The baleful influence of the Mathers—for the son Cotton was now conspicuous—conduced to commit the unwary Phips to instituting a court, which disgraced itself by the judicial murders attending the witchcraft frenzy; and in the midst of all, Sir Francis Wheeler’s crippled fleet arrived from the West Indies (June 11, 1693), having lost more than half its men by disease. The fear of infection almost caused a panic among the inhabitants of Boston when, two days later, Wheeler anchored his frigates off Noddle’s Island. Ten days afterwards their commander was entertained at Cambridge by the governor, and by Mather as president of the college. Connecticut was in the mean while serving both Massachusetts on the east and New York on the west. She sent troops to help defend the eastern dependencies of the Bay. On the retreat of Winthrop’s expedition, New York appealed to Connecticut for help, and she afforded it; but when Governor Fletcher, of New York, came to Hartford and claimed command of her militia, she resisted his pretensions, and, as the story goes, drowned the reading of his proclamation by a vigorous beating of drums.[171] Fitz-John Winthrop was sent to England to compose matters, and it ended in Connecticut placing 120 men at the disposal of the New York governor, while she retained command of her home forces, and Winthrop became in turn her governor. Phips too went to England, but on a mission not so successful. His testy character had early imperilled his administration. He got into a quarrel with Fletcher, of New York, and he yielded to passions which brought undignified encounters even in the public streets. Representations of such conduct did not fail to reach the king, and Phips was commanded to appear in his own defence. His friends had endeavored to force an address through the House of Representatives, praying the king not to remove him; but it was defeated by the united action of members from Boston, many of whom represented country towns. The governor’s friends resorted to a specious device which appealed to the local pride of the country; and, by the urgency of Mather and others, a bill requiring the representatives to be residents of the town they sat for was forced through the House.[172] With an assembly constituted under the new rule, a bare majority was secured for the address, and Phips took it with him. Before much progress could be made in the investigation, after his arrival in London, he died on February 18, 1694-5.[173] The news did not reach Boston till early in May. “People are generally sad,” says Sewall. “Cousin Hall says the talk is Mr. Dudley will be governor,” and the next day mourning guns were fired at the Castle.[174]