L.M. N.
East and West Haven, where the two divisions of the British invading force landed in 1779, Fort Hale, whence they departed; Neck Bridge, across Mill River, under which the fugitive judges of King Charles I. were concealed; and West Rock, where they "raised their Ebenezer" and dwelt in seclusion for some time, were all in full view. With a spirit fraught with reverence for the past, and with scenery hallowed by the presence of "young antiquity' spread out before us, let us sit down a moment and listen to the teachings of the chronicler In the summer of 1637 several wealthy and influential English gentlemen arrived at Bos ton, preparatory to making a permanent location in wilderness America. The young colony of Massachusetts Bay regarded them with great favor, and various settlements coveted the honor of numbering them among their proprietors. But they determined to plant a distinct colony, and, having heard of the beautiful country along the Sound, from Saybrook to the Saugatuck, discovered by the English in their pursuit of the Pequots, they projected a settlement in that part of the land. In the autumn a portion of them made a journey to Connecticut, to explore the harbors and lands along the coasts, who finally decided upon the beautiful plain on the Quinnipiack for settlement, and built a log hut there. *
In the spring of 1638 the principal men of the new emigration to the colony—Rev. Mr. Davenport, Mr. Pruden, and Samuel and Theophilus Eaton—with the people of their company, sailed from Boston for Quinnipiack. They reached the haven in about a fortnight, and their first Sabbath there was the 18th of April, 1638. The people assembled under a large oak, that stood where George and College Streets intersect; and under its venerable branches the New Haven and Milford Churches were afterward formed. Designing to make a large and flourishing settlement, founded on strict justice, they purchased the land of Mau-
* This was upon the corner of the present Church and George Streets, New Haven.—Barber.
Organic Law of the New Haven Colony.—The "Regicides."—The Concealment.—Friendship of Davenport.—Narrow Escape.
maguin, the chief sachem of that region, on honorable terms, and entered into what they called a plantation covenant with each other. They laid out their town-plat in squares, designing it for an elegant city. They prospered for more than a year without any fixed laws, and in 1639 proceeded to lay the foundation of their civil and religious polity. Theophilus Eaton was chosen governor, and Mr. Davenport gave him a serious charge before all the people, from Deut., i., 16, 17. It was decreed by the freemen that there should be a general court annually in the plantation, on the last week in October. This was ordained a court of election, in which all the officers of the colony were to be chosen. This court determined that the Word of God should be the only rule for ordering the affairs of government in that commonwealth.
This was the original fundamental Constitution of New Haven, brief in words, but powerful in principle, for the Bible was the statute book. It exhibited the same general religious aspect in its external affairs as that of the Massachusetts colony. Seven pillars of the Church were chosen, and all government was originally in the Church. The members of the Church (none others being possessed of the elective franchise) elected the governor, magistrates, and all other officers. The magistrates were merely the assistants of the governor. * Thus the new colony, having its foundation laid upon divine laws and strong faith in man, began a glorious career; and the little settlement, ambitious of excellence, has grown to be, if not the largest, one of the most beautiful cities in the Western World. From the time of its foundation until the Revolution broke out, its history, like that of the other New England settlements, exhibits the ebbing and flowing of the tide of prosperity, under the influences of the laws of the supreme government and the pressure of Indian hostilities; sometimes burdened and cast down by the injustice of the former, and menaced with overthrow and ruin by the latter.
New Haven became famous as the "city of refuge" for three of the English regicides, or judges who condemned King Charles I. to death. They were Generals Goffe and Whalley, and Colonel Dixwell. Whalley was descended from a very ancient family, and was a relative of Oliver Cromwell. Goffe was the son of a Puritan divine, and married a daughter of Whalley. Dixwell was a wealthy country gentleman of Kent, and was a member of Parliament in 1654. On the restoration of Charles II. to the throne of his father, many of the judges were arrested; thirty were condemned to death, and ten were executed. The three above named escaped to New England. Goffe and Whalley arrived at Boston in July, 1660, and took up their residence in Cambridge. Feeling insecure there, they removed to New Haven, where their unaffected piety won for them the confidence and esteem of the people, and particularly of the minister, Mr. Davenport. Their apparent freedom from danger lasted but a few days. The proclamation of Charles, offering a large reward for their apprehension, and the news that pursuers were on the scent, reached them at the same time, and they were obliged to flee. They took shelter in a rocky cavern, on the top of West Rock, where they were supplied daily with food by their friends. They shifted their place of abode from time to time, calling each locality Ebenezer, and occasionally appeared publicly in New Haven. On one occasion they sat under the Neck Bridge, upon Mill River, when their pursuers passed over; and several times they came near falling into their hands. The people generally favored their escape, and for their lives they owed much to Mr. Davenport. **
* Trumbull's History of Connecticut; Barber's History of New Haven.
** About the time when the pursuers were expected at New Haven, Mr. Davenport preached publicly from the text, "Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon-day; hide the outcasts; betray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoilers." Isaiah, xvi., 3, 4. The sermon had the effect to put the whole town upon their guard, and made the people resolve on concealment of the "outcasts." The following anecdote is related of Goffe, while he was in Boston: A fencing-master erected a stage, and upon it he walked several days, defying any one to a combat with swords. Goffe wrapped a huge cheese in a napkin for a shield, and, arming himself with a mop filled with dirty water from a pool, mounted the stage and accepted the challenge. The fencing-master attempted to drive him off, but Goffe skillfully received the thrusts of his sword into the cheese. At the third lunge of his antagonist, Goffe held the sword fast in his soft shield long enough to smear the face of the fencing-master with the filthy mop. Enraged, the challenger caught up a broad-sword, when Goffe exclaimed, with a firm voice, "Stop, sir; hitherto, you see, I have only played with you, and not attempted to harm you; but if you come at me now with the broad-sword, know that I will certainly take your life." Goffe's firmness alarmed the fencing-master, who exclaimed, "Who can you be? You must be either Goffe, Whalley, or the devil, for there was no other man in England could beat me."