SUNDAY
AMONG
THE PURITANS:
OR
THE
FIRST TWENTY SABBATHS OF THE
PILGRIMS
OF
BY
DR. W. A. ALCOTT.
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PUBLISHED
BY CARLTON & PORTER,
SUNDAY-SCHOOL
--------------------------------------------------
Entered
according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, by
LANE
& SCOTT,
in
the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Southern
District
of New York.
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PREFACE.
----
Men profess, in these days, to judge
of the truth of everything by its practical effects and tendencies. They even judge of Bible doctrines in the
same way.
Taking
them, for once, at their word, I submit to their consideration – especially the
consideration of young men and youth – the following pages. I ask them to trace, fairly, the connection
between Puritan Sabbath-keeping and the general development of Puritan character.
Of
course, I do not take the ground, that the Puritans were perfect men, but that
they were in many respects remarkable me, as everybody admits; such men,
indeed, as the world has
seldom seen. The question I have
endeavored to answer – the problem I have tried to solve – is, How did they
keep the Sabbath?
To
answer this question, I have endeavored to go to the bottom of the best
histories on that subject; and to bring forth things new and old. I may have erred in some instances; if so,
let the errors be point out in kindness, but in faithfulness, and I will
acknowledge them. My aim is to bring my
work before the rising generation, and to abide by their decision on its
merits.
W. A. A.
West-Newton,
CONTENTS.
----
CHAP. PAGE
INTRODUCTION
................................................ 9
I. THE
FIRST SABBATH AT
II. SECOND
SABBATH AT
III. THIRD
SABBATH AT
IV. THE
FOURTH SABBATH ..................................... 32
V. A
SABBATH IN
VI. SECOND
SABBATH AT
VII. THIRD
SABBATH AT
VIII. FOURTH
SABBATH AT
IX. ONE
MORE SABBATH IN THE MAYFLOWER ..... 67
X. A
SABBATH ON SHORE .................................... 72
XI. THE
SECOND SABBATH ON SHORE ................... 78
XII. SEVEN
SABBATHS AMONG THE PURITANS ...... 81
XIII. SABBATH
VISITING ......................................... 85
XIV. SAILING
OF THE MAYFLOWER FOR
[This page blank.]
INTRODUCTION.
----
A
MODERN SABBATH IN NEW-ENGLAND.
The seventeenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty --, was as beautiful a
summer day as the sun ever rose upon.
Not a cloud obscured the sky, and rarely, during the delightful morning
hours, was there a sound heard, except from the songsters of the fields and
groves. It was the beginning of a
New-England Sabbath. It was the opening
of that day, which, if kept anywhere as it should be, is so in the land of the
Puritans.
But
the sun is hastening towards the meridian.
The far greater part of the in-habitants of the village are already in
their seats at their respective churches; and the most of us who remain at home
on account of indisposition or for other causes, are engaged in reading or in
contemplation.
Yonder,
however, is a man with his
pitchfork. He is attired like a laborer
– I mean, a farmer. Yes; he is one.
There stand his heaps of hay. Can
it be that he is going to work? It
certainly is so. He is already throwing
his hay about the mea-dow. And in the next field, still farther on, not
less than half a dozen men and boys are at work, opening and turning hay; and
all this, too, in full view of my door.
Has
there been rain for two or three days past, so that the hay in this vicinity is
likely to be greatly injured if it stands long in the heap? No such thing. Never, perhaps, was there finer and better
weather for hay-making than the past week.
Nor is there any prospect of rain now, as I have already intimated. And yet, these men and boys are at work as
busily making their hay, as if they had forgotten – entirely forgotten – the
great command: “Remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy.”
It
is afternoon now, but there is no remission of labor. Here come the teams to cart away the
hay. After having been made properly, it
would be as safe – or nearly so – in the heap, as in the barn.
