fly yrwt -(jniful Jhttir 
 
THE SPIRIT 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS, 
 
 A PORTRAIT 
 
 OF 
 
 ONE OF HIS DESCENDANTS. 
 
 u He -was a man of spirit true and bold : 
 
 Feared not to speak his thoughts whate er they weTe."Dur/ee. 
 
 BY 
 
 LORENZO D. JOHNSON. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 
 BY CASSADY AND MARCH... .WILSON LANE. 
 
 1839. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by 
 
 LORENZO D.JOHNSON, 
 In the Clerk s Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 
 
TO THE 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS CHURCH, 
 
 AND CONGREGATION, 
 
 With which we have recently dissolved our connexion as 
 Pastor, in the mutual enjoyment, we believt, of undying 
 friendship and brotherly love, and with the hope that 
 they and every other Christian Church, will yet 
 govern themselves, by the " test of fellow 
 ship " vindicated in these pages, 
 
 IS THIS LITTLE VOLUME RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THIS unpretending little volume, it is hoped, will not prove 
 altogether uninteresting to those who may favor the author 
 with its perusal. Should it fall into the hands of the rigerous 
 sectary, he will doubtless be induced to pass the sentence of 
 condemnation on the writer s views of Christian liberty, and 
 what he considers the only true test of Christian fellowship. 
 But such are respectfully invited to lay aside prejudice, at 
 least for a time, and carefully to compare those views with 
 the precepts and practice of Christ and his Apostles, and 
 then, honestly, and with the true Christian spirit, determine, 
 whether those views be not more consistent with the true 
 spirit of religion, with the welfare and prosperity of the 
 church, and the present and future happiness of mankind, 
 than that system which is narrowed to a single point, and 
 excludes from fellowship and communion, for one supposed 
 error in judgment, the person whose heart may be right. To 
 those whose views agree with those of the writer, he has only 
 to say, that no effort has been made at embellishment ; the 
 only object being, to promote the cause of truth and righteous 
 ness, and to stimulate others to co-operate in the great and 
 glorious work. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 In the biographical sketch of ROGER WILLIAMS, for which, 
 in the multiplicity of other concerns, the author is mostly 
 indebted to the labors of another person, nothing has been 
 attempted beyond a brief summary; which, concise as it is, 
 embraces, in a plain and familiar manner, all the leading and 
 most prominent incidents of that great man s long and useful 
 life, known in history. It is the substance of larger vol 
 umes, detached from statistical accounts, and incidental 
 circumstances, connected with colonial history, and biog 
 raphies of other men. It shows ROGER WILLIAMS up, as 
 he was seen in his own day ; standing, in relation to other 
 men, independent and alone; and will prove a valuable ac 
 quisition to such as cannot afford to possess more expensive 
 works, or to wade through a large mass of matter, to come at 
 a comparatively few simple facts. In the appendix, a few 
 notes are thrown together, which, it is hoped, may prove ac 
 ceptable to the reader. At any rate, the writer hopes his 
 humble labors may not be altogether unsuccessful in the pro 
 motion of the great cause of Christian morals and human 
 happiness ; and with this hope, commends the little volume, 
 his readers, himself, and all mankind, to the divine favor and 
 mercy. 
 
 Providence, January 1, 1839. 
 
THE SPIRIT, &c. 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS was the man who lived and 
 labored for all coming time. * With great propriety 
 it may be said of him, as Coleridge said of Milton 
 " that he lived so far in advanc.e of his age, as to 
 dwarf himself in the distance. 5 The people of his 
 own times did not understand him for, while he 
 believed every man should be left entirely free from 
 dictation and penalties by human government, in 
 matters of conscience, and of religion, while he 
 believed in the soul s unchecked and entire freedom, 
 to act in strict accordance with those high and fear 
 ful responsibilities which originate in its own con 
 victions of truth and duty, while he, ROGER WIL 
 LIAMS thus believed, the many tender mercies of his 
 own times were developed by an attempt ttrmake 
 every man s conscience for him ; and in making 
 every act of resistance to that attempt, a penal of 
 fence ! 
 
8 THE S P IRIT OF 
 
 The magistrates and law makers in the days of 
 our forefathers, were not satisfied with defending 
 religion, but took upon themselves also to define it, 
 and then to enforce uniformity by LAW ! With 
 these views, they inflicted punishments, and, in 
 some instances, even death, on those whose sense 
 of duty led them to act differently from the dictates 
 of the standard creed ; thus becoming the judges of 
 other men s consciences. ROGER WILLIAMS said, 
 in spirit, this enslaves the soul ! and takes down 
 the importance, and destroys the dignity of the god 
 like and undying spirit within. He said, the soul 
 must be free as air free from all fear of man 
 free to obey the voice of God, by whom alone we 
 must be judged at the last day. He said, we 
 must have unity without uniformity and in taking 
 this position, he placed a RIGHT CHARACTER in the 
 foreground, and left all opinions, considered as such, 
 in the shade. 
 
 We would not represent ROGER WILLIAMS as 
 having been indifferent to doctrines and creeds. 
 Perhaps no man was ever more tenacious of a creed, 
 than he. But, though tenacious himself, he accorded 
 to every other person, the liberty he claimed and 
 exercised for himself, in matters of conscience. He 
 believed in the right of private judgment in the 
 right of every man to make his own creed, and to 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 9 
 
 obey the truth as he receives it from the word of 
 God, in accordance with his own conviction of 
 right. 
 
 Leaving the mind thus free in its inquiries for 
 truth, and free to obey, he reasoned correctly in 
 coming to the conclusion, that, with such an almost 
 infinite variety of temperamants and modes of edu 
 cation as will ever exist, and each mode predispos 
 ing the mind to some ideas and impressions peculiar 
 to itself, it was chimerical to expect uniformity of 
 belief and that, to coerce mind is impossible. To 
 enforce uniformity, is to destroy freedom of thought, 
 and freedom of discussion, as well as sincerity ; and, 
 at the same time, it enslaves the mind. It is, in 
 fact, the appropriate method to increase hypocrisy. 
 
 Important as Mr. Williams believed it to be, to 
 imbibe and maintain correct opinions, yet the old 
 adage may have originated in his theory, that it is 
 possible for a man to be orthodox in his creed, and 
 heterodox in his conduct ; and vice versa. Follow 
 ing out this theory, we see creeds, when regarded as 
 a test of fellowship, receding farther and farther in 
 the back ground, untill finally lost to the view in 
 the distance. 
 
 Follow still, and you see the Christian world 
 rallying around another standard, and substituting 
 
10 THESPIRITOF 
 
 another test of fellowship and brotherhood ; and 
 that will be the fruits of righteousness. So far as 
 this theory prevails, men will go forth to seek out 
 their brethren, guided not by an inquiry for a par 
 ticular creed ; but rather by the test the Saviour 
 gave ; " By their fruits ye shall know them." This 
 course of inquiry brings us again to the subject of 
 the right character, without any reference to the 
 creed, in an abstract point of view. 
 
 When all the various sects of Christians shall 
 make a right character, consisting in holiness of 
 heart and life, the only test of Christian fellowship, 
 calling no man brother, unless he doeth the will of 
 our Heavenly Father, then angry strife among 
 Christians about doctrines, will cease, which has so 
 much multiplied sceptics, and hindered the conver 
 sion of the world to Christ. Then, being put upon 
 the right character, in order to obtain fellowship in 
 the church of God, will candidates for membership 
 seek more earnestly what they should le, rather than 
 what they should believe. 
 
 Loose as this course may appear with reference 
 to doctrine, and wide as it would seem to open the 
 door through which heresy might gain admission 
 into the church, there is no better mode of keep 
 ing her pure in her life, and doctrine ; for, first, 
 on this theory, the church is built upon the fruits, 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 11 
 
 or evidences of a Christian character, without 
 particular respect to doctrine, and, however incor 
 rect the members of such a church might be in this 
 particular, it is an evil infinitely less, than to find a 
 church, were such a thing possible, correct in doc 
 trine, but without the spirit and practice of religion. 
 But it is impossible for a church to be composed of 
 members who bear the "Jruit" and "do the will 
 of God," without having the truth somewhere. If 
 it be not developed in the theory, which the brother 
 has adopted, perhaps by force of education if it be 
 not in the head, it will be found to influence the 
 heart. Our Saviour gave us no surer way to find 
 right doctrine, than by seeking out a right charac 
 ter. " If any man will do his will, he shall know 
 of the doctrine," was his language to the multitude. 
 The secret is, no heart can understand the word of 
 God, unless its truths be sought for, with a sincere 
 desire for obedience. We therefore repeat, that, if 
 the various sects would relinquish creeds as the test 
 of fellowship, and substitute for them, a right char 
 acter, a character which can be known by its 
 " fruits," we should no longer hear the paradoxi 
 cal language now in use, " we believe him to be a 
 Christian, and that he would go to heaven, should 
 he die ; but he is not a Baptist, a Methodist, an 
 Episcopalian, or a Presbyterian, as the case may 
 
THE SP IB.IT OF 
 
 be, and therefore we cannot fellowship him as a 
 member of our church ! " How common is such 
 language. 
 
 Now in our opinion, no church on earth ought to 
 be so constituted, as to feel itself compelled to pay 
 such a deference to creed, or usage, as to refuse to 
 extend fellowship and watchcare to any one they 
 believe approbated of Christ, and who, they also 
 believe, would be received into the church in heaven, 
 should he die. We would then, lay this down as a 
 principle that those who are fit to enter the church 
 in heaven, are fit subjects for membership in the 
 purest church on earth, and should not be rejected 
 for nonconformity to certain creeds and formularies. 
 It may now be inquired, in following out this princi 
 ple, shall we not see, in one local organization, or 
 branch of the church of God, some who are bap 
 tized by immersion, some by fusion, and others by 
 sprinkling, together with their irresponsible infant 
 offspring ? If we shall not have, in the same body, 
 some who believe in Calvinism, and others in Ar- 
 mineanism, and so on ? Perhaps so, but what then ? 
 Let it be remembered that, if the test of fellowship 
 be the Christian character, and if this test be strictly 
 adhered to, persons thus gaining admission, will be 
 Christians, whatever the modes of belief, and this 
 is the best of all. It should also be recollected that 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 13 
 
 the fellowship of such a body of Christians, is not 
 founded on forms and means, but on the GREA.T 
 END of true religion, the right, or Christian charac 
 ter. Heterogeneous as this mass may appear to a 
 sectarian eye, yet, in the substantials of religion, 
 these Christians will be sweetly united in fellowship 
 a fellowship that shall survive all sectarianism ; 
 for it subsists not on profession, or on uniformity of 
 creed or name, but on character. 
 
 There is never so much difference of opinion as 
 to the substantial parts of religion, the parts which 
 pass with us from this life to the next, and which 
 "give us boldness in the day of judgment," as about 
 mere modes of belief. In short, it is not about the 
 faith in which salvation lies, that men differ. Who 
 has ever witnessed an angry debate on the subjects 
 of goodness of heart, and Christian morals ? On 
 these, all agree ; it is only on what is intended 
 as means, that we differ in opinion. 
 
 The last point to which this principle will lead 
 us, is this: When character shall, in all churches, 
 and among all Christians, be made the test of fel 
 lowship and membership, and every man be left to 
 make his own creed, sectarianism must die ; and 
 that, for the very obvious reason, that there will be 
 nothing to differ about, which can operate as a bar 
 to union of heart and affections ; while, in matters 
 
14 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 of form and means, each one having the liberty to 
 judge for himself, if they cannot agree to think alike, 
 they will agree to differ. And about goodness of 
 heart, there can be no contention, except in the glo 
 rious rivalry as to who shall rise to the highest point 
 of excellence, in the scale of Christian morals. 
 Glorious emulation indeed ! May its prevalence 
 become universal ! 
 
 Not until the church shall Lave taken this posi 
 tion, will she be able to demonstrate, with an all 
 pervading evidence, to Jews, Mahometans, and Pa 
 gans, that her Saviour is the Lord from Heaven. 
 How fervent was His prayer, " that they all may be 
 ONE, that the world may believe thou hast sent 
 me." 
 
 When the church is so constituted as to make 
 character the only test of fellowship, irrespective 
 of creeds, or forms, then, and not till then will the 
 disciples of Christ be one. But now, so much more 
 importance is attached to doctrines, ordinances and 
 modes, that, while the language which many of our 
 churches hold towards delinquents in conduct is 
 "we must bear with them," yet let the member of 
 a Baptist church express a wish to have his infants 
 baptised, or, let the member of a Calvinist church 
 fall into Armenianism, and he is not the subject of 
 forbearance ! It is a heresy ; therefore toleration is 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS . 15 
 
 sin ! and he soon finds the door of the church, 
 whatever may be his character. So it ever will 
 be while articles of faith, and modes of government, 
 or any other thing, is a test of fellowship and mem 
 bership, besides holiness of heart and life. 
 
 That ROGER WILLIAMS contemplated all the 
 results of which we speak, we will not undertake to 
 say ; though they legitimately proceed from the 
 premises he assumed, and the general principle of 
 action which he adopted and enforced. This it 
 was, which carried him forward, out of sight of his 
 own times, and, may be, like the ancient prophets, 
 even out of sight of himself. 
 
 With the ministry of the age in which he lived, he 
 was decidedly dissatisfied; and, what wonder? When 
 he saw them attempting to purify the church, and 
 to protect it from heresy, by the strength of the 
 secular arm, instead of the force of moral power, 
 there could be no wonder that he was dissatisfied. 
 On this subject, he said, " In the poor small span of 
 my life, I desired to have been a diligent and con 
 stant observer ; and have been myself many ways 
 engaged, in city, in country, in court, in schools, in 
 universities, in churches, in Old and New England, 
 and yet, cannot in the holy presence of God, bring 
 in the result of a satisfying discovery, that either the 
 begetting ministry of the Apostles, or Messenger to 
 
16 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 the churches, or the feeding and nourishing ministry 
 of pastors and teachers, according to the first institu 
 tions of the Lord Jesus, are yet restored and extant." 
 
 The fact is, the universal adoption of his own 
 principles was destined to produce an order of things 
 so different from that under which he lived, as re 
 spected the church, and so much more glorious, 
 that it is not at all surprising, that, removed as he 
 was at such a remote distance from the result he 
 should have seen the event only " as through a glass, 
 darkly." Nor is it strange, that the brightness 
 of the glorious, though distant day, even though 
 shining through the vista of ages, should so have 
 dazzled his organs of vision, that, to use a beautiful 
 scripture simile, he only saw " men as trees walk- 
 ing." 
 
