among whom were Wingfield and Smith, left England. Newport, to begin with, committed the astonishing folly of taking the old route by way of the Canaries and the West Indies, and did not reach the American coast until the month of April. It was the design that a landing should be made in the neighborhood of Roanoke Island, but a storm prevailed and carried the ships northward into the Chesapeake. Entering the magnificent bay and coasting along the southern shore, the vessels came to the mouth of a broad and beautiful river, which was named in honor of King James. Proceeding up this stream about fifty miles, Newport noticed on the northern bank a peninsula more attractive than the rest for its verdure and beauty; the ships were moored, and the emigrants went on shore. Here, on the 13th day of May (Old Style), in the year 1607, were laid the foundations of Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in America. It was within a month of a hundred and ten years after the discovery of the continent by the elder Cabot, and nearly fortytwo years after the founding of St. Augustine. So long a time had been required to plant the first feeble germ of English civilization in the New World.

After the unsuccessful attempt to form a settlement at the mouth of the Kennebec, very little was done by the Plymouth Company for several years; yet the purpose of planting colonies was not relinquished. Meanwhile, a new impetus was given to the affairs of North Virginia by the ceaseless activity and exhaustless energies of John Smith. Wounded by an accident, and discouraged, as far as it was possible for such a man to be discouraged, by the distractions and turbulence of the Jamestown colony, Smith left that settlement in 1609, and returned to England. On recovering his health he formed a partnership with four wealthy merchants of London, with a view to the fur-trade and probable establishment of colonies within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two ships were accordingly freighted with goods and put under Smith's command. The summer of 1614 was spent on the coast of lower Maine, where a profitable traffic was carried on with the Indians. The crews of the vessels were well satisfied through the long days of July with the pleasures and profits of the teeming fisheries, but Smith himself found nobler work. Beginning as far north as practicable, he patiently explored the country, and drew a map of the whole coast-line from the Penobscot River to Cape Cod. In this map, which is still extant, and a marvel of accuracy considering the circumstances under which it was made, the country was called NEW ENGLAND-a name which Prince Charles confirmed, and which has ever since remained as the designation of the Northeastern States of the republic. In the month of November the ships re

turned to Plymouth, taking with them many substantial proofs of a suc

cessful voyage.

Smith now pleaded more strongly than ever in behalf of colonization. Some of his friends in the Plymouth Company gave him aid, and in 1615 a small colony of sixteen persons was sent out in a single ship. When nearing the American coast, they encountered a terrible storm, and after being driven about for two or three weeks were obliged to return to England. In spite of these reverses, the undaunted leader renewed the enterprise, and again raised a company of emigrants. Part of his crew became mutinous, betrayed him, and left him in mid-ocean. His own ship was run down and captured by a band of French pirates, and himself imprisoned in the harbor of Rochelle. Later in the same year he escaped in an open boat and made his way back to London. With astonishing industry, he now published a description of New England, and was more zealous than ever in inciting the company of Plymouth to energetic action. In these efforts he was much impeded. The London Company was jealous of its rival, and put obstacles in the way of every enterprise. The whole of the years 1617-18 was spent in making and unmaking plans of colonization, until finally, on the petition of some of its own leading members, the Plymouth Company was formally superseded by a new corporation called the COUNCIL OF PLYMOUTH, Consisting of forty of the most wealthy and influential men of the kingdom. On this body were conferred, by the terms of the new charter, almost unlimited powers and privileges. All that part of America lying between the fortieth and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending from occan to ocean, was given to the council in fee simple. More than a million of square miles were embraced in the grant, and absolute jurisdiction over this immense tract was committed to forty men. How King James was ever induced to sign such a charter has remained an unsolved mystery.

A plan of colonizing was now projected on a grand scale. John Smith was appointed admiral of New England for life. The king, notwithstanding the opposition of the House of Commons, issued a proclamation enforcing the provisions of the charter, and everything gave promise of the early settlement of America. Such were the schemes of men to possess and people the Western Continent. Meanwhile, a Power higher than the will of man was working in the same direction. The time had come when, without the knowledge or consent of James I., without the knowledge or consent of the Council of Plymouth, a permanent settlement should be made on the bleak shores of New England.

The PURITANS! Name of all names in the early history of the

West! About the close of the sixteenth century a number of poor dissenters scattered through the North of England, especially in the counties of Nottingham, Lincoln and York, began to join themselves together for the purposes of free religious worship. Politically, they were patriotic subjects of the English king; religiously, they were rebels against the authority of the English Church. Their rebellion, however, only extended to the declaration that every man has a right to discover and apply the truth as revealed in the Scriptures without the interposition of any power other than his own reason and conscience. Such a doctrine was very repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth herself declared such teaching to be subversive of the principles on which her monarchy was founded. King James was not more tolerant; and from time to time violent persecutions broke out against the feeble and dispersed Christians of the north.

Despairing of rest in their own country, the Puritans finally determined to go into exile, and to seek in another land the freedom of worship which their own had denied them. They turned their faces toward Holland, made one unsuccessful attempt to get away, were brought back and thrown into prisons. Again they gathered together on a bleak heath in Lincolnshire, and in the spring of 1608 embarked from the mouth of the Humber. Their ship brought them in safety to Amsterdam, where, under the care of their heroic pastor, John Robinson, they passed one winter, and then removed to Leyden. Such was the beginning of their wandering. They took the name of PILGRIMS, and grew content to have no home or resting-place. Privation and exile could be endured when sweetened with liberty.