This I never saw before. I have seen men
work a little while after a long wet, or rainy season to save their wheat, rye,
or other grain, when it was on the point of being spoiled; but, although I have
lived on the land of the pilgrims more than half a century, I never before saw
men and boys all around me, working at hay as if it were a common, or week day,
and as if the Sabbath were not in all their thoughts.
It
is election to-morrow, however. A
representative is to be chosen to Congress.
Perhaps some of these people are at work to-day in order to gain time to
attend the election. But why gain
time? The grass is not suffering either
for want of getting in or cutting.
The
plain, unvarnished truth is, that the Sabbath is becoming neglected among us –
sons of the Puritans though we presume to call ourselves. We not only make calls, and visits, and ride
about for the sake of health and pleasure, but when there is the slightest
apology for such a course, go to work.
It
is not during the season of haying and harvesting alone that we labor on the Sab-
bath; it is at almost all
seasons. Nor is it the farmers alone who
openly disregard the Sabbath and the ordinances and institutions of
religion. It is, in too many instances,
professors of religion no less than non-professors.
This
very year I have seen men of nearly all the various denominations of Christians
which we have among us, at work on the Sabbath; and this again and again. Some often labor in their shops; some in
their gardens; others in their fields.
And what is to be the end of these things?
Musing
on this subject of late, one day, my mind reverted to the character of our
pilgrim fathers – the noble race of men from whom we descended. How did they regard the Sabbath, I inquired? Did they labor occasionally, on the holy day,
and then plead that it was a work of necessity?
Did they waste half the time; and visit, or ride about, or play the
other half? Have we the means of
ascertaining the facts in the case? And
if so, will they not be both interesting and instructive? Let us, at least, make the attempt.
SUNDAY
AMONG THE PURITANS.
----
CHAPTER
I.
THE FIRST SABBATH AT
IN
the autumn of 1620, two hundred and thirty-one years
ago, there lay in the har-bor of
This
little vessel was alone. Not another
vessel of any sort, save a few rude canoes, could then have been found in any
of the numerous harbors that about on the
The
brave little ship, the Mayflower, had sailed from
teenth, in the hope of reaching this then uninhabited
and savage coast in October. This was,
indeed, later in the year than they ought to have undertaken such a voyage, but
they could not sail out earlier.
But
instead of having, as they had hoped they might, a favorable passage, they had
experienced many reverses of fortune – un-favorable winds and severe storms had
prolonged the passage to sixty-four days; and two days more elapsed before they
could get safe into
But
who were the people on board the Mayflower?
Besides the commander, Mr. Jones, and the usual number of hands to take
care of the vessel, there were one hundred passengers, being part of a company
of Puritans, as they were called, who
had removed from
They
were come out to
been denied them in
This
company of Puritans consisted of men, women, and children. It was not like the company that first
settled Virginia – all single men. Among
them were no less than eighteen families, embracing seventy six persons; and
there were three men who had left their families behind them in
Here,
then, in
Then,
again, the weather, which was already cold, was every day becoming more and
more severe, and the winter was fast
coming on. Yet here they must settle at
all hazards; for in addition to other difficulties the Mayflower herself was
injured consid-erably, and without large repairs
would not be able to ride out another gale.
They
arrived in the harbor and anchored on Saturday, just in time to go on shore and
take a hasty survey of the country. But
before disembarking, the adult males of the company – forty-two in number –
signed an agreement to form themselves as soon as they could into a colony, and
submit to good and wholesome laws and regulations.
When
through with this formality, fifteen or sixteen of them entered the boat and
made for the shore. On landing they
found no inhabitants, nor the traces of any.
All they could learn during this first excursion was, that they were on
a narrow strip of land, consisting of sand-hills slightly covered with timber,
but having no underbrush.
They
were just now becoming almost destitute of wood on board the vessel. So, in the absence of anything else to convey
in
the boat, they gathered a quantity of
wood and took it back with them. They
had hope to find something to eat; but were disappointed.
