The Pilgrims of New England - Mrs. J. B. Webb
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A TALE OF
THE EARLY AMERICAN SETTLERS.
BY
MRS. J. B. WEBB,
AUTHOR OF "NAOMI," "JULAMERK," ETC.
PREFACE
In the following story, an attempt has been made to illustrate the
manners and habits of the earliest Puritan settlers in New England, and
the trials and difficulties to which they were subjected during the
first years of their residence in their adopted country. All the
principal incidents that are woven into the narrative are strictly
historical, and are derived from authentic sources, which give an
impartial picture both of the virtues and the failings of these
remarkable emigrants. Unhappily, some of these incidents prove but too
clearly, how soon many of these exiles 'for conscience sake' forgot to
practice those principles of religious liberty and toleration, for the
preservation and enjoyment of which they had themselves abandoned home
and kindred, and the church of their forefathers; and they tend to
lessen the feelings of respect and admiration with which their piety,
and their disinterested spirit, must necessarily inspire us. We cannot
but regret to find how early, in many of the Puritan communities, that
piety became tinged with fanaticism, and that free spirit degenerated
into bigotry and intolerance in their treatment of others, who had an
equal claim with themselves to a freedom of private judgement, and to
the adoption or rejection of any peculiar forms or mode of discipline.
It is hoped, that a story founded on the history of these admirable,
but sometimes misguided, men, may prove interesting to many who have
hitherto been but slightly acquainted with the fate of their self-
exiled countrymen; and may tend to remove the prejudice with which, in
many minds, they are regarded: for, while we remember their errors and
infirmities, we should also remember that their faults were essentially
those of the age in which they lived, and the education they had
received; while their virtues were derived from the pure faith that
they possessed, and which was dearer to them than aught on earth
beside.
KING'S PYON HOUSE,
HEREFORD
THE
PILGRIMS OF NEW ENGLAND.
CHAPTER I.
'The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-hound coast:
And the woods against a stormy sky,
Their giant branches tost.
And the heavy night hung dark
The hills and waters o'er,
When a hand of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.' HEMANS.
It was, indeed, a 'stern and rock-bound coast' beneath which the
gallant little Mayflower furled her tattered sails, and dropped her
anchor, on the evening of the eleventh of November, in the year 1620.
The shores of New England had been, for several days, dimly descried by
her passengers, through the gloomy mists that hung over the dreary and
uncultivated tract of land towards which their prow was turned; but the
heavy sea that dashed against the rocks, the ignorance of the captain
and his crew with regard to the nature of the coast, and the crazy
state of the deeply-laden vessel, had hitherto prevented their making
the land. At length the ship was safely moored in a small inlet,
beyond the reach of the foaming breakers; and the Pilgrim Fathers
hastened to leave the vessel in which they had so long been imprisoned,
and, with their families, to set foot on the land that was henceforth
to be their home. Cold, indeed, was the welcome which they received
from their adopted country; and cheerless was the view that met their
gaze, as they landed on a massy rock of granite, at the foot of a
precipitous cliff, and looked along the barren, inhospitable shore, and
over the dark waters which they had so lately crossed.
But hope was strong in the hearts of these exiles; and the faith that
had led them to seek these untrodden shores, had not deserted them
during their long and tempestuous voyage; and they looked upward
through the gloom and dreariness that surrounded them, and fixed their
trusting eyes on Him who had guided them in safety over the great deep,
and brought them at length to a resting-place. Their first act was to
kneel down on the cold rock, and offer up their prayers and praises to
that God for whose sake they had given up country, and friends, and
home, and to whose service they now dedicated themselves and their
children: and strikingly grand must have been that act of worship. The
manly voices of the sturdy Pilgrims rose in deep and solemn unison,
followed by those of the women and children, and resounded along the
silent coast, while the heavy urges of the receding tide kept up a
hoarse and monotonous accompaniment. Then arose a hymn of
thanksgiving--and the rocks and the neighboring hills re-echoed the
exulting strain, that seemed to drown the voices of the wind and the
waves, and to rise unmixed to heaven. It was the triumph of faith--the
holy and heartfelt expression of undying trust and confidence in God!
