by those who seceded to form Huguenot | began to meet. William Brewster was himself a Separatist, and adopted as its elder by the little church, to which he gave under his own roof a local habitation. He provided liberally also, at his own charge, for the bodily sustenance and comfort of the brethren (many of them coming in from the surrounding villages,) by whom his dwelling was frequented. churches in provincial towns. Every word here quoted might have been written by Bernard Palissy concerning the reformed church in his town of Saintes. The pastor of this little flock of Separatists was John Robinson, of whom it seems to have been said with truth, that he was the most learned, polished, and modest spirit that ever that sect enjoyed. Now there was at Scrooby an episcopal manor-house, given by Sandys, Archbishop of York, to his eldest son, and leased to a gentleman named William Brewster, who had spent some little time at Cambridge, and subsequently served under Davison when he was Secretary of State. After the fall of Davison, Mr. William Brewster received the appointment of postmaster at Scrooby, which place, it has been said, was one of the twenty-six English poststations on the great North Road. The master of a post-station was, in those times, generally a man of good condition, who was tolerably well paid for important services. It was requisite that he should maintain a stud of post-horses for the onward despatch of mails, the distribution of letters in his district, the supply of government couriers and persons riding post. It was requisite also, that he should have premises capable of providing the accommodation of an inn to travellers by post, these being a source of further income to him. Thus, a traveller from York to London is found to have recorded that, in Brewster's time, he paid the post at Scrooby for a conveyance and guide to Tuxford, ten shillings, and for a candle, supper, and breakfast, seven shillings and tenpence. On his return, he paid eight shillings for a conveyance to Doncaster, then reckoned seven miles; and two shillings for burnt sack, bread, beer, and sugar to wine, with threepence to the ostler. The government salary of the Scrooby postmaster was two shillings a-day; so that, considering the value of money in and about the year six-years afterwards. Charge of the boy teen hundred, even if he had no private was taken by his grandmother and uncles, means, William Brewster was to be re- and a note or two from the will of one of garded as a man of substance. The need these uncles will give some idea of the of spacious premises by the post-master social position of the family to which accounts for his occupation of the Scrooby belonged the leader of the Pilgrims. This manor, a great house standing within a uncle Robert bequeathed to his son Romoat, built in two courts whereof the first bert his best iron-bound wain, the cupwas "very ample, and all builded of tim- board in the house-place, one long table ber, saving the front of the house that is with a frame, and one long form, with his of brick." The ascent to the front was best yoke of oxen; also "the counter by a stone flight of steps. In this house whereon the evidences are." The same a king and a king's daughter had slept, Bradford had received, during his lifeand many an archbishop had taken his time, the bequest of a deceased friend's pleasure. In this house the great repub- gray suit of apparel, while his son obtainlic of America had its beginning; for it ed as a legacy one fustian doublet and was here that the church of Scrooby first one pair of hose. Many bequests were Scrooby alone was a place too small to yield many to the fold; but country people, as we have said, journeyed thither from all places within walking distance; and among those who so came was a young man, between fifteen and eighteen years of age-the same person whose account of the growth of religious feeling we were lately quoting. This was William Bradford, a youth maintained under the care of his uncles at Austerfield, a village on the Yorkshire side of Bawtry, distant from Scrooby perhaps some three miles. Austerfield is a village that consisted and consists of a few farm-laborers' cottages and a small antique chapel. William Bradford is one of the most important persons in the little story lately brought to light by the antiquarian skill of the Rev. J. Hunter, which tells of the Pilgrim Fathers in the days before they set out on their pilgrimage. His grandfather and another man were, in fifteen hundred and seventy-five, the only persons in the township assessed to the subsidy. William himself lost his father when he was only a year and a half old, and his mother married again about two 430 [March, liberal in those days which may