The
place where they landed was, as I suppose, a part of what is now called
Well,
the next day,
Would they dismiss,
as much as possible, all
thoughts of everything pertaining to their journey and the formation of their
colony, and spend the day in religious con-versation,
reading, meditation, and prayer? Would
they obey the spirit of our Saviour’s command, and take no thought – that is,
anxious thought – for the morrow?
Would they remain quietly and content-edly on board their vessel all day?
Thus
our pilgrim fathers did. Long as they
had been on their voyage, late as it was in the season, bad as was the condi-tion of their vessel, and anxious as they all must
have been to explore the country in which they must inevitably, if they lived,
spend the coming long winter, not a word do we hear that they said about its
being a work of necessity – peradventure of mercy, too – to go on shore and
prosecute their search, and endeavor to make further discoveries.
That
they had no momentary desires of this kind, no one, perhaps, who reads their
story will believe. And yet no one will
be-lieve that they cherished them. They were accustomed to self-denial, and it
was well for them that they were so.
The
long-boat needed repairing; it was almost as much crippled as the Mayflower
herself, whereas they needed it even more.
They could not run along the coast and search it out in the Mayflower,
however excellent her condition. It was
necessary that she should remain at
must go in small companies in the
long-boat. But to repair even this,
would take the carpenter a considerable time.
In
these circumstances, was there no one who though it a matter of necessity that
the carpenter should go about it on Sunday?
Was there no conversation on the subject? – no difference of opinion
about the line of duty? We hear none. We do not – we cannot – believe there was
any. Why not? Because it would not have been like the
Puritans.
It
was enough for our Puritan fathers to know that Sunday had arrived; and that
God had said, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
I
was myself once very near infringing on the sacredness of the Sabbath in this
very
When
the morning light began to appear,
the captain of the boat having made
every-thing secure, began to make arrangements for going on shore. All the passengers and hands were going with
him. I must go or spend the Sabbath on
board alone, and without provisions. It
was in the winter, moreover, and cold on board.
I concluded to go with the rest.
As
it was low water where we anchored, our first business was to get into the
long-boat, and go as far as we could in that.
We rowed a mile or more, when the water became so shallow in places that
the boat could proceed no farther. And
yet it was too deep between the sand-bars to wade. What should we do?
Some
attempted to wade out. The sailors too
me, and one or two others, on their backs, and carried us in that way a long
distance; they having on a species of very high, thick boots. At length we were set down and directed to
the shore.
It
was now almost sunrise. I soon found
myself in the village, but the inhabitants, even in the public boarding-houses,
were not yet up. I felt a degree of
guilt to
be inquiring for a boarding-house on
Sun-day morning. However, I was at
length successful in the search, and before many of the inhabitants had risen,
I was in quiet quarters, where I had the day to myself.
I
have said to myself again and again, both then and since, Would one of the
Puritans have done this? – or would he have remained on board the packet? I greatly fear that I did not act as the Puri-tans of the Mayflower would have acted.
But
there is another and a more important question to be asked, -- Did I act as my
Lord and Master would have acted in the same condition and circumstances? I am not bound to follow the example even of
the Puritan pilgrims any farther than they followed Christ. To Him alone shall I be accountable in the
judgment of the great day.
CHAPTER
II.
SECOND SABBATH AT
TIME,
which waits not, passed on. It did not
wait even for our Pilgrim fathers.
Another Sabbath came. It was the
twenty-ninth of November, or about the time of our present New-England
thanksgiving.
The
Puritans had not been idle. They had
been several times on shore, exploring the country; though, as yet, they had
found no place which seemed to them desirable as a residence. The carpenter had made some progress in the
work of repairing the boat, but it was not yet half-finished.
One
discovery they had made on shore, which awakened their interest, and placed
them alternatively between hope and fear.
They had seen five or six men – they were the people we call Indians,
for want of a better name – with a dog.
