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
In
the morning, finding themselves on the shore of an uninhabited island, they
concluded to rest where they were that
day, and make preparation for landing and exploring the country. It was Saturday, December 19.
The
island on or near which they were, was afterwards called
They
had enough to do for one day, to “dry their stuff, fix their pieces, rest
them-selves, and return God thanks for his many deliverances.” So, at least, we are informed by Governor
Bradford, one of the company, who well knew.”
But before night, or at least the next morning, had it not been Sunday,
they were ready to go forward and prosecute their purposes.
In
seldom if ever happens that a company of people on a journey could plead the
necessity of traveling on the Sabbath with greater show of reason than the
Puritans, at Clark’s Island, at the time of which I am speaking, could have
done.
But
did they do it? Was there one who argued
the necessity of the case? Was there a
word said about it by any
individual of the whole company? If so,
we have no information concerning it.
The just inference is, that all things considered, no one was in favor
of it.
The
following are some of the motives which might have had weight—nay, which must
have had—in the minds of this little band of Puritans, men and women. Other may have had weight, but these are some
of the principal:--
First.
The weather was now fine—very fine; whereas much of the time it was
stormy, especially at such a season.
December is seldom a pleasant month any-where in New-England; above all,
on the eastern coast of it, and about
Men
often say; “We must make hay while the
sun shines,” as an excuse for laboring in the field on the Sabbath. How much more rationally might a sailor plea
have been made for going ashore at
Secondly. There were no
Indians to molest them on the island; and might they not hope to avoid
immediate molestation on the mainland?
Whereas, if they waited
long, the Indians might get intelligence of their arrival, and, perhaps,
attack, or in one way or another annoy them.
For
the Indians had, probably, all heard how Captain Hunt kidnapped twenty-seven of
their countrymen, many years before, and were desirous, like those they had
fallen in with at Eastham, to be revenged; and nothing could reasonably be
expected of them but trouble, unless fear of their numbers, or their guns,
should keep them at a distance.
Thirdly.
I have already repeatedly spoken of the lateness of the season; but it
may not be amiss to speak of it again.
For do we at all realize the greatness of the temptation which this
consideration must have afforded them to go ashore at
What
would twenty or thirty families, in our own day and time, think of landing at
Oregon, December 20th ,—as Oregon was twenty-five years ago,—and
beginning a
settlement? And yet, it could be done
with great ease, compared with the difficulties of making a beginning at
Fourthly. We must by no means forget the state of their
health. Three of them were still quite
sick, and others nearly so; and those who were afflicted either with cough or
scurvy, were not likely to get much better till they could settle down on
shore, if indeed ever.
Who
that values health at all—and who that has ever been deprived of it, does not
value it above all things earthly? would
not be likely to plead in the circumstances of the Puritans, that to go forward
was a work not only of necessity, but also of mercy?
Fifthly.
Think also of the suspense in which their friends on board the Mayflower
must be kept, till they returned. Some
of the company had wives and children there—some brothers, or sisters, or other
near and dear friends. Brothers! Did I say?
They were all brethren.
There
was no lack of filial affection in any individual of the whole company, ex-cept in a single solitary instance. As there
was one Judas among the twelve of old, so here, as the event proved, there was
one Judas in a hundred. On this,
however, I cannot enlarge.
Sixthly.
We must also consider well the length of time they had been
unsettled. I have hitherto computed the
time of their unsettled condition from the day of their sailing from
More
even than all this. They had left
One
temptation they had which we should not lose sight of. No human arm could punish them for either
laboring or traveling on a Sunday. They
were far away from any mere human judges or juries. Would not some of our people of the present
century, who can even now be hardly restrained by law, have yielded to the
temptation?
I
have seen men who kept the Sabbath at home as regularly as could have been
required even in the days of Moses. And yet
I have seen these same men far from home, in a region where human law did not
compel, nor human opinion disgrace, them if they relaxed the cords that
previously bound them: and I have seen
those men fall, by little and little, into the current of Sabbath-breaking that
prevailed around them.