 Though more than two centuries have elapsed, 
 since ROGER WILLIAMS first proclaimed the princi 
 ple, then new to the Christian world, that the CIVIL 
 
 POWER HAS NO RIGHTFUL JURISDICTION OVER THE 
 CONSCIENCE, AND CANNOT CONTROL THE RELIG 
 IOUS OPINIONS OF MEN, yet our own age has not 
 come up with him. We have not yet imbibed his 
 philosophy in its full extent, and hence it is, that 
 the name which future ages shall revere, as that of 
 the noblest apostle in the cause of the soul s freedom 
 in modern ages, is but imperfectly known. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS . 17 
 
 Let us pause here for a moment, and inquire, 
 were ROGER WILLIAMS now among us, what posi 
 tion would he occupy in the great moral conflict 
 which is now in progress? Though we stood listen 
 ing over the grave of this great and good man, no 
 voice from his slumbering dust might be heard to 
 point out the precise part of the field of moral re 
 form, to which he would devote his labors with the 
 greatest energy and delight. But, of one thing we 
 may rest assured, that, what he believed to be right 
 and duty, that would he do. If there was one trait 
 in his character, more resplendent, or more promi 
 nent than another, it was uncompromising integ 
 rity and fixedness of purpose, in what he consid 
 ered to be duty, and an ardent attachment to truth. 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS was a man highly endued with 
 moral courage. He never flinched, nor turned aside 
 from his course, for fear of consequences. It was 
 enough for him to know what duty demanded. He 
 yielded ready obedience, and left the results in the 
 hands of his God. Were he a sojourner with us, 
 we think it would be difficult for him now, as it was 
 two hundred years ago, " to bring in the result of a 
 satisfying discovery, that many of the present min 
 istry, are the begotten ministry of the apostles." 
 Would not his righteous soul be grieved, to see so 
 many of our ministers sitting in their parishes like 
 2 
 
18 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 birds of prey, perched in high places, pondering to 
 learn what the people will bear, and studying so to 
 mould the truth, if truth they preach, as to give no 
 offence, that the ministry be not blamed; and so 
 turning the truth of God into a lie ? Would he not 
 be surprised, to see how quietly man-stealers, tra 
 ders in human flesh, can sit in our churches, receiv 
 ing no rebuke? And would not the surprise be 
 overwhelming, to hear our ministers bring forth 
 scripture apologies, as anodynes for the conscience, 
 to those, who unman the image of God, and reduce 
 their fellow men to articles of merchandize lest they 
 should feel disturbed by the rays of light now shed 
 upon the civilized world. Would not ROGER WIL 
 LIAMS be astonished, should he rise from his grave, 
 and go into the churches, in whose neighborhood 
 are living springs* of pure water, which he, like 
 father Jacob, had bequeathed to posterity, and there 
 find spirit drinkers, church members ? And there, 
 also, the lottery gambler, and the licentious person ! 
 When he had surveyed the entire mass, would he 
 not find there, the man who oppresseth the hireling 
 in his wages, and the man who stands ready when 
 his country calls, to go forth in the name of the 
 Prince of Peace, to swell the " noise of war," and 
 
 * See note A. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 19 
 
 multiply the " garments rolled in blood," with assur 
 ance of the PARSON S prayers for success? 
 
 Methinks 1 hear the astonished spirit of ROGER 
 WILLIAMS, as it stalks forth among the things of 
 earth, inquiring of the first minister who falls in its 
 way, " Have you, still, the Christian scriptures, or 
 have you adopted some heathen code ? The Koran 
 it cannot he ; for that prohibits the use of intoxicat 
 ing drinks." The Pastor replies, " No we still 
 retain the Holy Scriptures ; and they inform us that 
 the wheat and the tares must grow together until 
 the harvest ; and besides, for the sake of peace in 
 the church, we suffer sin upon our neighbor ; hop 
 ing that, by holding the flock together, all may be 
 turned from the error of their ways." " But," re 
 sponds the spirit of ROGER WILLIAMS, " your plan 
 is, to Do evil, that good may come besides, 
 how can you expect to convert sinners from the error 
 of their ways, unless you make an application of 
 TRUTH to their minds ? For this you have no Thus 
 saith the Lord. Your desire to preserve the peace 
 of the church, has originated in the fear of losing 
 your settlement, your salary, or your popularity. 
 God will hold you responsible for all the sins you 
 have covered over, or suffered to pass unrebuked. 
 And of how much value is the peace you labor with 
 so much assiduity to preserve ? It is of no intrinsic 
 
20 THESPIRITOF 
 
 worth. It is merely superficial. It is a healing of 
 the surface only, the probe of the surgeon will 
 lay open the gangrene. Your peace is your ruin. 
 Agitation alone can save you, agitation of the whole 
 body, until you produce the scripture evidences of 
 soundness, on which to build with safety." 
 
 Methinks I hear the immortal WILLIAMS, on his 
 terrestrial visit, farther inquire, " Why does the work 
 of the world s conversion to Christ, move on at a 
 pace so slow and languid ? Why does Christianity 
 exert an influence so feeble, over the nations ? Why 
 is it, that the Christian name, wherever it is heard, 
 carries with it such a dread of the men who bear 
 it? Is it not because they have been unkind and 
 cruel ? Because they have waged so many wars, 
 and carried so many of their fellow beings into cap 
 tivity and bondage ? Your s is a corrupted Christi 
 anity ! In your hands it requires to be both revised 
 and defined ! You must take higher ground, or 
 you cannot be instrumental in turning this unregen- 
 erate world to Christ. 
 
 It forms no part of our plan, to write a new biog 
 raphy of ROGER WILLIAMS. It is our purpose 
 merely to select some of the most prominent and 
 striking incidents of his life, and place them, in a 
 condensed form, and in a small volume, the cheap- 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 21 
 
 ness of which shall enable all those who wish for 
 some tribute to the memory of the FOUNDER of 
 Rhode Island, to possess it ; and who might not be 
 able to avail themselves of n:ore expensive works. 
 Doubtful, however, of his own ability to make the 
 best selections from a life of more than seventy years, 
 the author has taken the liberty to select and abridge 
 from the Biography of Roger Williams, an excel 
 lent work written by Professor Knowles. Rev. Mr. 
 Upham, a gentleman of Salem, Mass., well known 
 as an intelligent historical lecturer, and author of the 
 Life of Sir Henry Vane, was written to for assist 
 ance, he being the writer of a life of Roger Wil 
 liams, in two lectures, delivered before the " Society 
 for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge," in Boston, 
 and in other places, to multitudes of delighted audi 
 tors. We were in hopes of obtaining his aid in 
 making up this little volume, but he was unable to 
 lend his assistance, in consequence of a press of en 
 gagements, and, in reply to the request, favored us 
 with the following note, which we have liberty to 
 publish. 
 
 Salem, Nov. 8, 1838. 
 REV. L. D. JOHNSON ; 
 
 Deai Sir : It gives me great pleasure to hear 
 that you intend to prepare a memoir of Roger Wil 
 liams. As the church of which you are Pastor, 
 
K& THESPIR1TOF 
 
 professes to adhere to his leading principles of faith 
 and order, there is an evident propriety in your de 
 sign to illustrate his character and spirit in a bio 
 graphical notice of him. 
 
 The churches and people of Rhode Island cannot 
 over-estimate the claims of Roger Williams to their 
 grateful remembrance. He was not without the 
 infirmities of human nature, and partook of the pe 
 culiarities of his times. His controversial tone, like 
 that of Milton, and his contemporaries in general, 
 was severe and violent ; and perhaps he is liable to 
 the charge, to which all enthusiastic and ardent re 
 formers and dissenters are exposed, of having been 
 too strenuously and exclusively intent upon the en 
 forcement of his favorite theories and principles. 
 But those theories and principles of government in 
 Church and State, to the defence of which, the long 
 life of Roger Williams was devoted, were of supreme 
 importance, and the liberty and peace of nations, 
 and the prosperity and glory of the Christian church, 
 depend .upon their adoption and diffusion. 
 
 Roger Williams was a very learned man. He 
 had a noble genius, and a truly generous and benev 
 olent spirit. He was sincere and brave in his tem 
 perament, profound and comprehensive in his views ; 
 and his moral sentiments were expanded, and warmed 
 by the genuine influence of Christian love and piety. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 23 
 
 He was a most worthy founder of a free state ; 
 an asserter of civil and Christian liberty upon the 
 only true principles, which he was among the first, 
 if not the very first, to comprehend and maintain; 
 and a benefactor of the whole civilized and Christian 
 world, inasmuch as he faithfully advocated, and suc 
 cessfully established their principles, causing them 
 to strike their roots so deep into the colony he plant 
 ed, that they can never be eradicated ; but will 
 flourish there forever. Those principles will at last 
 be transplanted from Rhode Island, into every part 
 of Christendom. 
 
 You have my best wishes in your undertaking, 
 and I shall rejoice in your efforts to extend the in 
 fluence of civil and religious liberty, by making more 
 generally known and appreciated, the character and 
 memory of one of their earliest and worthiest pro- 
 mulgators and champions. 
 
 With sincere regard, your friend, 
 
 CHARLES W. UPHAM. 
 
 Of the early life of ROGER WILLIAMS, but a few 
 facts are known. In his own writings, there is noth 
 ing relative to his parents, or the place where he 
 was born and educated ; nor to the events of his 
 infancy and youth ; and but little of himself, previous 
 to his arrival in America. It is said, by tradition, 
 
24 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 that he was born in Wales, either in 1598 or 1599 ; 
 and Knowles says, " He possessed the Welch tem 
 perament excitable and ardent feelings, generosity, 
 courage, and firmness, which sometimes, perhaps, 
 had a touch of obstinacy." Of himself, Mr. Wil 
 liams says, " From my childhood, now about three 
 score years, the Father of lights and mercies touched 
 my soul with a love to himself, to his only begotten 
 Son, the true Lord Jesus, to his holy scriptures," 
 &c. 
 
 It is said he became the protege of the celebrated 
 Sir Edward Coke, in consequence of the ability 
 manifested by him, in taking notes of a sermon, in 
 church, while a boy. Sir Edward took him under 
 his care, and gave him a collegiate education ; after 
 which, he commenced the study of the law ; but 
 preferring that of theology, he turned his attention 
 to that, and was, in the end, ordained as a clergy 
 man of the Episcopal church. His preaching is 
 said to have been highly esteemed, and his charac 
 ter to have been revered. 
 
 Roger Williams came to America at about thirty- 
 two years of age. He came over in the ship Lyon,* 
 Capt. Peirce, from Bristol, Eng., together with his 
 wife, and about twenty other passengers ; and ar 
 rived in Boston harbor, February 5, 1630-1. 
 * See Note B. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 25 
 
 The assistant teacher of the church at Salem 
 having died, Mr. Williams, by invitation from the 
 church, assumed the office, in a few weeks after his 
 arrival from England. But, in accordance with the 
 spirit of those times, the civil authorities soon inter 
 fered in the matter, to dissolve the connexion be 
 tween him and the Salem church, on the charge of 
 his being a schismatic. This charge was preferred 
 on the ground that Mr. Williams had refused to 
 unite with the church at Boston, because they would 
 not proclaim their repentance for having communed 
 with the churches of England ; and that he had 
 declared that the civil magistrate ought not to pun 
 ish the breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence, 
 as a breach of the first table of the law ; in other 
 words, the four first commandments, which prescribe 
 our duties to God. 
 
 It would seem that the reason why Mr. Williams 
 rebuked the church at Boston "was, that many of 
 the members, while in England, though dissatisfied 
 with the corruptions of the English church, still 
 continued their communion with it, through fear of 
 legal consequences, till the time of leaving that 
 country, and had not publicly repented of the act. 
 That the magistrate ought not to punish breaches 
 of duty of man to his God, needs now no explana 
 tion or defence. The soundness of the doctrine is 
 
26 THESPIRITOF 
 
 admitted on all hands, though it is not, in all cases, 
 carried out in practice. A letter was despatched 
 by the court at Boston, desiring that the church at 
 Salem would not proceed to invest Mr. Williams 
 with the sacred office, till a conference had been 
 held on the subject. But the Salem church disre 
 garded the mandate, and proceeded, on the very 
 day of the court, to the installation of Mr. Williams, 
 as their teacher. In about a month afterwards, 
 May 18, 1631, Mr. Williams was admitted a free 
 man of the Colony, and took the requisite oath. 
 But he was not destined to occupy the field of his 
 labors in peace. The hand of persecution was let 
 loose upon him ; and before the next autumn after 
 his settlement at Salem, he found it necessary to 
 seek shelter and protection at Plymouth, out of the 
 Massachusetts jurisdiction. 
 
 It is not probable that this act of separation was 
 voluntary on the part of the church, but brought 
 about by circumstances beyond their control ; for 
 all, even his enemies included, agree that Mr. Wil 
 liams was highly esteemed by the people of his 
 charge, and was again received by them with open 
 arms two years after his flight from Salem, and 
 reinstated in the sacred office. He had also been 
 received respectfully at Plymouth ; and, during his 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 27 
 
 stay there, officiated as assistant teacher in the 
 church in that place. 
 
 The stay of Mr. Williams at Plymouth, intro 
 duced him to an intercourse with the Indians. 
 They frequently visited the town, and he visited 
 them in their native wilds, to study them, and 
 qualify himself, as he said, to "Do the natives 
 good." His after life proved this profession to 
 have been sincere. In this manner he formed an 
 acquaintance with Massassoit, or Ousarnequin, Sa 
 chem of the Pokanokets, and with Canonicus, 
 Chief of the Narragansets. This acquaintance, 
 and the sentiments connected with it, proved after 
 wards of signal benefit, not only to him in his at 
 tempt to establish the Colony of Rhode Island, but 
 also even to Massachusetts, from whose domain he 
 was eventually driven, by unhallowed persecution. 
 Indeed, it is thought he had imbibed the desire, and 
 formed the intention, of taking up his residence 
 among the Indians, previous to this period; sup 
 posing he should not long be permitted to remain 
 among his white brethren. 
 
 It is said his opinions were not well received by 
 the leading persons at Plymouth. Probably they 
 were too much tinctured with freedom and equality, 
 to suit their taste. Yet he was not censured by the 
 church, and so great was the attachment to him, 
 
28 THESPIBITOF 
 
 that, on his return to Salem, some accompanied him 
 to that place. At Plymouth, his first daughter was 
 born, in August, 1633, and called Mary, after her 
 mother. Soon after his return to Salem, the Gene 
 ral Court thought proper, once more to call him to 
 account; and, December 27, 1633, the Governor 
 and Assistants convened, to consult about him. 
 