But instead of having given them any information about the country, they
had fled to the woods. Nor had they been
able to come up with
them, although they had pursued them ten miles or more, and had been out all
night in the pursuit.
Other
discoveries were made. Among them was a
tract of about fifty acres of plain-land, with the appearance of some-thing
having been planted there in small hills, or hillocks. It was in Indian corn-field. For
They
also found springs of water, which to them seemed pure and excellent; and one
considerable pond. More even than all
this, they found strawberry vines, and grape vines, and an old kettle, left by
some ship of discovery from
They
had found heaps of sand, some of which, on examination, contained human bones,
with bows and arrows in a state of decay while others contained baskets of
Indian corn. They had procured several
bushels of the corn for seed, intending to pay the owners for it, whenever they
found them, to their entire satisfaction.
Finally,
they had discovered the remains
of an old for or palisade, and two
canoes. The latter, doubtless, belonged
to the Indians. But as to the fort,
whether it had been built by Indians or white people, it was impossible to
tell.
But
they had found, as I said before, no place which seemed to them suitable for
their purposes; though they had pushed their search to Saturday evening. And yet, we do not hear of anything like
complain-ing, or of anything like an interpretation
of their usual mode of Sabbath keeping.
We
do not hear that even the carpenter said a world about the necessity of
laboring more than six days in seven; and this, notwithstanding the great want
which was felt of the boat: he rested
with the others, “according to the command-ment.”
And
may we not believe, as I have inti-mated in a
preceding chapter, that their minds rested, too, as well as their bodies? However anxious the men, and women, and
children, were to have a home on the firm land – however tired of ship and
ship-board – there was nothing said about it on Sunday.
Would
it be so with the present race of New-Englanders, I must again ask? Would there be no murmuring, at least in the
form of oft, and repeated, and impatient inquiry, “When will the boat be
finished? When, O when shall we get out
of this dirty old vessel?”
Judging
a little from what I have seen – for I have spent many Sabbaths on
And
yet, there are some exceptions to the truth of this remark, not only in
dreds of people, in a very short time,
wind-ing their way over the sands – as it were of Zahara – to the spot where the wreck took place.
And
what for? Not to afford aid, as I said
just now, for no aid is now required.
Not, in general, to gratify curiosity, for such scenes are by no means
infrequent. Not to turn the mind into a
serious channel by rousing it to reflection on the uncertainty of all things
below the sun, and the instability, even, of human life.
What
then? Why, a few to as wreckers – that
is, as men who hunt for the property which may be washed ashore from the
wreck. These may be know by having
knapsacks on their backs. Some, however,
attire themselves with knapsacks and hunt for property, not for the sake of the
suffering, but for their own use. The
greater part, however, go over chiefly as an amusement. It may not yet be church-time, and if it
were, they would be glad of an excuse for absenting themselves. And under color of sympathy, or with some
other excuse in their mouths, or with none
at all, they flock to the spot and spend half the day there.
I
have said, that it was now about the season of the New-England
thanksgiving. Some young reader – who
reflects less than he reads – may have had it in his mind to ask, -- did the
Puritans stop their work, and cease to prosecute their discoveries, on the day
of thanksgiving?
But
I hardly need to say, that an annual day of thanksgiving had not yet been
established, nor did it occur till many years afterwards. Had such a day existed, and had the Puritans
thought it a duty they owed to God to keep it rigidly, I have no doubt they
would have done so. They certainly had
as good reason to be thankful as any people ever had.
True,
they had many and severe trials and sufferings; but then, they had also many
and great mercies. It is not the people
who have the fewest trials who are the most thankful. It is oftener the reverse of this. A person who has never had any trials, or who
has had almost none, is fre-quently ungrateful and
unthankful.
CHAPTER
III.
