Your very loving brother,
JOHN ROBINSON.
Leyden, Dec. 20th, 1623.
These matters premised, I will now proceed with my account of affairs here. But before I come to other things I must say a word about their planting this year. They felt the benefit of their last year’s harvest; for by planting corn on their own account they managed, with a great deal of patience, to overcome famine. This reminds me of a saying of Seneca’s (Epis. 123): that an important part of liberty is a well-governed belly, and patience in want. The settlers now began to consider corn more precious than silver; and those that had some to spare began to trade with the others for small things, by the quart, pottle, and peck, etc.; for they had no money, and if they had, corn was preferred to it. In order that they might raise their crops to better advantage, they made suit to the Governor to have some land apportioned for permanent holdings, and not by yearly lot, whereby the plots which the more industrious had brought under good culture one year, would change hands the next, and others would reap the advantage; with the result that the manuring and culture of the land were neglected. It was well considered, and their request was granted. Every person was given one acre of land, for them and theirs, and they were to have no more till the seven years had expired; it was all as near the town as possible, so that they might be kept close together, for greater safety and better attention to the general employments. This often makes me think of what Pliny (lib. 18, cap. 2) says of the Romans’ first beginnings in the time of Romulus—how everyone contented himself with two acres of land, and had no more assigned to them; and (cap. 3) how it was thought a great public reward to receive a pint of corn from the people of Rome. And long after, the most generous present given to a Captain who had won a victory over their enemies, was as much ground as he could till in one day; in fact a man was not considered a good but a dangerous citizen, who was not content with seven acres of land; also how they used to pound their corn in mortars, as the settlers were forced to do for many years, until they got a mill.
The ship which brought these supplies was speedily unloaded, and, with her captain and crew was sent out fishing to Cape Ann, where they had got a patent, as mentioned above. As the season was so far advanced, some of the planters were sent to help to build the landing stage, to their own hindrance. Partly owing to the lateness of the year, and more especially to the bad character of the captain, one Baker, they made a poor voyage of it. He proved a very drunken beast, and did little but drink and guzzle and consume time and victuals, most of the crew following his example; and though Mr. William Pierce was superintending the business and was to captain the ship home, he could do no good amongst them. The loss was great, and would have been more, but that they did some trade for skins, which was a help to them.
The ship-builder who had been sent out to the colony was an honest and very industrious man. He and his assistants quickly built two good strong shallops, which afterwards did them great service, and a strong lighter; and he had hewn timber for two catches, when he fell sick with fever in the hot season of the year, and though he had the best attention the place could afford, he died. He was a very great loss, and they were very sorry for his death.
But the man sent out to make salt was an ignorant, foolish, self-willed fellow. He boasted that he could do great things in making salt-works; so he was sent to seek out fit ground for the purpose; and after some search he told the Governor that he had found a suitable place, with a good bottom to hold water, and otherwise very convenient, which he doubted not, in a short time could be brought to perfection, and yield them great profit; but he must have eight or ten men constantly employed. He was requested to make sure the ground was good, and otherwise suitable, and that he could bring it to perfection; otherwise he would incur great expense by employing himself and so many men. But he was, after some trial, so confident, that he caused them to send carpenters to rear a great frame for a large house, to receive the salt, and for other uses. But in the end it all proved useless. So he found fault with the ground, in which he said he had been mistaken; but if he might have the lighter to carry clay, he was sure he could do it. Now, though the Governor and some others saw that this would come to little good, they had so many malignant spirits amongst them who, in their letters to the adventurers, would have blamed them for not letting him bring his work to perfection; and the man himself, who by his bold confidence and large promises had deceived the adventurers in England, had so wound himself into the high esteem of some here, that they decided to let him go on till everyone saw his vanity. In the end all he could do was to boil salt in pans, and yet tried to make those who worked with him believe there was a great mystery in it, and used to make them do unnecessary things as a blind, until they saw through his deception. The next year he was sent to Cape Ann, and the pans were set up where the fishing was; but before the summer was out he had burnt the house, and the fire was so fierce that it spoiled the pans,—at least some of them; and this was the end of that expensive business.
The third person of importance mentioned in the letters was the minister whom they sent over, by name Mr. John Lyford, of whom and whose doings I must be more lengthy, though I will abridge as much as I can. When this man first came ashore, he saluted them with such reverence and humility as is seldom to be seen; indeed he made them ashamed, he so bowed and cringed to them, and would have kissed their hands if they had allowed him. He wept and shed many tears, blessing God Who had brought him to see their faces, admiring what they had done in their need, as if he had been made all of love and was the humblest person in the world. And all the while (if we may judge by his after-behaviour) he was only like him mentioned in Psalm x, 10: who croucheth and boweth, that heaps of poor may fall by his might. Or like that dissembling Ishmael (Jer. xli, 6), who, when he had slain Gedelia, went out weeping, and met them who were coming to offer incense in the house of the Lord, saying: Come to Gedelia—when he meant to slay them.
They gave him the best entertainment they could in all simplicity, and a larger allowance of food out of the store than any other had; and as the Governor in all weighty affairs had consulted their elder, Mr. Brewster, and his assistants, so now he called Mr. Lyford, too, to the council with them, on the most important matters. After a short time he desired to become a member of the church here, and was accordingly received. He made a large confession of his faith, and an acknowledgment of his former disorderly walking, and his being entangled with many corruptions which had been a burden to his conscience and blessed God for this opportunity of freedom and liberty to enjoy the ordinances of God in purity among His people, with many similar expressions.
I must speak here a word, too, of Mr. John Oldham, who joined him in his after courses. He had been a chief stickler in the former faction among the private settlers, and an intelligencer to those in England. But now, since the coming of the ship with supplies he opened his mind to some of the chief members here, and confessed that he had done them wrong both by word and deed in writing thus to England; that he now saw the eminent hand of God was with them, which made his heart smite him; and he assured them that his friends in England should never use him against them again. He begged them that former things might be forgotten, and that they would look upon him as one who desired to support them in every way,—and such like expressions. Whether this was hypocrisy or some sudden pang of conviction (which I rather think), God only knows. However, they at once showed themselves ready to embrace him in all friendliness, and called him to the council with them, on all the chief affairs without any distrust at all.
Thus everything seemed to go very comfortably and smoothly amongst them, at which they rejoiced. But it did not last long, for both Oldham and Lyford grew perverse, and showed a spirit of great malignancy, drawing as many into faction as they could. No matter how vile or profane, they backed the delinquents in all they did so long as they would but uphold them and speak against the church here; so that there was nothing but private meetings and whisperings amongst them. Thus they fed themselves and others with what they would accomplish in England through their friends there, bringing others as well as themselves into a fool’s paradise. However, they could not be so secret but that much of their doings and sayings was discovered; though outwardly they still showed a fair face.