Many
a young man, who goes abroad to Texas, Mexico, or California, or even to some
of our Southern or Western States, where it is customary to travel on the
Sabbath, falls into the customs which prevail.
I have known some of our best young men do this.
Would
such young men, and such older ones too, as I have been describing, have waited
a day or two at Clark’s Island, as our Puritan forefathers did, when there were
so many powerful motives to go in and “take possession of the land” before
them, and that immediately? Does anyone
believe it?
I
am willing to leave it to those who are given to reflection, to say whether, in
their
opinion, there are eighteen persons to be found in any township of New England
who, under the same circumstances, would have acted as nobly as those Puritans
did; or who would find a majority of their company in favor of doing that in
which the eighteen pilgrims at Plymouth were unanimous.
I
do not say that they did not act right—most undoubtedly they did. They were determined to yield to the commands
of God, whatever might be the consequences.
They were determined to keep the seventh day holy, and they did so. And then, too, they had their reward,
temporally and spiritually.
The
blessing of their pious obedience has extended even to us. Our Sabbaths are the more quiet for it,
beyond all doubt. If our people break
the Sabbath now, they would have broken it still earlier, had not the pilgrim
Puritans set them such a bright and spotless example.
If
the multitudes travel now, and plead the necessity of doing so—not excepting
some of the best men and women of our
country—how much more traveling would there have been, had our forefathers
landed at
There
is not, in the wide world—I venture boldly to affirm it—a more striking example
of keeping the Sabbath untarnished than this.
Well may the men who performed such heroic deeds, be called pilgrims and
Puritans! Well may they be remembered,
and their deeds recorded, for the admonition of those upon whom the ends of the
world are come!
CHAPTER
VI.
SECOND SABBATH AT
BUT
Sunday the twentieth was soon over, and Monday the twenty-first arrived. Early this morning our company of adventurers
landed at
I
know it is generally said that they landed on the twenty-second; but this
mistake of one day is owing to the fact that we forget that only ten days were
added, instead of eleven, to make out what is called the new style for the
seventeenth century.
They
staid [sic] at
Indeed, I have said in a former chapter, it is a little more than twenty miles
across. Why, I have seen the snowy hills
of
There
is only one fact on record which should lead us to suppose they went round by
way of the coast. It is said, or at
least believed, that they set out from
In
any event, they joined their friends in the Mayflower early enough to set out
in that vessel for
Early
on Friday morning they were under way for
On
But
here again we are made to wonder at their conduct, though not so much as
before; for not a soul of them went ashore, either that evening or the next
day. It was Sunday, December 27; and
that settled all questions concerning their movements for the present.
This
day, again, they had their prayers and their meeting: and I have not a doubt that the meeting was
one of deep interest — one at which there were manifestations of gratitude to
Almighty God their heavenly Father, greatly commingled with their various acts
of devotion.
Not
even Billington, their Judas, pre-sumed
to violate the public sentiment among the Puritans on this day, by so much as
attempting to set foot on shore or make any proposition of the kind.
CHAPTER
VII.
THIRD SABBATH AT
IT
should not be forgotten that the May-flower, though by no means a large vessel,
drew so much water that she could not come within a mile and a half of the
place on which they intended to build; which made it quite inconvenient for our
adventurers. However, they had become
hardened to inconveniences.
What
a pity it is, I have sometimes said to myself, that the sons and daughters of
modern New-England, who, though surrounded by conveniences, and even elegances,
still complain of their wants and hardships, could not have been trained to
endure at least enough of real hardship to let them know how happy they now
really are!
The
first three days of this week, begin-ning with Monday
the twenty-eighth, were spent in looking about the country, and conversing
freely with regard to the best
spot on which to build their town.
Urgent as their case was, they took time to delibe-rate: and they acted wisely.
The
next two days, Thursday and Fri-day, were stormy, and they staid on board the
Mayflower: and it was well they
did. Had they gone to work in the storm,
their subsequent sufferings from the cold, cough consumption, &c., would
doubtless have been much greater in the aggregate than they now were.