THE THIRD SABBATH AT
DECEMBER,
cold December, was now come, and with it frequent cold, piercing winds from the
east and north-east. Those who have ever
wintered on
Snow
had fallen six inches deep, -- not to make sleighing, had they been prepared
for it; but only to lie a while, freezing and thawing, and then, perhaps, be
carried off by the rains. I have spent
several winters on the
Another
trial now befell them – more severe, if possible, than any to which they had
yet been subjected. As long as people
have their health, they can get along almost in any way; but in sickness it is
far otherwise.
In
going from the Mayflower to the shore
and returning often, the Puritans had fallen into the habit–for the water was
shallow–of wading; sometimes, perhaps, when both excited to perspiration, and
greatly fatigued. Sometimes, too, it is
not improbable they neglected, on returning to the vessel, at night, to change
their wet clothes.
Do
you ask why they waded? Partly from convenience, as they did not like
always to wait for the boat; and partly for the pleasure of doing so. Partly, also, from necessity, it may be; for
while the boat was undergoing repairs they were not well provided with any
other means of convey-ance.
The
result of all this, especially as there was much of stormy weather and east
wind, was, that many of them took very severe colds. Indeed, they seemed to take them repeatedly. These colds continued with many till the ended
in a settled cough; and with a few, in pulmonary consumption.
But
they increased also the severity of another disease which they had contracted
before, by being so long on board, and having bad provisions, with very few vege-
tables; I mean, of course, the scurvy.
For it is the testimony of Mr. Wood, in his book called “New-England’s
Prospect,” that their beef and pork were “tainted,” their butter and cheese
corrupted, and their fish rotten.
Two
or three days before the boat was finished they held a meeting of the colon-ists, at which twenty-four of them were appointed to go out
in it, as soon as it could possibly be completed, on a new voyage of
discovery. This number was moreover
increased by nine volunteers, among whom was the commander of the Mayflower,
Captain Jones.
The
boat was finished on Saturday, Dec-ember 5; but it was agreed among them not to
set out on their excursion till the following Monday, which was December 7.
Why
did they not set out on Sunday, the day before?
It would appear that the weather was fine for the season on that day.
Many
a vessel sets out on its proposed voyage now-a-days on Sunday, as a matter of
choice. In truth there was once, it
would seem, a kind of superstitious belief among
seafaring people that Sunday was the very best day for beginning a journey.
“The
better day,” said one of their old proverbs, “the better deed.” As if, by set-ting out on the best day of the
seven, they were more likely to be successful, than by setting out on any other
day. As if, too, God would grant a
special blessing on a course of conduct opposed to his own fourth commandment.
Or,
if there had been any doubt on the minds of the Puritans of the propriety of
setting out on Sunday, why did they not contrive to get away on Saturday? It does not appear that there was anything in
the way of doing this, unless it was conscience. This, doubtless, told them, that to set out
then, and for the reason I have assigned, would be about the same thing before
God, as to start the next morning.
In
any even, they waited till Monday, and kept this third Sabbath at the
CHAPTER
IV.
THE FOURTH SABBATH.
THEY
set out on their exploring expedition, on Monday, December 7; but the weather
was cold and stormy. The historians of
those times tell us, that on account of their exposure to the storm in an open
boat, “some of them took the original of their death,”—in other words, they
took new colds which increased their coughs.
On
Tuesday, December 8, the weather appears to have been more favorable to their
enterprise. They had, during the first
day, but little more than “got under weigh.” [sic] This day they went on very
well. They reached the place where they
had before found the graves, the corn, and the fort. It was near the mouth of a small creek in
Thought
the ground was now frozen so hard, that they were obliged to break it up with
their cutlasses and short swords, and
then pry it up with levers, yet they dug for more corn and found it. They procured, in the whole, about ten
bushels. They also found among the rest,
a bag of beans, which they took with them.
Some
may be surprised at their taking away the corn and beans they found; and I
confess that I am myself. But people
have very different views, in different ages and times,–even good people. No men more conscientious than they, about
many things, yet, what shall we say to their con-scientiousness
in such a thing as this?
