two or three times, but at the last the captain struck him on the forehead with the hilt of his sword, which made a small wound, but he refusing to have it searched and dressed that day, died of it, or of his drinking, the next after; whereupon Capt. Cromwell was tried by a council of war, (such as could be gathered together at Plymouth,) and was acquitted, though the coroner's jury found that he died of the wound; for they saw that by his commission he had power of martial law. Thus God oft times doth justly order, that he that takes the sword, shall perish by the sword.

This Capt. Cromwell coming to Boston with his three vessels and his Spanish wealth, might have been entertained in the best house of Boston, but was of so noble a disposition, that having in his mean estate been entertained by a poor man in a thatched house, when others were not so free to have done it; he said, he would not now leave him, when he might do him good, and therefore always took up his quarters in the same place, and where he at last ended his days, after some following voyages of like nature. It was said of this Cromwell, that he was like Cæsar; Casus ex utero materno, and that he never saw either father or mother, or they him; and it is like the Spaniards in the West Indies wished they had never seen him neither.

In the end of September, 1646, one William Waldron, a member of the church of Dover, (received into the church in the corrupt beginning of it,) a man given to drunkenness and contention, for which he was after cast out, and upon some formal repentance taken in again, coming alone from Saco, where he undertook the office of a recorder, was drowned as he passed over a small river called Kennebunk, but his body not found till about a month after. Those that through intemperance are wont to drown themselves in wine, are too often through imprudence drowned at last in water.

In the same year one Mary Martin fell into a sad miscarriage, whereby she brought herself to a violent and untimely death. Her father had been a merchant of old Plymouth, and her grandfather had been mayor of that

town. The father being fallen in his estate came into Casco Bay, in New England, and after some time having occasion to return back to England, left behind him two daughters, comely maidens, and of modest behaviour for aught appeared; but not taking that course for their bestowing in his absence, as the care and wisdom of a father should have done, the eldest was left in the house of one Mr. Mitten, a married man, who was soon so captivated with her person and behaviour, that he attempted her chastity, which she, not having such strength of virtue to resist as she should, yielded unto, though with much reluctancy of spirit, and as it was reported, begged of God to be delivered from the temptation, and if ever she were overtaken again,would leave herself to his justice to be made a publick example, as indeed it came to pass, for not taking heed to herself, nor minding her promise, she was overtaken the third time with the same sin. Butafterwards going into service at Boston and finding herself to have conceived, she was not able to bear the shame of the discovery, (being in so much favour with her mistress also, that she would not allow of the least suspicion herself or suggestion of the fear of it from others, so as she wholly concealed it till the time of her delivery, when she was alone by herself in a dark room, and used vio lence to destroy the child she had brought forth, a first and a second time before she effected it, and then wrapt it up in her chest for fifteen days, till her master and mistress went on ship board, being bound for England; on which occasion she was put to remove to another house, where she was charged by some that had suspected her before, and now found she had been delivered of a child. She at first denied the fact of murthering it, and said it was stillborn, but upon search it was found in her chest, and being made to touch the face of it before the jury, the blood came fresh thereinto, whereupon she confessed the whole truth. She carried it very penitently in prison, and at the time of her suffering, which gave hopes to the standers by of the truth of her repentance, justifying God from the first time of her falling into the sin till the last time of her suffering; and it was very observable,

that as she confessed she had twice attempted to murther her child before she could effect it, so through the unskilfulness of the executioner, they were forced to turn her off the ladder twice before she could die. Thus the foolishness of the sons and daughters of men makes them choose sin rather than shame, till at last they are covered with shame for their sin. The way of sin is a dangerous path, and the further any pass on therein, the more unable they are to return therefrom, till they descend down to the chambers of death in the pursuit thereof.

In the depth of winter, in the year 1647, in a very tempestuous night, the fort of Saybrook fell on fire, none knows how, whereby all the buildings within the pallisado were burnt down, with the goods, so as Capt. Mason with his wife and child could hardly escape. The loss was esteemed at a thousand pounds and better. Where the iron is blunt we must use the more strength, and where the matter is so combustible as their dwellings are in New England, we must use the more care to preserve them.

