their own friends put into prison, and themselves watched night and day that charges might be brought against them, they at length resolved, when all hopes of toleration at home had fled, to remove to the Low Countries, "where they heard was freedom of religion for all men."* After making one unsuccessful attempt to leave England, suffering arrest and imprisonment from the Lincolnshire magistrates, encountering in a second attempt the perils of a violent storm, and being in imminent danger of shipwreck in the German Ocean, one part of these Pilgrims, among which Bradford is supposed to have been, arrived in the spring of 1608 at Amsterdam. Here they found countrymen who, like themselves, had suffered persecution for religion's sake; but, remaining only a few months, they removed, at the end of 1608 or beginning of 1609, to Leyden.†

"Being now here pitched," says Bradford, "they fell to such trades and employments as they best could, valuing peace and their spiritual comfort above any other riches whatsoever; and at length they came to raise a competent and comfortable living, and with hard and continual labor." When, however, in another place, he is naming the motives of the removal to America, a somewhat different tone is used. "And first, they found and saw by experience the hardness of the place and country to be such as few in comparison would come to them, and fewer that would bide it out and continue with them. For many that came to them, and many more that desired to be with them, could not endure the great labor and hard fare, with other inconveniences, which they underwent and were contented with... Many, though they desired to enjoy the ordinances of God in their purity, and the liberty of the gospel with them, yet, alas, they admitted of bondage, with dan

* See Bradford's Journal, Young, p. 23.

† Bradford says of Leyden, that," wanting that traffic by sea which Amsterdam enjoyed, it was not so beneficial for their outward means of living and estates.' Young's Pilgrims, p. 35. This may be so; yet Leyden was at that time the principal manufacturing town of the Netherlands, and one of the most important in Europe. As many of the early colonists were weavers (see Young, note, p. 35), is it not reasonable to suppose that their removal to Leyden was caused by the fact that they would there more readily meet with employment than at Amsterdam? The cloth manufacture of Amsterdam, during the first half of the seventeenth century, was very trifling, when compared with that of Leyden.

ger of conscience, rather than to endure these hardships; yea, some preferred and chose prisons in England, rather than this liberty in Holland, with these afflictions. But

it was thought, that, if a better and easier place of living could be had, it would draw many and take away these discouragements; yea, their pastor would often say that many of those that both writ and preached now against them, if they were in a place where they might have liberty and live comfortably, they would then practise as they did.” * Again, "They saw, that, although the people generally bore all their difficulties very cheerfully and with a resolute courage, being in the best of their strength, yet old age began to come on some of them, and their great and continual labors, with other crosses and sorrows, hastened it before the time." Again, their children "were oftentimes so oppressed with their heavy labors, that, although their minds were free and willing, yet their bodies bowed under the weight of the same and became decrepit in their early youth." And again, "They lived here but as men in exile and in a poor condition." +

This certainly does not show that they were living in a state of holiday comfort; neither is there here, nor throughout the writings of Governor Bradford, any evidence of kind attentions on the part of the Dutch people and magistrates. § On the contrary, we have, in different passages of his journal, strong evidence that no such favors were extended to them.

When he replies to the charge made by Baylie in his tract, that the Pilgrims were driven out from Holland, and that the Dutch were weary of them, Bradford would naturally cite the strongest facts that could be found to prove the contrary; but the most he says is, that the Dutch, finding them painful and diligent in their callings,

*

↑ Ibid. p. 46.

+ Ibid. p. 51.

Young, p. 45. § It is curious to see how some passages from Bradford's journal have been colored by those who have made use of it. Bradford says of the Pilgrims (Young, p. 35), "Enjoying [in Holland] much sweet and delightful society and spiritual comfort together, in the ways of God," &c., &c. Morton omits the word "together," and adds in its place, "being courteously entertained and lovingly respected by the Dutch, amongst whom they were strangers." p. 18, Davis's edition. Prince, also, in giving this same passage from Bradford, says, they "live in great love and harmony both among themselves and their neighbour citizens for above eleven years."

|| Dissuasive from the Errors of the Times, by Robert Baylie, of Glasgow, 1645.

and careful in keeping their word, gave them employment in preference to others less diligent and honest; and secondly, that the magistrates once reproved the Walloons by telling them that they were less peaceful than the English. "These English," said they," have lived amongst us now this twelve years, and yet we never had any suit or accusation come against any of them. But your strifes and quarrels are continual." * Another thing Bradford states, that Robinson, their pastor, disputed with Episcopius at the University, in such a way as to gain him "much honor and respect from those learned men and others which loved the truth." +

Had there been any proofs of courteous entertainment and kind respect, -had there been any magisterial attentions extended, any church granted, any respect shown at the grave of their pastor, I here would have been the place to mention it. But on all these Bradford is silent, and we have the strongest proof that no magisterial attentions were shown, in his statement, that "it was said by some of no mean note [in Leyden], that, were it not for giving offence to the state of England, they would have preferred him [Robinson] otherwise, if he would, and allowed them some public favor." §

Fear of offending England would, no doubt, operate strongly in Holland to prevent any favors being extended to those who made part of a sect persecuted by the English king at home, openly denounced by him in his speeches, and exposed, even in a foreign land, to the annoying surveillance of his ministers and agents. || In the Annales du Pays Bas of Grotius, one sees continual evi

*

Young, p. 39.