True,
they pleaded necessity in the case; while, as we see, they would not plead
necessity for journeying on the Sabbath.
But was it a case of absolute necessity?
What
if they were sick of scurvy, – many of them for want of just such articles of
food as they dug up – does this justify their conduct? Besides, as we have already said, they took
some of it for seed, the next year.
I
must confess, once more, that I am utterly at a loss what to say in the case.
True
it is, they steadfastly respected
their former resolution, to pay for the corn and beans whenever they should
meet with the owners. But what if they
had never met with them?
Another
difficulty presents itself to my mind.
What if the owners of the property had discovered their loss, and,
taking for granted they had been robbed by the new-comers, had been instigated
thereby to make war upon them? Was the
course they took even politic?
True
it is—and I rejoice to be able to mention it to the credit of the Puritans—they
did, some time afterwards, find the owners of the property—so history informs
us—and paid them for it, the full price.
This shows, at least, that they were not disposed to steal, although it
does not entirely free them from the charge of imprudence, if nothing worse.
One
more remark in passing, I must be permitted to make. We must, in judging men’s characters, make
due allowance for the customs and fashions of the times in which men live.
This
remark will be seen to be applicable to the Puritans, when we consider that
they were armed with cutlasses and short swords. They not only had these, but also guns,
pistols, and the like. In truth, they
have been represented by some to have been covered with armor.
One
of their corselets, says a historian, would be a far more precious relic than a
cuirass from the field of
A
singular appearance they must have presented, you will say; and that
truly. Had they no fears that their
warlike attire would invite opposition, as preparation for war is always known
to invite war?
The
weather during this excursion along the coast was so severe, and the hardship
of sleeping out during the night by fires so great, that sixteen of the
thirty-three who set out in the boat went back to the May-flower. How they went we are not told. I suppose they went back by land, and waded
to the vessel when they had arrived.
Those
who went back were almost sick with colds, and were the feeblest of the
company. Captain Jones was one of
them. The rest stayed longer, in hopes
of finding their way to some Indian settlement; but they were in this respect
wholly unsuc-cessful.
They
found, however, one very great curiosity.
It was a mound or heap of earth covered with boards, under which they
found, first a mat, then a bow, then another mat, and under that a board about
three-quarters of a yard long, finely carved and painted. Between the mats they also found trays,
dishes, &c.
Still
deeper in the earth than all these, they came to a mat, nearly new, under which
were two parcels or bundles, one larger, the other smaller. The larger bundle contained a very
considerable quantity of red powder, as fine as flour, in which were the bones
and skull of a man, together with a knife, a pack-needle, and two or three old
iron things. The hair of the person was
fine, and yellow.
The
smaller bundle contained a quantity of the same kind of powder; but its
con-tents were different. Instead of the
bones of an adult, they found in it the bones and skull of a little child.
They
also found two wigwams, in which were various articles of furniture, such as
the Indians were accustomed to use. The
wigwams were the first they had seem; and it may not be easy for us to judge
how much they excited their curiosity.
Among
other articles of food which they found in these wigwams, were two or three
baskets full of parched acorns, of which the Indians made much use, both with
their corn, and as a substitute for it.
Still, however, they could find no inhabitants.
Before
the return of another Sabbath, our little company of Puritans were all together
in safety on board the Mayflower, preparing themselves to rest according to
God’s appointment. For our ancestors,
many of them, laid aside their business early on Saturday, and made the closing
hours of the day a sort of preparation-season for Sunday.
The
only question which they discussed, so far as we can learn, before the prepara-tion-season, was, whether they should establish the
new colony at the place they had just visited, or look a little farther. The question elicited quite a warm debate.
A
part of the company, especially the more feeble and timid, were for settling
down at once, without looking farther.
