, 147, 247, 3U Mass., 309, 319, 330 Campen, 86 Canada, 86 Canne, John, 97 Canonchet, 280, 283, 315 Canonicus, 249, 250, 260, 263, 265, 313 Cantantowwit, 260 Canterbury, 164 Capawack, Isle of, 268 Cape Ann, 226, 239, 298 Cape Cod, 3, 181, 193, 194, I95. 196, 197, 202, 206, 212, 264, 294, 330 Capital crimes, 290 Carleton, Sir Dudley, 152, 154, 155 Carpenter, Juliana, 64 Carter, Robert, 184 Cartwright, 15, 16, 19, 28, 33, 57, 84, 151 Carver, John, 131, 134, 164, 171, 174. 175. 177, 183, 185, 211, 215, 216, 288 Katharine, 183 INDEX 339 Cathkin, 152 Cecil, 108 Ceremonial, in services, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 16, 19, 21, 22, 30, 46, 61, 246 Chaderton, 62 Champlain, Lake, 237 "Character of the Beast," loi Charity, the, 221, 266, 325 Charles, R., 241, 312 Charles, Prince, 196 I., 147, 287 II., 58, 320 Charlestown, 242, 243 Charter House, 247 Chartered Companies, 163 Charters, 171, 228, 234, 235, 241, 242, 243, 24s, 246, 248, 250, 287, 320, 321 Chilton, James, 184, 188 Mary, 184, 188 Choir Alley, Leyden, 127 "Christian Plea," 96 Christ's College, Camb., 61, 84, 98 Church, Captain, 283, 284 Church and State, connection of, 7, 8, 16, 19, 22, 2S, 31, 32, 37, 38, 39. 57, 96, 102, 103, 112, 113, 136, 139, 145, 166, 167, 247, 250, 252, 297. 319, 334 Churches, Reformed, 137, 138, 158, 16s, 223 Civil War, the, 252 Clare Hall, Camb., 40 Clark, John, 86 Thomas, 332 Clarke, Richard, 185, 189 Clark's Island, 204, 205 Cluverius, 121 Clyfton, Richard, 52, 60, 62, 63, 66, 75, 81, 87, 150 Coddington, 323 Coke, Sir Edward, 248 Collier, William, 233, 301 ' ' Commentarii in Proverbia Salo- monis," 151 Commission for regulating Planta- tions, 287 Commissioners, Board of, 275, 277, 278, 281, 282, 294, 296, 301 10321 Commonwealth, the, 108 Communism, 214, 215, 218, 219 Compact on Mayflower, 194, 212, 287 Conant, Roger, 240, 242, 273 Concord, 253 22* Confederation, New England, 112, 27s. 301. 302, 306, 307, 316, 317, ^ 318. 319. 320, 335 Confession of faith, 87, 93, 94, 95, 103, 165 Congregationalism, i, 27, 29, 31, 32, 93, 132, 133. 134, 145 Connecticut, 112, 226, 245, 253, 254, 272, 273, 274, 275, 278, 281, 298, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 312, 314, 316, 317, 318, 320 Cooke, Francis, 184, 188, 190 John, 184, i88, 190 Cooper, Humility, 184, 188 Coppin, Robert, 202, 203 Copping, John, 34 Coppinger, 57 Corbitant, 264, 267 Cornhill, 199, 201, 202, 258 Corpus Christi College, Camb., 61 Cotton, John, 98, 244, 251 Council for New England, 229, 234, 235, 236, 237, 239, 240, 245, 253, 286, 287 Council of Trent, 12 Counter Remonstrants, 122 Court of High Commission, 17 Courtrai, Battle of, 113 Coventry, 148 Cox, 8 Cradston, John, 183, 187 Crane, Mistress, 148 Cranmer, 6, 8 George, 57 Crimes in Plymouth, 290, 332, 333 Cromwell, 130, 131, 327 Crooker, Francis, 332 Cumberland, Earl of, 45 Cushman, Mary, 190 Robert, 131, 134, 164, 168, 169, 171, 173, 174, 175. 