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ESSAYS

JOHN, THIRD MARQUESS OF BUTE.

BRENDAN'S FABULOUS VOYAGE.

New Edition.

It has been thought desirable to reprint the Essays and other short Works of the late Marquess of Bute in an inexpensive form likely to be useful to the general reader, and thereby to make them more widely known. Should this, the second of the proposed series, prove acceptable, it will be followed by others at short intervals.

BRENDAN'S FABULOUS VOYAGE.

Brendan, the son of Finnlogh O' Alta, was born at Tralee in Kerry, in the year 481 or 482. He had a pedigree which connected him with the rulers of Ireland, and thus perhaps secured for him a social prominence which he would not otherwise have enjoyed. Nature seems to have endowed him with an highly wrought and sensitive temperament. Putting aside altogether the idealism which caused him, like so many others of his time and race, to give himself to the Church, he displayed throughout life a restlessness which led him to constant journeys, sometimes of the nature of migrations, and the constant inception of projects to which he did not continue long to adhere; and in the statements about him there are elements from which I conjecture that he was probably of the class of persons who furnish good subjects for hypnotic experiments. When he was a year old he was handed over to the care of the nun Ita, when she dwelt at the foot of Mount Luachra. With her he remained until he was seven years old, when she sent him to Bishop Erc, by whom he had been baptized, but during the whole of her life, which lasted nearly as long as his own, he never ceased to regard and to treat her with all the affectionate reverence of a son. His education was continued under Erc, until he grew towards manhood, when he visited other parts of Ireland for the sake of study, but it was to Erc that he returned to be ordained to the Presbyterate. At that period there was a sort of passion among the Celtic clergy for retiring into deserts after the manner of the monks and hermits of Egypt, and the islands of the Western and Northern ocean, if they could show nothing like the burning sands of Africa, supplied deserts enough of a different sort. It was only in accordance then with a common custom of his day, that Brendan, after his ordination, set out by sea with a few companions, to find a place where to found a monastery. It is to be remarked also that this was just about the time of the migration of the Royal Race of the Dalriads to the country which has ultimately received from them the name of Scotland, and the project therefore bears a strong resemblance to that in which Columba succeeded about 60 years later. If Brendan had not failed, perhaps Columba would not have come. The wanderings or explorations of Brendan and his companions appear to have lasted several years, during which it may be presumed that they were in the habit of laying up somewhere for the winter. It was doubtless partly owing to the restlessness which was a part of his nature, that he finally settled nowhere, and returned to Ireland.

In Ireland he did a good deal of work, but Ita urged him to try and do good elsewhere, and he went over with some of his friends to Britain, possibly in connection with movements affected by the career of the historic Arthur, who was killed at Camlan or Camelon in 537. The Christian Irish at that time certainly made endeavours to assist the Christian party among the Britons. The nun Edana was making her attempts, either in person or by her disciples, to found her girls' schools in the south of Scotland, and it is not impossible that Ita thought that she might also accomplish some good by sending forth a male emissary. In connection with Brendan's sojourn in Britain, there is a most curious mention of the use of a Greek Liturgy somewhere in the British Church. There is a statement that Brendan was at the head of the celebrated Welsh monastery of Llancarfan. He also went over to Brittany to see Gildas the Wise, who was bewailing the woes of his native land on the shores of the Morbihan. He ultimately returned to the Western Islands, and there succeeded at last in founding two monastic settlements, one in Tiree, at a place which the writers call Bledua, and one in an island called Ailech, which it seems to me may possibly mean Islay. Then he went back to Ireland, and started another monastery in a desert island in Loch Oisbsen, which was given to him by Aedh, the son of Ethdach. Hence, however, he again moved in 559, and founded the great monastery of Clonfert, an act which is the principal achievement of his life.

He was friendly with the principal persons of his own race, time, and class. He seems, as I have said, to have possessed the peculiar temperament, which some call sensitive and others mediumistic, and which leads to the phenomenon generally known as second-sight, for, putting aside all other records about him which point in the same direction, it is recorded of him, not only by Adamnan, but also by Cuimine the Fair, that on one occasion when he came over, along with Comgall of Benchor, Kenneth of Aghaboe, and Cormac o' Leathain of Durrow, to visit Columba, who was then staying in Himba , and Columba at their request celebrated before them on the Sunday, he afterwards told Comgall and Kenneth that during part of the ceremony Columba had seemed to him to be standing at the bottom of a pillar of fire streaming heavenwards.

