FOOTNOTES:
[1] Note (written by the author at a later date than the passage to which it refers).—Little did I think that the downfall of the Bishops, with their courts, canons, and ceremonies had been so near, when first I began these scribbled writings,—which was about the year 1630, and continued as leisure permitted,—or that I should have lived to see and hear it. But it is the Lord’s doing, and ought to be marvellous in our eyes.... Do you not now see the fruits of your labours, O all ye servants of the Lord that have suffered for his truth, and have been faithful witnesses of it, and ye little handful amongst the rest, the least among the thousands of Israel? You have not only had a seed-time, but many of you have seen the joyful harvest. Should you not rejoice, then, yea, and again rejoice, and say Hallelujah, Salvation, and Glory, and Honour, and Power be to the Lord our God, for true and righteous are His judgments (Rev. xix., 1, 2).... The tyrannous bishops are ejected, their courts dissolved, their canons forceless, their service cashiered, their ceremonies useless and despised; their plots for Popery are prevented, all their supersititions discarded and returned to Rome, whence they came, and the monuments of idolatry rooted out of the land. Their proud and profane supporters and cruel defenders (the bloody papists and wicked atheists and their malignant consorts) are marvellously overthrown. And are not these great things? Who can deny it?
But who has done it? Who, even He that sitteth on the white horse, Who is called faithful and true, and judgeth and fightest righteously (Rev. xix., 11), Whose garments are dipped in blood, and His name was called the Word of God, for He shall rule with a rod of iron; for it is He that treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of God Almighty. And He hath upon His garment, and upon His thigh, a name written: The King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
Anno Domini, 1646. Hallelujah.
[2] O sacred bond,—whilst inviolably preserved! How sweet and precious were its fruits! But when this fidelity decayed, then their ruin approached. Oh that these ancient members had not died (if it had been the will of God); or that this holy care and constant faithfulness had still remained with those that survived. But, alas, that still serpent hath slyly wound himself to untwist these sacred bonds and ties. I was happy in my first times to see and enjoy the blessed fruits of that sweet communion; but it is now a part of my misery in old age to feel its decay, and with grief of heart to lament it. For the warning and admonition of others, and my own humiliation, I here make note of it.
(This note was inserted by the author in his manuscript at a later date.)
[3] “This decree, or law, about marriage, was published by the States of the Low Countries, A. D. 1590: That those of any religion, after lawful and open publication, coming before the magistrates, in the Town or State-House, were to be orderly by them married, one to another,” (Petet’s Hist., fol. 1029). And this practise was continued by the Colony, and has been followed by all the famous churches of Christ in these parts to this time,—A. D. 1646.
[4] But he did not leave his own men a bite of bread!
[5] He means Mr. John Robinson.
[6] This was John Oldham, and his like.
[7] Mr. Weston’s men.
[8] His commission was abused; he never had any authority for such undertakings, as they well knew, nor had the adventurers in England any authority to pay this money,—nor would they have paid a penny of it if they had not had some other object in view.
[9] There was cause enough for these fears, which were concerned with the underhand work of some enemies to the churches here, which resulted in the issue by the King of a new “Commission for Regulating Colonies,” signed April 28th, 1634.
[10] By this means they furnished them with supplies, and have continued to do so.
[11] But they were taken to the West Indies.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.
Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added, when a predominant preference was found in the original book.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
[Pg xi]: ‘Uncas and hreaten’ replaced by ‘Uncas and threaten’.
[Pg xv]: ‘some definantly’ replaced by ‘some defiantly’.
[Pg xxvi]: ‘pastor at Leydon’ replaced by ‘pastor at Leyden’.
[Pg 2]: ‘in some meaure’ replaced by ‘in some measure’.
[Pg 59]: ‘Our pinace will not’ replaced by ‘Our pinnace will not’.
[Pg 149]: ‘as the hedghog in’ replaced by ‘as the hedgehog in’.
[Pg 155]: ‘had disparged them’ replaced by ‘had disparaged them’.
[Pg 165]: ‘load with corfish’ replaced by ‘load with codfish’.
[Pg 166]: ‘cargo of corfish’ replaced by ‘cargo of codfish’.
[Pg 176]: ‘it was absoluely’ replaced by ‘it was absolutely’.
[Pg 182]: ‘perpetuanes and other’ replaced by ‘perpetuanas and other’.
[Pg 188]: ‘agent, Mr. Allertion’ replaced by ‘agent, Mr. Allerton’.
[Pg 189]: ‘of New Pymouth’ replaced by ‘of New Plymouth’.
[Pg 209]: ‘None of us woud’ replaced by ‘None of us would’.
[Pg 254]: ‘fifteen Engish miles’ replaced by ‘fifteen English miles’.
[Pg 267]: ‘Monsieur d’Aulnay’ replaced by ‘Monsieur d’Aulney’.
[Pg 352]: ‘Masachusetts, 105’ replaced by ‘Massachusetts, 105’.