The nexte spring after, ther was another attempte made by some of these & others, to get over at an other place. And it so fell out, that they light of a Dutchman at Hull, having a ship of his owne belonging to Zealand; they made agreemente with him, and acquainted [9] him with their condition, hoping to find more faithfullnes in him, then in ye former of their owne nation. He bad them not fear, for he would doe well enough. He was by appointment to take them in betweene Grimsbe & Hull, wher was a large com̅one a good way distante from any towne. Now aganst the prefixed time, the women & children, with ye goods, were sent to ye place in a small barke, which they had hired for yt end; and ye men were to meete them by land. But it so fell out, that they were ther a day before ye shipe came, & ye sea being rough, and ye women very sicke, prevailed with ye seamen to put into a creeke hardby, wher they lay on ground at lowwater. The nexte morning ye shipe came, but they were fast, & could not stir till aboute noone. In ye mean time, ye shipe maister, perceiveing how ye matter was, sente his boate to be getting ye men abord whom he saw ready, walking aboute ye shore. But after ye first boat full was gott abord, & she was ready to goe for more, the mr espied a greate company, both horse & foote, with bills, & gunes, & other weapons; for ye countrie was raised to take them. Ye Dutch-man seeing yt, swore his countries oath, "sacremente," and having ye wind faire, waiged his Ancor, hoysed sayles, & away. But ye poore men which were gott abord, were in great distress for their wives and children, which they saw thus to be taken, and were left destitute of their helps; and them selves also, not having a cloath to shifte them with, more then they had on their baks, & some scarce a peney aboute them, all they had being abord ye barke. It drew tears from their eyes, and any thing they had they would have given to have been a shore againe; but all in vaine, ther was no remedy, they must thus sadly part. And afterward endured a fearfull storme at sea, being 14. days or more before yey arived at their porte, in 7. wherof they neither saw son, moone, nor stars, & were driven near ye coast of Norway; the mariners them selves often despairing of life; and once with shriks & cries gave over all, as if ye ship had been foundred in ye sea, & they sinking without recoverie. But when mans hope & helpe wholy failed, ye Lords power & mercie appeared in ther recoverie; for ye ship rose againe, & gave ye mariners courage againe to manage her. And if modestie woud suffer me, I might declare with what fervente [10] prayres they cried unto ye Lord in this great distres, (espetialy some of them,) even without any great distraction, when ye water rane into their mouthes & ears; & the mariners cried out, We sinke, we sinke; they cried (if not with mirakelous, yet with a great hight or degree of devine faith), Yet Lord thou canst save, yet Lord thou canst save; with shuch other expressions as I will forbeare. Upon which ye ship did not only recover, but shortly after ye violence of ye storme begane to abate, and ye Lord filed their afflicted minds with shuch comforts as every one can̅ot understand, and in ye end brought them to their desired Haven, wher ye people came flockeing admiring their deliverance, the storme having ben so longe & sore, in which much hurt had been don, as ye masters freinds related unto him in their congrattulations.
But to returne to ye others wher we left. The rest of ye men yt were in greatest danger, made shift to escape away before ye troope could surprise them; those only staying yt best might, to be assistante unto ye women. But pitifull it was to see ye heavie case of these poore women in this distress; what weeping & crying on every side, some for their husbands, that were caried away in ye ship as is before related; others not knowing what should become of them, & their litle ones; others againe melted in teares, seeing their poore litle ones hanging aboute them, crying for feare, and quaking with could. Being thus aprehended, they were hurried from one place to another, and from one justice to another, till in ye ende they knew not what to doe with them; for to imprison so many women & innocent children for no other cause (many of them) but that they must goe with their husbands, semed to be unreasonable and all would crie out of them; and to send them home againe was as difficult, for they aledged, as ye trueth was, they had no homes to goe to, for they had either sould, or otherwise disposed of their houses & livings. To be shorte, after they had been thus turmolyed a good while, and conveyed from one constable to another, they were glad to be ridd of them in ye end upon any termes; for all were wearied & tired with them. Though in ye mean time they (poore soules) indured miserie enough; and thus in the end necessitie forste a way for them.
But yt I be not tedious in these things, I will omitte ye rest, though I might relate many other notable passages and troubles which they endured & underwente in these their wanderings & travells both at land & sea; but I hast to [11] other things. Yet I may not omitte ye fruite that came hearby, for by these so publick troubls, in so many eminente places, their cause became famouss, & occasioned many to looke into ye same; and their godly cariage & Christian behaviour was such as left a deep impression in the minds of many. And though some few shrunk at these first conflicts & sharp beginings, (as it was no marvell,) yet many more came on with fresh courage, & greatly animated others. And in ye end, notwithstanding all these stormes of oppossition, they all gatt over at length, some at one time & some at an other, and some in one place & some in an other, and mette togeather againe according to their desires, with no small rejoycing.
3. Chapter
Of their setling in Holand, & their maner of living, & entertainmente ther.
Being now come into ye Low Countries, they saw many goodly & fortified cities, strongly walled and garded with troopes of armed men. Also they heard a strange & uncouth language, and beheld ye differente man̅ers & customes of ye people, with their strange fashons and attires; all so farre differing from yt of their plaine countrie villages (wherin they were bred, & had so longe lived) as it seemed they were come into a new world. But these were not ye things they much looked on, or long tooke up their thoughts; for they had other work in hand, & an other kind of warr to wage & maintaine. For though they saw faire & bewtifull cities, flowing with abundance of all sorts of welth & riches, yet it was not longe before they saw the grim̅e & grisly face of povertie coming upon them like an armed man, with whom they must bukle & incounter, and from whom they could not flye; but they were armed with faith & patience against him, and all his encounters; and though they were sometimes foyled, yet by Gods assistance they prevailed and got ye victorie.
Now when Mr. Robinson, Mr. Brewster, & other principall members were come over, (for they were of ye last, & stayed to help ye weakest over before them,) such things were [12] thought on as were necessarie for their setling and best ordering of ye church affairs. And when they had lived at Amsterdam aboute a year, Mr. Robinson, their pastor, and some others of best discerning, seeing how Mr. John Smith and his companie was allready fallen in to contention with ye church yt was ther before them, & no means they could use would doe any good to cure ye same, and also that ye flames of contention were like to breake out in yt anciente church it selfe (as affterwards lamentably came to pass); which things they prudently foreseeing, thought it was best to remove, before they were any way engaged with ye same; though they well knew it would be much to ye prejudice of their outward estats, both at presente & in licklyhood in ye future; as indeed it proved to be.
Their remoovall to Leyden.
For these & some other reasons they removed to Leyden, a fair & bewtifull citie, and of a sweete situation,