That is, perhaps, among those who opposed Episcopius. But his opponents were, for a long time, a minority at Leyden, the towns-people and magistrates being in his favor. În 1617, there was an outbreak and violent quarrel between the two parties, which lasted several days. An old engraving in Les Délices de Leide represents the Stadt House and the barricades near it, that were thrown up at that time to form a sort of citadel within the town.

Although Bradford was not present at the time of Robinson's death, yet, as he commenced his journal in 1630, five years after that event, he might have availed himself of a circumstance which, had it transpired, must have come to his knowledge. § Young, p. 42.

See Young's Pilgrims, p. 467, note, for confirmation of this. A letter from Sir Dudley Carleton, English ambassador at the Hague, published with his letters, announces that he had not succeeded in arresting Brewster (Elder Brewster), as "the schout who was employed by the magistrates for his apprehension, being a dull, drunk

dence of the feelings excited in Holland by the actions of the English, and one may infer from that how little disposed the people of that country would be to provoke the enmity of a nation the calculating friendship of which had been so distasteful to them.*

As to the attentions of the people and magistrates, the principal which have been alleged are, 1st. That a church was granted the Pilgrims to worship in; and, 2d. That the funeral of their pastor was honorably attended by the University and principal men of the city.

I believe that neither of these attentions was shown, and also that the original error in regard to them may be traced to the Brief Narration of Winslow, republished in Young's Pilgrims, and to the note on page 160 of Prince's New England Annals.

The statement, that a church was granted, rests solely upon the authority of Prince, who says, "When I was at Leyden, in 1714, the most ancient people from their parents told me, that the city had such a value for them [the Pilgrims], as to let them have one of their churches, in the chancel whereof he [Robinson] lies buried, which the English still enjoy; and that, as he was had in high esteem both by the city and University, for his learning, piety, moderation, and excellent accomplishments, the magistrates, ministers, scholars, and most of the gentry mourned his death as a public loss, and followed him to the grave." +

No one prior to Prince has mentioned this; there is no intimation of it in Bradford's journal, in Morton, Hubbard, or even in Cotton Mather; and Prince, who has

en fellow, took one man for another." The charge upon which Brewster was to be arrested in a foreign country by English_agents would appear to be the printing of books obnoxious to the English king. It tells little for the independence of the Dutch magistrates, that such arrests could be tolerated and aided by them. Let us hope, for their honor, that the employment of a scout so besotted as to mistake his prey was an intentional act on their part.

The unjust influence in Holland of the English government was shown at a later day by the persecution to which Locke was subjected, during the time of his residence in that country. The English minister at the Hague demanded, it will be remembered, that he should be given up, and Locke could only avoid arrest by a strict concealment for twelve months. See Lord King's Life of Locke.

*The people of Leyden, in particular, had shown strong opposition to the proceedings of Leicester. See the Annales. There is an allusion, also, in Lingard to this feeling at Leyden.

Annals, p. 160, edit. 1736.

S

E

*

generally enjoyed the highest reputation for accuracy, adopted, I believe, with too little inquiry, the statement of the most ancient people of Leyden. From the words in relation to the church, -"which the English still enjoy," it is clear to me that his informants were not thinking of the Separatist congregation which had been one hundred years before in Leyden, but of the English Presbyterian church, which, by a somewhat remarkable coincidence, was founded in Leyden in 1609, the same year, or within a few months of the time, that the Pilgrims arrived there. It is certain that this church, whose pastor from 1609 to 1616 was Robert Durie, was the only English congregation which, in 1714, had a public place of worship at Leyden, and it is the only one that is noticed by the different historians of Leyden as having ever possessed a church. As it is possible that the presence of this congregation may create some confusion in future inquiries as to the church of the Pilgrims, I have thought it well to add in a note some account of their coming to Leyden, of their different pastors, and of the various places of worship which they enjoyed.† At the time of Prince's visit to Leyden, in 1714, this congregation, under the pastoral care of Robert Milling, was worshipping in a chapel formed of part of the ground-floor of the Falyde Bagyn Hof Kerk. This chapel now (1842) the dissecting-room of the College of Medicinecontinued in the hands of the English until 1807, when, their last pastor dying, the congregation was dispersed; and it is this chapel which, from being shown to American travellers as the old church of the English, has, I believe, been sometimes supposed by them to have been the church of the Pilgrims.‡

Another error in this passage from Prince relates to

* "The careful Thomas Prince," says Bancroft, Vol. I., p. 324, "who merits the gratitude of the inquirer for his judgment and research as an annalist." Davis also alludes to him, in a note to Morton's New England's Memorial, as "the accurate compiler."

See Note A., at the end of this article.

See Young's Pilgrims, p. 393, note, where is an extract from a letter of Mrs. Adams, wife of President John Adams, dated Sept. 12th, 1786. "I would not omit to mention that I visited the church at Leyden, in which our forefathers worshipped when they fled from hierarchical tyranny and persecution. I felt a respect and veneration, upon entering the doors, like what the ancients paid to their Druids."

VOL. IX.