leagues to the east of Cape Sables, where Rossillon aforesaid was governour, who entreated them courteously, granting four of them passage for France, and furnishing the rest with a shallop to return back to New England; but made them pay dear for their vessel. In this their return they put into Penobscot, while Girling's ship lay there, but were kept prisoners till the said ship was gone, and then were sent home with a courteous letter to the governour.

Before this, in the year 1634, a pinnace, belonging to Mr. Allerton of Plymouth, going to Port Royal to fetch two or three men that had been carried from a place called Machias, where Mr. Allerton and some of Plymouth had set up a trading wigwam, and left five men and store of commodities, La Tour coming to displace them, and finding resistance, killed two of them as was said, and carried three away, of which he afterward cleared himself, Anno 1643: and when some were sent to demand the goods taken thence, Monsieur La Tour, then chief upon the place, made answer, that he took them as lawful prize, and that he had authority from the king of France, who challenged all from Cape Sable to Cape Cod, wishing them to take notice and certify the English, that if they traded to the eastward of Pemaquid he would make prize of them. And being desired to show his commission, he answered, like a French Monsieur, that his sword was his commission when he had strength to overcome, and where he wanted he would show his commission. But we shall afterwards find this Monsieur speaking softer words, when D'Aulney and he came to quarrel one with another, of which there will be much occasion to speak in the following part of this history; and to observe, how La Tour was dealt withal, as he had dealt with others, when his fort and all his goods were plundered by his neighbour Monsieur D' Auluey.

In November 1636, the same D'Aulney, captain of Penobscot, in his answer to the governour's letter said, that they claimed no further than Pemaquid, nor would unless they had further order: and that he supposed the cause why he had no further order was, that the English

embassadour had dealt effectually with the cardinal of France, for settling those limits for their peace.

Amongst other things which about that time befel the governour and council of the Massachusetts as matter of disturbance, one was occasioned by an over zealous act of one of the assistants of Salem, too much inspired by the notions of Mr. Roger Williams, who, to prevent the continuance or appearance of superstition, did of his own authority cut out the red cross out of the King's colours. Good men's zeal doth many times boil over. Complaint was made hereof by Richard Browne, the ruling elder of the church of Watertown, in the name of the rest of the freemen, at a court of assistants in November 1634. The offence was argued by the complainant as a matter of an high nature, as fearing it might be interpreted a kind of rebellion to deface the King's colours: much indeed might have been said, had it been done in his coin. It was done upon this apprehension, that the red cross was given to the King of England by the pope, as an ensign of victory, and so indeed by him as a superstitious thing, and a relique of Antichrist. No more was done therein at the first court, but the awarding of an attachment against R. D. the ensign bearer of Salem, to appear at the next court; and when that came about, many minds being much taken up about the matter, because several of the soldiers refused to follow the colours so defaced, the commissioners of military affairs (which at that time were established with power of life and limb) knew not well how to proceed in those matters. Therefore was

the whole case left to the next general court, which was the court of election, May 6, 1635; when Mr. Endicot that had cut out the red cross, or caused it to be done, in the ensign at Salem, was not only left out from being an assistant by the freemen, but was also by a committee of the freemen of the several towns, (the magistrates choosing two to join with them,) judged to be guilty of a great offence, viz. rash indiscretion, in proceeding to act by his sole authority in a matter wherein all the rest of the magistrates were equally concerned, and thereby giving occasion to the court of England to think ill of them,

and therefore worthy of admonition, and to be disabled from bearing any publick office for one year. An heavier sentence was declined, because all were persuaded, that he did it out of tenderness of conscience, and not out of an evil mind; and was also supposed, like Barnabas, to be carried away with the notions of rigid separation, imbibed from Mr. Roger Williams, the pastor of the church of Salem. He had this also to comfort him in one part of his sentence, that his brother-in-law, Mr. Ludlow, fell into the same condemnation, of being made no assistant, by the choice of the freemen, though he were deputy governour the year before. The reason was, because he expected the deputy's place to be but a step into the highest degree of honour, but finding himself at the time of election to miss of both, he could not contain from venting his ambition in protesting against the election as void: for he said the choice was agreed upon by the deputies before they came to elect. But the choice was adjudged good, and the freemen were so disgusted at his speech, that in the next place they left him out from being a magistrate, which honour he had enjoyed ever since he came into the country till that time, for he was one of the patentees.

