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XXVII.

BREWSTER TRUSTED BY SECRETARY DAVISON.

CHAP. thereof the keys of Flushing being delivered to him in her Majesty's name, he kept them some time, and committed them to his servant, who kept them under his pillow on which he slept, the first night. And, at his return, the States honored him with a gold chain, and his master committed it to him, and commanded him to wear it when they arrived in England, as they rode through the country, until they came to the Court. He afterwards remained with him until his troubles, 1587. when he was put from his place about the death of the Queen of Scots, and some good time after, doing him many offices of service in the time of his troubles.1 Afterwards he went and lived in the country, in good

power and ambition, she very pru-
dently got consigned into her hands
the three important fortresses of
Flushing, the Brille, and Ramme-
kins, as pledges for the reimburse-
ment of the money which she ad-
vanced in defence of their liberties.
They were accordingly called "the
cautionary towns. They were
surrendered by James in 1616. See
Sir Dudley Carleton's Letters, pp.

27-35.

"When Mary, Queen of Scots, had been tried and condemned, and the Parliament of England had petitioned their sovereign for her execution, Elizabeth privately ordered Davison to draw a deathwarrant, which she signed, and sent him with it to the Chancellor to have the great seal annexed. Having performed his duty, she pretended to blame him for his precipitancy. Davison acquainted the Council with the whole transaction; they knew the Queen's real sentiments, and persuaded him to send the warrant to the Earls of Kent and Shrewsbury, promising to justify his conduct, and take the blame on themselves. These Earls attended the execution of Mary; but when Elizabeth heard of

it, she affected great indignation, threw all the blame on the inno cent Secretary, and committed him to the Tower, where he became the subject of raillery from those very counsellors who had promised to countenance and protect him. He was tried in the Star Chamber, and fined £10,000, which being rigorously levied upon him, reduced him to poverty." Belknap's Am. Biog. ii. 253. Camden says, "Thus was Davison, a man of good ingenuity, but not well skilled in court arts, brought upon the court stage of purpose (as most men thought) to act for a time this part in the tragedy; and soon after, the part being acted, and his stage attire laid aside, as if he had failed in the last act, he was thrust down from the stage, and, not without the pity of many, shut up in prison. For a particular account of Davison, and a full vindication of his conduct, see Kippis's Biog. Brit. v. 4-15; and Nicolas's Life of Davison, London, 1823. See also Camden's History of Queen Elizabeth, pp. 389-393; Supplement to the Cabala, pp. 22-25; Strype's Annals, iii. 370-376, 447.

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BREWSTER JOINS THE PILGRIMS.

465

XXVII.

esteem amongst his friends and the good gentlemen CHAP of those parts, especially the godly and religious.

He did much good in the country where he lived, in promoting and furthering religion; and not only by his practice and example, and provoking and encouraging of others, but by procuring of good preachers to all places thereabouts, and drawing on of others to assist and help to forward in such a work; he himself most commonly deepest in the charge, and sometimes above his ability. And in this state he continued many years, doing the best good he could, and walking according to the light he saw, until the Lord revealed further unto him. And in the end, by the tyranny of the bishops against godly preachers and people, in silencing the one and persecuting the other, he and many more of those times began to look further into particulars, and to see into the unlawfulness of their callings, and the burden of many anti-christian corruptions, which both he and they endeavoured to cast off, as they also did, as in the beginning of this treatise is to be seen.1

After they were joined together into communion, 1602. he was a special stay and help to them. They ordinarily met at his house on the Lord's day, which was a manor of the bishop's, and with great love he entertained them when they came, making provision for them to his great charge; and continued so to do whilst they could stay in England. And when they were to remove out of the country, he was one of the first in all adventures, and forwardest in any. He was the chief of those that were taken at Boston, in 1607. Lincolnshire, and suffered the greatest loss; and

1 See page 20.

466

BREWSTER IN HOLLAND.

CHAP. [one] of the seven that were kept longest in prison, and after bound over to the assizes.1

XXVII.

1608. After he came into Holland, he suffered much hardship after he had spent the most of his means, having a great charge and many children; and, in regard of his former breeding and course of life, not so fit for many employments as others were, especially such as were toilsome and laborious. Yet he ever bore his condition with much cheerfulness and contentation. Towards the latter part of those twelve years spent in Holland, his outward condition was mended, and he lived well and plentifully; for he fell into a way, by reason he had the Latin tongue, to teach many students who had a desire to learn the English tongue, to teach them English, and by his method they quickly attained it with great facility; for he drew rules to learn it by, after the Latin manner; and many gentlemen, both Danes and Germans, resorted to him, as they had time from other studies, some of them being great men's sons. He also had means to set up printing,' by the help of some friends, and so had employment enough; and by reason of many books which would not be allowed to be printed in England,' they might have had more than they could do.

1 See pages 26 and 27.

The words "of life " I restore from Bradford, in IIutchinson, ii. 460.