 The cause of offence, this time, was a treatise 
 written to the Governor and Assistants, and to the 
 Governor and Council of Plymouth, disputing their 
 right to the lands they held by virtue of the King s 
 grant, and holding that the mere act of discovery 
 constituted not an ownership of the land ; and that 
 it belonged not to the King, or to them, unless 
 purchased of the natives. Also, that he had vir 
 tually charged King James with falsehood, by de 
 nying him to have been the first Christian discoverer 
 of the land, as that monarch claimed : Also that 
 he had charged King James with blasphemy, for 
 calling Europe, Christendom, or the Christian world. 
 Lastly, that he had applied to King Charles, three 
 passages in Revelations ; though what passages, we 
 are not told ; probably, however, not very compli 
 mentary ones. On being called upon to retract, he 
 professed that the book was written only for the 
 private satisfaction of the Governor and Council of 
 Plymouth, and that no other copy would have been 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. zy 
 
 forthcoming had it not been demanded by the Gov 
 ernor of Massachusetts. He appeared again at the 
 next court, and gave satisfaction ; and there the 
 matter dropped. What may have been the lan 
 guage and spirit of the book, cannot now be known ; 
 but, as far as the points stated above may go, they 
 are not very far from truth. 
 
 For a time, the magistrates let him alone. He 
 continued in Salem ; and, on the death of Mr. 
 Skelton, Pastor of the church, in August, 1634, he 
 was invited to succeed him. The magistrates re 
 quested that he should not be ordained ; but the 
 church, strongly attached to him, refused to be dic 
 tated, and Mr. Williams was ordained forthwith. 
 This act was called " a great contempt of authority ;" 
 and it proved the basis of subsequent persecution. 
 
 Shortly after this, new charges came up against 
 him from the court. He was charged with preach 
 ing against the validity of the King s patent, in vio 
 lation of an alleged promise not to do so; alluding 
 probably to his "penitence" as it was called, in the 
 case of the offensive treatise already spoken of; and 
 also, that he had declared, that a magistrate ought 
 not to tender an oath to an unregenerate man ; 
 thereby having communion with a wicked man, and 
 teaching him to take the name of God in vain. 
 The first of these charges was preferred, and a sum- 
 
30 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 mons granted, Nov. 27, 1634 the latter, April 30, 
 1635. He was heard in his defence, before all the 
 ministers, but we learn nothing farther, than that 
 they claim that he was fully confuted. 
 
 In July following, he was again called up ; and, 
 on that occasion, the court seems to have brought up 
 the old charge relative to punishment by the magis 
 trate, for breaches of the first table of the law, to 
 gether with that touching oaths, and two others, in 
 which it is said he taught that a man ought not to 
 pray with the unregenerate, nor to return thanks 
 after the sacrament, nor after eating. The business 
 was postponed ; and, in October of the same year, 
 he was again called before the court, tried, and ban 
 ished from the colony. He subsequently received 
 permission to remain till spring ; but continuing to 
 receive company at his house, and to preach, the 
 Governor and Assistants determined to send him to 
 England. This determination, however, was not 
 carried into effect ; for before the force arrived, sent 
 to remove him, he had gone from his home, to seek 
 an asylum elsewhere. 
 
 Mr. Williams left Salem, in a bad state of health, 
 in January, 16356, according to Knowles, and bent 
 his course towards Narraganset Bay ; where he and 
 others with him at Salem, it is thought, had for 
 some time contemplated making an attempt to found 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 31 
 
 a colony. According to his own account, his suf 
 ferings were intense ;* he having been, for fourteen 
 weeks, destitute of bread to eat, or a bed to lie on ! 
 Ousamequin, Sachem of Pokanoket, who resided at 
 Mount Hope, near Bristol, R. I., it appears, gave 
 him a grant of land in the, now, town of Seekonk. 
 Here he sat down on a spot which, according to the 
 information given by the late Moses Brown, to Mr. 
 Knowles, appears to be that called Manton s Neck, 
 between the Cove, so called, and Central Bridge. 
 It is probable that, during the remainder of the 
 winter, he depended on the Indians for subsistence ; 
 and may allude to the fact, as Knowles says, in the 
 following lines : 
 
 " God s Providence is rich to his, 
 
 Let none distrustful be ; 
 In wilderness, in great distress, 
 These ravens have fed me." 
 
 He had hoped to remain here, and took measures 
 accordingly, and was joined by several friends ; his 
 wife and children being still at Salem. But finding 
 himself still within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, 
 he, by the advice of Gov. Winslow, of Plymouth, 
 determined to make another remove. Accordingly, 
 he embarked, with five others, in a canoe, and pro 
 ceeded down the river. At India Point, they were 
 
 * See Note C. 
 
32 THESPIRITOF 
 
 greeted by a company of Indians, with the friendly 
 salutation of " What cheer 1"* They proceeded 
 around Fox Point, up what is now called Provi 
 dence river ; and landed, as tradition says, on the 
 east side, near the spring which still remains, near 
 the site now occupied by the Rev. Doct. Crocker s 
 [Episcopal] church, and near which spot he erected 
 his habitation. 
 
 The town, the settlement of which was thus 
 commenced, Mr. Williams called Providence, in 
 commemoration of the goodness of Divine Provi 
 dence to him, and this was the foundation of the 
 Colony, now State, of Rhode Island. Strange as 
 it may appear, even the precise year in which this 
 event occurred has been involved in doubt ; but 
 Mr. Knowles, after a long and patient investigation, 
 has come to the conclusion that it took place in the 
 summer of 1636; the same year in which the set 
 tlement of Hartford, Con., was commenced. 
 
 Mr. Williams seems to have experienced little 
 difficulty, if any, in procuring land from the natives, 
 probably owing to the friendship and kindness he 
 manifested for them, and the consequent respect they 
 entertained for him, as is evident from the influence 
 he subsequently exercised over them. Indeed, he 
 says, " It was not thousands, nor tens of thousands 
 
 * See Note D. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 33 
 
 of money could have bought of him [Canonicus] an 
 English entrance into this bay." He farther says, 
 that " it was by God s mercies " he " was the pro 
 curer of the purchase," and that though the shyness 
 and jealousy of the natives would have prevented it 
 by means of money, he did it by means of acquaint 
 ance with their language, and favor with the natives, 
 and other advantages which it pleased God to give 
 him. Other proofs exist, that the lands were granted 
 rather as a favor to a friend, than for pecuniary con 
 siderations ; and the subsequent good understanding 
 which prevailed between Mr. Williams and his 
 Indian neighbors, showed that the confidence of 
 neither had been misplaced. 
 
 Of the lands originally purchased, Mr. Williams 
 was honestly the legal proprietor ; but with a degree 
 of liberality highly honorable to him, and which 
 proved how little he was influenced by a mercenary 
 spirit, he divided them between himself and his as 
 sociates, equally, and at the original cost. He might 
 have remained proprietor of the whole, and retained 
 in his own hands, a controlling power over the col 
 ony ; but his was the master spirit of equal rights 
 in that bigoted and arbitrary age, and he forbore to 
 avail himself of the favorable opportunity for per 
 sonal aggrandizement, to carry out in practice, what 
 he had embodied in theory the true principles of 
 3 
 
34 THESPIRITOF 
 
 DEMOCRACY ; and established the first government 
 of that description, known in the Christian world. 
 
 We now find Mr. Williams, an exile from civil 
 ized society for conscience sake, probably in a state 
 of poverty and almost destitution, surrounded by a 
 few trusty friends who voluntarily shared his banish 
 ment, in a dreary wilderness, in the midst of a sav 
 age tribe, dependent on Providence and his personal 
 efforts, for support for himself and a dependent and 
 helpless family. But his firm and undaunted spirit 
 did not quail. His trust was in God. He looked 
 to the future with unshaken confidence, and in full 
 possession of that freedom for which his soul panted , 
 was happy, even amidst bodily suffering. True to 
 his own principles, he unfurled the banner of civil 
 and religious freedom, and made the colony he had 
 founded, a shelter from the oppressor, and an asy 
 lum for the oppressed, without respect to creeds and 
 formularies, or the dogmatical dictation of bigoted 
 and infatuated men. Hence it was, that the articles 
 of agreement he drew up, required of those who 
 should become associates with him, that they should 
 submit themselves to such rules and regulations as 
 might be adopted for the public good, " in civil 
 things only." 
 
 As a proof of the magnanimity of Mr. Williams, in 
 July of the same year of his banishment, when, in 
 
ROGERWILLIAMS. 35 
 
 consequence of the murder of a Mr. Oldham, of 
 Massachusetts, by the Indians, and retaliatory meas 
 ures which followed, a bloody war with the Pequods 
 appeared inevitable, he readily undertook a mission 
 to the exasperated savages, at the solicitation of the 
 government which had banished him from its domain. 
 He " took his life in his hand ; " and in defiance of 
 all hazard, proceeded to the Indian carnp. And, 
 although he could not prevent the war, his influence 
 dissuaded the Naragansets from joining in it ; and 
 by which means, the Fequods became an easy prey 
 to the English, and were completely extirpated. 
 Without his interference, the result might have been 
 fatal to the English colonists. Yet, notwithstanding 
 the friendly part he acted towards Massachusetts in 
 this affair, and his successful mediation between 
 that government and the savages, they gave him no 
 mark of favor, and did not even recall his sentence 
 of banishment ! 
 
 In 1638, Mr. Williams was called upon by the 
 Governor of Massachusetts, a second time, to inter 
 pose his good offices with the Indians, to procure 
 satisfaction for an act of violence and injustice. 
 Forgetful of the wrongs, the violence, and the in 
 justice, which he had received at the hands of his 
 persecuting brethren, he again set forward on the 
 mission of peace. He met the savage chief, and 
 
36 THESPIRITOF 
 
 demanded satisfaction. It was promptly accorded, 
 and war and bloodshed prevented ; and yet, ROGER 
 WILLIAMS remained a banished man ! 
 
 Mr. Williams was originally of the church of 
 England, but broke from that communion, though 
 he appears never to have united with much cordial 
 ity with the Puritans of New England. Indeed, 
 however mutually conformable may have been their 
 religious opinions, their spirits were so totally dis 
 similar from each other, that a union between them, 
 would have been like that of oil and vinegar. Dur 
 ing the first two or three years of the infancy of 
 the new colony, no church appears to have been 
 organized, though meetings of worship were holden, 
 and Mr. Williams preached to the people. But, in 
 16389, he had become a believer in the necessity 
 of baptism by immersion, and, in March of that 
 year, he and ten others were baptized by Mr. Hol- 
 liman. A church was then formed, said to be the 
 first Baptist church ever constituted in the British 
 dominions; and of which we shall say more here 
 after. 
 
 During several years, we find little said of Mr. 
 Williams, and less that demands a place in this 
 brief sketch. Once more he was called upon by 
 Massachusetts, to mediate with the Narragansets. 
 
R O G E R W I L L I A M S . 37 
 
 I 
 
 Miantinomo, their Chief, was desired to repair to 
 Boston. This, he promised to do. provided Mr. 
 Williams would accompany him. This, the au 
 thorities of Massachusetts would not allow ; and 
 the interview did not take place. This circum 
 stance affords evidence of the confidence reposed in 
 Mr. Williams, by the natives, and of the bigotry 
 and ingratitude of the government of Massachusetts. 
 Even so far was this intolerant spirit carried, that, 
 on account of her fundamental principle of entire 
 religious freedom, Rhode Island was excluded from 
 the confederacy of the New England Colonies, 
 formed in 1643, for mutual protection against the 
 savages, and never after permitted to join it. Con 
 nected with this affair, is a glorious fact, which 
 should ever occupy the most prominent place, on 
 the most resplendent page, of New England s early 
 history. Though left, weak and feeble as she was, 
 to her own resources, without a military force of 
 any magnitude, by the peaceful, conciliatory ? and 
 honorable course, pursued by Mr. Williams and his 
 associates, Rhode Island maintained peace for her 
 self, (while her sister colonies suffered the horrid 
 ravages of Indian warfare,) without an appeal to 
 arms ; and by the persevering exercise of her influ 
 ence with the savage tribes, did much to appease 
 their wrath, and to soften the rigors of war. 
 
38 THESPIRITOF 
 
 In 1643, Mr. Williams visited England. On his 
 passage, he threw together his materials for "A KEY 
 TO THE INDIAN LANGUAGE;" which was finished 
 and printed in the same year ; and, during his stay 
 in England, he wrote and published his book enti 
 tled U THE BLOODY TENET OF PERSECUTION OF 
 THE CAUSE OF CONSCIENCE," &c. On this visit, 
 also, he procured the charter for the colony of 
 Rhode Island, bearing date, March 14, 1643-4; 
 and arrived again in America, September 17, 1644; 
 He landed at Boston, being emboldened to do so 
 by letters he bore from sundry leading men in Eng 
 land ; but though he was permitted to proceed 
 quietly to Providence, yet the sentence of banish 
 ment was neither revoked nor ameliorated. He 
 was met at Seekonk on his return, by citizens of 
 Providence, and received by them with a respect 
 and cordiality, characteristic of their gratitude to 
 him for his services, and their affection for him as a 
 \ man and a brother. 
 
 The authorities of Massachusetts had obtained 
 possession of the person of Miantinomo, the Narra- 
 ganset chief, and, for some alleged offence, caused 
 him to be executed at Boston. His people consid 
 ered this as an act of murder, and determined to 
 avenge it, by making war on the Mohegans, who 
 had delivered him up, and on all the colonies ex- 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 39 
 
 cept Providence and Rhode Island. Massachusetts 
 raised a military force, to act in the emergency > and 
 despatched messengers to the Narragansets, to 
 treat of peace. The attempt to negotiate proved 
 unsuccessful. Messengers were a second time sent. 
 In the mean time, the Narraganset sachems had 
 solicited the advice of Mr. Williams, and being also 
 called on for aid by the Massachusetts messengers, 
 he interposed between the hostile parties, and 
 effected a treaty of peace ; thus again preventing a 
 dreadful war. 
 
 The first General Assembly of the colony was 
 held at Newport, May 19, 1647 ; and ROGER WIL 
 LIAMS was elected Assistant, for Providence ; and 
 the Assembly established a " democratical" govern 
 ment, or a government by the "free and voluntary 
 consent" of the people; and in which, the utmost 
 latitude is given to the conscience in matters of 
 religion; and providing that "ALL MEN MAY WALK 
 
 AS THEIR CONSCIENCES PERSUADE THEM, EVERY 
 ONE IN THE NAME OF HIS GoD." 
 