On
Saturday, the weather being again fine, they began to cut down and collect
their timber. They had decided, as it
would seem, in regard to a spot on which to build. But they barely made a beginning. As the evening approached, they went again on
board the Mayflower, to spend another Sabbath.
Here,
again, I wish to call the attention of my readers to the conditions of the
Puritans. Was not the temptation very
great to labor a little on this fine Sunday?
Could they not have pleaded, if people ever could, the stern call of
necessity? For it was now the third day
of January, and
almost the midst of winter. The weather
was good, as I said before, and they had nowhere to stay, by day or night, but
the same old home—the Mayflower. Could
they not have pleaded necessity? But we
hear not a word on the subject.
They
fancied, to be sure, in the progress of the day, that they heard the
much-dreaded cry of the savages. But,
happily, it was a false alarm. The
savages did not come near the settlement as yet. They were suffered to go on thus far in
peace. Blessed are they who “trust in
the Lord,” and “do his commandments.”
During
the month ending January 3d, the Puritans lost, by death, six of their
number. Of these the greater part, as it
seems, died of the scurvy. Consumption
had not, as yet, finished its course.
One, however, a female, had fallen overboard and was drowned, while they
lay in
CHAPTER
VIII.
FOURTH SABBATH AT
THEIR
third Sabbath at this place being fairly over, and the light of Monday having
begun to dawn, away went our adven-turers to their
work of building
This
day they were alarmed by the cry of the Indians. They were not, however, molested, but were
compelled to be on their guard. The
weather was uncommonly fine for the season.
At evening, however, it began to rain.
Tuesday
the rain continuing, they could not labor, and were glad to remain quiet on the
ship. Wednesday and Thursday were fine,
and their work went forward again.
Friday and Saturday were stormy.
All
this week they were on the watch for Indians.
They had not forgotten the quarrel at Eastham. But Saturday night at length arrived, and no
Indians came to molest them.
Their
labor was so severe, their anxiety about the attacks of the savages so great,
and their muscular powers, owing to long-continued ill health, and sometimes a
want of proper and healthful exercise in the open air, that they were almost
glad, not-withstanding their great necessity, to have Saturday evening and the
Sabbath arrive.
They
were also willing to rest on the
Sabbath. They had very little desire to
ramble, however great may have been their curiosity. We must remember, however, that it was
winter, and the inducements to rove abroad in field or wood, were comparatively
few and feeble.
Their
trials would have been greater in the summer season. Had they arrived off the coast when the
country was full of berries, the fishes and birds numerous and accessible, the
temptation to break the Sabbath, I say again, would have been greatly
increased. The young especially would be
apt to feel, in such circumstances, an almost irrepressible desire to ramble
abroad.
I
do not mean to say that such a thing would have been tolerated even for a
moment by our forefathers—all I mean to
say is, that their temptations in this respect would thus have been
increased. I would barely remind the
reader that virtue is easy where there is no temptation to be vicious; and that
character, valuable and holy character especially, is the result of trial.
But
if strength of character and unbend-ing virtue are
usually the fruits of trial, and that trial always works out virtue in men of
even but moderate goodness, then we might be almost sure, apart from testimony
in their favor, that our ancestors were men of sterling and inflexible virtue
and piety.
I
ought perhaps, before now, to have said that it greatly added to their cares
and trials, to be obliged to board in the Mayflower, at
CHAPTER
IX.
ONE MORE SABBATH IN
THE MAYFLOWER.
ALL
this week, commencing with Monday the eleventh they lived in fear of the
Indians. They kept on with their work,
it is true, whenever the weather would permit, but they had many interruptions;
and it seemed to them a great loss of time to be obliged to keep men constantly
employed on the watch.
But
no savages, as yet, made their appearance at the place where they were at
work. They often saw the smoke of their
fires, and heard, in the distance, their yells, but none of them ventured to
the settlement.
On
They
had already begun a sort of store-house, in which to deposit their effects, and
which was to belong to the com-
munity. For I
forgot, till now, to say that they came out from England to live in common for
the first seven years; after which they expected to divide their effects, and
proceed again upon the individual system.
