True Stories of History and Biography | Page 3

Catholics.
These Puritans suffered so much persecution in England that, in 1607,
many of them went over to Holland, and lived ten or twelve years at
Amsterdam and Leyden. But they feared that, if they continued there
much longer, they should cease to be English, and should adopt all the
manners and ideas and feelings of the Dutch. For this and other reasons,
in the year 1620, they embarked on board of the ship Mayflower, and
crossed the ocean to the shores of Cape Cod. There they made a
settlement, and called it Plymouth; which, though now a part of
Massachusetts, was for a long time a colony by itself. And thus was
formed the earliest settlement of the Puritans in America.
Meantime, those of the Puritans who remained in England continued to
suffer grievous persecution on account of their religious opinions. They
began to look around them for some spot where they might worship
God, not as the king and bishops thought fit, but according to the
dictates of their own consciences. When their brethren had gone from
Holland to America, they bethought themselves that they likewise
might find refuge from persecution there. Several gentlemen among
them purchased a tract of country on the coast of Massachusetts Bay,
and obtained a charter from King Charles, which authorized them to
make laws for the settlers. In the year 1628, they sent over a few people,
with John Endicott at their head, to commence a plantation at Salem.

Peter Palfrey, Roger Conant, and one or two more, had built houses
there in 1626, and may be considered as the first settlers of that ancient
town. Many other Puritans prepared to follow Endicott.
"And now we come to the chair, my dear children," said Grandfather.
"This chair is supposed to have been made of an oak tree which grew in
the park of the English earl of Lincoln, between two and three centuries
ago. In its younger days it used, probably, to stand in the hall of the
earl's castle. Do not you see the coat of arms of the family of Lincoln,
carved in the open work of the back? But when his daughter, the Lady
Arbella, was married to a certain Mr. Johnson, the earl gave her this
valuable chair."
"Who was Mr. Johnson?" inquired Clara.
"He was a gentleman of great wealth, who agreed with the Puritans in
their religious opinions," answered Grandfather. "And as his belief was
the same as theirs, he resolved that he would live and die with them.
Accordingly, in the month of April, 1630, he left his pleasant abode
and all his comforts in England, and embarked with the Lady Arbella,
on board of a ship bound for America."
As Grandfather was frequently impeded by the questions and
observations of his young auditors, we deem it advisable to omit all
such prattle as is not essential to the story. We have taken some pains
to find out exactly what Grandfather said, and here offer to our readers,
as nearly as possible in his own words, the story of

THE LADY ARBELLA
The ship in which Mr. Johnson and his lady embarked, taking
Grandfather's chair along with them, was called the Arbella, in honor of
the lady herself. A fleet of ten or twelve vessels, with many hundred
passengers, left England about the same time; for a multitude of people,
who were discontented with the king's government and oppressed by
the bishops, were flocking over to the new world. One of the vessels in

the fleet was that same Mayflower which had carried the Puritan
pilgrims to Plymouth. And now, my children, I would have you fancy
yourselves in the cabin of the good ship Arbella; because if you could
behold the passengers aboard that vessel, you would feel what a
blessing and honor it was for New England to have such settlers. They
were the best men and women of their day.
Among the passengers was John Winthrop, who had sold the estate of
his forefathers, and was going to prepare a new home for his wife and
children in the wilderness. He had the king's charter in his keeping, and
was appointed the first Governor of Massachusetts. Imagine him a
person of grave and benevolent aspect, dressed in a black velvet suit,
with a broad ruff around his neck and a peaked beard upon his chin.
There was likewise a minister of the Gospel, whom the English bishops
had forbidden to preach, but who knew that he should have liberty both
to preach and pray in the forests of America. He wore a black cloak,
called a Geneva cloak, and had a black velvet cap, fitting close to his
head, as was the fashion of almost all the Puritan clergymen. In their
company came