Surely, at that time, the Pilgrims were meet objects for the admiring
gaze of men and angels! But they were not always so.
It was on the shore of Cape Cod Bay that the new settlers had landed,
in the inlet now called New Plymouth Harbor: but this was not the place
of their original destination. They had intended to steer for the
mouth of Hudson's River, and to have fixed their habitation in that
less exposed and inhospitable district. But the Dutch had already
conceived the project, which they afterwards accomplished, of settling
in that part of the new continent; and it is supposed that the captain
of the Mayflower was bribed by them to convey the English emigrants
further to the north; so that the first American land which they beheld
was Cape Cod. They found that the place where they had landed was
beyond the precincts of the territory which had been granted to them;
and even beyond that of the Company from which they derived their right
of colonization; and after exploring hastily the neighboring coast, and
finding it dreary and unpromising, they again embarked, and insisted on
the captain's conveying them to the district which they had first
desired to reach. They sailed to the south, and many days were lost in
endeavoring to find a more convenient spot for their settlement: but it
was in vain. The shoals and the breakers with which the coast was
lined, presented obstacles that were insurmountable at that advanced,
and unusually inclement, season; and, weary and disheartened, they
returned to the place of their first landing. There they fixed their
abode, and there they founded the infant city of New Plymouth. It was a
desolate situation, and one that subjected the new settlers to many
trials and privations; for the nearest English settlements then
established were upwards of five hundred miles distant. Winter having
set in with more than common severity, they felt that no more time
could be wasted in seeking for a better spot, on which to build their
first American habitations. Sickness also had begun to show itself
among the little band of men, women, and children who were all
unaccustomed to the hardships and confinement of a long voyage; and it
was necessary to disembark with all possible speed, and erect huts to
shelter them from the daily increasing inclemency of the weather. For
this purpose, the forests of oak, pine, juniper, and sassafras, that
had grown undisturbed for centuries along the coast, furnished them
with abundant materials; and the woods soon echoed to the unaccustomed
sound of the hatchet and the saw, at which all the men, of every rank
and condition, labored unremittingly, while the women and children
gathered up the great muscles, and other shell-fish, which abounded on
the shore, and collected dry wood for firing.
But before we follow the settlers in the detail of their sufferings and
trials, and of their ultimate success and prosperity, it will be
needful to go back a few years, and consider the motives that led these
brave men to expose themselves and their families to such severe
hardships, and to abandon their home and their kindred. A brief glance
at their previous history will suffice for this purpose.
It is well known that the Puritans were greatly dissatisfied with the
state of the Church in England at the time when James the First
ascended the throne of this country. From him they hoped for protection
and encouragement; but in this expectation they were grievously
disappointed. The conference at Hampton Court proved how little
sympathy he entertained for their party; and the convocation which was
held soon after utterly all their hopes. Already a considerable number
of these dissenters had joined themselves into what they called a
_'Church Estate,_ pledged to walk in God's ways,' and to renounce the
evil passions of the world. They had protested against the episcopal
form of church government, and declared their approval of the
discipline and the forms adopted by the Church of Geneva, and also of
that established in the Netherlands. In order to enjoy the liberty in
ecclesiastical matters which they so greatly desired, they made up
their minds to retire to Amsterdam, under their excellent and respected
pastor, John Robinson; and this project was effected by the greater
number of their party; though some were discovered before they could
embark, and were detained and imprisoned, and treated with much
severity. Ultimately, however, they all escaped, and remained
unmolested at Amsterdam and the Hague, until the year 16O8, when they
removed to Leyden with their pastor, where they resided for eleven
years, and were joined by many others who fled from England during the
early part of the reign of James.
These men now felt that their only hope of enjoying perfect religious
liberty, and of establishing a church according to their own dearly-
loved principles, lay in a voluntary exile. Their English prejudices
made them shrink from continuing to dwell among the Dutch, who had
hitherto given them a hospitable asylum; for they feared that, by
frequent intermarriages, they should eventually lose their nationality;
and they resolved to seek a new home, where they might found an English
colony, and, while they followed that mode of worship which was alone
consistent with their views and principles; might still be subjects of
the English crown, and keep up an intercourse with the friends they
dearly loved, and the land where their forefathers had lived and died.
