God, however, in his marvellous providence, had other purposes in view for New England than the profit of the merchant or the aggrandisement of the nobleman. As he had sifted out the baser elements by suffering, death and much sorrow before the colonisation of Virginia was permitted to take deep root and flourish, so now, more memorably in the case of New England, was his arm stretched forth to prevent and counteract its appropriation by any but those for whom it was intended, and who there might remain for ages to become a purer and better people;—for those who, though they had not yet attained to the glorious accomplishment of Christianity in its perfect law of love, were yet the great and shining lights of God’s truth at that time. Whilst therefore the national and the private companies were disputing about the objects and spirit of the new charter, the people of God, persecuted and trodden down as they had been for ages, were following the guidance of a new voice sounding from the wilderness, and, without charter or royal licence, were taking permanent possession of the soil. The Puritans were the true colonisers of New England. But before the Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock we must take a summary view of the growth of puritanism in England. Henry VIII., when resolved to obtain his divorce from Catharine of Arragon, denied the supremacy of the Pope, and insisted on his clergy doing the same, and in this measure puritanism had its rise. A door was opened by the king for the admission of the principles of the Reformation; and though he himself was never anything but a Catholic in spirit, yet his marriage with Anne Boleyn and his quarrel with the Pope gave the more intelligent portion of the English people liberty to think and judge for themselves. The Bible was no longer a sealed book constituting merely a portion of the church ceremonial; Henry VIII. had caused it to circulate in its English translation among the people. It was read by all classes with eagerness, and the more it was read the more was undermined the mere traditional teaching of religion. The human mind began to think and to ask important questions, and amid this questioning, the rottenness and insufficiency of old systems became more and more apparent. With a new heart and a new life, a new and simpler mode of religious instruction was requisite; this was what the Bible taught them to seek for, and bold in the spirit of the Bible, it was not long before it was demanded. But it was not in Henry’s spirit to grant what the Bible dictated; the reformed English Church retained a hierarchical constitution and nearly the whole Romish ceremonial. Henry in his latter years forbade the general reading of the Scriptures, limiting the privilege to noblemen and merchants, and died a Catholic in heart. But light had been let in—the light of divine truth and knowledge—and no human power could henceforth wholly obscure it.