 For his faithful services, the General Assembly 
 passed a vote of thanks to Mr. Williams, who had 
 been chiefly instrumental in the great and noble 
 work, and made him a grant of one hundred pounds ; 
 a large sum for the times, and the circumstances of 
 the colony, but a poor equivalent for his labors, his 
 
40 THESPIR1TOF 
 
 services, and his sacrifices. Yet it was doubtless 
 received as it was awarded as a token of gratitude 
 and respect, to the man the people delighted to 
 honor. 
 
 Though peace had been maintained with the 
 Indians, internal strife on political questions, and 
 disputes about boundaries among themselves, and 
 the overbearing conduct of their neighbor colonists, 
 began to mar the peace of the community, and con 
 tinued for many years. But, during that period of 
 trouble, Mr. Williams maintained his characteristic 
 firmness and integrity, and did much to allay the 
 flame of discord. His letters, from which our nar 
 row limits will not permit us to make extracts, show 
 how deeply he felt and suffered, from the existence 
 of these evils, how great an interest he took in the 
 welfare of the colony, and what personal sacrifices 
 he was willing to make, to promote it. 
 
 In 1651, Mr. Williams visited England a second 
 time. His object was, to procure a revocation of 
 the commission of Coddington, by which Rhode 
 Island had been separated from the present colony. 
 He was met with opposition, but succeeded in his 
 mission ; and the commission of Coddington was 
 vacated, and the former charter confirmed. About 
 .this time, he published several controversial works. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 41 
 
 in reply to various attacks made upon him, but to 
 which we have not room to refer, even by name. 
 
 After Mr. Williams s return, Massachusetts steadi 
 ly refused to change her policy respecting him. But, 
 we find a letter dated by him, BOSTON, 17 3 (mo.) 
 56 ; and we learn from a note of his, to the General 
 Court, that he was in that town, by virtue of an 
 order from " The Lords of his Highness s Council." 
 
 By the General Assembly of Rhode Island, he 
 was elected President, and held that office two 
 years. It was a period of civil discord in the parent 
 country, in the time of the Commonwealth, under 
 Oliver Cromwell. The effects were felt in the 
 colonies ; and they rendered the station occupied 
 by Mr. Williams, uncomfortable to him. It was 
 during this period, that he caused the arrest of 
 William Harris, for alleged hostility to Cromwell s 
 government, and caused him to be imprisoned, for 
 the purpose of sending him to England for trial. 
 The measure, right or wrong, was not sanctioned 
 by public opinion. This event occurred February 
 1, 1657-8, and in May following, Mr. Williams 
 was superceded by the election of some one else, 
 as President. Yet, he continued to be elected 
 Assistant, from Providence, and occupied his seat 
 at the Board. Harris, it would seem, was a trouble 
 some man. In 1667, there was much disturbance 
 
42 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 in Providence. Two sets of Deputies were elected. 
 Harris was elected by one party. But he was ex 
 pelled from the Assembly, and fined forty pounds. 
 
 In 1667, Mr. Williams closed his public life as a 
 legislator, refusing to serve on account of his age. 
 
 During his long, arduous and highly useful life, 
 or that part of it spent in Ameiica, this worthy man 
 was freqently called out to defend himself against 
 the hostile attacks of his enemies and opponents, 
 and in defence of the colony of which, under God, 
 he was the parent, against the violence and machi 
 nations of those who sought either to destroy it, or 
 to subject it to arbitrary rule. In some of his writ 
 ings he was bitter, and especially in his controversy 
 with the Quakers. But this fault ought not to be 
 ascribed to any .deficiency in the goodness of his 
 heart, when we recollect how much he did, and how 
 much he suffered, to promote the welfare, not only 
 of his friends, but of his bitterest enemies ; while, at 
 the same time, he accorded to all others, the same 
 privilege he claimed himself, to believe as their 
 consciences might dictate, and to defend their own 
 opinions in their own way. His temperament was 
 ardent, and his feelings may have been somewhat 
 soured by the bitter persecution he had suffered ; 
 and these circumstances may have, in a measure, 
 imparted their tone to his controversial writings. But 
 
ROGERWILLIAMS. 43 
 
 no one who scans his conduct, and scrutinises his 
 character, can rightfully accuse him of a want of 
 philanthropy, ol social or public virtue, or genuine 
 benevolence. 
 
 If we may judge from what appears in the history 
 of the man, his character had no tincture of avarice, 
 and no more of selfishness than is necessary to self- 
 preservation, and the purest principles of Christian 
 morality. His life was spent for the good of man 
 kind ; and without grasping the means put into his 
 hands, as the source of his own exclusive emolu 
 ment, he generously declined to avail himself of the 
 opportunity ; and with a degree of liberality seldom 
 known among men, voluntarily shared those means 
 with others. Yet, with all this nobility of charac 
 ter and conduct, he wasi not boastful. His letters 
 speak the language of modest humility ; and while, 
 with an honest and virtuous pride, he seems meas 
 urably sensible of the great benefit she has conferred, 
 he ascribes all to the God of his soul s adoration, in 
 whose bounty and goodness he rejoices, and ac 
 knowledges himself an humble instrument in his 
 hands, and a dependent on his great mercy. 
 
 Thus lived ROGERWILLIAMS the first of cham 
 pions in the cause of civil and religious freedom, 
 and the noble founder of the first FREE GOVERNMENT 
 in Christendom. Posterity should cherish his mern- 
 
44 THE SPIRIT OF ROGER WILLIAMS. 
 
 ory with gratitude, and do honor to his virtues by 
 copying his bright example. 
 
 He continued his public ministry to an advanced 
 age, and was gathered to his fathers in peace. He 
 die 1 in the year 1683, aged EIGHTY-FOUR YEARS. 
 
 " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ; for 
 they rest from their labors, and their works do fol 
 low them." 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS CHURCH. 
 
 As this church, which was organized by Roger 
 Williams, is the oldest Baptist church in America, 
 it may not be deemed inappropriate to give some 
 account of it in this place. " Its first members 
 were twelve in number, viz. : Roger Williams, 
 Ezekiel Holliman, William Arnold, William Harris, 
 Stukeley Westcot, John Green, Richard Waterman, 
 Thomas James, Robert Cole, William Carpenter, 
 Francis Weston, and Thomas Olney." 
 
 Mr. Benedict, in his History of the Baptists, says, 
 " Mr. Williams and those with him considered the 
 importance of gospel union, and were desirous of 
 forming themselves into a church, but met with a 
 considerable obstruction ; they were convinced of 
 
46 THESPIRITOF 
 
 the nature and design of believers baptism by im 
 mersion ; but, from a variety of circumstances, had 
 hitherto been prevented from submission. To ob 
 tain a suitable administrator was a matter of conse 
 quence. At length the candidates for communion 
 nominated Mr. Ezekiel Holliman, a man of gifts 
 and piety, to baptise Mr. Williams ; and who, in re 
 turn, baptised Mr. Holliman and the other ten. 
 This church was soon joined by twelve other per 
 sons, who came to this new settlement, and abode 
 in harmony and peace." 
 
 Thus Mr. Williams, after having passed through 
 the vicissitudes of first leaving England with the 
 persecuted dissenters; then leaving Salem, where 
 he was first settled, for Plymouth where, as a 
 preacher, he \vas eloquent and popular ; then leav 
 ing Plymouth for Salem, again, to take charge of 
 the church which first enjoyed the benefits of his 
 instruction, from whence he was banished for " pub 
 licly avowing that Christ alone is King in his own 
 kingdom, and that no others had authority over 
 his subjects, in the affairs of conscience and eternal 
 salvation" And now, again, he is pastor of the 
 little flock whose members, with himself, asserted 
 the right of private judgment, in practice as well as 
 principle, and who followed their o\vn convictions 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 47 
 
 of duty, untrammeled by human dictation, either civil 
 or ecclesiastical. 
 
 Mr. Holliman was subsequently chosen assistant 
 to Mr. Williams. The precise length of time which 
 Mr. Williams continued in his pastoral office is not 
 known. Some accounts state three, or four years 
 and others, but about four months. One fact is 
 certain, however; that he continued to preach the 
 doctrine of redemption, through Jesus Christ, until 
 his death. Many years after the organization of 
 this church, when the affairs of the colony did not 
 absorb his time, he was preaching to the natives, 
 in their o\vn tongue, whose language he had learned 
 to speak. It may emphatically be said of him, as 
 of our Saviour, " He went about, doing good." 
 
 There were ten other ministers, who succeeded each 
 other, in the pastoral charge of this church, down 
 to the time when the Rev. Dr. Manning, founder 
 of the Rhode Island College, now called Brown 
 University, became its pastor. Elder Samuel Wind 
 sor was the predecessor of Elder Manning, to whom 
 he (Manning) was first employed as assistant. 
 
 Immediately after Mr. Manning was invited 
 to become the assistant of Elder Windsor, it was 
 found that they did not precisely agree in their 
 sentiments. Elder Windsor copied, with great pre 
 cision, after the venerable founder of the church, 
 
48 THE SPIRIT OF 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS. When Mr. Williams became 
 a Baptist, he copied closely after the " Old," or 
 " General Baptist," of England. The general 
 Baptists, of his times, were designated from the 
 particular Baptists, in two points : First, they did 
 not believe in particular election, but in general 
 redemption ; hence came the term, general Baptist. 
 Their own words are as follow : " God hath pre 
 destinated that all that believe on him, shall be 
 saved ; and all that believe not, shall be damned. 
 And this is the election and reprobation spoken of 
 in the scriptures; not that God has predestinated 
 men to be wicked, or to be damned, but that men, 
 being wicked, shall be damned." The second dis 
 tinction was, instead of holding to the " five points" 
 merely, they held to six: hence comes the term, 
 six-principle Baptist, as used in Rhode Island, 
 when applied to the " Old Baptists," who are found 
 almost exclusively in this State. The additional 
 principle consists in the form of "laying on of 
 hands," which this sect, both in England and 
 America, believe to be an ordinance, and attach 
 the same importance to it that they do to baptism, 
 or communion. 
 
 Roger Williams constituted his church on these 
 six principles* and each succeeding minister fol- 
 
 * These principles are found in Hebrews, vi. 1, 2. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 49 
 
 lowed faithfully in his steps, down to Elder Man 
 ning s day. He believed in " transient communion" 
 or in admitting those to the communion, on whom 
 hands had not been laid, if they had been baptised. 
 It was also said that Elder Manning believed in 
 " special grace," or particular election. 
 
 Elder Manning s piety, and "his forcible and 
 charming eloquence," carried a majority of the 
 church with him. Elder Windsor, being a man of 
 stern integrity, was grieved with this innovation. 
 A church meeting was accordingly called, and the 
 subject discussed ; but when the vote was taken, it 
 was found that a majority were for Elder Manning, 
 and consequently for " transient communion." It 
 was then left to the next association. The associa 
 tion, however, declined an interference, and referred 
 the case back to the church but there the case 
 had been already settled. Viewing the church as 
 having deviated from the true ground, and from the 
 " old paths," Elder Windsor, with his party, sent in, 
 his resignation, in these words : 
 
 " Dear Brethren and Sisters, We must, in con 
 science, withdraw ourselves from all those who do 
 not hold strictly to the six principles of the doctrine 
 of Christ, as laid down in Hebrews, vi. 1, 2." 
 
 A final separation now ensued. Elder Windsor 
 found a respectable minority with him, in his effort 
 4 
 
50 THESPIRITOF 
 
 to maintain the orthodox side of the question ; so 
 that when the reorganization took place, including 
 " the Elder, and Deacon John Dyer, there were 
 eighty-seven members." Dr. Manning was now 
 constituted sole pastor of the dissenting party. He 
 was a man of high moral standing, and strong intel 
 lectual powers ; and being, withal, President of 
 Rhode Island College, his superior attitude left the 
 old senior pastor quite in the shade. Thus situated, 
 Mr. Windsor thought it prudent, especially as it 
 would accommodate many of the members, to erect 
 their new house of worship in the adjoining town of 
 Johnston. Report says, that the property of the 
 old meeting house, in which Elder Windsor wor 
 shipped, was sold, and the proceeds amicably 
 divided between the two parties. Dr. Manning s 
 church built that magnificent pile, now the pride of 
 Providence city, called the First Baptist Church. 
 Elder Windsor s humble edifice was erected in 1774, 
 where it now stands, in ruins, about two miles west 
 of Providence. Here the orthodox church wor 
 shipped God, "unitedly established in the six princi 
 ples of Christ s doctrine, upon which it was found^ 
 ed by the Rev. Roger Williams." Mr. Windsor 
 lived, after the new organization, to see "a glorious 
 reformation take place, under his labors, in which 
 there were about fifty members added in one year." 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 51 
 
 Elder Windsor died in the year 1802, in the fiftieth 
 year of his ministry, in the eighty-first year of his 
 age, universally respected. 
 