The recent discovery of the vast continent of America, in several parts
of which the British had already begun to form colonies, opened to them
a field of enterprise, as well as a quiet refuge from persecution and
controversy; and thither the Puritans turned their eyes. Nor were they
the first who had taken advantage of the unoccupied wastes of the New
World, and sought in them an asylum from intolerant oppression. Already
a numerous band of French Huguenots had retired thither, under the
conduct of their celebrated Calvinistic leader, De Monts, who was
invested with the government of the district lying between Montreal and
Philadelphia, by a patent from his sovereign, Henry the Fourth. No
traces of this colony now remain, while those planted by the English
Puritans have taken root in the American soil, and flourished so
greatly, that a few years ago their descendants were found to amount to
4,000,000: so remarkably has the blessing of God, at least in temporal
matters, been bestowed on an enterprise which was, doubtless,
undertaken in dependence on His protection; and was carried out with
that fortitude and resolution which are the results of sincere piety
struggling with deep adversity.[*]
[Footnote: For this account of the cause which led to the emigration of
the Puritans, and the manner in which they effected it, the authoress
is chiefly indebted to Marden's 'History of the Puritans,' and Talvi's
'History of the Colonization of America.']
The idea of retiring to the shores of America was first suggested to
his followers by their pastor, John Robinson, whose influence over his
flock was almost unexampled. This influence was derived from the purity
of his life, and the holy consistency of his conduct. He was possessed
of a gentle temper; and the strictness of his religious principles was
united with a spirit of toleration towards others, which was too little
felt or practiced in those days, and which was not, as is too often the
case, changed into bitterness by the sufferings that he had himself
experienced. Well had it been for those who professed to be guided by
his example and advice, and who left the shores of Europe with the
sanction of his counsel and his blessing, if they had carried with them
the truly Christian spirit of their respected minister, and had
suffered that spirit to guide them in the formation, and during the
growth, of their infant church in America! But, as we shall presently
see, this was not the case: the mercy and toleration which the Puritan
exiles had vainly asked at the hands of their brethren at home, they
denied to others who differed from them; and, consequently, while they
have so greatly prospered in the things of this world, in religion they
have evidently declined.
Emigration being resolved on, the first step that was taken by the
Puritans, was an application to King James for an assurance of
protection and toleration in the new home which they desired to seek;
but this was more than the wary king would guarantee to them. All that
they could obtain was a vague promise, that so long as they conducted
themselves peaceably, they should not be molested; and, relying on this
promise, they immediately commenced a negotiation with the Virginian
Company, for the possession of a tract of land within the limits of the
patent which had been granted to them for colonizing that part of
America. This was easily obtained; for the Society had hitherto only
been able to occupy a few isolated spots of their extensive territory,
and, therefore, were willing to encourage fresh settlers.
The congregation over which Robinson presided, amounted, at the time of
their intended emigration, to upwards of three hundred in number; but
their resources were inadequate to the expense of moving all together,
and it was therefore arranged that only a part of the flock should sail
at first, under the guidance of William Brewster; while the rest should
remain at Leyden, under the care of their pastor, and wait for the
report of their friends before they followed them to their chosen place
of exile.
The names of the vessels which were engaged to convey the Pilgrims from
the shores of Europe, were the Mayflower and the Speedwell--names still
cherished by heir descendants. When they were ready for sea, the whole
congregation assembled themselves together, and observed a solemn fast,
which concluded with prayer; and Robinson preached to them from Ezra
viii, 21: 'Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that
we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way
for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.' He
afterwards addressed them in a deeply impressive speech, in which he
earnestly deprecated all party spirit and bigotry, and exhorted them to
be guided only by the pure doctrines of God's Word.