177, 179, 217, 224, 226, 227, 239, 256 Dartmouth, 178, 179, 280 D'Aunay Charnissay, 304, 305 Davenport, John, 254 Davison, William, 54 to 58 De Rasites, 117, 257, 322, 324, 327 " De regimine EcclesiEe Scoticanas Brevis Relatio," 151 Deerfield, 281, 282 "Defence of the Doctrine propounded by the Synod of Dort," 136 Delaware, 304 Delfshaven, 176 340 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Democracy, 32, no to 118, 146, 182, 252, 254, 287, 289 Democratic Government, i, 182, 193, 287, 289, 296 Dermer, Mr, 209 " Dialogue," 26, 40, 68, 142 " Differences of the Churches of the Separation," 99 Disciplinarian Controversy, 14, 15 " Discourse," 90 DoUesquebe, R., 161 Dorchester, 240, 243, 253 Company, 240, 241, 298 Dort, 43, 127, 150 Synod of, 136 Doty, Edward, 184, 189 Douay, 12, 115 Dover, 71 Drake, 3, 163 Drewe, John, 64 Droitwich, 130 Dry Drayton, 29 Dublin, 147 Dudley, 241 Dunster, Henry, 309 Durie, 128 Dutch, 33, 76 to 81, 108 to 126, 127, 130, 131, 149, 154, 15s, IS7, 160, 162,169, 222, 245, 252, 253, 254, 258, 260, 262, 273, 279, 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 308, 317, 319, 326 influence, 4, 23, 57, 61, 108, 109, no, III, 116, 117, 118, 130, 131, 132, 155, 157, 193, 297, 324, 327> 332 Duxbury (Lanes), 130 (Plymouth), 131, 294, 323 East Harbour Creek, 198 Eaton, 241 Francis, 184, 188 Samuel, 184, 189, ' Sarah, 184 Edinburgh, 147, 152 Education, 22, 38, 114, 308, 309, 310, 330, 331 Edward VI., 6, 26 Edy, Elizabeth, 334 Elders, 14, 15, 38, 92to96, 100, 139, 140, 14s El Dorado, 103 Eliot, John, 311, 312 Elizabeth, Queen, 5, 7, 9, 20, 21, 26, 48, SO. 55. 56, 58, 146, 147. 154, 165, 251 Elizabeth Isles, 19S, 311 Ely, 18s Elzevir Press, 150 Emden, 96 Emmons, Nathaniel, 145 Endicott, 241, 242, 243, 273, 299 English, Thomas, 185, 189 Episcopius, 135, 136 Essequibo, R., 162 Essex, 175 Ex office oath, 17, Exeter, 252 Familism, 307 Familists, 113 Farewell address, Robinson's, 142, 143, 176 Farrer, Sir George, 174 Faunce, Elder Thomas, 213, note Fawsley, 148 Finance in Plymouth, 292, 293, 294 First Encounter, 203, 208, 258 Fishing, 167, 197, 227, 229, 235, 324 Fitcher, 238 Fitz, Mr, 26, 41 " Five Articles," the, 151 Fletcher, Rev, 66, ■ Moses, 185, 189 " Flower, a letter to Mr," 35 Flushing, 55, 85, 154 Fortune, the, 180, 216, 217, 218, 265 " Forty-two Articles," the, 8 Fox, George, 102 France, 20, S5. "i, 304. 305 Franeker, 115 Frankfort, 7 Freak, Bishop, 32 French captures, 196, 217, 232 alliance suspected, 279 hostility, 300, 304, 305 Friary, the, 148 Friends, Society of, 107 Friendship, the, 230 Fuller, Edward, 184, 188 Samuel, 131, 174, 180, 183, 1 87, 242, 298, 299, 329, 330 Samuell, 184, 188 Gainsborough, 61 Church, 47, 64, 97 to 102 Gardiner, Richard, 185, 189 Gaunt, Mary, 332 General Court at Plymouth, 233 Germany, Anabaptists in, 33 Glover, Joseph, 330 INDEX 341 Go£fe, 281 Gomar, 121 Gonville and Caius, Camb. , 93 Goodman, John, 185, i8g Gookin, Daniel, 312 Goree, 74 Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, 196, 235, 236, 237, 241, 24s, 276 Captain Robert, 236, 238, 241, 244. 273, 287, 298 Gorton, Samuel, 276, 277, 317 Gosnold, 19s Grampus Bay, 203 Gravesend, 74, 97 Gray's Inn, 40 Great Hollow, 199 Great North Road, 47, 48, 49, 51, 59 Great Privilege, the, i lo Greenham, Richard, 29 Greenwood, John, 35, 40, 41, 43, 44, 4S> 46, S3. 