Sunday
again came. It was the seven-teenth of January:
and again they kept the day quietly on board the Mayflower. I say quietly,
but perhaps I am in duty bound to make an apparent exception; for on Saturday,
the day before, one of their number who was sick became so much worse, that Mr.
John Carver, whom they had appointed to be their governor, and who appears to
have been a leader also in spiritual things, was sent for to visit him. But the governor could not go till Sunday
morning.
This
is the first work of mercy performed on Sunday, of which we read in the early
history of New-England; though we can hardly doubt that many acts of this kind
were done, not at all recorded. The
Puritans, we must remember, were non the men to blow a trumpet before them.
But
when a little company of less than one hundred persons were dying at the
rate of six or eight a month, there must needs be a great deal of
sickness. And although we ought not to
defer till Sunday those visits which should be made on other days, for the sake
of saving time, yet I have no doubt that, in itself considered, visiting the
sick on the Sabbath is a very appropriate work.
Oh,
how much of this visiting on Sunday, both from necessity and without it, there
is done among men, in every clime where the Sabbath is known!
How
may people put off visits to the sick during the week, that they may first
perform as much work as they can for themselves, and then go and perform the
work of visiting their sick neighbor on Sunday!
And yet they claim for themselves the name of very benevolent and
excellent people, and perhaps in the main they deserve it.
Now
I am not about to say one word against visiting the sick on Sunday, when no
other day will do as well. Far enough
from it. But when I can do my sick
friend the good I meditate concerning him, by paying my visit on Thursday,
Friday, or Saturday, if I then put it off till Sunday, I
break the fourth commandment just as much as if I made hay or ploughed my field
on that day.
What
though it is said in the Decalogue, “Six days shalt
thou labor?” What is labor? It not doing good in its various forms—not
excepting that of visiting the sick—a species of labor?
I
repeat it, the visit to the sick which ought to be done to-day, is a part of
the six days’ labor, and must no more be deferred till Sunday, in order to give
us an opportu-nity to do something else in the
meantime, than I must defer hoeing my garden till Sunday because I wish to
plough or hoe my field to-day, and to-morrow, and the day after.
It
was not my intention to speak here of what are called professional visits on
Sunday; though even those are sometimes Sabbath-breaking, as truly as making
hay or hoeing garden. But I will say a
few words concerning them.
A
physician has, for example, some five or six patients a week—it matters little
which day. So, in order to attend to more pressing calls
nearer home, and a few family concerns, with perhaps a little reading and
study, he defers the remoter, less pressing visits till Sunday, and then takes
his horse and rides round leisurely to see his distant patients; sure, also, of
being called on to prescribe for some half a dozen new cases of those who could
not find time till Sunday to take medicine.
Is this avoiding the appearance of evil?
Is it right? But I will not dwell
on this topic too long. We will return
to our narrative.
CHAPTER
X.
A SABBATH ON SHORE.
THEIR
work went on very well during the week, commencing with Monday, January
18. they had made so much progress, that
towards the close of the week they began to lay their plans for holding their
next religious Sabbath-day exercises on shore.
Early
in the morning of Sunday the twenty-fourth, there was a slight disturb-ance on board—quite unusual with the Puritans. Their storehouse, now nearly complete, and
having in it already some of their effects, was discovered to be on fire.
Rigid
as they were in regard to the Sab-bath, they would
now have gone on shore, gladly, but the tide was unfavorable, being about the
low water mark. Besides, they were not
without fears that the savages were there; so that, rather than risk their
lives, they did not attempt to land.
To
add to their trouble, some of the workmen, instead of returning to the May-
flower on Saturday night, as usual, were missing. They had either staid on shore for some
reason quite unknown to the rest, or some misfortune had befallen them.
In
an hour or so, however, the tide rose a little, and hearing nothing of the
Indians, they ventured on shore. They
found the fire had done its work, and burnt up the contents of the building,
though not the building itself. Why the
building itself was not consumed does not appear.