 From the time that Elder Windsor died, it would 
 seem that this church began rapidly to decline. In 
 1830, the house being in a dilapidated state, and 
 the members few and feeble, Elder William C. 
 Manchester, their pastor, proposed to leave it ; and, 
 as there were some scattering members in Provi 
 dence city, who were on the true ground of the 
 six principles, he took with him such ones as this 
 arrangement would accommodate, and opened wor 
 ship in a school-house belonging to Sheldin Batty, 
 Esq., in the city whence arose the Roger Wil 
 liams Church in the west part of Providence. Now 
 for the name ! The precedence of creed or princi 
 ples jus\]y entitled them to the distinction of "First " 
 Baptist Church in Providence. But they were now 
 located within sight of one tall spire which is already 
 thus designated. The pride of ancestry forbade 
 their being called the Fifth Baptist Church. They 
 therefore concluded, that, as they had carefully ad 
 hered to the principles of their venerable founder, 
 and as an unbroken succession* could be traced back 
 
 *Itis not unworthy of notice, that Benajah Williams, jr. 
 the only Deacon of this church, is a descendant of Roger Wil 
 liams. In his account of himself to the writer, he says ; 
 
52 THESPIRITOF 
 
 to the organization by Roger Williams, the most 
 appropriate name would be the ROGER WILLIAMS 
 BAPTIST CHURCH. The pulpit stands between two 
 pillars of prodigious size, for the interior of a church. 
 If they were embossed with Corinthian capitals, 
 and stone color, they would convey impressions of 
 high antiquity. On the face of the pulpit is placed 
 an Italian marble slab, on which is engraved these 
 words : " Erected in memory of Roger Williams." 
 Some persons have affected to laugh at so humble 
 an effort to place before the eye of our rising race, 
 a clue to the name, of which all Rhode Island 
 might well be proud. But unintelligible, and 
 unworthy of the man as this inscription may 
 seem to be, we think it unappropriate for the citi 
 zens of Providence at least, to indulge in one 
 
 " My great-grandfather, Nathaniel Williams, was the great, 
 grandson of Roger Williams, which places me in the sixth 
 generation from our venerable ancestor." To avoid all mis 
 take we went to the old burying ground of the Williams fam 
 ily, laying some three or four miles from Providence, in the 
 town of Cranston, where we found the head stone, 1st. of 
 Joseph Williams, Esq., son of Roger Williams ; 2d, of James 
 Williams, son of Joseph Williams; 3d, Nathaniel Williams, 
 son of James Williams; and 4th, of Fredrick Williams, son 
 of Nathaniel Williams; 5th, Benajah Williams, who is now 
 living, is the son of Fredrick Williams, deceased, and Benajah 
 Williams jr., Deacon of the Roger Williams Church, whose 
 portrait is found in this little book, is the son of Benajah 
 Williams, the senior. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 53 
 
 smile of contempt, until it be surpassed by some 
 nobler effort. For be it known, that while there 
 are men in Providence, the interest of whose for 
 tunes for one day only, would be a sufficient sum 
 to erect a monument, on which, the inscription 
 might tell to every passing traveller, 
 
 " The sufferings great 
 Which father Williams in his exile bore " 
 
 yet no such monument is found. But now, unless 
 the stranger, standing in Market Square, should 
 chance to look up, and read " ROGER WILLIAMS 
 BANK," he will find nothing in Providence to remind 
 him that it is the city, as well as the land of Roger 
 Williams, except in a walk to the margin of the 
 city, he should find his way into the Roger Williams 
 church and take his seat in front of the pulpit. 
 
 In the spring of 1837, Elder Manchester resigned 
 his pastoral charge. The church was now again 
 without regular meetings. In the mean time, for hav 
 ing adopted instrumental music, in conformity with 
 other churches of the city, the CONFERENCE of six 
 principle Baptist churches, had disfranchised it, as a 
 sister church ; for they believed, with the Mahomet 
 ans, that it is a sin against God to praise his name 
 with any instrument except the human voice. Being 
 thus alone, they feared, as well they might, in this 
 sectarian age, that there would be little sympathy 
 
54 THESPIRITOF 
 
 for them among neighboring ministers and churches, 
 until they were again recognised as a sister church, 
 by some sect. They, therefore, applied to the 
 Rhode Island quarterly meeting of Free will Baptist 
 churches, for admission into their fellowship, with 
 the proviso, that they should not be required to 
 make any change in their faith or usages. On 
 examination, it was found that there was no need of 
 a change of faith, for in theology they believed 
 alike. Then, as to usage, the quarterly meeting 
 responded : " We do not differ, only in the one 
 point of laying on of hands, and this is most cer 
 tainly an innocent practice. Why, then, refuse 
 them ? Let this church peaceably enjoy it " 
 and they were admitted as a sister church. At this 
 time the male resident members were few, and, in 
 a comparison with the debts standing against the 
 church, they were feeble ; for they owed between 
 twelve and thirteen hundred dollars for their house 
 all of which must be paid within one brief year. 
 
 This was the state of this church, when the 
 writer of these sheets left a more lucrative agency, 
 and engaged his humble services to them. To 
 support a family and pay these debts, required that 
 there should be raised about eighteen hundred dol 
 lars. A train of means* were commenced, which has 
 
 * See Note E. 
 
ROGER WILLIAMS. 55 
 
 nearly accomplished the desired result. The year 
 for which his services were engaged has expired, 
 when we again resume our former labors in the 
 cause of temperance. Important additions have 
 been made to the church, through the past year, 
 and under the labors of a more ab-!e minister than 
 himself, which the writer has had the great satisfac 
 tion of seeing settled, we think there cannot fail to 
 be continued prosperity to the Roger Williams 
 Baptist Church. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 THE ROGER WILLIAMS SPRING. 
 
 Tradition has uniformly stated the place where 
 Roger Williams, and the five others who came with 
 him in a canoe from Seekonk, landed, to be at a 
 spring south west of the Episcopal (St. John s) Church. 
 
 On the 4th of July of this year, (1838) the friends 
 of temperance in Providence, held a temperance cel 
 ebration. They had a rich treat in an address from 
 L. M. Sargent, Esq., author of the Temperance 
 Tales ; afterwards they dined together, being favored 
 with the presence of Rev. Mr. Pierpont and other 
 gentlemen from Boston, besides a large number of 
 both ladies and gentlemen of Providence city and the 
 adjacent towns. At the table a number of very ex 
 cellent sentiments were offered touching the great 
 
APPENDIX. 57 
 
 cause and its promoters, among which were the two 
 following : 
 
 " The fourth of July of 1838 the first celebration 
 of this day on which the ladies could attend with pro 
 priety." This sentiment was offered with reference 
 to the fact that there was no drink used on the occa 
 sion stronger than cold water brought from the Roger 
 Williams spring. 
 
 The other sentiment was offered by John Howland, 
 Esq., the venerable antiquarian : 
 
 " Roger Williams The first friend of temperance 
 in Rhode Island. By his will he bequeathed us a 
 spring of cold water." 
 
 Among the originals prepared and sung on the 
 occasion, was the following beautiful hymn. 
 
 ROGER WILLIAMS SPRING. 
 Some sing the praise of rosy wine, 
 
 Its sparkling color bright ; 
 But in such songs with them to join 
 
 We cannot take delight. 
 We have a rich and noble theme, 
 
 Fit for a prince and king 
 Tis water, pure, and fresh, and good, 
 
 From Roger Williams spring. 
 
 This will give health, and joy, and peace, 
 
 Refreshing every power; 
 We want no better drink than this 
 
 In trial s darkest hour. 
 To cheer the heart and quench the thirst 
 
 It is the very thing; 
 
58 APPENDIX. 
 
 Then give us water, pure and good, 
 From Roger Williams spring. 
 
 Our sires drank from this living spring 
 
 Two hundred years ago ; 
 And from this fountain, water clear 
 
 Continues stiil to flow. 
 Then we, on this our ft-stal day, 
 
 Will of its virtues sing, 
 And drink this water, pure and good, 
 
 From Roger Williams spring. 
 
 This was a glorious day to the cause of temper 
 ance. The Rhode Island State Temperance Society 
 has not been behind in its labors to promote this great 
 reform nor is their work, or their disposition to work, 
 yet through. We had not the pleasure of being pre 
 sent at the last annual meeting ; but from our knowl 
 edge of the cause as it exists in Rhode Island, our 
 opinion is, that, even though there are some of our 
 clergy who suffer their silence on the subject to be 
 construed into a fear of offending their spirit-selling 
 supporters, yet there has never been a period when so 
 much talent, and moral power, could be brought into 
 the field, as the friends of temperance can at present 
 command. Because the Rhode Island General Assem 
 bly have seen fit so far to disgrace themselves in the 
 eyes of all wise and good men, as, at their June session, 
 to pass a law prohibiting the retailing of intoxicating 
 drink in a less quantity than ten gallons; and in their 
 Oct. session of the same year, before there was a chance 
 for the new law to go into effect, to repeal it thereby 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 59 
 
 condemning the experiment before it was tried ; be 
 cause of this, some have raised the hue and cry of 
 " reaction." " The cause," say they, " is injured by 
 its friends, by carrying things too far." " The cause 
 is carried back ten years," &c., &<c. but all this is a 
 mistake ! The cause is advancing. If it be thought, 
 because politicians do not act right on temperance, 
 that those who always have, and do still believe it to 
 be a great moral question, are becoming discouraged, 
 they will, doubtless, find themselves exceedingly mis 
 taken. There are those who have put their hand to 
 the plough, with the pledge not to man only, but to 
 God, that they will not look back while life shall last 
 whose chief reliance, (whatever legislatures may 
 do, for or against the cause) for the triumph of this 
 work, is on the agency of TRUTH and the blessing of 
 heaven. 
 
 XOTE B. 
 
 The vessel which brought Mr. Williams, was a 
 regular colony ship. Great as the sufferings were of 
 the first settlers of New England, perhaps there 
 was no time when their distresses were greater than 
 at the arrival of the ship Lyon. The following 
 account of it is taken from Hutchinsou s History, 
 which it may not be unprofitable to read. 
 
60 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The weather held tolerable till the 24th of Decem 
 ber, but the cold then came on with violence. Such 
 a Christmas eve they had never seen before. From 
 that time to the 10th of February their chief care was 
 to keep themselves warm, and as comfortable in other 
 respects as their scanty provisions would permit. The 
 poorer sort were much exposed, lying in tents and 
 miserable hovels, and many died of the scurvy and 
 other distempers. They were so short of provisions 
 that many were obliged to live on clams, muscles, and 
 other shell fish, with ground nuts and acorns, instead 
 of bread. One that came to the Governor s house to 
 complain of his sufferings, was prevented, being in 
 formed that even there the last batch [of bread] was 
 in the oven. They had appointed the 22d day of 
 February for a fast ; but on the 5th, to their great 
 joy, the ship Lyon, Capt. Pierce, returned laden with 
 provisions, from England, which were distributed ac 
 cording to the necessities of the people. They turned 
 their fast into a " thanksgiving" This was the be 
 ginning of our New England thanksgiving-days. 
 
 NOTE C. 
 
 The following very interesting letter was first pub 
 lished in the first volume of the Massachusetts His 
 torical Collections : 
 
APPENDIX. 61 
 
 " Providence, June 22, 1670, (ut vulgo.) 
 " Major Mason,* 
 
 "My honored, dear and ancient friend, my due 
 respects and earnest desires to God, for your eternal 
 peace, &/c. 
 
 " I crave your leave and patience to present you 
 with some few considerations, occasioned by the late 
 transactions between your colony and ours. The last 
 
 * " Major Mason famous for his services, while captain, in 
 the Pequod war. He was a soldier in the Low Countries, 
 under Sir Thomas Fairfax, one of the first settlers of Dor 
 chester, Mass, in 1G30. He afterwards removed to Windsor, 
 Conn. He put an end to the Pequod war, in 1G38; was ap 
 pointed, soon after, Major General of the Connecticut forces, 
 and in May, 1GGO, was elected Deputy Governor of that 
 colony. He died at Norwich, in the seventy-third year of 
 his age, in 1G72 or 1G73. An account of the Pequod war was 
 published by him, republished in Hubbard s Narrative, and 
 by Rev. T. Prince. In the fourth volume of the Massachu 
 setts historical Collections, a curious poem is published, of 
 Governor Wolcott s, giving an account of his predecessor 
 Winthrop s embassy to the Court of Charles II, to obtain a 
 charter, in which Mason is mentioned with the highest eulo 
 gies. Winthrop is made to give the King a relation, among 
 other things, of the Pequod war, and says : 
 
 The army now drawn up : to bo their head 
 t Our valiant Mason was commissioned ; 
 (Whose name is never mentioned by me, 
 Without a special note of dignity. ) 
 
 " In granting the charter, Charles speaks thus : 
 
 Chief in the patent, Winthrop, thou shalt stand, 
 And valiant Mason place at thy next hand. " 
 
62 APPENDIX. 
 
 year you were pleased, in one of your lines to me, to 
 tell me that you longed to see my face once more be 
 fore you died. I embraced your love, though I feared 
 my old lame bones, and yours, had arrested travelling 
 in this world, and therefore I was and am ready to 
 lay hold on all occasions of writing, as I do at present. 
 
 "The occasion, I confess, is sorrowful, because I 
 see yourselves, with others, embarked in a resolution 
 to invade arid despoil your poor countrymen, in a 
 wilderness, and your ancient friends, of our temporal 
 and soul liberties. 
 
 " It is sorrowful, also, because mine eye beholds a 
 black and doleful train of grievous, and, I fear, bloody 
 consequences, at the heel of this business, both to you 
 and us. The Lord is righteous in all our afflictions, 
 that is a maxim ; the Lord is gracious to all oppressed, 
 that is another ; he is most gracious to the soul that 
 cries and waits on him : that is silver, tried in the fire 
 seven times. 
 
 " Sir, I am not out of hopes, but that while your 
 aged eyes and mine are yet in their orbs, and not yet 
 sunk down into their holes of rottenness, we shall 
 leave our friends and countrymen, our children and 
 relations, and this land, in peace, behind us. To this 
 end, Sir, please you with a cairn and steady and a 
 Christian hand, to hold the balance and to weigh 
 these few considerations, in much love and due re 
 spect presented : 
 
 * First. When I was unkindly and unchristianly, 
 
APPENDIX. 63 
 
 as I believe, driven from my house and land and wife 
 and children, (in the midst of a New England winter, 
 now about thirty-five years past,) at Salem, that ever- 
 honored Governor, Mr. Winthrop, privately wrote to 
 me to steer my course to the Narraganset Bay and 
 Indians, for many high and heavenly and public ends, 
 encouraging me, from the freeness of the place from 
 any English claims or patents. I took his prudent 
 motion as a hint and voice from God, and waving all 
 other thoughts and motions, I steered my course from 
 Salem (though in winter snow, which I feel yet) unto 
 these parts, wherein I may say Peuiel, that is, I have 
 seen the face of God. 
 
 "Second. I first pitched, and begun to build and 
 plant at Seekorik, now Rehoboth, but I received a 
 letter from my ancient friend, Mr. Winslow, then 
 Governor of Plymouth, professing his own and others 
 love and respect to me, yet lovingly advising me, since 
 I was fallen into the edge of their bounds, and they 
 were loth to displease the Bay, to remove but to the 
 other side of the water, and then, he said, I had the 
 country free before me, and might be as free as them 
 selves, and we should be loving neighbors together. 
 These were the joint understandings of these two 
 eminently wise and Christian Governors and others, 
 in their day, together with their counsel and advice 
 as to the freedom and vacancy of this place, which in 
 this respect, and many other Providences of the Most 
 Holy and Only Wise, I called Providence. 
 
