powers, which denied them the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free.' Though few in number, their strong faith, earnest zeal and fervent love, created a bond of union and an intensity of purpose, which never deserted them throughout their perilous career; whether hunted at home by the adherents of hierarchal oppression, exposed to the dangers of the deep, seeking a precarious subsistence in a strange land, or exploring the bleak shores of Cape Cod, amidst the rough blasts of a cheerless winter. In a publication of Mr. Joseph Hunter, F. S. A., an assistant keeper of Public Records, in England, which appeared in August, 1849, additional light has been thrown on the early state of the Pilgrim Church, and the place of its meeting has been satisfactorily identified, as will be seen from the following extracts, taken from that valuable publication, page 7th. • But a passage in Bradford's account of Brewster enables us to fix not only the town or village at which the church held its meetings, but the very house in which they assembled; and to proceed at once to the removal of this uncertainty, I add that it is manifest to any one who has an intimate knowledge of those parts of the kingdom, that the seat and centre of the church, while it remained in England, was at the village of Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire, and in the principal mansion of that village, the house which had been for centuries a palace of the Archbishop of York, but which was in those days held under one of the many leases of episcopal lands granted by Archbishop Sandys. 'Scrooby will be found in the maps, about a mile and a half south of Bawtry, a market and post town situated on the borders of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. The nearest point of the county of Lincoln, is distant six or seven miles.'s The same writer states, on page 11th, that'the house fell by degrees into decay. No portion of it is now standing, yet the site may be traced by a few irregularities in the surface of the ground.' It is highly gratifying thus to learn from unquestionable authority, a fact so important as that above stated, the identification of the spot and building where the Pilgrim Church first worshipped in England; a fact so long concealed from all previous enquiry, the development of which at this late day, may justly inspire the hope, that diligent and persevering investigations in future, on kindred subjects, will be crowned with similar success. In the year 1607, not long after the actual organization of the church, under the care of John Robison and William Brewster, the precise date of which organization seems not to have been accurately ascertained, as appears from Mr. Hunter's remarks, they concluded to remove from their native country to avoid the persecution which assailed them on every side. In the year 1608, after the failure of a previous attempt, they arrived at Amsterdam, in Holland, and in less than one year, again removed to the city of Leyden, at which place they continued and ably sustained public worship, under the ministrations of their accomplished and venerated pastor, till their embark ation at Delft Haven, in the ship Speedwell, of 60 tons burthen, on the 22 of July, 1620,* from whence they reached South Hampton, in England, to join the Mayflower; and on the 5th day of August both vessels sailed from that port, to execute the long cherished purpose of emigration to America. By heartless Bigots basely spurned, To fix the reign of conscience free, Despite of Rome's imperial see, That Church and State no more combined, With iron grasp the soul should bind, Where freedom winged might raptured roam And find at last, a genial Home. They had not proceeded far, however, before Mr. Reynolds, of the Speedwell, complained that his ship was in so leaky a condition that he feared to proceed further; and on the 13th of August both vessels put into Dartmouth. The Speedwell having undergone *' Without entering into particulars, it is sufficient to state, as illustrative of the trade of Holland, that in 1690, when it had attained to a maximum, Sir William Petty estimated the whole shipping of Europe at 2,000,000 tons, of which he supposed the Dutch to possess 900,000 tons, and it is believed that this estimate was rather within, than beyond the mark.'- Mc Cullock's Gazetteer, Edit. 1933. It is perhaps well deserving our attention, as illustrating the growth of commerce in America, that our present tonnage exceeds that owned by all Europe, at the time of embarkation, when our rivers, bays and oceans possessed no better means of water communication, than a birch canoe, or by way of improvement, a log of the larger class, dug out, with much labor, by some Indian shipwright. what were deemed adequate repairs, both vessels put to sea again on the 21st of August. After proceeding about one hundred leagues beyond the land's end of England, Mr. Reynolds again complained of his ship, and the danger of foundering, if they proceeded on the voyage, when both vessels entered the harbor of Plymouth. On a second examination of the Speedwell, no particular injury seemed to have been sustained, and the general weakness of the ship was assigned as the cause of difficulty, though it afterwards appeared, that the deception of Reynolds and others was the main cause of the serious and repeated delays to which they had been subjected, and which proved highly injurious to their future interests. It was now determined to dismiss the Speedwell, and such part of the whole company as could not be accommodated in the Mayflower.* It was decided that Mr. Cushman and his family, and others, about twenty in all, should return to London. Another sad parting scene occurred, and the Mayflower, on the 6th day of September, once more spread her canvass to a favorable breeze. But the fair prospects which cheered the pilgrims, when leaving the shores of England for the last time, *Though it is not improbable, that as respected some of the passengers appointed to return in the Speed well with Mr. Cushman, reference was had to their relative ability to aid in the arduous labor of establishing the intended colony, there seems no reason to conclude, as some historians have intimated and asserted, that they were timid or discouraged. The spirit, not of fear, but of a sound mind, appears to have generally pervaded the whole body of emigrants; and Robert Cushman was the last individual among them on whose character for self-devotion, intelligence and courage, the slightest breath of suspicion should rest. were soon clouded; contrary winds opposed their progress; fierce storms assailed them; the upper works of the ship were injured, and she became leaky; one of the main beams was wrenched from its place; serious doubts existed whether it would be practicable to pursue the voyage; and a consultation of the principal seamen and passengers was held. But the ship proving strong under water, the beam was restored to its proper position by means of a screw, strongly secured by the carpenter, and they continued their voyage. 'And so, after many boisterous storms, in which they could bear no sail, but were forced to lie at hull for many days together, after long being at sea, (on the 9th of Nov.) they fell in with the land, called CAPE COD, the which being made and certainly known to be it, they were not a little joyful.' FOREFATHERS' ROCK. A Rock in the wilderness welcomed our sires, Jehovah ! which glow in our bosoms for thee. The Forefathers' Rock, so attractive to the curiosity of visitors, excepting that part of it which is now enclosed within the railing in front of Pilgrim Hall, retains the same position it occupied two hundred and thirty years ago, when the founders of New England first landed on our shores, and introduced the arts of civilization, the institutions of religion, civil govern |