In June 1648, one Margaret Jones, of Charlestown, was indicted for a witch, and executed for it. She was proved to have such a malignant touch that whomsoever she touched (man, woman, or child,) with any affection of displeasure, were taken presently with deafness, vomiting, or other violent pains or sickness. Soon after she was executed, a ship riding over against Charlestown, of 300 tons, having in her hold an hundred and twenty tons of ballast, and eighty horses aboard her for the Barbadoes, was on a sudden observed to roll, as if she would have turned over. The husband of that witch, lately executed, had desired passage in that ship to Barbadoes, which not obtaining, that accident was observed to follow. Notice being given of this to the magistrates then sitting in court at Boston, a warrant was sent to apprehend him, and as the officer was passing therewith over the ferry, one asked if he could not tame the vessel, seeing he could sometimes tame men; he answered, I have that here, which it may be will tame her and make her quiet,

shewing his warrant, and at the same instant the ship began to stop her motion and swim upright, which had continued rolling after a strange manner about twelve hours, and after Jones was in prison she never moved in that kind any more.

go

The 11th of January, 1648, an idle fellow that used to home drunken from Boston to Winnisimet, was often told he would be drowned at last; and that night, passing over the water in a tempestuous time, when he was far in drink, perished in the water by the way. Another that had been aboard ship late on the Saturday night to make merry, and detained over long by the seamens' invitation, the boat turning over upon the ice, he was drowned by the shore, though three seamen waded out. He that was drowned was noted to be of good conversation, and commendable in religion, but only drawn away by idle company. God will be sanctified of all them that draw near unto him.

Two young persons were drowned about that time in a sad manner, one a boy of about seven years old, ran down upon the ice towards a boat he saw there with a staff in his hand, but the ice breaking under him the staff kept him up till his sister, of about 14 years of age, ran down to save her brother, though there were four men at hand, that called to her not to go, being themselves hastening to save him; but she not considering, ran hastily towards the same place, and so drowned both herself and him, being past recovery ere the men could come at him, who might have reached ground with their feet. The parents had no more sons, which made them set their hearts too much upon him, and by their indul. gence, as was feared, came to lose him on the sudden. Four more were drowned that winter by adventuring upon the ice. Outward comforts are but crutches, which, when we lean too much upon, God suffers them many times to fail, that we may stay upon himself. It is but just the cisterns should either be broken or dried up, when we forsake the Fountain to depend upon them.

In the year 1647, an epidemical sickness passed through the whole country of New England, both

among Indians, English, French, and Dutch. It began with a cold, and in many was accompanied with a light fever. Such as bled, or used cooling drinks, generally died; such as made use of cordials, and more strengthening, comfortable things, for the most part recovered.

It seems to have spread through the whole coast, at least all the English plantations in America, for in the island of Christophers and Barbadoes there died five or six thousand in each of them. Whether it might be called a plague or pestilential fever, physicians must determine. It was accompanied in those islands with a great drought, which burnt up all their potatoes, and other fruits, which brought the provisions of New England into great request with them, who before that time had looked upon New England as one of the poorest, most despicable, barren parts of America.

In October, 1648, some shallops of Ipswich, having been fishing all the summer at Monhiggin, in their way home, were intended to put in at Damarill's Cove on a Saturday night, and three of them got safe into the harbour's mouth before sun down. They in the fourth shallop were not willing to put forth their oars till it was very late in the afternoon, when they were becalmed, and so it was dark night before they could reach the harbour, the entrance of which they missed, and by that means were overraked by the surf of the sea and all drowned; four Englishmen and one Indian, and the goods all perished. Their friends called to them to make haste; but the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes, than seven men that can render

a reason.

CHAP. LVIII.

Ecclesiastical affairs in New England from the year 1646

to 1651.

THE churches in New England had now for some considerable time enjoyed rest and peace, and having shd liberty without adversary or evil occurrent to model