64 APPENDIX. 
 
 " Third. Sometime after, the Plymouth great sa 
 chem, (Ousamaquin*) upon occasion, affirming that 
 Providence was his land, and therefore Plymouth s 
 land, and some resenting it, the then prudent and 
 godly Governor, Mr. Bradford, and others of his godly 
 council, answered, that if, after due examination, it 
 should be found true what the barbarian said, yet 
 having, to my loss of a harvest that year, been now 
 (though by their gentle advice) as good as banished 
 from Plymouth as from the Massachusetts, and I had 
 quietly and patiently departed from them, at their 
 motion, to the place where now I was, I should not 
 be molested and tossed up and down again, while they 
 had breath in their bodies; and surely, between those, 
 my friends of the Bay and Plymouth, I was sorely 
 tossed, for one fourteen weeks, in a bitter winter sea 
 son, not knowing what bread or bed did mean, beside 
 the yearly loss of no small matter in my trading with 
 English and natives, being debarred from Boston, the 
 chief mart and port of New England. God knows 
 that many thousand pounds cannot repay the very 
 temporary losses I have sustained. It lies upon the 
 Massachusetts and me, yea, and other colonies joining 
 with them, to examine, with fear and trembling, be 
 fore the eyes of flaming fire, the true cause of all 
 my sorrows and sufferings. It pleased the Father oi 
 spirits to touch many hearts, dear to him, with some 
 
 * Commonly called Massassoit. 
 
APPENDIX. 65 
 
 relentings ; amongst which, that great and pious soul, 
 Mr. Winslow, melted, and kindly visited me, at Provi 
 dence, and put a piece of gold into the hands of my 
 wife, for our supply. 
 
 "Fourth. When, the next year after my banish 
 ment, the Lord drew the bow of the Pequod war 
 against the country, in which, Sir, the Lord made 
 yourself, with others, a blessed instrument of peace to 
 all New England, I had my share of service to the 
 whole land in that Pequod business, inferior to very 
 few that acted, for, 
 
 " 1. UfKm letters received from the Governor and 
 Council at Boston, requesting me to use my utmost 
 and speediest endeavors to break and hinder the 
 league labored for by the Pequods against the Mohe- 
 gans, and Pequods against the English, (excusing the 
 not sending of company and supplies, by the haste of 
 the business,) the Lord helped me immediately to put 
 my life into my hand, and, scarce acquainting my 
 wife, to ship myself, all alone, in a poor canoe, and to 
 cut through a stormy wind, with great seas, every 
 minute in hazard of life, to the sachem s house. 
 
 " 2. Three days and nights my business forced me 
 to lodge and mix with the bloody Pequod ambassa 
 dors, whose hands and arms, methought, wreaked 
 with the blood of my countrymen, murdered and 
 massacred by them on Connecticut river, and from 
 whom I could not but nightly look for their bloody 
 knives at my own throat also. 
 5 
 
66 APPENDIX. 
 
 "3. When God wondrously preserved me, and helped 
 me to break to pieces the Pequod s negotiation and 
 design, and to make, and promote and finish, by 
 many travels and charges, the English league with 
 the Narragansets and Mohegans against the Pequods, 
 and that the English forces marched up to the Narra- 
 ganset country against the Pequods, I gladly enter 
 tained, at my house in Providence, the General 
 Stoughton and his officers, and used my utmost care 
 that all his officers and soldiers should be well accom 
 modated with us. 
 
 "4. I marched up with them to the Niarraganset 
 sachems, and brought my countrymen and the barba 
 rians, sacherns and captains, to a mutual confidence 
 and complacence, each in other. 
 
 "5. Though I was ready to have marched further, 
 yet, upon agreement that I should keep at Providence, 
 as an agent between the Bay and the army, I relumed, 
 and was interpreter and intelligencer, constantly re 
 ceiving and sending letters to the Governor and Coun 
 cil at Boston, &>c., in which work I judge it no im 
 pertinent digression to recite (out of the many scores 
 of letters, at times, from Mr. Winthrop,) this one pious 
 and heavenly prophecy, touching all New England, 
 of that gallant man, viz. : If the Lord turn away 
 his face from our sins, and bless our endeavors and 
 yours, at this time, against our bloody enemy, we and 
 our children shall long enjoy peace, in this, our wil 
 derness condition. And himself and some other of 
 
APPENDIX. 67 
 
 the Council motioned, and it was debated, whether 
 or no I hud not merited, not only to be recalled from 
 banishment, but also to be honored with some remark 
 of favor. It is known who hindered, who never pro 
 moted the liberty of other men s consciences. These 
 things, and ten times more, I could relate, to show 
 that I am not a stranger to the Pequod wars and lands, 
 and possibly not far from the merit of a foot of land in 
 either country, which I have not. 
 
 "5. Considering (upon frequent exceptions against 
 Providence men) that we had no authority for civil 
 government, I went purposely to England, and upon 
 my report and petition, the Parliament granted us a 
 charter of government for these parts, so judged vacant 
 on all hands. And upon this, the country about us 
 was more friendly, and wrote to us, and treated us as 
 an authorized colony ; only the difference of our con 
 sciences much obstructed. The bounds of this, our 
 first charter, I (having ocular knowledge of persons, 
 places and transactions) did honestly and conscien 
 tiously, as in the holy presence of God, draw up from 
 Pawcatuck river, which I then believed, and still do, 
 is free from all English claims and conquests ; for 
 although there were some Pequods on this side the 
 river, who, by reason of some sachems marriages 
 with some on this side, lived in a kind of neutrality 
 with both sides, yet, upon the breaking out of the war, 
 they relinquished their land to the possession of their 
 enemies, the Narragansetts and Nianticks, and their 
 
68 APPENIXIX. 
 
 land never came into the condition of the lands on 
 the other side, which the English, by conquest, chal 
 lenged ; so that I must still affirm, as in God s holy 
 presence, I tenderly waved to touch a foot of land in 
 which I knew the Pequod wars were maintained and 
 were properly Pequod, being a gallant country ; and 
 from Pawcatuck river hitherward, being but a patch 
 of ground, full of troublesome inhabitants, I did, as I 
 judged, inoffensively, draw our poor and inconsidera 
 ble line. 
 
 #######:# 
 
 " 10. Alas ! Sir, in calm midnight thoughts, what 
 are these leaves and flowers, and smoke and shadows, 
 and dreams of earthly nothings, about which we poor 
 fools and children, as David saith, disquiet ourselves 
 in vain ? Alas ! what is all the scuffling of this world 
 for, but, come, will you smoke it 1 What are all the 
 contentions and wars of this world about, generally, 
 but for greater dishes and bowls of porridge, of which, 
 if we believe God s Spirit, in Scripture, Esau and 
 Jacob were types ? Esau will part with the heavenly 
 birthright for his supping, after his hunting, for god 
 belly ; and Jacob will part with his porridge for an 
 eternal inheritance. O Lord, give me to make Ja- 
 cob,s and Mary s choice, which shall never be taken 
 from me. 
 
 " 11. How much sweeter is the counsel of the Son 
 of God, to mind first the matters of his kingdom; to 
 take no care for .to-morrow ; to pluck out, cut off and 
 
APPENDIX. 69 
 
 fling away right eyes, hands and feet, rather than to 
 be cast whole into hell-fire; to consider the ravens 
 and the lilies whom a heavenly Father so clothes and 
 feeds ; arid the counsel of his servant. Paul, to roll 
 our cares, for this life also, upon the most high Lord, 
 steward of his people, the eternal God; to be content 
 with food and raiment : to mind not our own, but 
 every man the things of another ; yea, and to suffer 
 wrong, and part with what we judge is right, yea, our 
 lives and (as poor women martyrs have said) as many 
 as there be hairs upon our heads, for the name of God 
 and the son of God his sake. This is humanity, yea 
 this is Christianity. The rest is but formality and 
 picture, courteous idolatry and Jewish and Popish 
 blasphemy against the Christian religion, the Father 
 of spirits and his Son, the Lord Jesus. Besides, Sir, 
 the matter with us is not about these children s toys 
 of land, meadows, cattle, government, &,c. But here, 
 all over this colony, a great number of weak and dis 
 tressed souls, scattered, are flying hither from Old 
 and New England, the Most High and Only Wise 
 hath, in his infinite wisdom, provided this country 
 and this corner as a shelter for the poor and perse 
 cuted, according to their several persuasions. And 
 thus that heavenly man, Mr. Haynes, Governor of 
 Connecticut, though he pronounced the sentence of 
 my long banishment against me, at Cambridge, then 
 Newtown, yet said unto rne, in his own house at 
 Hartford, being then in some difference with the 
 
70 APPENDIX. 
 
 Bay : " I think, Mr. Williams, I must now confess to 
 you, that the most wise God hath provided and cut 
 out this part of his world for a refuge and receptacle 
 for all sorts of consciences. I am now under a cloud, 
 and my brother Hooker, with the Bay, as you have 
 been, we have removed from them thus far, and yet 
 they are not satisfied." 
 
 " Thus, Sir, the King s Majesty, though his father s 
 and his own conscience favored Lord Bishops, which 
 their father and grandfather King James, whom I 
 have spoke with, sore against his will, also did, yet 
 all the world may see, by his Majesty s declarations 
 and engagements before his return, and his declara 
 tions and Parliament speeches since, and many suit 
 able actings, how the Father of spirits hath mightily 
 impressed and touched his royal spirit, though the 
 Bishops much disturbed him, with deep inclination of 
 favor and gentleness to different consciences and ap 
 prehensions as to the invisible King and way of his 
 worship. Hence he hath vouchsafed his royal prom 
 ise under his hand and broad seal, that no person in 
 this colony shall be molested or questioned for the 
 matters of his conscience to God, so he be loyal and 
 keep the civil peace. Sir, we must part with lands 
 and lives before we part with such a jewel. I judge 
 you may yield some land and the government of it to 
 us, and we, for peace sake, the like to you, as being 
 but subjects to one king, &,c. and I think the King s 
 Majesty would thank us, for many reasons. But to 
 
A P P ENDIX. 71 
 
 part with this jewel, we may as soon do it as the Jews 
 with the favor of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes. 
 Yourselves pretend liberty of conscience, but alas ! 
 it is but self, the great god self, only to yourselves. 
 The King s Majesty winks at Barbadoes, where Jews 
 and all sorts of Christian and Antichristian persua 
 sions are free, but our grant, some few weeks after 
 yours sealed, though granted as soon, if not before 
 yours, is crowned with the King s extraordinary favor 
 to this colony, as being a banished one, in which his 
 Majesty declared himself that he would experiment, 
 whether civil government could consist with such lib 
 erty of conscience. This his Majesty s grant was 
 startled at by his Majesty s high officers of state, who 
 were to view it in course before the sealing, but fear 
 ing the lion s roaring, they couched, against their 
 wills, in obedience to his Majesty s pleasure. 
 
 " Some of yours, as I heard lately, told tales to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, viz. that we are a profane 
 people, and do not keep the Sabbath, but some do 
 plough, &c. But, first, you told him not how we 
 suffer freely all other persuasions, yea the common 
 prayer, which yourselves will not suffer. If you say 
 you will, you confess you must suffer more, as we do. 
 
 " 2. You know this is but a color to your design, 
 for, first, you know that all England itself (after the 
 formality arid superstition of morning and evening 
 prayer) play away their Sabbath. 3d. You know 
 
72 APPENDIX. 
 
 yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the sev 
 enth day, &LC. 
 
 " 3. You know that famous Calvin and thousands 
 more held it but ceremonial and figurative, from Col- 
 ossians 2, &c. and vanished ; and that the day of 
 worship was alterable at the churches pleasure. 
 Thus also all the Romanists confess, saying, viz, that 
 there is no express scripture, first, for infants bap 
 tisms ; nor, second, for abolishing the seventh day, 
 and instituting of the eighth day worship, but that it 
 is at the churches pleasure. 
 
 " 4. You know, that generally, all this whole col 
 ony observe the first day, only heie and there one out 
 of conscience, another out of covetousness, make no 
 conscience of it. 
 
 4< 5. You know the greatest part of the world make 
 no conscience of a seventh day. The next part of 
 the world, Turks, Jews and Chiistians, keep three 
 different days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday for their 
 Sabbath and day of worship, and every one maintains 
 his own by the longest sword. 
 
 " 5. I have offered, and do, by these presents, to 
 discuss by disputation, writing or printing, among 
 other points of differences, these three positions ; first, 
 that forced worship stinks in God s nostrils. 2d. 
 That it denies Christ Jesus yet to be come, and makes 
 the church yet national, figurative and ceremonial. 
 3d. That in these flames about religion, as his Ma 
 jesty, his father and grandfather have yielded, there 
 
APPENDIX. 73 
 
 is no other prudent, Christian way of preserving peace 
 in the world, but by permission of differing con 
 sciences. Accordingly, I do now offer to dispute 
 these points and other points of difference, if you 
 please, at Hartford, Boston and Plymouth. For the 
 manner of the dispute and the discussion, if you think 
 fit, one whole day each month in summer, at each 
 place, by course, I am ready, if the Lord permit, 
 and, as I humbly hope, assist me. 
 
 " It is said, that you intend not to invade our spir 
 itual or civil liberties, but only (under the advantage 
 of first sealing your charter) to right the privateers 
 that petition to you. It is said, also, that if you had 
 but Mishquomacuck and Narraganset lands quietly 
 yielded, you would stop at Coweset, &/c. Oh, Sir, 
 what do these thoughts preach, but that private cabins 
 rule all, whatever become of the ship of common 
 safety and religion, which is so much pretended in 
 New England ? Sir, I have heard further, and by 
 some that say they know, that something deeper than 
 all which hath been mentioned lies in the three colo 
 nies breasts and consultations. I judge it not fit to 
 commit such matter to the trust of paper, &c. but on 
 ly beseech the Father of spirits to guide our poor be 
 wildered spirits, for his name and mercy sake. 
 
 " 15. Whereas our case seems to be the case of 
 Paul appealing to Caesar against the plots of his reli 
 gious, zealous adversaries, I hear you pass not of our 
 petitions and appeals to his Majesty, for partly you 
 
74 APPENDIX. 
 
 think the King will not own a profane people that do 
 not keep the Sabbath; partly you think that the King 
 incompetent judge, but you will force him to law also, 
 to confirm your first-born Esau, though Jacob had 
 by the heels, and in God s holy time must carry the 
 birthright and inheritance. I judge your surmise is a 
 dangerous mistake, for patents, grants and charters, 
 and such like royal favors, are not laws of England, 
 and acts of Parliament, nor matters of propriety and 
 meum and tuum between the King and his subjects, 
 which, as the times have been, have been sometimes 
 triable in inferior Courts ; but such kind of grants 
 have been like high offices in England, of high hon 
 or and ten, yea twenty thousand pounds gain per 
 annum, yet revocable or curtable upon pleasure, ac 
 cording to the King s better information, or upon his 
 Majesty s sight, or misbehavior, ingratefulness, or de 
 signs fraudulently plotted, private and distinct from 
 him. 
 