85, 86, 94, 147, 150 Grimsby, 73, 75 Grindal, Archbishop, 8, 13, 16 Grotius, 121 Groton (Suffolk), 243 (U.S.A.), 283 Guernsey, 32 Guiana, 161, 162, 171, 197 Guicciardini, 78, 113, 114, 115, Ii6 Haarlem, 123, 124 Meer, 123 Hackett, 57 Hadley, 281, 283 Hague, the, 54, 152, 322 Half way Covenant, 145 Hall, Bishop, 62, 98, 136 Hamden, 267 Hampden, John, 253 Hampshire, New, 238 Hampton Court Conference, 19, 64 Harcourt, Michael, i6i Robert, 161 Harrison, Robert, 30, 34, 53, 133 Hartford, Conn., 245, 253, 279, 303, 304 Harvard College, 308, 310, 312 Harvard, John, 308 Hatfield, 283 Hatherley, 226, 230, 231, 233, 325 Helwys, Joan, 64 Thomas, 64, 98, loi, 102, 107, 134, 14s Henry Vin., 3, 6,7,50,51. 58 Higginson, Rev. Francis, 243, 246 " Hints for Travellers," 71 Hobbamock, 259, 267, 268 Hocking, 300 Holbeck, William, 184 Holgate, Archbishop, 50 Holland, 4, 19, 20, 31, 33, 34, 38, 43. 45. 47. 54, 55. S6, 65, 67, 71, 73. 74. 75. 76 to 81, 98, 102, 109 to 126, 135, 136, 144, 149, 150, 15s, 156, 157, 158. 160, 162, 165, 175, 178, 180, 197, 206 Holmes, William, 294 Holy DiscipUne, 14, 15, 63 Hooke, John, 183, 186 Hooker, 15 Thomas, 253 Hooper, Bishop, 6, 10 Hopkin's Creek, 199, 200 Hopkins, Constanta, 184, 187 Damaris, 184 Elizabeth, 184 Giles, 184, 187 Oceanus, 184 Peter, 332 Stephen, 184, 187, 189, 198, 207, 208, 263 Houses, Dutch, 115, 122, 124 in Plymouth, 206, 322, 323 Hout, J. van, 107 Howland, John, 183, 186, 188,226,300 Hudson, R., 169, l8l, 303 Hull, 73, 75 Humphrey, 241 Hunt, Captain, 196, 203, 209, 266 Pastor of Norwich Church, 33 Hutchinson, Mrs, 251, 252 Hutton, Matthew, 50 Idle, R., 75 Independent Churches, 107 Indians, 130, 181, 193, 198, 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 226, 238, 248, 249, 252, 256 to 285, 290, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 305, 306, 308, 310 to 315, 317, 324 Indies, West, 185 Inheritance, methods of, 117 " Institutes " of Calvin, 14 Ipswich, 202 Ireland, Ainsworth in, 94 Jackson, Richard, 64 Jacob, Henry, 85, 134, 137 James I., 19, 20, 21, 22, 49, 50, 59, 70, 94. 135. 147, ISO, 151, 152, 153, 154. 194, 210, 226, 234, 239, 243. 251 342 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS James II., 301, 321 Jenner, 84 Jepson, William, 129 Jersey, 32 Jessop, Francis, 64 Thomas, 64 Jewel, Bishop, 8, 10, I2 Johnson, 241 Lady Arabella, 244 Francis, 44, 61, 67, 84 to 96, 98, 100, 105, 133, 134, 150 George, 33, 53, 86, 88, 89, 90 John, 91 Joint Stock Co., 172, 217 Jones, Captain, 180, 200, 201 Jordaine, John, 326 Junius, 87, 121 Jurisdiction in Plymouth, 290 Jury, trial by, 29 "Justification of separation, " 150 Keanb, 225 Kemp, 48 Kennebec, R., 226, 237, 298, 300 "Key," Williams', 248 Kieft, 252, 303 Kiehtan, 259, 280 Killigrew, Sir Henry, 54 Kingston, 205 North, 282 on Thames, 148 Knightley, Sir Richard, 148 Kniveton, George, 44 La Tour, Charles de, 304, 305 Laconia, 237 Lake, Sir Thomas, 148 Lambeth, 41 Lancashire, 93, 130 Lancaster, 283 Land system in Plymouth, 214, 215, 219, 225, 233, 291, 292, 328 Land transfers, 118 