now ex-| (then a venerable man with a white beard), SCROOBY. were to have conveyed them played them In each case the Dutch captains who false. One delivered them into the hands The young and earnest mind of William when half his passengers had been emof the civil power; the other sailed away Bradford was aroused first by the repute barked, and left a crowd of helpless woof the ministry of Richard Clifton, a grave men and children half distracted on the Puritan divine, who held the rectory of shore. Many of the brethren were by Babworth, near Scrooby, and in the checks like these disheartened, but at the church at Babworth preached what he end of the year one thousand six hundred held to be pure doctrine so forcibly and eight, all the stronger spirits had conthat he was at last silenced by authority. trived to find their way to Amsterdam. While Clifton preached in Babworth There the church under Robinson was church, Bradford walked punctually thith, pestered by the Smith and Johnson diser to receive instruction from him. When cords. After a year's trial, the earnest Clifton was silenced the young man burn- men of Scrooby saw no further hope of ed with a spirit of resentment against peace, and went accordingly out of the Church oppression; and in spite of all tem-way of quarrelling, from Amsterdam to poral risk, declared himself a Separatist Leyden. They remained eleven years and attached himself to the congregation at Leyden under Robinson their pastor. meeting in the manor-house at Scrooby. His natural ability and force of character of the Virginia company, who were beatAt the end of that time the promoters there soon approved themselves, he ing up and down for colonists, tempted became the prompter and the guide of the them with the hope of a free soil, on little church as to all temporal matters, which they might live socially as Englishand when it severed itself from its native men, and not as subjects of the Dutch, country, and the laws of England, he though still without suffering coercion in became, in the natural course of things, their consciences. Sir Edwin, one of the its civil head. He was at New Plymouth sons of Archbishop Sandys, happened to Governor Bradford. ernor of the Virginia company, and with be the treasurer, and afterwards the gov Sir Samuel, his brother, the Separatist elder, Brewster, in his postmaster days, had been connected as a tenant of estate, the Scrooby manor being property diverted from the use of the church to its own use by the family of Sandys. The sugges tion of a voyage to the new country thus naturally came from without to the Scrooby Puritans. It seemed good in their eyes. They sailed, a hundred strong, as Pilgrim Fathers, from Southampton, in the Mayflower, and they took, as the event would seem to prove, a blessing with them. than-in the New Englander, or true YanSo it is that we find in Brother Jonakee-a Scrooby man, and even in the name Jonathan a token of his Puritan descent. The separated church abhorring saints' days, and refusing saints' names to their children, because almost every person named in the New Testament was canonized, were driven to make pious use of Christian gifts, as Faith, Hope, Grace, The separation, not from the Church only but from the State, arose out of the burst of persecution with which the State was supporting all Church claims. As after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, French Huguenots came in bands to England and established colonies in sundry places, Spitalfields for one; so the proceedings of English Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in the beginning of the seventeenth century, drove little bands of English Huguenots to that country in Europe which alone allowed them liberty of conscience; that is to say, to Holland. But the Scrooby_church was not the first to emigrate. John Smith, the pastor of an adjacent flock, at Gainsborough, had gone before to Amsterdam, whither he had been preceded by his tutor, Mr. Johnson. Mr. Smith was a man difficult of temper, and between Smith and Johnson bickerings arose by which the Separatist church was damaged. The Huguenots of Scrooby, under Robinson and Clifton or had resort to the Old Testament, and gave their sons such names as Jonathan and Zachary. We may add that the name Yankee declares him an Englishman, the word having arisen during the colonial wars, as a corruption of the French l'Anglais, by Indians unable to pronounce the letter 1. The English part of the history of the first colonists of New England, the founders of New Plymouth, as here narrated, was discovered only a few years ago by Mr. Hunter, in the manner following: It had been said by Governor Bradford, that the Separatists in England were of several towns and villages, some