The
fire, it seems, instead of being com-municated by the
Indians, had arisen from a spark, which the wind had blown to the
building. They had sustained a loss, but
history does not speak of it as very severe.
They
found their friends who were missing.
There were two of them. The story
of their absence will explain the reason why the company on board had
particular and strong suspicions that the fire was communicated by the Indians.
On
the Friday before, two of the company, after having nearly finished their
dinner, took some food in their hands and walked away a little distance for
mere
exercise and amusement. Very soon their
dogs—a mastiff and a spaniel—gave chase to a deer.*
They followed the track of the dogs and deer, rather incautiously, till
they were completely lost. They did not
find their way home that night.
During
the night, so severe was the cold, and so unprotected were they against it,
that one of them had his feet frozen.
This made their progress very slow, even after they found they were upon
the right track. The feet which were
frozen became so much swollen, that they were obliged to cut the shoes off with
their knives. They were troublesome for
a long time after-wards.
In
truth, they did not return till so late on Saturday that their brethren had
re-turned on board the Mayflower, and left them without the means of following
them. Besides, they were so much
exhausted,
and so lame, that they were almost willing to remain where they were.
No
wonder, then, that when the com-pany on board the
vessel saw the fire, they feared their companions were prisoners, and the
Indians were ransacking and burning the new village. The wonder is, that they dared, as soon as
the tide per-mitted, to go on shore and hold their
little meeting.
And
yet this last they certainly did. But
where they held it—whether amid the ruins of their storehouse, or in one of the
unfinished tenements, history does not inform us. It was held in quiet, as usual, and without
any great or unusual fear of the Indians.
One
thing must again be noticed—the great value the Puritans seem to have set on
religious worship on the Sabbath. For,
as I have already said, they turned out, as it were, in a mass, and went
directly on shore as soon as ever the tide would permit. To account for this are the following
considerations: --
1. As nearly an hour had elapsed, and they discovered
no other fire than that of their storehouse, saw no Indians about there, and heard
none of their yells, it was
natural for them to begin to suspect the fire was owing to accident.
2. They had agreed to hold their meet-ing on shore that day; and with them every agreement of
this kind became a duty. We may
reasonably suppose, moreover, that their wives and children had set their
hearts, much more than themselves, on this partial inroad upon the monotony of their
condition.
3. The two who had been lost, must have been
without the usual religious instruction of that day, had not the rest gone
ashore, either to bring them on board, or to remain and spend the day with
them; and this to the Puritans would have been a more serious evil than we may
be aware.
In
these later times, I well know, few people attach so much importance to the act
of assembling themselves together for religious worship, both on Sunday and at
other times, as I have supposed the Puritans did. And is it not obvious that we are every day
growing more and more lax in this matter?
A
great many tell us they can worship at home as well as anywhere else,—that they
can learn as much from reading the Bible and other good books, as from hearing
a sermon. They say, moreover, that the
Sabbath is nearly all the time they have to spend in the society of their
families.
Others
make it a general rule to attend—or, at least, they resolve to attend
generally; and yet, when the Sabbath morning arrives, the slightest excuses are
sufficient to keep them at home. The
slightest storm, the mere prospect of a storm, a cold, the want of a garment
exactly to their mind—these, and a thousand other things, form, in their view,
a sufficient excuse.
Even
if it were known that the question of holding or not holding the meeting were
pending on the circumstance of their being present, or not present, promptly
and punctually, almost any of the little things I have named would often keep
them at home. It should not be so.
CHAPTER
XI.
THE SECOND SABBATH ON
SHORE.
THOUGH
the Puritans were to hold their property for a time in common, yet each family,
as it appears, was to erect its own house, aided by such help as could from
time to time be obtained from those who had no families. But as almost, or quite, every family had one
or more of its mem-bers on the sick list, it is easy
to under-stand why their work went on slowly; and why it was, that when the
thirty-first or last day of January arrived no house was quite completed.
And
yet they found no difficulty in the way of holding their little meeting on
shore, even in an unfinished hours. It
is true their tenements were small; but the small number they could collect in
the midst of so much sickness as now prevailed, could be suitably accommodated
for an hour or two almost anywhere.