Langemore, John, 184 Latham, William, 183, 185 Lathrop, 281, 282 Laud, Archbishop, 287 Lawne, Christopher, 88, 91, 92, 93, 94, 144 Laws of Plymouth, 117, 118, 257, 258, 271, 290, 332, 333, 334 Libel, 147 Lee, Nicholas, 44 Leicester, Earl of, 55 Leiderdorp, 153 Leigh, Edward, 71 Leith, 152 Leland, 48, 49 Leyden, 64, 77, 82, 87, 88, 95, 107, 108 to 155, 156, 158, 164, 165, 169, 171, 173, 174, 17s, 176, 215, 219, 221, 223, 224, 227, 270, 313 University, 87, 94, 109, 115, 120, 122, 125, 127, 144, 150, 154 Libraries, 52, 53, 66, 330 Licences to travel, 71, 72 for inns, 333 Lichfield, Bishop of, 60 Lincoln, 98 Countess of, 169 Lincolnshire, 47, 241 Ling, Mr, 233 Lipsius, Justus, 121 Litster, Edward, 184, 189 Little Casterton, 35 Little James, the, 219, 227 Local Government, 294, 295, 321 London, 47, 85, 86, 94,96, 102, 131, 147, 153. 170, 175. 177. 195. 241. 271 Bishop of, 147, 153, 167 Merchants, the four, 226, 227, 230, 232, 233 Long Parliament, 154, 287 Low Countries, 54, 55, 329 Luther, 142 Lutheranism, 142 Lyford, John, 222, 223, 240, 273, 288 Magistrates, power of, 31, 96, 102, 103, 139, I4S. 166, 247, 250, 252, 319. 334 perform marriage ceremony, 96, 126, 130, 140, 329 Maine, 208, 238, 301 Maintenance of Ministers, 38, 96, 29s. 307. 334 Manamoycke, 267 Manchester, 148 Manhattan, 258 Manomet, 268 Margaret, Princess, 49 Margeson, Edmund, 185, 189 Marlborough, 283 Marprelate tracts, 17, 43, 52, 53, 148 Marriage, a civil contract, 39, 96, 126, 130, 140, 329 Marshall, William, 51 Marshfield, 323 INDEX 343 Martha's Vineyard, 303, 311 Martin, Christopher, 175, 179, 184, 187 Martyr, Peter, 8, 10 Mary, Queen, 7, 26 Queen of Scots, i6, 56, 64 Masham, Sir William 247 Mason, John, 237, 238, 274, 275, 282, 283 Massachusetts Bay, 226, 236, 238, 239> 240, 241 Indians, 259, 265, 270, 288, 313 Massachusetts, 2, 118, 139, 145, 234, 239, 241, 242, 243, 244, 24s, 246, 247, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254, 25s, 267, 271, 273, 274, 277, 280, 281, 283, 287, 289, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 308, 309, 310. 3". 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 330, 334, 335 Massasoit, 209, 210, 211, 260, 263, 264, 26s, 267, 268, 278, 313 treaty with, 210, 249 Massasoits, the, 208, 258 Mather, Cotton, 66, 75 Mattachiest, 267, 268 Maurice, Prince, 130 Mauritius, R., 303 May, Dorothy, 67, 128 Jacomyne, 67 Mrs, 67 Mayflower, the, 2, 6$, 67, no, 129, 176, 177, 178, 180, 183, 197, 200, 202, 204, 206, 211, 212, 215, 216, 227, 287, 321 list of passengers on, 183 to 190 Mayhew, Experience, 311, 315 Thomas, 310, 312 Maypole, Morton's, 238, 239 Medfield, 283 Mendon, 281 Mennonite Churches, 102, 103, 107 Merrimac, R,, 237, 241 Merry Mount, 238 Miantonomoh, 250, 271, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 306, 31S Middelburg, 33, 34, 84, 85, 127, 134, 150, 152 Middleborough, 280 Military system in Plymouth, 294, 327. 