But as for the colours appointed for every company, (by the court referred to the commissioners of military affairs for that end,) they ordered the King's colours in the usual form to be set up on the Castle, and every company to have an ensign proper to themselves, and Boston to be the first company.

Some other occasions of trouble besides the foremened fell out, within the first five years after the settling of the government. For after Mr. Hooker's coming over, it was observed that many of the freemen grew to be very jealous of their liberties. Some of them were ready to question the authority of the magistrates, affirming that the power of the government was but ministerial: and many arguments were by one or more produced in one of the general courts in the year 1634, against the negative voice in the magistrates; but it was adjudg ed no good principle by the whole court, and

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the deputy that had so declared himself, was adjudged by them to be disabled from bearing any publick office for three years, nor would they easily be persuaded to alter the sentence, when desired by a petition, presented for that end by many of the freemen at the next general court. But the matter was better understood by some afterwards, that at that time had so strongly asserted the notion.

But this essay did but strike at some of the upper branches, whereas Mr. Williams did lay his axe at the very root of the magistratical power in matters of the first table, which he drove on at such a rate, so as many agitations were occasioned thereby, that pulled down ruin upon himself, friends, and his poor family, as shall be shewed in a distinct chapter by itself: only let it be noted here, that one of the gentlemen forementioned, was so strongly bewitched with Mr. Williams his zeal, that at the general court, Sept. 1, 1635, he made a protestation in way of justification of a letter sent from Salem to the other churches against the magistrates and deputies, for some supposed injustice acted by them in determining the right of a piece of land lying between Salem and Marblehead, contrary to the sentiments of Mr. Roger Williams and his friends at Salem: for this the said gentleman was committed; but not standing too stifly in his said protestation, he was the same day discharged, upon the acknowledging his fault.

One of the elders of the town of Roxbury was, upon the like occasion, ready to run into the same errour, in crying up the liberties of the people, and condemning the proceedings of the magistrates, in yielding a peace to the Pequods in the year 1634, without the consent of the people. But he was easily taken off from his errour, and became willing to lay the blame upon himself, that before he laid upon the magistrates, by a public explanation of his meaning, to prevent any from taking occasion thereby to murmur against authority; as it seems they were in those early days too ready so to do. There is no more certain sign of true wisdom, than for one to be as ready to see an error in himself as in another, which the wisest of men doth attest unto, when he tells us, that

there is more hopes of a fool than of one wise in his own conceit. But when Saturn hath too much influence upon men's natural tempers, Satan doth often take occasion thereby, to mislead even good men to pernicious practices. The smiting of the righteous becomes a precious balm to a David, to heal his errour, which will become a corroding medicine to increase the wound of men of another alloy.

But in the next place, to take notice of some other occasions of disturbance in the neighbouring plantations. About the 3d of May, 1634, news came to Boston of the death of some at Kennebeck, upon a quarrel about the liberty of trade in those parts, which accident caused no small trouble afterwards. The occasion of the quarrel was this: the Plymouth men had a grant from the grand patentees of New England for Kennebeck, and the liberty of sole trade there; but at that time one Hocking came in a pinnace belonging to the lord Say and lord Brooke at Pascataqua, to trade at Kennebeck. Two of the magistrates of Plymouth, being there at the same time, forbad him; yet would he go up the river; and because he would not come down again, they sent three men in a canoe to cut his cables; and having cut one of them, Hocking presented a piece, and swore he would kill him that went to cut the other. They bad him do if he durst, and went on to cut it. as good as his word, and killed him. the Plymouth pinnace, that rode by them, (having five or six with him, whose guns were ready charged,) shot and killed Hocking. One of the magistrates of Plymouth, Mr. John Alden by name, coming afterwards to Boston in the time of the general court, a kinsman of Hocking's making complaint of the fact, Mr. Alden was called, and made to enter into bond, not to depart the jurisdiction withcut leave; and forthwith they wrote to Plymouth to certify them what was done, and to know whether they would do justice in the case, as belonging to their jurisdiction, and return a speedy answer. This was done, that notice might be taken, that they disavowed the said action, which was much condemned of all

The other was Hereupon, one in