in Nottinghamshire, some in Lincolnshire, and some in Yorkshire, where they bordered nearest together. Of the members of his own church he writes elsewhere, that they ordinarily met at William Brewster's house, which was a manor of the bishop's. Putting these statements together, Mr. Hunter made research, and found that there was only a single episcopal manor near the borders of the three counties named, Scrooby to wit, ancient possession of the Archbishop of York. So far good. LITERARY MISCELLANIES. THE Travels of the Honorable Miss Amelia M. Murray in the United States, Canada and Cuba, re- | cently republished by Messrs. PUTNAM & Co., are remarkably chiefly for the attention which the author pays to the botany of this country, and for the favor able views taken of the subject of slavery. The tone of her remarks contrasts strikingly with that of other English tourists, though perhaps quite as far from a just estimate. Easy and familiar in style, as befits the form of letters, good-natured and disposed to be pleased, her book gives a flattering impression, which will not be without good effect upon the aris tocratic circles in which the author moves. The Messrs. CARTER have reproduced a work of scholarship and judgment in Dr. Eadre's Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians. Dr. E. is one of the finest Biblical scholars of the age, and has given a very happy exemplification of solid evangelical commentary-learned, critical, yet cordial and full of instruction. It is designed for the Greek text, but is not unfitted for the general Bible reader. Then, because it was known that Brewster held some government appointment, and that Scrooby was a post-town, Mr. Hunter betook himself to the accounts of the postmaster-general, in hope of discovering some mention of Brewster as living at Scrooby, in further corroboration of his theory. The result was a discovery corroborative in the fullest sense of the whole fact, and at the same time tending to throw a flood of new light on its details: it was found that William Brewster held for many years, at Scrooby, the office of postmaster. To pursue the research and discover more corroborative and illustrative details now became easy, and in this way the whole of the first chapter in the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, even to the connection between Scrooby men and the Virginia company established naturally through the family of Sandys-a narrative of great historical importance-was brought suddenly to light. The whole story admirably shows how, by the study of apparent trifles, antiquarians may find their way to hidden treasure. Messrs. DEWITT & DAVENPORT publish a spirited tale, by the daughter of Rev. Dr. Dowling, of Philadelphia, entitled, "Kate Weston; or, to Will and to Do." It is a temperance tale, and sets forth the evils of intoxication in a variety of striking aspects. In its conception and style it is a work of extraordinary power and interest. Messrs. TICKNOR & FIELDS have issued a new and beautiful work from the pen of Grace Greenwood, so long silent, entitled, "A Forest Tragedy, and other Tales." The principal story, from which the volume takes its title, is a powerfully-wrought picture of border life, in which the traits of Indian character are depicted with fearless pencil. The other tales are more agreeable, and are full of the piquancy and grace which have made this author so popular. Her reäppearance in literature after so long a silence will be quite welcome. The issues of the London press have not been very numerous or important during the month. Among those published the following are the most notice- | numerous Examples. By P. G. Tait and the late W. able: J. Steele. 8vo, pp. 304. Lady Mary and her Nurse; or, a Peep into the Canadian Forest. By Mrs. Traill. Widow Bedott Papers. With an Introduction by Alice B. Neal. Health and Comfort: their Attainment and Preservation. Intended for Distribution among the Working Classes. By George Wyld, M.A. A Dictionary of Latin Epithets, Classified accord Annie Leslie; or, the Little Orphan. 18mo. Selections of the Best Specimens of German Poetry, for the use of Schools and Private Instruction.ing to their English Meaning; being an Appendix By H. Apel. 12mo, pp. 452. to the "Latin Gradus." By C. D. Yonge. Words in Season: a Series of Practical Homilies for every Sabbath Morning and Evening in a Year, specially adapted to the Young. 32mo, pp. 315. Atlas to Alison's History of Europe. Constructed and arranged under the direction of Sir Archibald Alison. Annals of Christian Martyrdom—Ancient Martyrs. By the Author of "Lives of the Popes." 18mo, pp. 384. The Prison of Weltevreden, and a Glance at the East Indian Archipelago. By Walter M. Gibson. Illustrated from Original Sketches. 