Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford

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СКАЧАТЬ condition you mean wealth, you are mistaken; if you mean by condition, qualities, then I say he that is not contente his neighbour shall have as good a house, fare, means, &c. as him selfe, is not of a good qualitie. 2^ly. Such retired persons, as have aneie only to them selves, are fitter to come wher catching is, then closing; and are fitter to live alone, then in any societie, either civill or religious.

      6. It will be of litle value, scarce worth 5^li. A. True, it may be not worth halfe 5^li. [33] If then so smale a thing will content them, why strive we thus aboute it, and give them occasion to suspecte us to be worldly & covetous? I will not say what I have heard since these complaints came first over.

      7. Our freinds with us y^t adventure mind not their owne profite, as did y^e old adventurers. A. Then they are better then we, who for a litle matter of profite are readie to draw back, and it is more apparente brethern looke too it, that make profite your maine end; repente of this, els goe not least you be like Jonas to Tarshis. 2^ly. Though some of them mind not their profite, yet others doe mind it; and why not as well as we? venturs are made by all sorts of men, and we must labour to give them all contente, if we can.

      8. It will break y^e course of com̅unitie, as may be showed by many reasons. A. That is but said, and I say againe, it will best foster comunion, as may be showed by many reasons.

      9. Great profite is like to be made by trucking, fishing, &c. A. As it is better for them, so for us; for halfe is ours, besids our living still upon it, and if such profite in y^t way come, our labour shall be y^e less on y^e land, and our houses and lands must & will be of less value.

      10. Our hazard is greater then theirs. A. True, but doe they put us upon it? doe they urge or egg us? hath not y^e motion & resolution been always in our selves? doe they any more then in seeing us resolute if we had means, help us to means upon equall termes & conditions? If we will not goe, they are content to keep their moneys. Thus I have pointed at a way to loose those knots, which I hope you will consider seriously, and let me have no more stirre about them.

      Now furder, I hear a noise of slavish conditions by me made; but surly this is all that I have altered, and reasons I have sent you. If you mean it of y^e 2. days in a week for perticuler, as some insinuate, you are deceived; you may have 3. days in a week for me if you will. And when I have spoken to y^e adventurers of times of working, they have said they hope we are men of discretion & conscience, and so fitte to be trusted our selves with that. But indeed y^e ground of our proceedings at Leyden was mistaken, and so here is nothing but tottering every day, &c.

      As for them of Amsterdam I had thought they would as soone have gone to Rome as with us; for our libertie is to them as ratts bane, and their riggour as bad to us as y^e Spanish Inquision. If any practise of mine discourage them, let them yet draw back; I will undertake they shall have their money againe presently paid hear. Or if the company thinke me to be y^e Jonas, let them cast me of before we goe; I shall be content to stay with good will, having but the cloaths on my back; only let us have quietnes, and no more of these clamors; full litle did I expecte these things which are now come to pass, &c.

      Yours, R. Cushman.

      But whether this letter of his ever came to their hands at Leyden I well know not; I rather thinke it was staied by M^r. Carver & kept by him, forgiving offence. But this which follows was ther received; both which I thought pertenent to recite.

      Another of his to ye aforesaid, June 11. 1620.19

      

      Salutations, &c. I received your lẽr. yesterday, by John Turner, with another y^e same day from Amsterdam by M^r. W. savouring of y^e place whenc it came. And indeed the many discouragements I find her, togeather with y^e demurrs and retirings ther, had made me to say, I would give up my accounts to John Carver, & at his comeing aquainte him fully with all courses, and so leave it quite, with only y^e pore cloaths on my back. But gathering up my selfe by further consideration, [34] I resolved yet to make one triall more, and to aquainte M^r. Weston with y^e fainted state of our bussines; and though he hath been much discontented at some thing amongst us of late, which hath made him often say, that save for his promise, he would not meadle at all with y^e bussines any more, yet considering how farr we were plunged into maters, & how it stood both on our credits & undoing, at y^e last he gathered up him selfe a litle more, & coming to me 2. hours after, he tould me he would not yet leave it. And so advising togeather we resolved to hire a ship, and have tooke liking of one till Monday, about 60. laste, for a greater we cannot gett, excepte it be tow great; but a fine ship it is. And seeing our neer freinds ther are so streite lased, we hope to assure her without troubling them any further; and if y^e ship fale too small, it fitteth well y^t such as stumble at strawes allready, may rest them ther a while, least worse blocks come in y^e way ere 7. years be ended. If you had beaten this bussines so throuly a month agoe, and write to us as now you doe, we could thus have done much more conveniently. But it is as it is; I hope our freinds ther, if they be quitted of the ship hire, will be indusced to venture y^e more. All y^t I now require is y^t salt and netts may ther be boughte, and for all y^e rest we will here provid it; yet if that will not be, let them but stand for it a month or tow, and we will take order to pay it all. Let M^r. Reinholds tarie ther, and bring y^e ship to Southampton. We have hired another pilote here, one M^r. Clarke, who went last year to Virginia with a ship of kine.

       You shall here distinctly by John Turner, who I thinke shall come hence on Tewsday night. I had thought to have come with him, to have answerd to my complaints; but I shal lerne to pass litle for their censurs; and if I had more minde to goe & dispute & expostulate with them, then I have care of this waightie bussines, I were like them who live by clamours & jangling. But neither my mind nor my body is at libertie to doe much, for I am fettered with bussines, and had rather study to be quiet, then to make answer to their exceptions. If men be set on it, let them beat y^e eair; I hope such as are my sinceire freinds will not thinke but I can give some reason of my actions. But of your mistaking aboute y^e mater, & other things tending to this bussines, I shall nexte informe you more distinctly. Mean space entreate our freinds not to be too bussie in answering matters, before they know them. If I doe such things as I can̅ot give reasons for, it is like you have sett a foole aboute your bussines, and so turne y^e reproofe to your selves, & send an other, and let me come againe to my Combes. But setting a side my naturall infirmities, I refuse not to have my cause judged, both of God, & all indifferent men; and when we come togeather I shall give accounte of my actions hear. The Lord, who judgeth justly without respect of persons, see into y^e equitie of my cause, and give us quiet, peacable, and patient minds, in all these turmoiles, and sanctifie unto us all crosses whatsoever. And so I take my leave of you all, in all love & affection.

      I hope we shall gett all hear ready in 14. days.

      Your pore brother,

      Robart Cushman.

      June 11. 1620.

      Besids these things, ther fell out a differance amongs those 3. that received [35] the moneys & made y^e provissions in England; for besids these tow formerly mentioned sent from Leyden for this end, viz. M^r. Carver & Robart Cushman, ther was one chosen in England to be joyned with them, to make y^e provisions for y^e vioage; his name was M^r. Martin, he came from Billirike in Essexe, from which parts came sundrie others to goe with them, as also from London & other places; and therfore it was thought meete & conveniente by them in Holand that these strangers that were to goe with them, should apointe one thus to be joyned with them, not so much for СКАЧАТЬ