Among the books printed by Brewster at Leyden was the following: "Commentarii Succincti et Dilucidi in Proverbia Salomonis. Authore Thomâ Cartwrightio, SS. Theologiæ in Academiâ Cantabrigiensi quondam Professore. Quibus adhibita est Præfatio clarissimi viri Johannis Polyandri, S. Theologiæ Professoris Leidensis. Lugduni Batavorum. Apud Guliel

mum Brewsterum, in vico Chorali. 1617." 8vo. pp. 1513. A copy of this work is now in the possession of the Pastor of the First Church in Plymouth, having been presented to that Church in 1828 by the Hon. John Davis, LL.D. the learned editor of Morton's New England's Memorial. Another copy is in the library of the Pilgrim Society at Plymouth. See Thacher's Plymouth, p. 270.

It appears from the following extracts of letters written by Sir Dudley Carleton to Secretary Naun

BREWSTER IN AMERICA.

467

XXVII.

But now removing into this country, all these things CHAP. were laid aside again, and a new course of living must be submitted to; in which he was no way unwilling 1620. to take his part and to bear his burden with the rest, living many times without bread or corn many months together, having many times nothing but fish, and often wanting that also; and drank nothing but water for many years together, yea, until within five or six years of his death. And yet he lived, by the blessing of God, in health until very old age; and besides that, he would labor with his hands in the fields as long as he was able. Yet when the Church had no other minister, he taught twice every sabbath, and that both powerfully and profitably, to the great contentment of the hearers, and their comfortable edification. Yea, many were brought to God by his ministry. He did more in their behalf in a year, than many that have their hundreds a year do in all their lives.

ton, from the Hague in 1619, that Brewster was at this time an object of suspicion and pursuit to the English government on account of certain obnoxious books which he had printed.

"July 22. One William Brewster, a Brownist, hath been for some years an inhabitant and print er at Leyden, but is now within three weeks removed from thence and gone back to dwell in London, where he may be found out and examined, not only of this book De Regimine Ecclesie Scoticane, but likewise of Perth Assembly, of which if he was not the printer himself, he assuredly knows both the printer and author; for as I am informed, he hath had, whilst he remained here, his hand in all such books as have been sent over into England and Scotland; as particularly a book in folio, entitled A Confutation of the Rhemists' Trans

lation, Glosses and Annotations of
the New Testament, anno 1618,
was printed by him. So was an-
other in 18mo. De verû et genuinâ
Jesu Christi Domini et Salvatoris
nostri Religione, of which I send
your honor herewith the title page;
and if you will compare that, which
is underlined therein, with the
other, De Regimine Ecclesia Scoti-
cana, of which I send your honor
the title-page likewise, you will
find it is the same character; and
the one being confessed (as that
De verâ et genuinâ Jesu Christi,
&c. Religione, Brewster doth openly
avow,) the other cannot well be
denied.". "Aug. 20. I have made
good inquiry after William Brew-
ster, at Leyden, and am well as-
sured that he is not returned thither;
neither is it likely he will, having
removed from thence both his fam-
ily and goods.". "Sept. 12. In my
last I advertised your honor that

468

BREWSTER'S PRIVATE CHARACTER.

XXVII.

CHAP. For his personal abilities, he was qualified above many. He was wise and discreet and well spoken, having a grave, deliberate utterance; of a very cheerful spirit, very sociable and pleasant amongst his friends, of an humble and modest mind, of a peaceable disposition, undervaluing himself and his own abilities, and sometimes overvaluing others; inoffensive and innocent in his life and conversation, which gained him the love of those without as well as those within. Yet he would tell them plainly of their faults and evils, both publicly and privately; but in such a manner as usually was well taken from him. He was tender-hearted, and compassionate of such as were in misery, but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank, and were fallen into want and poverty, either for goodness and religion's sake, or by the injury and oppression of others. He would say, of all men these deserved to be most pitied; and none did more offend

Brewster was taken at Leyden;
which proved an error, in that the
schout, who was employed by the
magistrates for his apprehension,
being a dull drunken fellow, took
one man for another. But Brewer,
who set him on work, and being a
man of means bare the charge of his
printing, is fast in the University's
prison; and his printing letters,
which were found in his house in a
garret, where he had hid them, and
his books and papers, are all seized
and sealed up. I expect to-morrow
to receive his voluntary confession
of such books as he hath caused to
be printed by Brewster for this
year and a half or two years past;
and then I intend to send one ex-
pressly to visit his books and pa-
pers, and to examine him particu-
larly touching Perth Assembly, the
discourse De Regimine Ecclesia
Scoticana, and other Puritan pam-

66

phlets, which I have newly recovered.". Sept. 18. It appears that this Brewer, and Brewster, whom this man set on work, having kept no open shop, nor printed many books fit for public sale in these provinces, their practice was to print prohibited books to be vented underhand in his Majesty's kingdom."-"Jan. 19, 1620. Unless Brewer undertakes to do his uttermost in finding out Brewster, (wherein I will not fail likewise of all other endeavours,) he is not like to be at liberty; the suspicion whereof keeps him from hence, for as yet he appears not in these parts.' Carleton's Letters, pp. 380, 386, 389, 390, 437. It appears from page 71, that in May, 1619, Brewster was in England. It is probable he did not return to Leyden, but kept close till the Mayflower sailed.

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