'I charge you,' said this truly Christian and evangelical minister,
'that you follow me no further than you have seen me follow the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of his
Holy Word. I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed
churches, which are come to a period in religion, and will go, at
present, no further than the instruments of their reformation. Luther
and Calvin were great and shining lights in their times, yet they
penetrated not into the whole counsel of God. The Lutherans cannot be
drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; and the Calvinists, you see, stick
fast where they were left by that great man of God.[*] I beseech you,
remember it--'tis an article of your church covenant--that you shall be
ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the
Word of God.'
[Footnote: See 'Remarks on the Dangers of the Church,' by Rev. Edward
Bickersteth.]
The congregation then repaired to the house of their pastor, and
partook of a farewell repast together; after which they proceeded to
Delft Harbor, and there the Pilgrims embarked. Again their minister
offered up fervent prayer in behalf of this portion of his flock who
were about to encounter the dangers of a long voyage, and to seek a
home in an almost unknown land--and then in deep silence they parted.
'No cheers or noisy acclamations resounded along the shore, for such
demonstrations were little in accordance with the usual serious habits
of the Puritans, and still less so with the feelings of sadness which
now oppressed their hearts. But a volley of small shot, and three
pieces of ordnance,' writes Winslow, one of the emigrants, 'announced
to those on shore the hearty courage and affectionate adieus of those
on board; and so, lifting up our hands to one another, and our hearts
to the Lord, we departed.'
Thus the Pilgrims set sail, with mingled feelings of hope for the
future, and regret for what they left behind; and greatly would their
sorrow have been increased, had they known that they would never again
behold on earth the countenance of their much-loved pastor. They fully
anticipated his following them, with the rest of their brethren, as
soon as they should have found a suitable place of settlement for the
whole congregation. But poverty and other obstacles detained him in
Europe, and he terminated his useful and exemplary life at Leyden.
The emigrants had not proceeded far on their voyage, when it was
discovered that the Mayflower, commanded by Captain Jones, was in need
of some repairs; and the two vessels put into Dartmouth--not to sail
together again. The captain of the Speedwell declared that he was
afraid to encounter the voyage; and from this, or some other motive, he
positively refused to proceed any further. Several of the passengers
also, had already begun to feel disheartened, and they returned with
him to London, and abandoned the enterprise altogether. Doubtless, the
Pilgrims bad no cause to lament the departure of these faint-hearted
comrades; but it occasioned them much present inconvenience, for, not
being able to procure another vessel to convey the remainder of the
passengers who had embarked in the Speedwell, they were all obliged to
be crowded into the Mayflower, which sailed again on the sixth of
September, 1620, with considerably upwards of a hundred men, women, and
children on her narrow decks, in addition to her own crew of seamen.
After a very tedious and tempestuous voyage, they came in sight of the
American shores on the eighth of November; and, as we have already
seen, they landed three days afterwards in Cape Cod Bay, and eventually
founded the city of New Plymouth at the place of their disembarkation.
A portion of the granite rock on which the Pilgrim Fathers first set
foot has since been removed from the coast, and placed in front of'
'The Pilgrim's Hall,' enclosed in an iron railing; and the anniversary
of their landing, afterwards called Forefather's-day, has ever since
been observed by their descendants as a day of solemn festivity, in
remembrance of the mercy of Providence, which led them safely through
so many difficulties and dangers; and permitted them to find a new
home, and a new country, and to bring their enterprise to such a
prosperous issue.
It is with the first period of their establishment on the uncultivated
shores of North America that our story commences; and it is connected
with the sufferings and privations which were so patiently endured, and
the difficulties which were so resolutely overcome, by these devoted
men, before they had taken root in their new settlement, or gathered
around themselves and their families the comforts which they had
abandoned in their own land for conscience sake. Many trials awaited
them ere prosperity became their portion, and ere they could feel
either rest or security in the wild regions where they had sought a
refuge: and these trials will be brought more distinctly to our minds,
if we view them in connection with some of the individuals of the
expedition, and follow the fortunes of one family more particularly.
This family we will call by the name of Maitland, and endeavor in their
somewhat imaginary history, to describe the mode of life, and some of
the joys and sorrows--the difficulties and successes--of the Pilgrim
Fathers.
