In the year 1610, a company of the persecuted religionists, composing the church of a Mr. ROBINSON, having previously determined to remove to a country where they might be enabled to worship GoD agreeable to the dictates of their consciences, emigrated to Holland, and settled in the city of Leyden, where they continued to reside until the year 1620. Although the ecclesiastical laws of Holland did not at this time sanction or condemn the principles of any particular sect of chris.ians, yet great were the disadvantages under which the emigrants labored; for, notwithstanding the Dutch gave them a welcome reception, and manifested a disposition to treat them with great respect, they never could be prevailed upon by the former to conform to their mode of worship, or to renounce principles which the English conceived destructive to moral society; nor did the emigrants here succeed in other respects agreeable to their views-so far from increasing their little flock, they fourd, that in the course of ten years, they had experienced a diminution of more than one-half their original number; many, in consequence of the impoverished state of the country, had spent their estates and returned to England. Hence it was that the remaining few formed the determination of attempting once more to seek a country better adapted to their pious purposes, and such as would promise a more fruitful abode to their offspring. By some the unexplored parts of America was proposed; and, after a day set apart for solemn humiliation and praise to ALMIGHTY GOD, it was resolved that a part of the church should first emigrate to America, and if there meeting with a favorable reception, should prepare an abode for the remainder.

They easily obtained a royal grant of a very extensive tract of of land, (now called New England,) whither they intended to repair, not to amass wealth, or to exterminate the inhabitants, but to subsist by industry, to purchase security by honorable intercourse with the natives, and to acquire strength under the auspices of freedom.

They made a purchase of two small ships, and on the 5th August, 1620, having repaired to Plymouth, (Eng.,) for the purpose, were in readiness to embark; previous to which they were very affectionately addressed by their pious pastor, DR. ROBINSON, who, in fervent prayer, commended them to the holy keeping of HIM, who rules the destinies of all men.

At 11 A. M., with a fair wind, they set sail, and bid adieu, forever, to their native country. Nothing material occurred to obstruct their passage until the 20th, when they experienced a tremendous gale, which threatened them with instant destruction!-for three days successively they were tossed about at the mercy of the waves-the ships were, however, enabled to keep company until the storm had somewhat abated, when those on board one of them, conceiving their vessel no longer seaworthy, abandoned her, and were received on board the other.

On the 10th November, they, to their inexpressible joy, discovered land, which proved to be that of Cape Cod, where they, with much difficulty the day following, succeeded in landing; as soon as on shore

they fell upon their knees and returned thanks to the Almighty for enabling them to reach in safety their place of destination. But, although they had thus far succeeded in their views; although they had been enabled to flee from persecution; to cross a wide and boisterous ocean, what was their situation now!-sojourners in a foreign land!-traversing the broken and unwrought shores of a wild and unexplored country!--they found here no friends to welcome them, or house to shelter them from the inclemency of an approaching winter!-on one side they beheld nought but a hideous and desolate wilderness, the habitation of wild and ferocious animals, and probably the abode of a race of beings not less wild and unmerciful!--on the other, the briny ocean foaming, and with tremendous roar dashing against the huge and projecting rocks, which, as far as the eye could perceive, marked the sea-beaten shores!

After succeeding, with much difficulty, in discovering a harbor in which their ships could ride with safety, they made choice of ten of the most resolute of their number to explore the adjacent country. and discover, if possible, a more convenient place for their future abode; who, on the morning of the 16th, provided with a musket each, set out for this purpose. They had not penetrated the woods above three miles when they discovered five of the natives, which were the first seen by them since their arrival; they were clothed with the skins of animals, and armed with bows and arrows; the English, with signs of friendship, made toward them, but were no sooner discovered by the savages, than they, with a terrible yell, fled with the greatest precipitancy: night approaching, the English erected a small temporary encampment, and, after placing their sentinels, retired to rest. Early the ensuing morning, they continued their journey, following for a considerable distance the tracks of the five Indians above mentioned, in hopes thereby to discover their habitations, and obtain there from a fresh supply of provision, of which they were much in want; but in this they did not fully succeed. At about noon they arrived at an extensive plat of clear ground, near which they discovered a pond of fresh water, and several small hillocks of raised earth, which they conjectured to be the graves of the Indians--proceeding a little further west they discovered a large quantity of stubble, which they imagined to be some kind of Indian grain peculiar to the country; they also discovered a spot where they suspected an Indian hut had recently stood, as they found near by some planks, curiously wrought, and a small earthen pot; proceeding still farther, they discovered a number more of the little hillocks of broken ground, as above described, and which they now began to suspect to be the place of deposit of something more than the dead!— Curiosity leading them to examine more closely one of these, what they had before supposed to be Indian sepulchres, they, to their great surprise, found to contain a large quantity of the Indian grain (corn) above mentioned!-it was still in the ear, and excited, to no small degree, the curiosity of the English, as they had never before seen any thing of the kind. By a few of the company the discovery was

deemed of importance; but by others, who had attempted to eat of the corn in its raw state, it was pronounced indifferent food--of little value! They, however, concluded it best to return and make known the discovery to their brethren.