328 Minter, Desire, 183, 185 Missionary Work among the Indians, 312, 313, 314, 315 Mohawks, 275, 305 Mohegans, 253, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 282, 306 Monhegan, 208, 238, 258, 270 Mookeheyde, 119 More, Ellen, 183 Jasper, 183, 185 Richard, 183, 186 Morley, Lord, 72 Morrell, 236, 287 Morton, George, 64, 65 Nathaniel, 47, 176 Nicholas, 64 Thomas, 238, 239, 240, 300 Moryson, Fynes, 78, 80, ni, 113, 116, 117, 120, 122, 123, 125, 126 Moulsey, 148 Mount Hope, 280 " Mourt's Relation," 65, 181, 217 MuUins, Joseph, 184 Priscilla, 130, 184, 187, 189 Mr, 184, 187 Mundham, 61 Murton, 102, 107, 136, 145 Naarden, 86 Namaschet, 264 Nantasket, 240 Nantucket, 311 Narragansett Bay, 249, 274, 280 Narragansetts, 249, 250 259, 260, 264, 265, 271, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 280, 282, 283, 306, 308, 312, 315 Nassau, Louis of, 119 Natick, 279, 312 Naumkeag, 237, 240, 242 Naunton, Sir Robert, 152, 167 Nauset, 323 Indians, 203, 208, 258, 267, 268 Neal, Elizabeth, 64 Neglect of parishes, 6, 12, 46, 60, 62, 66 Netherlands, 20, in, 113, 130 Nevile, Gervase, 64 New England, i, 4, 98, 109, no, III, 130, 132, 139, 144, 162, 170, 183, 192, 19s, 196, 198, 212, 213, 234, 237, 238, 239, 244, 24s, 246, 253. 256, 258, 271, 274, 293, 296, 298, 301, 306, 307, 310, 314, 318, 320, 321, 323, 324, 326, 330 Colonies of, 284, 285, 335 Council for, 171, 212, 215, 216, 221, 224 " New England's First Fruits," 326 344 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS "New England's Memorial," 176, 187 New Haven, 254, 301, 303, 304, 314, 316, 317, 320 New Netherland Company, 169, 181 Newfoundland, 86, 258 Company, 209 Newport, R. I., 323 Newtown, 253 Niantics, 275, 306 Nichols, 50 Nipmucks, 280, 283 Noddle's Island, 243 Norfolk, 30, 32, 40, 61 Northampton, 13, 36 U.S.A., 283 Northfield, 281 Norton, 273 Norway, 74 Norwich, 30, 32, 33, 48, 61, 93 Nottinghamshire, 50 Scrooby Church in, 46 Nova Scotia, 258 Oath, Residents, 249 " Observations Divine and Moral," 141 Obtakiest, 269, 270 "Of the lawfulness of hearing Ministers in the Church of England," 137 Officers in Plymouth, 289, 290 Ogilby, 48 Oldham, John, 222, 223, 237, 240, 241, 273, 288 Orange, William of, 69, 77, 120, 121 Orinoco, R., 163 Otes, Sir William Masham of, 247 Paaw, Peter, 121 ' ' Pacification and Edification of the Church of England," 13, 22 Pamet, 268 R., 199, 200 Papists, 16, 41, 45, 57, 70 "Parallels," 99 Parker, Matthew, 8, 9, lo Particulars, the, 219 to 223 Partridge, Samuel, 319 Patents, 163, 169, 181, 214, 216, 226, 228, 229, 230, 233, 23s, 248, 276, 277, 286, 287, 300 " Patterne of true Prayer," 98 Patuxet, 204, 208, 209 Paulet, Sir Amyas, 56 Pecksuot, 269 Pemaquid, 208 Penn, no Penobscot, 196, 229, 232, 258, 300, 305 Penry, John, 35, 44, 45, 53, 84, 147 Pequod War, 252, 272, 273, 274, 275, 300, 303, 306 Pequods, 253, 271, 272, 276, 278, 283, 306 Perkins, William, 53, 61 Perne, Dr, 52, 53 Perth, 151 "Perth Assembly," 151, 152 Peterhouse, Camb., 52 Peters, 254 Petitions, 19, 43, 44, 45, 70, 86, 90, 149 Philip II., 54, 120 Philip of Pokanoket, 279, 280, 284, 31S Philip's War, King, 279 to 284, 302, 306, 314, 319 Pierce, John, 170, 216, 235, 286, 287 Pilgrim Church, 46, 62 to 65, 70, 71, 82, 83, 87, 88, 109, 132 to 145, 15s, 156, 158, 159, 165, 166, 167, 171, 181, 1S2, 222, 226, 236 Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, 213, note. Press, 152, 154 Pineses, 261 Piscataqua, R., 237, 239, 252, 301 " Plaine Refutation," 85 Plumber's Hall, 26 Plymouth, 71, 178 Plymouth, New, 2, 65, 67, 68, 109, no, 117, 131, 134, 142, 145, 164, 191, 192, 203, 204, 207, 208, 215, 218, 233, 234, 236, 242, 244, 245, 246, 249, 254, 256, 257, 258, 259, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303. 