From here Lyford went to Nantasket, on the Bay of the Massachusetts, where Oldham lived with some of his friends. Thence he removed to Naumkeag, since called Salem; but later, whether for hope of greater profit or what I know not, he forsook the friends who had stuck to him, and went down to Virginia, where shortly after he died; and so I leave him to the Lord. His wife afterwards returned to this country; thus much of this matter.
Though the storm had blown over, the effects which followed it were serious; for the company of adventurers broke up in consequence, and the majority wholly deserted the colony as regards any further supplies. Furthermore, some of Lyford’s and Oldham’s friends fitted out a fishing ship on their own account, and arriving ahead of the ships that came to the plantation, took away their dock and other necessary preparations that they had made for their fishing at Cape Ann the year before at great expense and would not restore it unless they would fight for it. However, the Governor decided to send some of the settlers to help the fishermen build a new one, and let them keep it. This fishing ship also brought Lyford’s and Oldham’s contingent some supplies, but of little value; but they were unsuccessful in their fishing, and they could make no return for the supplies sent, so after this year their friends in England never looked after them again.
This ship also brought from some of the adventurers their reasons for having abandoned the colony, and offers of reuniting again upon certain conditions. They are long and tedious, and most of them have already been touched upon.
Their answer was in part as follows:
In charging us with having dissembled with his majesty and the adventurers in our original declaration of general agreement with the French Reformed Church, you do us wrong, for we both hold with and practice the beliefs of the French and other Reformed Churches as published in the Harmony of Confessions, according to our means, in effect and substance. But in attempting to tie us to the French practices in every detail, you derogate from the liberty we have in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul would have none follow him but wherein he followed Christ; much less ought any Christian or Church in the world to do so. The French may err, we may err, and other Churches may err, and doubtless do in many circumstances. The honour of infallibility, therefore, belongs only to the word of God and the pure testament of Christ, to be followed as the only rule and pattern for direction by all Churches and Christians. It is great arrogance for any man or Church to think that he or they have so sounded the word of God to the bottom as to be able to set down precisely a Church’s practices without error in substance or circumstance, and in such a way that no one thereafter may digress or differ from them with impunity. Indeed it is not difficult to show that the Reformed Churches differ from each other in many details.
The rest I omit for brevity’s sake; and so leave these men and their doings, and return to the rest of the adventurers, who were friends of the company and stuck to them. I will first insert some of their letters; for I think it best to render their minds in their own words:
Letter to the Colonists at New Plymouth, from the Adventurers in England who remained friendly to them:
To our Loving Friends, etc.
Though what we feared has happened, and the evil we tried to avert has overtaken us, still we cannot forget you or our friendship and fellowship of some years’ standing, and though its expression has been small, our hearty affection towards you, unknown by face, has been no less than to our nearest friends or even to ourselves. And though your friend Mr. Winslow can tell you the state of things here, lest we should seem to neglect you, to whom by a wonderful providence of God we are so nearly united, we have thought well to write and let you know what has happened here and the reasons for it, and our intentions and desires concerning you for the future.
The old basis of partnership is entirely dissolved, and we are left to bethink ourselves what course to take in the future, that your lives and our money be not lost.