8vo, pp. 495. The Doctrines and Difficulties of the Christian Faith contemplated from the Standing-Ground afforded by the Catholic Doctrine of the Being of our Lord Jesus Christ: being the Hulsean Lectures for 1855. By the Rev. Harvey Goodwin. 8vo, pp. 266. Trees and their Nature; or, the Bud and its tributes: in a Series of Letters to his Son. By Alexander Harvey, M.D. 12mo, pp. 260. Principles of Currency: Means of Insuring Uniformity of Value and Adequacy of Supply. By Edwin Hill. 8vo, pp. 216. Japan and Around the World: an Account of Three Visits to the Japanese Empire. By L. W. Spalding. 8vo, 8 illustrations. A Treatise on the Dynamics of a Particle; with Inside Sebastopol, and Experiences in the Camp; being a Narrative of a Journey to the Crimea by the way of Gibraltar, Malta, and Constantinople, and back by the way of Turkey, Italy, and France, accomplished in the Autumn and Winter of 1855. The Force and Importance of Habit: a NewYear's Address. By the Rev. John Angell James. Meister Karl's Sketch-Book. By C. G. Leland. The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. New and complete edition; including the Song of Hiawatha. Married Life: its Duties, Trials, and Joys. By the Rev. W. B. Mackenzie. 18mo, pp. 130. History of Christian Churches and Sects, from the Earliest Ages of Christianity. By the Rev. J. B. Marsden. 2 vols., 8vo. Remarkable Providences illustrative of the Earlier Days of American Colonization. By Increase Mather. The Golden Lectures: Forty-five Sermons delivered at St. Margaret's Church, Lothbury. By the Rev. Henry Melvill. The Life of Hannah More; with Selections from her Correspondence. Lectures on Great Men. By the late Frederick Myers. The Life of Sir Wm. Pepperrell, Bart., the only native of New-England who was created a Baronet during our connection with the Mother Country. By Usher Parsons. The Influence of Occupation on Health and Life: with a Remedy for Attaining the Utmost Length of Life compatible with the Present Constitution of Man. By Joel Pinney. The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman. EdAt-ited from a Contemporary Manuscript; with an Historical Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. By Thomas Wright, M.A. 2 vols. 12mo. The Scriptural Doctrine of the Influence of the Holy Ghost, as illustrated by the Analysis of Nature. (Burnell Prize Essay for 1853.) By Thomas Wade Powell. 8vo. Rose Clark. By Fanny Fern. The Table Talk of John Selden; with a Biographical Preface and Notes. By S. W. Singer, M.A WE intend to throw together a few particulars relative to his life, which may be interesting to those whose leisure does not permit such retrospective studies, and to convey incidentally such a view of his character as those who are familiar with his works may compare with that which they have themselves formed. Born in 1573, Jonson was the junior of Shakspeare by nine years. By birth he may be said to have been a Londoner; for Westminster, within whose precincts he first saw the light, was already linked to the city by the fast-filling Strand. He had Scotch blood in him, however, for his grandfather was a Johnstone of Annandale, who had come into England in the reign of Henry VIII. This Johnstone's son, Anglicized into a Jonson, had had misfortunes under Mary, and had become a minister of the English Reformed Church. He died a month before his son Benjamin was born; and his widow, two years afterwards, married a master-bricklayer, named Fowler. Ben's earliest recollec *The Works of Ben Jonson. With a Biographical Memoir. By WILLIAM GIFFORD. A New Edition. London: Moxon. 1853. VOL. XXXVII.-NO. IV. tions, therefore, were those of the step-son of a bricklayer, living in a lane near Charing-Cross. There seems no reason to doubt that his step-father and mother did him all the justice they could, though in a poor way. They sent him to an ordinary school in the parish of St. Martin's-in-theFields, within which they resided; and, when he was older, some friend, who probably knew his father, got him admitted to Westminster School, of which the great Camden was then one of the masters. If it was not Camden himself who got him admitted to the school, he at least found a friend in this great scholar, to whom, in subsequent years, when both were better known, he was never tired of showing his attachment. "Camden! most reverend head, to whom I owe All that I am in arts, all that I know." These words, in one of his epigrams, are not a mere compliment. Schoolmasters were schoolmasters in those days; Camden was a king among schoolmasters, a training under whom was, probably, so far as classical instruction went, a pretty efficient education in itself; and vast as Jonson's learning in the classical depart 28 |