 " 16. Sir, I lament that such designs should be 
 carried on at such a time, while we are stript and 
 whipt, and are still under (the whole country) the 
 dreadful rods of God, in our wheat, hay, corn, cattle, 
 shipping, trading, bodies and lives ; when, on the 
 other side of the water, all sorts of consciences (yours 
 and ours) are frying in the Bishops pan and furnace ; 
 when the French and Romish Jesuits, the firebrands 
 of the world for their god belly sake, are kindling at 
 our back, in this country, especially with the Mo- 
 
APPENDIX. 75 
 
 hawks and Mohegans, against us, of which I know 
 and have daily information. 
 
 " 17. If any please to say, is there no medicine for 
 this malady 1 Must the nakedness of New-England, 
 like some notorious strumpet, be prostituted lo the 
 blaspheming eyes of all nations ? Must we be put to 
 plead before his Majesty, and consequently the Lord 
 Bishops, our common enemies, &,c. I answer, the 
 Father of mercies and God of all consolations hath 
 graciously discovered to rne, as I believe, a remedy, 
 which, if taken, will quiet all minds, yours and ours, 
 will keep yours and ours in quiet possession and en 
 joyment of their lands, which you all have so dearly 
 bought and purchased in this barbarous country, and 
 so long possessed amongst these wild savages ; will 
 preserve you both in the liberties and honors of your 
 charters and governments, without the least impeach 
 ment of yielding one to another; with a strong curb 
 also to those wild barbarians and all the barbarians 
 of this country, without troubling of compromisers 
 and arbitrators between you ; without any delay, or 
 long and chargeable and grievous address to our 
 King s Majesty, whose gentle and serene soul must 
 needs be afflicted to be troubled again with us. If 
 you please to ask me what my prescription is, I will 
 not put you off to Christian moderation or Christian 
 humility, or Christian prudence, or Christian love, or 
 Christian self-denial, or Christian contention or pa 
 tience. For I design a civil, a humane and political 
 
76 APPENDIX. 
 
 medicine, which, if the God of Heaven please to 
 bless, you will find it effectual to all the ends I have 
 proposed. Only I must crave your pardon, both par 
 ties of you, if I judge it not fit to discover it at pres 
 ent. I know you are both of you hot ; I fear myself, 
 also. If both desire, in a loving and calm spirit, to 
 enjoy your rights, 1 promise you, with God s help, to 
 help you to them, in a fair and sweet and easy way. 
 My receipt will not please you all. If it should so 
 please God to frown upon us that you should not like 
 it, I can but humbly mourn, and say with the prophet, 
 that \\hich must perish must perish. And as to my 
 self, in endeavoring after your temporal and spiritual 
 peace, 1 humbly desire to say, if I perish, I perish. 
 It is but a shadow vanished, a bubble broke, a dream 
 finished. Eternity will pay for all. 
 
 " Sir, I am your old and true friend and servant, 
 
 " R. W. 
 
 " To my honored and ancient friend, Mr. Thomas 
 Prince, Governor of Plymouth Colony, these present. 
 And by his honored hand this copy, sent to Connecti 
 cut, whom it most concerneth, I humbly present to 
 the General Court of Plymouth, when next assem 
 bled." 
 
APPENDIX. 77 
 
 NOTE D. 
 
 " Wliat cheer." This is a phrase learned by the 
 Indians, among the whites. It was used as a friendly 
 greeting, or salutation; as, " How do ye do? How 
 fare ye?" &c. With this phrase for a title, Hon. 
 JOB DURFEE, Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court of Rhode Island, published, some two years 
 since, a poem which celebrates ROGER WILLIAMS, 
 and some of the principal colonial events of New 
 England, and especially of Rhode Island, in his time. 
 It is dedicated to " Rev. ROMEO ELTON, Professor of 
 Languages in >rown University." From it, we have 
 taken the liberty to make the following extracts ; wish 
 ing that the work itself were more generally known 
 and read. 
 
 Of Mr. Williams s journey from Salem, after his 
 banishment, and some subsequent incidents, the writer 
 says : 
 
 In boundless forests now our founder trod, 
 
 And South-west far his doubtful course he took ; 
 
 The lofty pines and cedars round him nod 
 
 Loud roars the tempest through the leafless oak ; 
 
 Deep lies the snow upon the frozen sod, 
 
 Arid still the storm s descending torrents choke 
 
 The Heavens above; and only fancy could, 
 
 So dim the view, conceive the solitude. 
 
78 APPENDIX. 
 
 Above his head the branches writhe and bend, 
 Or in the mingled wreck their ruin flies 
 
 The storm redoubles, and the whirlwinds blend 
 The rising snow-drift with descending skies; 
 
 And oft the crags a friendly shelter lend 
 
 His breathless bosom, and his sightless eyes ; 
 
 But, when the transient gust its fury spends, 
 
 He through the storm again upon his journey wends. 
 
 Sire Williams journeyed in the forest lone ; 
 
 And then night s thickening shades began to fill 
 His soul with doubt for shelter had he none 
 And all the out-stretched waste was clad with one 
 
 Vast mantle hoar. And he began to hear 
 At times the fox s bark, and the fierce howl 
 
 Of wolf, sometimes afar sometimes so near, 
 That in the very glen they seemed to prowl 
 
 Where now he, wearied, paused and then his ear 
 Started to note some bhaggy monster s growl, 
 
 That Irom his snow-clad rocky den did peer, 
 
 Shrunk with gaunt famine in that tempest drear, 
 
 And scenting human blood yea, and so nigh, 
 Thrice did our northern tiger seem to come, 
 
 He thought he heard the fagots crackling by, 
 
 And saw, through driven snow and twilight gloom, 
 
 Peer from the thickets his fierce burning eye, 
 
 Scanning his destined prey, and through the broom. 
 
 Thrice stealing on his ears the whining cry 
 
 Swelled by degrees above the tempest high. 
 
APPENDIX. 79 
 
 " Father of mercies ! thou the wanderer s guide, 
 In this dire storm along the howling waste, 
 
 Thanks for the shelter thou dost here provide, 
 Thanks for the mercies of the day that s past; 
 
 Thanks for the frugal fare thou hast supplied; 
 And Oh ! may still thy tender mercies last; 
 
 May the delusion of our race subside, 
 
 That chains man s conscience to the ruler s pride. 
 
 Grant that thy humble instrument still shun 
 
 His persecutors in their eager quest; 
 Grant the asylum, yet to be begun, 
 
 To persecution s exiles yield a rest; 
 Let ages after ages take the boon, 
 
 And in religious freedom still be blest- 
 Grant that I live until this task be done, 
 And then O Lord ! receive me as thine own." 
 
 Our father ceased, and with keen relish he 
 Refreshed his wearied frame in that lone dell ; 
 
 Ah ! little can his far posterity 
 
 Sense now the pleasures of that frugal meal; 
 
 For naught he knew of pampered luxury, 
 But toil and fast had done their office well, 
 
 And not the dainties brought o er India s sea, 
 
 Or wrung from sweat of modern slavery. 
 
 Of all the monsters of the dreary wood, 
 None like the panther did the hunter fear ; 
 
 For man and beast he fearlessly pursued 
 Whilst others shunned he was allured by fire ; 
 
 And Williams knew how perilous his mood, 
 And for the trying onset did prepare ; 
 
 Still by the rising blaze he firmly stood, 
 
 And every dangerous avenue he viewed. 
 

 80 APPENDIX. 
 
 In God he trusted for deliverance- 
 He thought of Daniel in the lion s den 
 
 He waited silent for the fierce advance 
 He heard the fagots break along the glen 
 
 But at this moment from the darkness broke 
 A human voice in Narraganset s tongue j 
 
 " Neemat ! " (my brother) in kind tone it spoke, 
 " How comes Awanux these drear wilds among? 
 
 And at the accents the dark thickets shook, 
 And from them lightly the red hunter sprung, 
 
 And from his belt familiarly he took, 
 
 And fired his calumet, and curled its smoke. 
 
 Then to our founder passed the simple cheer, 
 In sign of friendship to a wandering man, 
 
 " Let not," he said, " my brother quake with fear, 
 " T was Waban s cry at which the monsters ran. 
 
 " T were hard to tell my brother of the woods, 
 
 What cause has forced his pale-faced brother here. 
 The red and white men have their different modes, 
 
 And scant is Narraganset s tongue I fear, 
 In fitting terms to teach my brother s ear, 
 
 The themes of strife among white multitudes 
 Themes yet unknown within these forests drear, 
 
 Where undisturbed ye worship various gods, 
 And persecution leave to white abodes. 
 
 The letter of Mr. Williams, written to his wife 
 from Seekonk, is thus described : 
 
APPENDIX. 81 
 
 T was on the inner bark slript from the pine, 
 
 Our father penciled this epistle rare ; 
 Two blazing pine knots did his torches shine, 
 
 His desk a pallet, and a mat his chair : 
 He wrote his spouse the brief familiar line, 
 
 How he had journeyed, and his roof now where ; 
 And that poor Waban was his host benign, 
 And bade her cheer and give him blankets fine. 
 
 Then bade her send the Indian presents bought, 
 When first they suffered persecution s thrall 
 
 The strings of Wampum, and the scarlet coat, 
 The tinselled belt and jewel coronal ; 
 
 His pocket Bible, which his haste forgot, 
 For he had cheering hopes of Waban s soul ; 
 
 Then gave her solace to the bad unknown, 
 
 That God o errules and still protects his own. 
 
 After the chief, Awanax, had related to Mr. Wil 
 liams, the white men s demands for lands, and the 
 manner in which he had satisfied them, the poet gives 
 the following graphic sketch of the supposed conver 
 sation : 
 
 " Brother I know that all these lands are thine 
 These rolling rivers and these waving trees, 
 
 From the Great Spirit came the gift divine ; 
 
 And who would trespass upon grants like these? 
 
 Naught would I take, e en if the power were mine, 
 Of all thy lands, lest it should Him displease j 
 
 But for just meed should thou some part resign, 
 
 Would the Great spirit blame the deed benign ? " 
 
 " Tis not the peag," said the sagamore, 
 " Nor knives, nor guns, nor garments red as blood, 
 G 
 
82 APPENDIX, 
 
 That buy the lands I hold dominion o er 
 
 Lands that Were fashioned by the red man s God; 
 
 But to my friend I give, and take no more 
 Than to his generous bosom may seern good ; 
 
 But still we pass the belt> and for the lands, 
 
 He strengthens mine, and strengthen 1 his hands." 
 
 Having carried his hero through various vicissi 
 tudes, and introduced his readers to many wild and 
 savage scenes, the poet proceeds : 
 
 Who on the prostrate trunk lias risen now, 
 And doe* with cleaving steel the blows renew ? 
 
 Broad irf the beaver of his manly brow, 
 His mantle gmy, his hozen azure blue ; 
 
 His feet are dripping with dissolving snow; 
 His garments sated with the morning dew ; 
 
 His nerves seem strengthened with the labor past; 
 
 His visage hardened by the winter s blast. 
 
 Though changed by sufferings, tis our founder yet; 
 
 Tht re does he hope, and labor, but, in vain, 
 On free opinion s base to build a State, 
 
 Wlieie reason aye shall spurn the tyrant s chain; 
 But. nh ! unhappy man ! the bigot s hate, 
 
 Will still, 1 fear, thy lofty soul restrain : 
 Will rob thee even of an exile s home, 
 And leave thee still in savage wilds to roam. 
 
 Hard by yon little fountain, clear and sheen, 
 
 Whose swollen streamlet murmurs down the glade, 
 
 Whfie groves of hemlocks and of cedars green, 
 Stand gainst the northern storm a barricade, 
 
 Springs the first mansion of his rude demesne, 
 A slender wigwam by red Waban made : 
 
APPENDIX. 83 
 
 Such is sire Williams shelter from the blast, 
 And there his rest when daily toils are past. 
 
 Yet seldom from the storm he shrinks away, 
 With his own hands he s laboring to rear 
 
 A mansion, where his wife and children may, 
 In happier days, partake the social cheer; 
 
 Where no sour bigot may in wrath essay 
 To make the free-born spirit quail with fear, 
 
 At threat of scourire, of banishment and death, 
 
 For the free thought the soul s sustaining breath. 
 
 Boast of your swords, ye blood-stained conquerors boast 
 The free-born millions ye have made your slaves; 
 
 Exult o er fields where liberty was lost, 
 
 And patriots fell where lingeiing o er their gravea, 
 
 A nation s memory, like a vengeful ghost, 
 Broods never slumbering, and forever raves 
 
 Of crimes unanswered till the gathered wrath 
 
 Of ages bursts on your ensanguined path 
 
 And where ore ye ? some remnant left behind, 
 Some sculptured marble, or decaying fane, 
 
 May shew where once ye triumphed mad and blind, 
 Shew but for genius ye had fought in vain; 
 
 Then look to him whose quiet toils unbind 
 The bonds which bigots gave you to enchain 
 
 Man s angel spirit to some demon s will, 
 
 And at your guilty deeds, blush and be still. 
 
 Mr. Durfee thus introduces the interview of Mr. 
 Williams with Waban, whom he was about to despatch 
 to Salem for his wife and children : 
 
84 APPENDIX. 
 
 " But, Waban, 1 have now a task for thee 
 Think not of him, be thy attention here 
 
 Whilst the snows covered earth, and ice the sea, 
 I left my consort and my children dear ; 
 
 T was stormy night the hunter sheltered me; 
 And in his lodge he gave abundant cheer; 
 
 Then to the rising sun he cheerly sped, 
 
 And saw mong faces pale the wanderer s shed. 
 
 " There too he saw his little children play, 
 And the white hand which gave the blanket red, 
 
 But now far distant seems that gloomy day, 
 
 When from their presence thy white sachem fled 
 
 The lodge is built the garden smiling gay 
 Will the swift foot once more the forest thread, 
 
 And guide the children and the snow-white hand, 
 
 Along the howling wilds to this far distant land ? " 
 
 Waban replied, the nimble foot will go 
 
 But a gaunt wolf may haunt the hunter s way, 
 
 And he will sharp his darts, and string his bow, 
 And gird his loins as for the battle fray ; 
 
 The Priest of Chepian ne er forgets a foe 
 His vengeance lasts until a bloody day 
 
 Shall feed the crows, or still a bloodier night 
 
 Give the gaunt wolf a banquet ere tis light. 
 
