Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation': From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to MassachusettsBradford, William
History
Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation': From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts
Bradford, William
Massachusetts -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
sicknes, but recovered and came back againe to his familie in y^e Bay,
and ther lived till some store of people came over. At lenght going a
trading in a smale vessell among y^e Indians, and being weakly mand,
upon some quarell they knockt him on y^e head with a hatched, so as he
fell downe dead, & never spake word more. 2. litle boys that were his
kinsmen were saved, but had some hurte, and y^e vessell was strangly
recovered from y^e Indeans by another that belonged to y^e Bay of
Massachusets; and this his death was one ground of the Pequente warr
which followed.
I am now come to M^r. Lyford. His time being now expired, his censure
was to take place. He was so farre from answering their hopes by
amendmente in y^e time, as he had dubled his evill, as is before noted.
But first behold y^e hand of God concei[=r]ing him, wherin that of y^e
Psalmist is verified. Psa: 7. 15. He hath made a pitte, & digged it, and
is fallen into the pitte he made. He thought to bring shame and disgrace
upon them, but in stead therof opens his owne to all y^e world. For when
he was delte with all aboute his second letter, his wife was so affected
with his doings, as she could no longer conceaill her greefe and sorrow
of minde, but opens y^e same to one of their deacons & some other of her
freinds, & after uttered y^e same to M^r. Peirce upon his arrivall.
Which was to this purpose, that she feared some great judgment of God
would fall upon them, and upon her, for her husbands cause; now that
they were to remove, she feared to fall into y^e Indeans hands, and to
be defiled by them, as he had defiled other women; or some shuch like
[132] judgmente, as God had threatened David, 2. Sam. 12. 11. I will
raise up evill against y^e, and will take thy wives & give them, &c. And
upon it showed how he had wronged her, as first he had a bastard by
another before they were maried, & she having some inkling of some ill
cariage that way, when he was a suitor to her, she tould him what she
heard, & deneyd him; but she not certainly knowing y^e thing, other wise
then by some darke & secrete muterings, he not only stifly denied it,
but to satisfie her tooke a solemne oath ther was no shuch matter. Upon
which she gave consente, and maried with him; but afterwards it was
found true, and y^e bastard brought home to them. She then charged him
with his oath, but he prayed pardon, and said he should els not have had
her. And yet afterwards she could keep no maids but he would be medling
with them, and some time she hath taken him in y^e maner, as they lay at
their beds feete, with shuch other circumstances as I am ashamed to
relate. The woman being a grave matron, & of good cariage all y^e while
she was hear, and spoake these things out of y^e sorrow of her harte,
sparingly, and yet w^th some further intimations. And that which did
most seeme to affecte her (as they conceived) was, to see his former
cariage in his repentance, not only hear with y^e church, but formerly
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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