Of Plymouth Plantation. William Bradford
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Название: Of Plymouth Plantation
Автор: William Bradford
Издательство: Bookwire
Жанр: Документальная литература
isbn: 9788027241514
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To his loving freind Mr. John Carver, these, &c.
Loving freind, I have received from you some letters, full of affection & complaints, and what it is you would have of me I know not; for your crieing out, Negligence, negligence, negligence, I marvell why so negligente a man was used in ye bussines. Yet know you yt all that I have power to doe hear, shall not be one hower behind, I warent you. You have reference to Mr. Weston to help us with money, more then his adventure; wher he protesteth but for his promise, he would not have done any thing. He saith we take a heady course, and is offended yt our provissions are made so farr of; as also that he was not made aquainted with our quantitie of things; and saith yt in now being in 3. places, so farr remote, we will, with going up & downe, and wrangling & expostulating, pass over ye som̅er before we will goe. And to speake ye trueth, ther is fallen already amongst us a flatt schisme; and we are redier to goe to dispute, then to sett forwarde a voiage. I have received from Leyden since you wente 3. or 4. letters directed to you, though they only conscerne me. I will not trouble you with them. I always feared ye event of ye Amsterdamers striking in with us. I trow you must excom̅unicate me, or els you must goe without their companie, or we shall wante no quareling; but let them pass. We have reckoned, it should seeme, without our host; and, counting upon a 150. persons, ther cannot be founde above 1200li. & odd moneys of all ye venturs you can reckone, besids some cloath, stockings, & shoes, which are not counted; so we shall come shorte at least 3. or 400li. I would have had some thing shortened at first of beare & other provissions in hope of other adventurs, & now we could have, both in Amsterd: & Kente, beere inough to serve our turne, but now we cannot accept it without prejudice. You fear we have begune to build & shall not be able to make an end; indeed, our courses were never established by counsell, we may therfore justly fear their standing. Yea, ther was a [36] schisme amongst us 3. at ye first. You wrote to Mr. Martin, to prevente ye making of ye provissions in Kente, which he did, and sett downe his resolution how much he would have of every thing, without respecte to any counsell or exception. Surely he yt is in a societie & yet regards not counsell, may better be a king then a consorte. To be short, if ther be not some other dispossition setled unto then yet is, we yt should be partners of humilitie and peace, shall be examples of jangling & insulting. Yet your money which you ther must have, we will get provided for you instantly. 500li. you say will serve; for ye rest which hear & in Holand is to be used, we may goe scratch for it. For Mr.20 Crabe, of whom you write, he hath promised to goe with us, yet I tell you I shall not be without feare till I see him shipped, for he is much opposed, yet I hope he will not faile. Thinke ye best of all, and bear with patience what is wanting, and ye Lord guid us all.
Your loving freind,
Robart Cushman.
London, June 10.
Ano: 1620.
I have bene ye larger in these things, and so shall crave leave in some like passages following, (thoug in other things I shal labour to be more contracte,) that their children may see with what difficulties their fathers wrastled in going throug these things in their first begin̅ings, and how God brought them along notwithstanding all their weaknesses & infirmities. As allso that some use may be made hereof in after times by others in such like waightie imployments; and herewith I will end this chapter.
7. Chapter
Of their departure from Leyden, and other things ther aboute, with their arivall at South hamton, were they all mete togeather, and tooke in ther provissions.
At length, after much travell and these debats, all things were got ready and provided. A smale ship21 was bought, & fitted in Holand, which was intended as to serve to help to transport them, so to stay in ye cuntrie and atend upon fishing and shuch other affairs as might be for ye good & benefite of ye colonie when they came ther. Another was hired at London, of burden about 9. score; and all other things gott in readines. So being ready to departe, they had a day of solleme humiliation, their pastor taking his texte from Ezra 8. 21. And ther at ye river, by Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God, and seeke of him a right way for us, and for our children, and for all our substance. Upon which he spente a good parte of ye day very profitably, and suitable to their presente occasion. The rest of the time was spente in powering out prairs to ye Lord with great fervencie, mixed with abundance of tears. And ye time being come that they must departe, they were accompanied with most of their brethren out of ye citie, unto a towne sundrie miles of called Delfes-Haven, wher the ship lay ready to receive them. So they lefte yt goodly & pleasante citie, which had been ther resting place near 12. years; but they knew they were pilgrimes,22 & looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to ye heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits. When they [37] came to ye place they found ye ship and all things ready; and shuch of their freinds as could not come with them followed after them, and sundrie also came from Amsterdame to see them shipte and to take their leave of them. That night was spent with litle sleepe by ye most, but with freindly entertainmente & christian discourse and other reall expressions of true christian love. The next day, the wind being faire, they wente aborde, and their freinds with them, where truly dolfull was ye sight of that sade and mournfull parting; to see what sighs and sobbs and praires did sound amongst them, what tears did gush from every eye, & pithy speeches peirst each harte; that sundry of ye Dutch strangers yt stood on ye key as spectators, could not refraine from tears. Yet comfortable & sweete it was to see shuch lively and true expressions of clear & unfained love. But the tide (which stays for no man) caling them away yt were thus loath to departe, their Reṽēd: pastor falling downe on his knees, (and they all with him,) with watrie cheeks com̅ended them with most fervente praiers to the Lord and his blessing. And then with mutuall imbrases and many tears, they tooke their leaves one of an other; which proved to be ye last leave to many of them.
Thus hoysing saile,23 with a prosperus winde they came in short time to Southhamton, wher they found the bigger ship come from London, lying ready, wth all the rest of their company. After a joyfull wellcome, and mutuall congratulations, with other frendly entertainements, they fell to parley aboute their bussines, how to dispatch with ye best expedition; as allso with their agents, aboute ye alteration of ye conditions. Mr. Carver pleaded he was imployed hear at Hamton, and knew not well what ye other had don at London. Mr. Cushman answered, he had done nothing but what he was urged too, partly by ye grounds of equity, and more espetialy by necessitie, other wise all had bene dasht and many undon. And in ye begining he aquainted his felow agents here with, who consented unto him, and left it to him to execute, and to receive ye money at London and send it downe to them at Hamton, wher they made ye provissions; the which he accordingly did, though it was against his minde, & some of ye marchants, yt they were their made. And for giveing them notise at Leyden of this change, he could not well in regarde of ye shortnes СКАЧАТЬ