land. They enjoyed protection and prosperity in Holland, but they were not satisfied with their condition and prospects in that country, which a foreign language and lax morals rendered an undesirable home for them and their children. They accordingly resolved to emigrate to America. They sailed from Plymouth (England) in September, 1620, and on the 11th of December they landed at the spot to which they gave the name of Plymouth.

The settlement of Massachusetts Bay occurred a few years after. This great enterprise was conducted under the direction of the Plymouth Company, who obtained a new patent from King James, by which a number of the highest nobility and gentry of England, their associates and successors, were constituted "the Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering and governing of New England, in America." By this patent, the whole territory between the 40th and the 48th degrees of north latitude, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, was granted to the company.* In 1627-8, the Company sold to several gentlemen, among whom were John Endicott and John Humfrey, all that part of New-England which lies between three miles north of Merrimac River and three miles south of Charles River, across the whole breadth of the continent. In June, 1628, Mr. Endicott sailed from England, for Naumkeag, since called Salem, where a small company of emigrants had fixed their residence a short time before. Mr. Endicott's first letter from America is dated September 13, 1628, and his arrival is considered as the date of the first permanent settlement of Massachusetts Proper.

*This extensive grant included a considerable part of the British colonies in North America, the whole of the New England States, and of New York; about half of Pennsylvania; two thirds of New Jersey and Ohio; a half of Indiana and Illinois; the whole of Michigan, Huron, and the whole of the territory of the United States westward of them, and on both sides of the Rocky Mountains; and from a point considerably within the Mexican dominions, on the Pacific Ocean, nearly up to Nootka Sound. This enormous grant shows how imperfectly the geography of the country was known, by James and his counsellors. The Council soon found their undertaking an unprofitable speculation, and surrendered their patent to the Crown. See Hon. E. Everett's Anniversary Address at Charlestown, June 28, 1830, pp. 13, 31.

The patent from the Council of Plymouth gave a good right to the soil, (says Hutchinson, vol. i. pp. 16, 17) but no powers of government. A royal charter was necessary. This passed the seals March 4, 1628-9. It confirmed the patent of the Council of Plymouth, and created the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay, in NewEngland, a body politic and corporate. By this charter, the Company were empowered to elect, annually, forever, out of the freemen of said Company, a Governor, a Deputy Governor, and eighteen assistants, and to make laws not repugnant to the laws of England.

As the state of things in the parent country daily became more distressing to the friends of religion and liberty, an emigration, unparalleled for its extent, and for the character of the emigrants, was projected. A considerable number of persons of great respectability, of good fortune, and of consideration in society, among whom were Winthrop, Dudley, Johnson, and Saltonstall, resolved to remove, with their families and property, to Massachusetts, on condition that the charter of the colony and the seat of its government should be transferred to America. This important proposition was acceded to, and on the 28th of April, 1630, Winthrop, who had been elected Governor, and his associates, sailed from Yarmouth,* in a fleet, which, with the vessels that preceded and followed them the same season, amounted in the whole to seventeen sail,† with above fifteen hundred passengers. The Arbella, with Governor Winthrop on board, arrived at Salem on the 12th of June, and the other vessels arrived soon after. The colonists there had lost eighty of their number by death the winter previous. Their provisions were nearly consumed, and they were in a distressing situation. The arrival of the new emigrants occasioned great joy to the sufferers, and revived their hopes.

It was early determined that Salem was not the proper position for the capital. The Governor, and the principal part of the emigrants, left Salem soon after their arrival, and resided awhile at Charlestown. Here sickness pre

Winthrop's Journal, vol. i. p. 5. + Everett's Address, p. 27.

Hutchinson, vol i. P. 24.

vailed among them, and a considerable number died.* They were distressed by the want of fresh water. Many of them accordingly abandoned Charlestown, and settled at Watertown and Dorchester, while a still larger number removed, in September, to the other side of the river, and laid the foundation of Boston. The peninsula was then inhabited by only one white man, the Rev. William Blackstone. It was called by the Indians Shawmut, and by the neighboring settlers, Trimountain, the former name signifying the abundance and sweetness of its waters, the latter the peculiar character of its hills.‡ It was called Boston by a vote of the Court, September 7, in well deserved honor of the Rev. John Cotton, who had been a minister of Boston, in England, and whose arrival in America was earnestly expected.

The sufferings of the first inhabitants of the metropolis were very great. Sickness swept many of them into the grave. The weather during the winter was extremely severe, and provisions were so scarce, that the inhabitants were in imminent peril of starvation. At this critical

*It is stated, that not less than two hundred persons died, from the time the company sailed from England, in April, up to the December following. Everett's Address, p. 50.