They were tired of thus living in suspense. Besides, they dreaded the diseases with which
they were beginning to be afflicted, and which they hoped would disappear when
they became established on shore.
Some
few of them were in favor of going to Ipswitch, which
they had heard of as having a good harbor, and also as being a good place for
hunting and fishing. But the distance to
many of the company seemed formidable.
The
pilot, Mr. Coppin, who had been on the coast before,
told them of a place which he said was right over against Cape Cod, westward,
not more than twenty miles distant, which possessed many advan-tages. The place referred to is supposed to have
been either
It
was at length concluded, that as soon as Sunday was over, they would make
further search along the coast, and if they should not be able to please
themselves sooner, stop at the place which the pilot described.
And
now another Sabbath – December 13th – was spent on board the
Mayflower, in their accustomed manner.
What that was we are not told, except that they held Divine service, as
they had been accus-tomed at home; and that they all,
men, women, and children, attended, as had been their custom.
For
they had constituted, both in
It
was said by the venerable Dr. Beecher, on leaving his people in
he regretted the necessity of parting with a people whom he so much loved, yet
there was one consideration which gave him great consolation,–namely, that he
had not taught them to depend on their minister; but rather to be ministers to
themselves. And so Mr. Robinson might
also have said. He was a true
Protestant, in every sense of the word.
He never taught his people to shuffle off responsibility, but that to
their own Master they would stand or fall.
He taught them to study the word of God for themselves, and to interpret
it for themselves, rather than fasten their faith on him or anybody else.
The
following is a part of his charge to the Puritans, on parting with them. It shows the spirit of the leader; and we
need not wonder to find such a spirit as we do in his followers: --
“I
charge you before God and his blessed angles, that you follow me no farther
than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of
the Reformed Churches, which are come to a period in their religion, and
will go, at present, no farther 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. I beseech you to remember it—‘tis an article
of your Church covenant—that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be
made known to you from the written word of God.”
No
wonder the people of such a minister, in a case of necessity like the present,
could hold meetings by themselves.
Be-sides, as we are told, some of the company were what we call
liberally-educated men. Two or three of
them in particular were capable of leading the religious exercise of any
people. Mr. William Brewster, Mr. Robert
Cushman, and he whom they after-wards selected to be their first governor—Mr.
John Carver.
Of
the capabilities of these gentlemen—to say nothing of some of the rest—we have
abundant living evidence. I have in my
possession a copy of a sermon by Mr. Cushman, some months after their arrival,
which, but for the quaintness of its style,
would do honor to any modern pulpit. Mr.
C. himself does not indeed call it a sermon, but a discourse. But no matter
about the name—it was a most excellent production, and deserves to be printed
in the form of a cheap tract, and scattered through the length and breadth of
our whole American community.
I
suppose, from what I can learn by con-sulting the old
historians of New-England, and by looking at the nature of the case, that these
little meetings of theirs were more like the exercises of a modern Bible-class,
than anything else with which we are acquainted. And if so, they must have been useful. The Sabbath, even amid their suspense, and
seclusion, and suffering, must have been a blessed day to them—a day in which
they could grow in grace, and in the knowledge of their Savior; and though on
ship-board, in a haven which was not very commodious, be thus prepar-ing for the haven of eternal rest.
CHAPTER
V.
A SABBATH IN
ON
account of unfavorable weather the company did not set out on their second
expedition on Monday the 14th, as they had determined to do the
previous Saturday. They were delayed
about two days. But on Wednesday,
December 16, twelve of the signers of the agreement to become settlers, and six
other persons from the company, set out in the boat on a new voyage of
discovery.
And
yet, even now, the weather was such as to require in them the greatest degree
of hardihood, and the highest power of endurance. For though the storm itself was over, and theY felt that they must go, yet the spray of the rough sea
froze on their clothing, and made them, as they expressed it, like coats of
iron. Nor was the terrible cold the only
evil they had to endure. Four persons
out of their whole number—eighteen—were on the sick list.