I have alluded again to their sickness.
Six, as you will recollect, had died before January 3; eight more died before
Feb-ruary 8; and it is recorded by the historian
Bradford, under date of February 25, old style, which would correspond to our
seventh of March,—“This month seventeen of our number died.”
It is well known, moreover, that by the early
part of April, no less than forty-four of their number, or nearly one-half who
came over, had rested from their labors and sufferings in death. Was it possible for them to do much in the
way of building houses, amid such scenes and circum-stances?
With
regard to their sufferings—what they were—we are far enough from being left to
conjecture. Bancroft, in his History of
the
Among
the rest, they lost their worthy governor—Mr. Carver. This was pecu-liarly
afflictive. Mr. Carver had been as a
father to them all. Several of the
principal men and leaders fell at about the same time.
Who,
then, among them, was left for work? Had
they not been disheartened, it is quite obvious very little could have been
accomplished. And, I say again, the
wonder is, not that they accomplished so little, but that they were able to
make any progress at all.
Besides,
it added greatly to their distress, and to their consequent delay, that the bad
and very severe weather sometimes hindered them more than half the week. Nor must we ever forget that their home, for
the most part, was their old—and, as I was going to say, diseased—vessel. At least there was the home of the women and
children.
But
they did not wholly despair. They believed in God. They believed in a better time coming. They
believed, perhaps, that the darkest time of the whole night is just before the
light of a new and better day breaks in.
They believed, and took courage.
CHAPTER
XII.
SEVEN SABBATHS AMONG
THE PURITANS.
THERE
is so little of incident to be collected from the histories of those times of
the Puritans, which so “tried men’s souls,” that I must now leave off
considering each week and Sabbath by itself, and grasp them together according
to convenience.
The
meeting was held on the land again, February 7.
But on the next Sabbath—the fourteenth—the storm was so severe that it
was hardly possible to say which was the most safe or convenient for the
meeting—ship or shore. For as for the
ship, it was exceedingly tossed, and at times in considerable danger. But it was almost as dangerous on the land as
in the ship. The violence of the wind
cause the “daubing,” as they termed it, of their houses to fall down, greatly
to the annoyance of the occupants. They
held the meeting as usual, however, in spite of the storm.
Their
huts, which from the foregoing account seem so frail, were made of logs, and
then thatched. The interstices between
the logs were filled with clay. They
were arranged in a row, at a very little distance from each other, and
presented a very curious, and somewhat contracted appearance.
During
the weeks of February, all was quiet, so far as the savages were
concerned. True, they kept their
sentinels constantly; but no Indians came near.
It was not till the last day but one of the month that they had any
trouble.
On
Saturday, February 27, two savages appeared on the top of a hill near by, and
made signs at them; but when they went out to meet them they fled. As the knew not their object, and could not
be sure they were not the vanguard of an overwhelming force, it is not to be
wondered at that their spirits began to quail.
The
next day, Sunday the 28th, was spent in great fear. The savages were near them—the knew not in
what numbers. They heard their yells
beyond the hills,
very frequently. But a kind and merciful
Did
they go on shore for worship, in such circumstances, or did they, amid their
fear and alarm,—their fears greatly increased, no doubt, by their
feebleness,—prefer to remain on board the vessel? On this point history gives us no certain
information. The presumption, however,
is, that they went on shore.
The
next three Sabbaths, namely, March 7, 14, and 21, were kept in the usual
manner, and without any interruption.
Slowly as their work went on, and great was the temptation, no one had
yet lifted a finger in violation of the fourth command-ment;
nor did any one do so till the village was finished.
At
what time exactly they began to leave the vessel and occupy their imperfectly
finished houses, I am not able to say.
Per-haps some of the families removed long before the others. One thing we do know, that the last of them were removed on shore the
thirty-first of March.