 " God is our trust !" our pious founder said, 
 " Arm, and go forth confiding in his might 
 
 Far as a banished exile s foot dare tread, 
 
 On ground forbidden, will thy sachem white 
 
 Journey to meet thee. When the sun has shed 
 Five times from orient skies his flaming light, 
 
 Williams will meet his spouse and children dear, 
 
 Hid in brown shades forbidden Salem near. 
 
APPENDIX. 85 
 
 On the return of Waban, \vith Mrs. Williams and 
 her children, he is met by Mr. Williams ; and the 
 scene is thus described : 
 
 But ere he gained the destined point, or viewed 
 
 The fell assassin, the dry fagots crash, 
 The waving coppice, and re-echoing wood, 
 
 And sounding foot-falls, down the lawns that dash, 
 Told him how vainly he his foe pursued, 
 
 Or that pursuit were dangerously rash ; 
 Then turning slowly, he retraced his track, 
 As his foiled leap the lion measures back. 
 
 The matron, trembling, viewed the passing scene ; 
 
 For she had marked that hostile arrow s flight, 
 And Williams glance, and Waban s ireful mien, 
 
 Told her what dangers did their fears excite ; 
 No frantic shrieks the mother s acts demean ; 
 
 A mother s cares did every thought invite} 
 And o er the little fountains of our blood, 
 She stretched her arms frail shield, and trembling Btood. 
 
 Though with more calmness, yet with equal dread, 
 The anxious Hither viewed the threatening harm; 
 
 And, under God, what was there now to aid 
 Save his own firmness and red Waban s arm? 
 
 Behind before a dreary forest spread 
 Far offNeponset here the dire alarm 
 
 Of lurking savage whilst, the gathering night 
 
 Still added horror to a doubtful flight. 
 
 He paused one moment, and his means forlorn 
 To guard his onward march he thus arrayed: 
 
 The palfreys shielded by the burdens borne, 
 Each side the moving group, were slowly led ; 
 
86 APPENDIX. 
 
 This reigned by him, that by his eldest born, 
 
 Whilst nimble Wuhan scoured ihe threatening shade 
 On every side the watchful hunter ran ; 
 Now fenced their flanks now pioneered their van. 
 
 They proceeded unharmed. 
 
 The reception of Williams and family, at the now- 
 city of Providence, is thus portrayed : 
 
 tf Waban," said Williams, " we may venture now, 
 But pause ye short of the sure arrow s flight;" 
 
 Instant the red man drove the foaming prow 
 Along the cleaving flood, and, at the siyht 
 
 Of the red multitudes, the rose s glow 
 
 Fading, at once, left Mary s cheek all white ; 
 
 And sudden fears her children s breasts surprise, 
 
 And, with their little hands, they trembling veil their eyes. 
 
 Full in the front of that vast multitude, 
 
 Within an arrow s flight, their skiff they stayed ; 
 
 A sudden silence hushed the listening wood ; 
 
 The crowds all paused, and with wild eyes surveyed 
 
 The pale-faced group which in like stillness viewed 
 The wondering throngs. At length the woodland glade 
 
 Moves with their numbers down the banks they pour^ 
 
 Swarming and gathering on the dark ning shore. 
 
 As when some urchin, with a heedless blow, 
 
 The insect nations of the hive alarms ; 
 Down from their cells the watchful myriads flow, 
 
 And earth and air rolls black with murmuring swarms; 
 So from the woods the wondering warriors go, 
 
 So o er the dark ning strand their number forms; 
 None save their haughty chiefs remain behind, 
 And they the lofty banks and forest margin lined 
 
APPENDIX. 87 
 
 Then silence reigned again but still they stared, 
 Some clasped their knives and some tlieir arrows drew; 
 
 Then from his seat his form our Founder reared, 
 Beneath him rocking rolled the frail canoe ; 
 
 His hand lie raised, and manly forehead bared, 
 
 And straight their former friend the sachems knew; 
 
 Netop, What cheer ! broke on the listening air ; 
 
 What cheer ! What cheer ! was echoed here and there. 
 
 And straight the kindling crowds burst on his ear, 
 Their shouts embodied sought the joyous sky, 
 
 Witli open arms, and greeting of What cheer, 
 Lived all the shoies, and banks, and summits high; 
 
 What cheer ! What cheer ! resounded far and near, 
 What cheer ! What cheer ! the hollow woods reply; 
 
 What cheer ! What cheer ! swells the exulting gales, 
 
 Sweeps o er the laughing hills, and trembles through the 
 vales. 
 
 Miantonomi, stepping from the crowd, 
 
 Stretched furth his brawny hand, and cried " What 
 
 cheer ! 
 Welcome, my brother ! sny, what lowering cloud, 
 
 O er Seekonk s eastern marge, impels thee here; 
 Be it Pequot in his numbers proud, 
 
 I hold his greeting in this glittering spear; 
 But, oh ! perchance my brother seeks this place, 
 To share with us the sacred rites of peace." 
 
 " Not so, brave chief. It is to seek a home, 
 
 By seer announced, by Heaven to me assigned; 
 
 Yonder abode lies wrapt in sable gloom, 
 Sprung not from Pequot, but the Plymouth kind ; 
 
88 APPENDIX. 
 
 My promised harvest blighted in the bloom, 
 
 My voiceless roof all, all have I resigned, 
 And hither come to seek Mooshausick s plain, 
 And beg the gift once proffered me in vain." 
 
 Here grave Canonicus came from the throng 
 " Welcome, rny son ! " exclaimed the aged chief, 
 
 (i Bear thou the inflictions of thy kindred s wrong, 
 Like a brave man, not with a woman s grief} 
 
 The lands thou seest shall all to thee belong ; 
 And for thy comforts lost, a moment brief 
 
 Shall e en their loss repair o er yonder height 
 
 Is the domain where Chepian ruled of late. 
 
 NOTK E. 
 
 Of all the various employments in which the writer, 
 or any man was ever engaged, (whose nerves were 
 not made of iron, and forehead of brass) begging money 
 is the most irksome. To raise the requisite sum 
 therefore, which was necessary to discharge the debt 
 standing against the Roger Williams Church, we had 
 resort to a series of scientific and historical lectures. 
 Those gentlemen who were so generous as to give 
 their services, created a profit in the sale of tickets. 
 Besides a number of the clergy of Providence, who 
 lectured gratuitously in this series, there were also the 
 Hon. Tristram Surges, Hon. Job Durfee and others, 
 
APPENDIX.. 89 
 
 whose kindness will not soon be forgotten. The Hon. 
 J. S. Buckingham, late member of the British Parlia 
 ment, now giving lectures in this country descriptive 
 of the eastern world, through which he has travelled, 
 gave the last of what were called the "Roger Wil 
 liams lectures." The avails of this lecture, placed 
 more than one hundred dollars in the funds of that 
 society. 
 
 As we have occasion to mention the name of this 
 gentleman, we cannot consent to leave it without fur 
 ther notice. We do not even hope to see Mr. Buck 
 ingham, or any other man who is laboring to benefit 
 his race, occupy the unenviable position, where all 
 men will speak well of him. But we do hope to see 
 due courtesy and respect manifested to one coming, 
 as this gentleman does, to gratify us with so much 
 that is interesting ; acquired at such great expense 
 and labor, from the land of the scriptures. 
 
 Having elevated himself from the occupation of an 
 humble sailor boy, to a rank which places him on a 
 level with the scholars and legislators of his age, he 
 has distinguished himself by repeated acts, each of 
 which will tell on the interests of the world down to 
 the latest generation. Among these may be mentioned 
 the abolishment of the East India monopoly, which 
 removes all obstruction out of the way to free inter 
 course between Christian and idolatrous nations ; the 
 suppression of burning alive the widows ! and the 
 revenue derived from idolatry, which has long been 
 
90 APPENDIX. 
 
 such an insuperable barrier in the way of mission 
 ary labor in Hindustan, with many other modifications 
 and improvements in the East India government. 
 After having given an impetus to the temperance re 
 formation, that no other man in Europe ever hid done, 
 by introducing the subject to the investigation of Par 
 liament, which resulted, amid the scoffs and sneers o\ 
 many of the members, in triumphant success to this 
 work of humanity, throughout Great Brilian. He 
 then turned his attention to the suppression of what 
 he deemed cruel and wrong in the laws and usages of 
 his own native England such as impressment and 
 flogging in the navy and army, and many other ob 
 jects of the kind, which raised an imperishable monu 
 ment to his memory, as a virtuous and humane legis 
 lator. 
 
 Laboring in this department so long as he thought 
 duty required, to the grief of his grateful constituents 
 for services done, he resigned his seat in Parliament, 
 and is now travelling among us, to learn our history, 
 and study our manners. Thus, having made himself 
 familiar with almost the whole accessible part of the 
 Eastern Hemisphere, he has come to the new world, 
 from which, if his life be spared, he will doubtless 
 make up another chapter of his useful observations ; 
 and which we shall, no doubt, feel a great pleasure to 
 read as most people have done, whatever comes from 
 his prolific pen. His whole course of procedure since 
 he has been among us, has been in keeping with his 
 
APPENDIX. 91 
 
 true character a gentleman, and we trust, a Christian. 
 To the solicitations of the managers of the various 
 benevolent institutions with us, his ear is never deaf. 
 The gratuitous services which he has thus rendered, 
 has not added hundreds only, but thousands of dollars 
 to the funds of these societies saying nothing of his 
 private donations. Yet lo ! it is left for an humble 
 New England man to make the discovery that Mr. 
 Buckingham is a " humbug." Strange that the in 
 telligence of England, Ireland and Scotland, in most 
 of whose cities and towns these same lectures have 
 been given, had not, ere this time, made such a discov 
 ery. And stranger still, that one of the most populous 
 towns of England, should have returned him over 
 popular competitors, humbug as he may be, six suc 
 cessive terms to a seat in Parliament! 
 
 But great as the discovery is, which our own yankee 
 is making, (for the discovery is now going on) we 
 venture to predict that if Divine Providence shall 
 spare his life to complete his present design, the youth 
 who have chanced to attend his lectures, will be proud 
 to say, that they have seen and heard the Hon. J. S. 
 BUCKINGHAM. 
 
 If these remarks shall subject us to the imputation 
 of enthusiasm for the man, we shall have the satisfac 
 tion of knowing that our attachment is not misplaced 
 for it is to the man whose future history will show 
 that in him has lived another benefactor of his race. 
 
92 APPENDIX. 
 
 When Mr. B. visited Providence, he gave lectures 
 every evening of one week for the purpose of obtain 
 ing two evenings of his brief visit to lecture on tem 
 perance. At the close of the last temperance meet 
 ing, the following resolutions were offered by a mem 
 ber of the city society, and carried by acclamation. 
 
 Resolved, That the friends of temperance in this 
 city, hereby tender to Mr. Buckingham their sincere 
 and hearty thanks for his eloquent arid instructive 
 discourses, imparting (as they do) the experience ol 
 one, who under the vicissitudes of almost every cli 
 mate, and in a great variety of situations has realized 
 the practical advantages of temperance. 
 
 Resolved, That he more especially deserves the 
 thanks of this society for his consistent example o! 
 total abstinence, which we confidently believe wili 
 produce beneficial results on the higher and more 
 fashionable classes, by teaching them that social in 
 tercourse needs not the aid of alcohol to render il 
 pleasurable. 
 
 Also, the following resolutions were presented eacr 
 in their proper place. 
 
 Resolved, That it is the sense of this meeting, thai 
 the lectures on Egypt and Palestine, as deiiveied b} 
 the Hon. J. S. Buckingham, in this city, have beer 
 productive of much valuable information, and grea 
 pleasure to the audience, that we have been highlj 
 gratified with the happy manner in which they have 
 been delivered, and that we believe them worthy o 
 patronage by all lovers of useful knowledge. 
 
 Resolved, That in behalf of the Roger Williams 
 Church and Society in this city, we, the undersignec 
 feel it our duty thus publicly to express our gratitude 
 
APPENDIX. 93 
 
 to the Honorable Mr. Buckingham for his beneficence 
 in giving the avails of his last Oriental Lecture in 
 this place, for the benefit of their funds. 
 
 ARTHUR CAVERNO, Pastor. 
 
 BENAJAII WILLIAMS, JR., Deacon. 
 City of Providence, Dec. 7, 1838. 
 In our correspondence with Mr. Buckingham we 
 had occasion to give some account of the FOUNDER of 
 the church, whose funds he was solicited to aid, and 
 also of our design to publish this little book. It was 
 on this occasion he wrote the following letter which 
 we are at liberty to publish. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, (MASS.) DEC. 15, 1838. 
 REV. L. D. JOHNSON : 
 
 Dear Sir: I rejoice to hear from you, that you 
 are about to publish a memorial of the founder of 
 Providence, and the great champion and martyr of 
 religious liberty, ROGER WILLIAMS, in connection 
 with the history of the church still bearing his name, 
 over which, as pastor, it must give you great pleasure 
 to have presided. 
 
 In communicating to me, as you have done, the 
 resolutions of thanks passed by the " Roger Williams 
 Society," and tendered to me for the aid afforded to 
 the funds of their church, by the receipts of the lec 
 ture on Palestine, which I gave for its benefit, at the 
 close of my regular course to the public of Provi 
 dence, you have afforded me much pleasure : as I 
 shall always recur with satisfaction to the period, 
 
94 APPENDIX. 
 
 when your urgent and pressing invitation first led me 
 to resolve on visiting your interesting city : and always 
 remember with delight, the cordial hospitality and 
 friendly intercourse which I enjoyed, with my family, 
 at the hands of many of its most distinguished citi 
 zens. But, above all, I shall ever feel proud at the 
 association of my humble name with any labors in 
 connection with the beloved and venerated name of 
 Ro^er Williams, and in aid of the cause which he 
 
 CD 
 
 lived and died to promote the cause of genuine 
 religion, purified from the dross of human authority 
 and human corruptions, drawn from the clear foun 
 tain of the gospel, and sending its streams, freely, to 
 the heart of every human being who thirsts after its 
 waters, and who may corne and drink deeply, without 
 money and without price. 
 
 That the city of Providence may long continue to 
 shed a hallowed influence over the Christian world, 
 by the bright example of its bold and uncompromising 
 founder, until religious liberty shall spread its heaven- 
 born principles over the whole earth : and that you 
 may be individually blessed in your disinterested la 
 bors to promote the cause of temperance and piety, 
 in which you have so long been engaged, is the sin 
 cere and earnest prayer of, dear sir, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 J. S. BUCKINGHAM. 
 
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