A fine place to be sick, you may say, in an open sail-boat, in
This
day they sailed sixteen or twenty miles, which brought them to Billingsgate
Point, nearly opposite the present town of
Having
arrived on shore, they made a barricade, procured firewood, and all, except a
suitable number for sentinels, lay down to sleep. They saw a smoke, that night, about four or
five miles off, made by the savages.
In
the morning, after an exploring tour about the coast, in which they found
nothing to encourage them—the soil being poor and the country uninviting—they
proceeded along the coast in the boat.
They did not go far that day, however, being very busily employed in
endeavoring
to trace our and find the villages or huts of the natives. They scarcely passed beyond the bounds of the
town of
Night
approaching, and being weary and faint with hunger, they collected firewood,
refreshed themselves, set their watch, and lay down. And notwithstanding the hardness and coldness
of their bed, few men ever slept more soundly.
About
They
rose at
Next
they had prayer. For I had for-
gotten, till now, to say, that the pilgrims were men of prayer. No dangers or hard-ships made them neglect
their morning and evening devotions, any more than their meetings on the
Sabbath.
After
prayer, they began to prepare for breakfast.
While this was going on, the daylight began to dawn, upon which they
carried their armor and other things to the sea-side, that they might be easily
put on board the boat when all was ready, and came back to breakfast.
Of
a sudden they heard a most terrific cry, which they knew, at once, to be the
same with that which they had heard at
They
ran at once to their arms, and seized them, and then ran back to the
barricade. A few, however, remained near
the boat to defend that. In this posture
of defense they awaited the nearer approach of the savages.
As
they came on several of them fired.
Others, however, as it afterward appeared, could not get off their
pieces, and called for firebrands. One
of them took a large log from the fire, and carried it upon his shoulder—which,
it was obvious, fright-ened the savages, and made
them fall back a little.
Animated,
however, by a stout-looking Indian who seemed to be their chief, they rallied
again. Their arrows now came upon the
Puritans as thick as hail. The fire was
returned. At length the chief appeared
to be wounded, upon which they set up a most hideous cry, and then fled.
The
Puritans followed them about a quarter of a mile; then halted. Deeming it prudent not to proceed too far
into the wood, they shouted twice, as loud as they could, fired a couple of
guns, and returned to their boat.
Not
a man of them it seems was injured. They
proceeded to thank God, in a formal manner, for their deliverance. Then entering the boat, and without staying
at all to finish their breakfast, they proceeded westward on their journey.
The
pilot had told them of a good land-ing place, forty
or fifty miles farther on; and this they hoped to reach that day, especially as
they had a fair wind. They were not then
so well acquainted with our variable climate as they afterwards became.
After
they had sailed an hour or two, it began to snow and rain, and to be tempest-uous. By the middle
of the afternoon, the sea became exceeding rough, the rudder broke, and they
were obliged to steer with oars.
The
storm continued to increase, and as night was at hand, and it was quite doubt-ful whether they could reach the desired harbor before
dark, they hoisted all the sail they could; upon which the mast broke into
three pieces, and the boat itself was, for a time, in the most imminent danger.
The
tide, however, was in their favor. Had
they been carried to sea by it, while in this predicament, they might have been
all lost. But, instead of being carried
in a wrong direction, the wind and tide conspired to carry them along towards
the land.
Once,
indeed, the pilot gave our; said he did not know the coast, and, with the mate,
was for immediately running the boat on shore amid the breakers. But as they were doing do, a sailor cried out
to the rowers; “About with her, or we are lost!” upon which they changed their course, and
were soon in smooth water, near the shore.
Here
they were yet in doubt. The question
which perplexed them was,—whether to remain in the boat all night, or
land. Some of the most healthy and
vigor-ous at length concluded to sleep on board;
while others, who were more feeble, went ashore, and with great difficulty
kindled a fire, and being wet and cold dried themselves.
At