It
is extremely difficult for us, at this distant day, and surrounded as we are on
every hand by facilities for prosecuting our various labors, to understand how
twenty log-houses could be erected under the circumstances in which these
were—without the aid of horses or oxen, or any other team. And yet aid of this sort they had none, most
evidently. It does not appear that they
had among them a single, domestic animal more efficient than the dog or cat,
for many months. It is not quite certain
that the ship-carpenter may not have rendered them a little assistance, by
tackles or other machinery. And yet we
have no evidence that he did.
In
our day, and in times of public and general health, such a circumstance would
not so much surprise us. Why, there is a
house of a story and a-half, or at least of one full and high story, in
CHAPTER
XIII.
S A B B A T H V I S I T I
N G.
ON
Friday, March 26, a savage chief, who had know something of the English people
before, came boldly into the village. As
he was the first savage they had seen near enough for conversation, they were
at first much alarmed. But their fears
were soon quieted, for there was nothing in his appearance or manner than
indicated the slightest degree of hostility.
Besides, he could speak English in a broken manner; and the first thing
he said to them was, “Welcome, Englishmen!”
It
seems most probably, that this chief had become acquainted with some of the
English who had come to the coast of
Samoset
told them that he did not belong to that part of the country, but that
his house was at a place called Morattiggon. He said it was a long way there by land, and
would require a journey of five days, though with a good boat and a fair wind
they could sail there in a single day.
Where this Morattiggon was, the Puritans could
not find out, nor is it certainly known to this day. But they were exceedingly glad to meet with
Samoset, especially as they could very well converse with him.
He
had been, it would seem, about eight months in the neighborhood of
How
much so-ever our Puritan fathers disliked his visit on Sunday, they were not
willing, indeed they were very unwilling, to offend him. They gave both him and his companions some
breakfast; and allowed them to remain with them a part of the morning.
To
prevent the colonists from being afraid of them, they had left their bows and
arrows a quarter of a mile from the village.
They made many strong pro-fessions of
friendship, and, after their breakfast was over, sang and danced in their usual
manner. Those who have ever seen an
Indian dance, will be likely to think of it as a very unbecoming thing for
Sunday.
As
a curiosity to the Puritans, the Indians exhibited some of their own food. It was a sort of meal, made of corn—usually
said to be from parched corn—which they called nokake. They stirred it into water, and made it into
a kind of pudding. With a little of this
meal for nokake, and no other food, they would
travel, it is said, many days.
On
this second visit, the savages had brought some skins with them, for the
purpose of trade. But as it was Sunday,
the colonists would not trade with them.
On the contrary, they dismissed them as soon as they could, except
Samoset, who was unwilling to go—saying he was not very well.
At
parting the Puritans gave the savages presents, of which, like most other
savages, they were fond. They also made
them promise to come again in a day or two, and bring the skins again, with
many more, and they would trade with them.
Samoset remained in the village till Wednesday.
Here
again, was a very strong temptation to Sabbath-breaking. How few there are, who, in the circumstance
of the Puritans, would have resisted the temptation! How few would have dared to send them
away! And why should they not suffer
them to remain in the village? True,
they had no public-house; but Stephen Hopkins had kept Samoset in his house. Why not let them stay together, with Samoset,
till Sunday was over. Are there many among
us who would scruple to do as much as this?
But
then, they had come there for trade, and the people of the village in general
knew it, and all their eyes would have
been turned towards them. Samoset had
been there before, and therefore would not excite so much attention, or break
in so much upon their usual arrangements.
They would also have got rid of him
if they could have done it without positive violence.
There
is not reason for believing that they allowed the company of Indians to remains
so long as to interfere with their morning religious services. On the contrary, there is every reason for
believing, that, with this slight morning interruption, they kept the Sabbath
much as usual.
One
of the officers of the Mayflower, was exceedingly anxious to trade, or “truck,”
as he called it, with the Indians. He
had ever accompanied the colonists in all their perilous journeys along the
coast and else-where, for this very purpose.
He did not care much for the success or prosperity of the colony, for he
did not expect to remain with them longer than till the spring opened. To him, therefore, and to others like him, if
such there were, it was a matter of no little self-denial to refuse to trade
with the Indians, and to send them
away, without the certainty that they would any more return.