304. 305. 307. 312. 314. 318, 319, 321, 322, 323, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 334, 335 Plymouth Rock, 204, 213, note Pocahontas, 161 Pocock, 225 Pokanoket, 264, 267, 315 Pokanokets, the, 249, 259, 260, 278, 279, 312, 313 Polyander, 122, 135, 151 Pometacon, 279 Port Royal, 304 INDEX 34S Posts, SI, S8, 59 Powahs, 261 Pratt, Phinehas, 269 Prayer Book, 6, 8, 15, 20, 246 Praying Indians, 311, 312, 313 Presbyterian Church in Amsterdam, 97 Leyden, 128 Presbyterianism, 84, 92, 93, 96, 145 Presbyterians, 16, 19, 35, loo, 140, 151, 152, 248 Presbytery, at Wandsworth, 15, 31 Press, 85, 146 to 155 Priest, Degory, 185, 189 Prince, 226, 291, 320 " Principles and Inferences," 99 Pring, Martin, 195 Prison, Clink, 41, 88 Bridewell, 26 Gatehouse, 41 Marshalsea, 53 Tower, 56 Exeter, 239 Plymouth, 323, 324, Privy Council, 44, 72, 86, 147, 164, 165, 168 Proclamations, 20, 34 " Prophane schism," 91 Prophesyings, 13, 14, 21 Protestantism, 5, 9, 12, 20, 22, 55 Providence, R. I., 249, 283, 317 Prower, Salomon, 184 Prynne, 147 Publications, secret, 43, 85, 147, 148 Pumham, 276, 277, 303, 317 Puritans, 10 to 19, 21, 22, 28, 31, 36, S3. 57, 61, 84, 93, 98, loi, 108, "S. 134, 139. 143. 148, 158, 238, 240 to 252, 254, 287 Pyncheon, 241 QUADEQUINA, 209, 210, 211 Quakers, 102, 107, 145, 291, 307, 319, 323, 328, 332 Quincy, 236 Rainea, 86 Raleigh, 3, 74, 161, 163 Rammekins, 55 Records, Leyden, 109, 128 Plymouth, 322 Reformation, 2, 5, 9, 23, 76 to 78, 108, 114 to 116, 146 Rehoboth, 283, 323 "Relation of a voyage to Guiana," i6i Religious freedom, 4, 163, 250, 252, 260 in Holland, 76 to 78, 112, 113 Remonstrants, 122, 136 Representation in Plymouth, 289, 297 "Rescriptio contracta," 151 Restoration, the, 287, 302, 320 Restraints on publication, 34, 43, 44, 146 to 149, 154, 15s " Retractation," 103, 104 Reynolds, Captain, 178 Reynolds, Dr, 45 Rhine, 123, 126 Rhode Island, 249, 250, 252, 276, 277, 283, 301, 302 Rich, Lord, 41 Richmond, 84 Rigdale, Alice, 184 John, 184, 188 Roads in England, 48 in Holland, 123 in New England, 303 Robinson, John, 52, 53, 63, 65, 81, 90. 95. 98, 103, 105, 107, 109, 128, 129, 131, 132 to 145, 150, 154, 160, 164, 165, 166, 174, 176, 178, 221, 222, 224, 243, 270, 331, 332 Rochelle, 196 Rochester, Robert, 64 Rochford, 41 Rogers, Joseph, 184, i88 Thomas, 184, 188 Roman Catholicism, 6, 51, 77, 209, 304 Rome, Church of, 12, 158 Rotterdam, 154 Rough, John, 26 Rowland, 26 Rowlandson, Mary, 283, 314 Roxbury, 253, 311 Sabbath Keeping, 116, 125, 158, 257. 258, 328, 334 Sachem, 260, 261, 264, 270, 276, 277, 314, 315. 317 Socononoco, 277, 303, 317 Sagadahoc, 237 St Andrews, Archbishop of, 151 St John's College, Camb., 93 • R-. 