This gentleman came from England. He claimed the whole peninsula of Boston, because he was the first white man who slept there. He hospitably invited Gov. Winthrop and his friends to remove thither, on account of a fine spring of water there. He soon left Boston, alleging that he left England because he did not like the Lords Bishops, but he could not join with the colonists, because he did not like the Lords Brethren. His rights as the first occupant were acknowledged, and thirty pounds were paid to him in 1634. He removed to a spot in the present town of Cumberland, (R. I.) about six miles from Providence, and the river which flows near now bears his name. He lived to an old age, and occasionally preached at Providence and other places. Tradition says, that he sometimes secured the attention of his hearers by a skilful distribution of apples. His orchard flourished long after his death, and some of the trees are, it is said, yet standing.

President Quincy's His. Dis. Sept. 17, 1830, p. 19.

§ It may be profitable to the men of this generation to read the following account, given by Hutchinson, vol. i. p. 27.

"The weather held tolerable until the 24th of December, but the cold then came on with violence. Such a Christmas eve they had never seen before. From that time to the 10th of February their chief care was to keep themselves warm, and as comfortable, in

Gov

juncture, the ship Lyon, in which Roger Williams had embarked, arrived, on the 5th of February, 1630–1. ernor Winthrop (vol. i. pp. 41, 42) thus records the arrival

of this vessel :

"Feb. 5. The ship Lyon,* Mr. William Peirce, master, arrived at Nantasket. She brought Mr. Williams, a godly minister,† with his wife, Mr. Throgmorton, Perkins, Ong, and others, with their wives and children, about twenty passengers, and about two hundred tons of goods. She set sail from Bristol, December 1. She had a very tempestuous passage, yet through God's mercy, all her people came safe, except Way his son, who fell from the spritsail yard in a tempest, and could not be recovered, though he kept in sight near a quarter of an hour; her goods also came all in good condition."

The strong contrast between the situation of the present inhabitants of the metropolis, and that of the little company of suffering exiles in 1630, forces itself on our minds. They were few in number. They had no suitable dwell

other respects, as their scant provisions would permit. The poorer sort were much exposed, lying in tents and miserable hovels, and many died of the scurvy and other distempers. They were so short of provisions, that many were obliged to live upon clams, muscles, and other shell fish, with ground nuts and acorns instead of bread. One that came to the Governor's house, to complain of his sufferings, was prevented, being informed that even there the last batch was in the oven. Some instances are mentioned of great calmness and resignation in this distress. A man who had asked his neighbor to a dish of clams, after dinner returned thanks to God, who had given them to suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sands. They had appointed the 22d of February for a fast; but on the 5th, to their great joy, the ship Lyon, Capt. Peirce, one of the last year's fleet, returned, laden with provisions, from England, which were distributed according to the necessities of the people. They turned their fast into a thanksgiving."

*This was a regular colony ship. Her arrival from England, with emigrants, supplies, &c. is often noted in the Journal. The following November, on the 2d, she arrived with the Governor's wife, the famous John Elliot, and others. But, unfortunately, she was cast away on the 2d of November, 1633, upon a shoal off the coast of Virginia.

G.

In the first edition this was printed "man." Mr. Savage, in a note, says: "In the original MS. this word has been tampered with, perhaps by some zealot, yet it appears clearly enough to be Winthrop's usual abbreviation for that which is restored in the text, and Prince read it as I do."

ings to shelter them from the rigors of winter, then more severe, perhaps, than any which we now experience. They were almost without food. Disease was among them, and several of their number sunk into the grave, whose lives might doubtless have been preserved, had they been furnished with suitable shelter, food and medicine. When they looked around them, all was dreary and melancholy. "Where now exists a dense and aggregated mass of living beings and material things, amid all the accommodations of life, the splendors of wealth, the delights of taste, and whatever can gratify the cultivated intellect, there were then only a few hills, which, when the ocean receded, were intersected by wide marshes, and when its tide returned, appeared a group of lofty islands, abruptly rising from the surrounding waters. Thick forests concealed the neighboring hills, and the deep silence of nature was broken only by the voice of the wild beast or the bird, and the war whoop of the savage."*

How different the situation of the present inhabitants. That little company has swelled to more than sixty thousand. Those forests, which then covered the hills and vallies, are gone; the ocean has been driven back from much of the space over which it then rolled; and now, where stood the few tents and cabins of the first settlers, have sprung up, over the whole peninsula, sumptuous structures and spacious temples, comfortable dwellings, ample warehouses, and every thing which can minister to the happiness of men. The poorest of its citizens is better sheltered and better fed, than some of the richest families among the first inhabitants. Let them give devout thanks to God, that He has reserved for them a happier lot than that of their fathers. Let them, amid their profusion of blessings, praise the Lord, who has done so great things for their city, and its successive generations. Let them, above all, hold fast those great truths, for which the founders sacrificed every thing dear to them on earth.

As the colonists came to this country to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God according to their conceptions of His will, it was, of course, among their first objects to form churches, and make provision for the regular worship of the Most High.

Quincy's Hist. Dis. 1830, p. 20.