The few men already on the Dutch vessel were carried off, whether they would or no, by its affrighted master; and of the remainder, some endeavored to protect the women and children, while others hurried off in different directions and escaped. From one magistrate to another the luckless emigrants who had been taken prisoners were marched, bearing themselves so nobly and simply in their trial, that many were won over to their belief, and the hearts of others, even in those unrelenting days, were touched. No magistrate would convict them of any worse crime than a desire to be with those belonging to them, and, after much wandering to and fro, a public subscription was got up on their behalf, which enabled them to take ship for Amsterdam, where, in the winter of 1608, nearly the whole of the original Scrooby congregation met once more. Even in Amsterdam, however, their rest was not to be; for, in the little English community which had already settled there, disputes, some of them most trivial in their character, had arisen, and the Scrooby people had therefore little heart to join it. They had had enough of conflict with foes at home to make them sick of strife, and more than sick of strife among brethren; and so, with their pastor at their head, they moved on to Leyden. For a time the sufferers enjoyed peace in the land of their exile. Their pastor, Brewster, and his able coadjutor, Robinson, administered the affairs of the little community with gentle wisdom. The names of Carver, Cushman, and Winslow stood out as those of burning and shining lights in a congregation where all were earnest and zealous. But, as in all human institutions, there came a change. Not suddenly, but gradually, almost imperceptibly, error crept in. The purity of the faith was threatened by foreign error. The young folks growing up, who had but a dim recollection of the native land where they had unconsciously borne witness for the truth, were showing an undue appreciation of the delights of the world. After many a solemn consultation, it was resolved that the little church should be transplanted, if possible, to the virgin soil of America, where it would have room to grow and spread, unhampered by any of the restrictions by which it was, in the very nature of things, hedged in in Leyden. Illustration: (‡ The Mayflower at New Plymouth)