304 St Olave's, 35 St Pancras Church, Leyden, 164 St Peter's Church, Leyden, 127, 128, 129, 144 Salaries at Plymouth, 294 346 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS Salem, i86, i88, 237, 240, 243, 248, 249. 250, 298, 299, 324 Saltonstall, 241 Samoset, 208, 209, 211, 258 Samson, Henry, 184, 188 Sandwich, 313, 323 Sandys, Archbishop, 50, 57 Sir Edwin, 57, 163, 164, 167, 168 Sir Samuel, 57 Sassacus, 275 Sausamon, 279 Say and Seal, Lord, 253, 300 Saybrook, 316 Scaliger, 121 Schinders, Richard, 152 Schools, 114, 115, 330 Scituate, 233, 283, 299, 323, 325 Scotland, 19, 32, 34, 35, 47, 49, 50, 54. S9. 151 Scriptures, authority of, 15, 16, 26, 32,37 study of, 66 Scrooby, 46, 47, 48, 51, 63, 64, 65, 70, 75. 81. 97. 129 Se-baptism, 102 Seekunck, 249, 303, 323 Selden, 147 Separatist Churches, 5, 24, 26, 47, 62, 83, 85, 87, 94, 104, 105, 106, 133, et passim Separatists, 3, 5, 17 to 24, 25, 28, 37, 43. 44. 46. 62, 63, 64, 70, 71, 72, 83, 8s, 86, 88, loi, 105, 106, 109, 132, 134, 13s, 138, 146, 149, 15s, 166, 221, 242, 246, 248, 335, et passim "Seven Articles," 165 Shaw, John, 334 Shawmut, 244 Shawomet, 276 Shepherd, Rev. Thomas, 309 Sherley, 225, 226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232 Sherwood Forest, 50 Shipdam, 40 Ships — Anne, 219, 222 Charity, 221, 266, 325 Fortune, 180, 2i6, 217, 218, 265 Friendship, 230 Little James, 219, 227 Mayflower, 2, 65, 67, no, 129, 176, 177, 178, 180, 183, 197, 200, 202, 204, 206, 211, 212, 215, 216, 227, 287, 321 Ships — continued — Speedwell, 176, 178, 179 Swan, 266 Talbot, 227 White Angell, 230, 231, 232 Shrewsbury, Earl of, 50, 51 "Shrimp, Captain," 239 Silvester, 66 Singleton, Mary, 164 Slaney, John, 209 Smith, Captain John, 161, 163, 170, 180, 191, 195, 196, 197, 227, 234 Smyth, Rev. John, 81, 97 to 104, 195. 133. 140, 145 Society for Propagating the Gospel, 130, 310, 311, 312, 314, 318 Somerset, Protector, 6 Southampton, 142, 143, 175 177, 178, 179, 185, 217 Connecticut, 303 Southwark, 33, 35, 44, 134 Southwell, 50 Southworth, Edward, 64, 179 Sowle, George, 83, 186 Spain, 7, 72, 76, 160, 209 Spaniards, 119, 120, 121, 160, 162 Speedwell, the, 176, 178, 179 Spinoza, 121 Springfield, 303, 311, 317 Squanto, 209, 211, 258, 263, 266 Standish, Miles, 130, 131, 184, 187, 191, 197, 198, 206, 207, 211, 223, 224, 225, 226, 239, 264, 265, 268, 269, 270, 278, 279, 288, 294, 327 Rose, 184 Stanhope, Sir John, 58, 59 Staple, Merchants of the, 28, 84 Star Chamber, 147 Staresmore, Sabine, 168 States General, of Holland, 55 Stationers' Company, 146, 147 Stokes, Robert, 43 Stone, Captain, 273 Story, Elias, 183 Studley, Daniel, 44, 86, 91, 92 Stuyvesant, 304 Succonet, 268 Superstition, 68, 142 Swan, the, 266 Swansey, 280 Swanton, 93 Symson, Cuthbert, 26 Synods, 15, 37, 39, 139, 145, 166, 299. 300, 308. 319. 