But the love of native land is a universal passion. The Puritans in Holland did not forget-could not forget-that they were Englishmen. During their ten years of residence at Leyden they did not cease to long for a return to the country which had cast them out. Though ruled by a heartless monarch and a bigoted priesthood, England was their country still. The unfamiliar language of the Dutch grated harshly on their ears. They pined with unrest, conscious of their ability and willingness to do something which should convince even King James of their patriotism and worth.

It was in this condition of mind that about the year 1617 the Puritans began to meditate a removal to the wilds of the New World. There, with honest purpose and prudent zeal, they would extend the dominions of the English king. They would forget the past, and be at peace with their country. Accordingly, John Carver and Robert Cushman were despatched to England to ask permission for the church of

Leyden to settle in America. The agents of the London Company and the Council of Plymouth gave some encouragement to the request, but the king and his ministers, especially Lord Bacon, set their faces against any project which might seem to favor heretics. The most that King James would do was to make an informal promise to let the Pilgrims alone in America. Such has always been the despicable attitude of bigotry toward every liberal enterprise.

The Puritans were not discouraged. With or without permission, protected or not protected by the terms of a charter which might at best be violated, they would seek asylum and rest in the Western wilderness. Out of their own resources, and with the help of a few faithful friends, they provided the scanty means of departure and set their faces toward the sea. The Speedwell, a small vessel of sixty tons, was purchased at Amsterdam, and the Mayflower, a larger and more substantial ship, was hired for the voyage. The former was to carry the emigrants from Leyden to Southampton, where they were to be joined by the Mayflower, with another company from London. Assembling at the harbor of Delft, on the River Meuse, fifteen miles south of Leyden, as many of the Pilgrims as could be accommodated went on board the Speedwell. The whole congregation accompanied them to the shore. There Robinson gave them a consoling farewell address, and the blessings and prayers of those who were left behind followed the vessel out of sight.

Both ships came safely to Southampton, and within two weeks the emigrants were ready for the voyage. On the 5th of August, 1620, the vessels left the harbor; but after a few days' sailing the Speedwell was found to be shattered, old and leaky. On this account both ships anchored in the port of Dartmouth, and eight days were spent in making the needed repairs. Again the sails were set; but scarcely had the land receded from sight before the captain of the Speedwell declared his vessel unfit to breast the ocean, and then, to the great grief and discouragement of the emigrants, put back to Plymouth. Here the bad ship was abandoned; but the Pilgrims were encouraged and feasted by the citizens, and the more zealous went on board the Mayflower, ready and anxious for a final effort. On the 6th day of September the first colony of New England, numbering one hundred and two souls, saw the shores of Old England grow dim and sink behind the sea.

The voyage was long and perilous. For sixty-three days the ship was buffeted by storms and driven. It had been the intention of the Pilgrims to found their colony in the beautiful country of the Hudson; but the tempest carried them out of their course, and the first land seen was the desolate Cape Cod. On the 9th of November the vessel was

anchored in the bay; then a meeting was held on board and the colony organized under a solemn compact. In the charter which they there made for themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the English Crown, and covenanted together to live in peace and harmony, with equal rights to all, obedient to just laws made for the common good. Such was the simple but sublime constitution of the oldest New England State. A nobler document is not to be found among the records of the world.* To this instrument all the heads of families, forty-one in number, solemnly set their names. An election was held in which all had an equal voice, and John Carver was unanimously chosen governor of the colony.

After two days the boat was lowered, but was found to be half rotten and useless. More than a fortnight of precious time was required to make the needed repairs. Standish, Bradford and a few other hardy spirits got to shore and explored the country; nothing was found but a heap of Indian corn under the snow. By the 6th of December the boat was ready for service, and the governor, with fifteen companions, went ashore. The weather was dreadful. Alternate rains and snow-storms converted the clothes of the Pilgrims into coats-of-mail. All day they wandered about, and then returned to the sea-shore. In the morning they were attacked by the Indians, but escaped to the ship with their lives, cheerful and giving thanks. Then the vessel was steered to the south and west for forty-five miles around the coast of what is now the county of Barnstable. At nightfall of Saturday a storm came on; the rudder was wrenched away, and the poor ship driven, half by accident and half by the skill of the pilot, into a safe haven on the west side of the bay. The next day, being the Sabbath, was spent in religious devotions, and on Monday, the 11th of December, Old Style, 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed on the Rock of Plymouth.

It was now the dead of winter. There was an incessant storm of sleet and snow, and the houseless immigrants, already enfeebled by their sufferings, fell a-dying of hunger, cold and exposure. After a few days spent in explorations about the coast, a site was selected near the first landing, some trees were felled, the snow-drifts cleared away, and on the 9th of January the heroic toilers began to build New Plymouth. Every man took on himself the work of making his own house; but the ravages of disease grew daily worse, strong arms fell powerless, lung-fevers and consumptions wasted every family. At one time only seven men were able to work on the sheds which were building for shelter from the storms; and if an early spring had not brought relief, the colony must have perished to a man. Such were the privations and griefs of that terrible winter when New England began to be.

*See Appendix, note B.