Indeed,
the colonists themselves were anxious, every one of them, to trade with the
savages: because, first, they wanted
their skins; secondly, they wanted many other things which they hoped the
Indians could supply them with; and thirdly, because they were desirous of
making friends with them as soon as possible.
These
particulars are mentioned to show how many temptations the Puritans must have
had to overstep a little the bounds they had prescribed for themselves, in
regard to their conduct on the Sabbath day, and as an example to others.
There
are not a few in these days, who are in the habit of both giving and receiv-ing visits on the Sabbath; and who dare not do
otherwise, lest they should be regarded as bigoted or Puritanical.
I
am not a little surprised to find the custom of giving and receiving visits on
Sunday so common among us; but I am still
more surprised to find it so often defended. Why, Christ went about on the
Sabbath, we are told, and that continually.
Now will any one pretend, for a single moment, that Christ went about
for such purposes as they who make these Sunday visits and calls? Is any one so ignorant as to make this
plea? If he is so, I most sincerely pity
him.
It
may not, I grant, be very common, in these days, to trade with people or wares
on the Sabbath; I know it is not. And
yet, even this is sometimes done. When,
however, a person stops with us, and remains at our house during the Sabbath,
it is by no means uncommon for the conversation to turn, even on Sunday,
towards his goods and wares. This is a
misstep to begin with; but the evil does not always end here. For, not a few of our citizens, some of the
good people too, will not only converse with the stranger about his business,
but will even, in some cases, look at his wares. In truth, there are portions of the
I
once knew a young trader, or peddler, who put up for the Sabbath at the house
of a man in the southern United States, who had the reputation for being one of
the most excellent men in all that region; and who certainly was amiable and
hospitable. After dinner, which came
very late in the afternoon, the young people of the neighborhood came in, and
wanted to see the young man’s goods.
Unaccustomed to such things—having recently arrived in that country—his
feelings revolted at the bare idea of exhibiting goods on Sunday, and be became
quite embarrassed. The gentleman of the
house, though he said nothing, smiled at his conscientiousness. This partially enabled the young man to
overcome his scruples. He consented to
show his goods; but, at the same time, told the company it was against his
principles to sell them on that day. Anxious
to sell the next day, however, he went a step farther, and told them his
prices. Now the best way for this young
man—by far the best way—would have been to say boldly what his views and
feelings were on the
subject; and say at once, that for these reasons he must defer everything of a
business kind—even conversation about it—to the next day. He could have added—had he pleased to do
so—that he would be glad to see them on Monday.
So far our forefathers, no doubt, would be willing to go; but they would
not, it is believed, go farther.
CHAPTER
XIV.
SAILING OF THE
MAYFLOWER FOR
ON
Thursday, April 1, Samoset and his friends made the colonists the promised
visit. He brought in his train about
sixteen other Indians, so of whom were chiefs.
They were escorted into the village with drums, and treated with much
respect, and a public treaty was made with them.
Meanwhile,
however, other Indians, of whom Samoset, probably, knew nothing, had made their
appearance on the top of the hill, and given the signal for an attack with
their bows and arrows; but when the colonists went towards them, they fled.
The
two Sabbaths which followed—April 4 and 11—were the last they were per-mitted to enjoy before the Mayflower sail-ed for
The
Mayflower had a much more speedy passage homeward than she had in coming out;
being scarcely a month from
to
One
thing more is remarkable in this connection.
After all their disasters and the loss of almost half their company,
nothing would have been more natural than that some of the Puritans should have
returned in the Mayflower to
If
the records of the world were searched thoroughly, it is doubted—most seriously
doubted—whether another instance can be found of such pious regard being paid
to the Sabbath, by one hundred travelers or emigrants, for a course of several
months, as was paid by our fathers who settled
Happy
were it for our country, had this pious regard for the day been preserved. Then might it have been well with us, and our
children, and our children’s children.
THE
END.
* It may not be known
to every reader, that while
the
deer and other wild animals have disappeared,
long
ago, from other parts of
still
remain in the region of
as
far up as