335 TALBOT, the, 227 INDEX 347 Taunton, 280, 323, 325, 327 Taxation in Plymouth, 291, 292, 293, 294 Thackei, Elias, 34 Thievish Harbour, 203 Thomas, 147 William, 233 Thomson, David, 237 Edward, 184 Thoresby, 48 Thorpe, Giles, 150 Tickens, Ralph, 129 Tilley, Ann, 184 Edward, 184, 188 Elizabeth, 184, 186, 188 John, 184, 186, 188 Tinker, Thomas, 184, 188 Tisquantum, 209, 264, 267 Tolethorpe, 28 Toller, Thomas, 64 Town meeting, iii, 291, 293, 294, 29s Townships, growth of, 294, 323 rights of, 29s Trade in Plymouth, 225, 226, 238 Travelling, difficulties of, 71, 75 "Travels and Observations," 161 Travers, 15 " Treatise of Reformation," 34 " Treatise on 23rd Matthew," 34 Treaty with Massasoit, 210 Narragansetts, 274, 277, 278 Tree-eaters, 262 Trent, R., 75 Trevore, William, 185 Tribute, Pequod, 276 TrimountaiB, 244 "True and Short declaration," 31, 34 "True Description, 92 Truro, 198 Tubbs, Mercy, 333 Tuke, Sir Brian, 58 Tumbatu, 197 Turner, John, 184, 188 Tuxford, 49 Tyburn, 53 Udall, is, 19, S3. 147 Uncas, 276, 277, 278, 306 Underbill, 273, 274, 27S Undertakers, the, 226, 233 United Colonies, 275, 282, 294, 303, 310 United States Constitution, no, in, 112, 192 Universities, 19, 40, 121, 147 Valdez, 119 Vane, Governor, 2S1, 252, 254 Vestiarian Controversy, 10, 16 Virginia, 96, 161, 162, 103, 167, 171, 172, 189, 194, 19s, 196, 209, 226, 238, 2S8, 322 Virginian Company, London, 163, 164, 168, 169, 170, 171, 212, 234, 23s Plymouth, 163, 170, 195, 234 Vorstius, 13s Vossius, 121 Voting, methods of, in Waldegravb, 148 Wales, Penry in, 44 S.P.G. in, 310 Walsingham, 71 Wamsutta, 279 Warren, Richard 184, 187 Warwick, Earl of, 253 patentees, 254 Watertown, 253 Weekston, Mr, 148 Wellfleet Bay, 202 Werf, Van der, 119 Wessagusset, 236, 238, 267, 268, 269, 270 West, Francis, 236, 287 Weston, Thomas, 170, 174, 17s, 177, 216, 218, 23s, 236, 238, 244, 266, 267, 270, 298 plantation of, 235, 266, 270 Weymouth, 283 Wheelwright, 251, 252 Whetcomb, 241 Whincop, Master John, 169 White, Bridget, 144 Frances, 64 Peregrine, 184, 187 Resolved, 184, 187, 190 Roger, 144 Susana, 184 ■ Thomas, 88, 91 • William, 184, 186, 187 Rev. Mr, 240, 241 Wkite Angell, the, 230, 231, 232 Whitehall, 154 Whitgift, IS, 16, 17, 41. 43. 4S. 85, 147 Wickham, William, 98 Wilder, Roger, 183, l8s Willard, Major, 281 William III., 74 348 A HISTORY OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS William and Mary, 321 Williams, Roger, 93, 247, 250, 251, 252, 258, 2S9, 263, 274, 277, 278, 311, 329 Thomas, 185, 189 Wilson, Sir T., 148 Mr, 299, 329 Windsor, Connecticut, 253 Winslow, Edward, 109, 130, 133, 134, 142, 151, 174, 176, 183, 186, 187, 210, 217, 221, 222, 225, 232, 240, 249, 259, 263, 278, 295, 301, 310, 313, Elizabeth, 183 Gilbert, 185, 189 Josiah, 271, 282, 283 Winthrop, 241, 243, 244, 250, 251, 252, 254, 271, Wise, John, 145 Witches, 142, 291 248, 260, 249, 261, 312, 319. 128, 129, IS7, 159; 191. 226, 267, 209, 230, 268, 323 246, 247, 299, 329 Wituwamat, 268, 269, 270 WoUaston, Captain, 238 Mount, 238 Wolsey, 49 Wolstenholme, Sir John, 168 Wolston, 148 Women, position of, 116, 1 17 Wood, Henry, 129 Woollen industry, 33, 108, 118 Worksop, 47, 49, 50, 61, 64 Woroanoke, 303 Wyclif, 108 Y., River, 75 Yarmouth, 61 Mass., 323, 327 York, 48, 49, SI, 64, 75 Zealandbrs, 162 Zouche, Sir William, 154 Zurich, 8, 9 Zuyder Zee, 75 TURNBULL AND SPEARS, FRIHTERS, EDINBURGH