Owing to the many delays which the emigrants had experienced, a severe
winter had set in before they landed, and had fixed a spot for their
permanent abode; and they found themselves exposed to the inclemency of
a North climate, with no other shelter than a few tents, besides that
which the vessel continued to afford. In haste they felled the trees of
the neighboring forests; and in haste they constructed the village of
log huts which was to be their present abode, and which, ultimately,
grew into the flourishing and wealthy city of New Plymouth. In the
erection of this hamlet, no head was so fertile in plans and
expedients, and no arms were so strong to execute them, as those of
Rodolph Maitland, the head of the family in whom we are specially
interested. He was a younger member of a very respectable family in
the North of England, and had passed his youth and early manhood in the
service of his country as a soldier. This profession, however, became
distasteful to him when the religious dissensions which troubled the
land called on him, at times, to obey his commander in carrying out
schemes of oppression which were contrary both to his feelings and his
principles. His marriage with Helen Seatown, the daughter of a
nonconforming minister, increased his repugnance to bearing arms, which
might be turned against the party to which he was now so closely
connected; and he threw up his commission, and soon afterwards
accompanied his father-in-law to Holland, and joined the congregation
of the respected Robinson at Leyden.
Here he continued to reside until the resolution to emigrate was formed
by the Puritan refugees, when he was among the first to embrace the
proposition of the pastor, and to lend all the aid which his
comparative wealth, and the influence of his connections in England,
enabled him to offer in furtherance of the enterprise. His father-in-
law had died soon after his arrival at Leyden; but his amiable and
devoted wife was most willing to follow him in his voluntary exile, and
to take her children to the New World, where she hoped to bring them up
in the same principles of pure evangelical religion which she had
learnt from her own parents, and which were dearer to her than home or
friends or aught on earth besides.
At the time when the Pilgrims reached America, the Maitland's family
consisted of two sons, Henrich and Ludovico; the elder of whom was
sixteen years of age, and the younger about seven; and one little girl
between ten and eleven, named Edith. In the thoughtful seriousness of
his eldest boy, which was united with great intelligence and spirit,
and a manly resolution beyond his years, Rodolph saw his own character
again depicted; and Helen proudly hoped that her Henrich would one day
manifest all those qualities of mind and person by which his father had
first won her admiration and love, and by which he had since gained the
esteem and affection of all who were in any way connected with him.
Henrich was now old enough to understand, and almost to appreciate, the
motives which had induced his parents and their companions to become
exiles from home: and his young heart exulted in the resolution that
freed him from the cold formality of Dutch manners, and opened to his
adventurous spirit a prospect of liberty and enterprise, far better
suited to his inclination and character. Religious freedom he desired,
because he had been taught that it was his rightful privilege, and that
the want of it had occasioned those troubles which first drove his
parents and friends from their native land. But personal freedom he
yearned for with his whole soul; and the wild shores of New England,
and the depths of the unexplored forests that now met his eager gaze,
filled his ardent mind with anticipations of adventurous joys hitherto
unknown to him. These anticipations were destined to be fulfilled, ere
long, in a manner which he neither foresaw nor desired.
His brother Ludovico was a playful child, too young to share all the
feelings of the earnest Henrich, who always acted as his guide and
protector during their sports and rambles; but in the gentle little
Edith he found a kindred spirit, and a heart that could sympathize in
all his joys and sorrows. Young as she was, Edith felt the influence of
her brother's character; and she looked up to him with feelings of
devoted love and admiring pride. She was his constant companion, and
his ever-ready assistant in all his difficulties. This had been very
much the case during their residence in Holland; but on their arrival
in New England, Edith was left still more to her brother's guidance.
Their parents were necessarily too much occupied with the cares end
anxieties which their new situation brought upon them, to devote much
time to their children; and when the light labors in which Henrich and
Edith were able to render any assistance were over, they and Ludovico
amused themselves by wandering along the shore in search of shells and
seaweed; or else they followed the wood-cutters into the forest, to
seek for such flowering plants as still were to be found in the more
sheltered spots, and to transplant them to the garden that was to
surround and embellish their rude dwelling.