Having succeeded, with some difficulty, in reaching the place from which they started, they were met by those whom they had left behind, with the most unspeakable joy and satisfaction, to whom they exhibited a specimen of the grain which they had found, and recommended the spot from which it was procured, as the most convenient and suitable at which to abide through the approaching winter. The company accordingly, on the 25th, proceeded for, and in safety reached the place above mentioned, with which, being so much pleased, they termed New Plymouth, in remembrance of the port at which they last embarked in Europe. Here they concluded to abide until such time as further discoveries could be made-they erected a few temporary huts, sufficient to shelter them from the weather, and soon after, by mutual consent, entered into a solemn combination, as a body politic, and, on the 10th December, assembled to form for themselves such a government and laws as they should deem the most just and equitable; previous to which, the following instrument was drawn up, which being first read and assented to by the company, received their signatures-to wit:

"IN the name of GOD, Amen!-We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, King JAMES, by the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and defender of the faith, &c., having undertaken for the glory of Gon, advancement of the christian faith, and the honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the north parts of America, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of GoD, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our own convenience and the preservation and support of the ends aforesaid: and, by virtue hereof, do enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony-unto which we promise all

due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names, at New Plymouth, on the 10th day of December, A. D., 1620.

The company next proceeded, by ballot, to the choice of a Governor, and, on counting the votes, it appeared that JOHN CARVER had the greatest number, and was declared chosen for one year.

On the 19th December, Mrs. SUSANNAH WHITE, wife of WIL

LIAM WHITE, was delivered of a son, which was the first born of the English in New England.

On the 21st it was agreed by the company to despatch a second exploring party, by water, to make, if possible, further discoveries.— The persons selected for this purpose were Governor Carver, Messrs. Bradford, Winslow, Standish, Howland, Warren, Hopkins, Allerton, Tilley, Clarke, Tinker, Turner and Brown; they embarked at 10 A. M., with a view of circumnavigating the bay of Cape Cod. On the morning of the 23d they discovered a large party of the natives on shore, who were employed in cutting up a fish resembling a grampus; by order of Governor Carver, the English made for the shore, but were no sooner discovered by the Indians, than they, with a yell peculiar to savages, deserted their fish and fled with precipitancy! The English landed and took possession of the fish, which, having enkindled a fire, they cooked and found to be excellent food; they concluded to continue encamped here through the night, and while employed (a few rods from their boat, in which their arms were deposited) in erecting a temporary dwelling for the purpose, they were suddenly attacked by a large party of the natives, who discharged a shower of arrows among them! The English, nearly panic struck at so sudden and unexpected an onset, were on the eve of retreating to their boat, when they were reminded by their Governor (a brave and experienced man) of the importance of facing the enemy, and maintaining their ground, as a precipitate flight might prove their total destruction. In the mean time two or three of the company were despatched for their arms, which having obtained, the whole were ordered to form a close body and proceed with moderate pace for the boat, and if hard pushed by the natives, to face about and give them the contents of their muskets. The Indians perceiving the English retiring, rushed from their strong coverts, and were on the point of attacking them in the rear with clubs, hatchets, stones, &c., when they received the fire of the latter, which brought three or four of them to the ground; the Indians halted, viewed for a few moments with marks of astonishment and surprise, their wounded brethren, and then, with one general united yell, (which probably might have been heard at the distance of two miles,) fled in every direction! This was the first engagement between the English and natives in New England, and probably the first time that the latter had ever heard the report of a musket!

The English embarked and returned immediately to New Plymouth, having been absent four days without making any important discoveries. The company, despairing of making any further discovery of importance during the winter, concluded to remain at their winter quarters until the spring ensuing. The winter proved an uncommonly tedious one, during which a great proportion of the company sickened and died unaccustomed to hardship, and deprived of many of the necessaries of life, they fell victims to the inclemency of the season. Being thus reduced to a very small number, they would have fallen an easy prey to the savages, had the latter (relying

on the superiority of their strength) attacked them; but the natives having, by bitter experience, learned the effects of their fire arms, although they were daily seen by the English at a distance, not one of them could be prevailed upon to approach them within gun shot, until about the 20th March, 1621, when to their great surprise, an Indian came boldly up to them and addressed them in broken English! He informed them that he belonged to an eastern part of the country, and was acquainted with a number of their countrymen, who came frequently there to procure fish, and of whom he learned to speak their language.

This Indian proved very serviceable to the company, in supplying them with provision, in acquainting them with the state of the country, the number and strength of the natives, and the name of their chief sachem, to whom he said the land which they improved belonged. The Indian being dismissed with many presents and friendly assurances, he, the day following, returned, accompanied by the grand sachem (MASSASOIET) and a number of his chief men, to whom the English gave a welcome reception, presenting them with many trinkets which the natives esteemed of great value. With Massasoiet a treaty was proposed and concluded the day following, in which it was stipulated that the English and natives were to live amicably together, and that the latter were to furnish the former with provision, and to receive in pay therefor such articles as the former were willing to part with-to which terms both parties continued ever after faithfully to adhere.

In May, 1621, the English planted their first corn in New England. In July, following, their worthy Governor sickened and died: his death was greatly lamented by those of the company who survived him, and by whom he was interred with all possible solemnity; his loving consort survived him but a few weeks. In August the company made choice of WILLiam Bradford, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Gov. Carver.

New England, from this period, began to be rapidly peopled by the Europeans; so great was the emigration from the mother country that, in less than six years from the time that the first adventurers landed at New Plymouth, there were seven considerable towns built and settled in Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies.

In the summer of 1627, Mr. ENDICOT, one of the original planters, was sent over to begin a plantation at Naumkeag (now Salem); the June following about two hundred persons, furnished with four ministers, came over and joined Mr. Endicot's colony; and the next year they formed themselves into a regular church. This was the first church gathered in Massachusetts, and the second in New England. The church at Plymouth had been gathered eight years before. In 1629, a large embarkation was projected by the company in England, at the request of a number of respectable gentlemen, most of whom afterwards came to New-England; the general consent of the company was obtained that the government should be trans. ferred and settled in Massachusetts.