He lived to an extreme old age, and was in his 96th year when the end came. When he felt that it was at hand, he went to see his sister Briga, and I quote the sentences which follow, on account of the quaint naturalism which inspires them. 'Among other things, he taught her concerning the place of her resurrection. "Not here," saith he unto her, "shalt thou rise again, but in thine own land, that is in Tralee. Therefore, go thou thither, for that people will obtain the mercy of God by thy means. This is a place of men, not of women. Now is God calling me unto Himself out of the prison house of this body." When she heard that, she was grievously afflicted, and said, "Father beloved, we shall all die at thy death. For which of us could live when thou wast absent living? Much less, when thou art dead." Brendan said farther, "On the third day hence, I shall go the way of my fathers." Now that day was the Lord's Day. Thereon, after the sacraments of the altar had been offered, he saith to them that stood by, "In your supplications, commend my going forth." And Briga speaketh and saith, "Father, what fearest thou?" He saith, "I fear that I shall journey alone, that the way will be dark--I fear the unknown country, the presence of the King, the sentence of the Judge." After these things he commanded the brethren to carry his body to the monastery of Clonfert secretly, lest, if they did it openly, it should be kept by them among whom they should pass. Then when he had kissed them all one by one, he saith unto holy Briga, "Salute my friends on my behalf, and say unto them to beware of evil speaking, even when it is true, how much the more when it is false." When he had so spoken and foretold how some things would be in time to come, he passed into everlasting rest, in the 96th year of his age.' He died, May 16, 577.

ROGER WILLIAMS

ROGER WILLIAMS

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Tucked away in the northeastern corner of the United States is the tiny state of Rhode Island. "Little Rhody" she is often affectionately called, although her full name is "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Such an overwhelming title for such a small body! Yet not only in length of name, but in the number of her capital cities, has Rhode Island led her sister states. Up to the year 1900 she boasted two capitals, while every other state in the Union was contented with one. From the beginning, Rhode Island has made up in interesting history what she has lacked in size.

Much of this history is hinted at in the names found within her borders. Take the name Providence, for example. It sounds as if it had a story back of it--as, indeed, it has. Other quaint and suggestive names are found in the streets of the capital--Benefit, Benevolent and Friendship--and in the islands in Narragansett Bay--Prudence, Patience, Hope.

Rhode Island's story is largely that of Roger Williams, yet he was too great a man to belong to one bit of the country alone. He is one of the finest characters in United States history, though people were long in finding it out. Even to-day we do not always remember the noble services he rendered our country. Men who do spectacular things have many biographers, while quiet lives often remain unrecorded. We are apt to forget that it may take as much bravery to stand abuse and loss of friends as to face the cannon's mouth, that even more courage is required to fight for disagreeable truths than to win battles. So while Roger Williams never did anything to startle the world, he will remain one of the great moral soldiers of all time. Lacking appreciation in the day in which he lived, he deserves the honor of our own age. It is time he came into his own.

The lives of most famous men begin with a fixed date. Stories of family and boyhood follow, with perhaps a clear description of the great man himself. In this respect, Roger Williams' life is different from the others. We have not the faintest idea what he looked like--whether he was tall or short, stout or thin, dark or light, had blue eyes or brown. No true portrait of him has ever been discovered. The artists who have attempted to give us his likeness in bronze or marble or on canvas have had to idealize him.

Out of a shadowy past, largely from our own imagination, we must make up for ourselves a picture of his early days. Roger Williams has left a very scant account of his boyhood and he was too unpopular in the seventeenth century for others to take the trouble to record it. When later writers did so, they made many mistakes. This is not strange, as there were probably several persons by the name of Roger Williams living at the same time as our hero.

To begin with, the very date of Roger Williams' birth is unknown. It is given by different historians anywhere between 1599 and 1607. In his own writings, Roger Williams referred once or twice to his age, but in such an indefinite way that we are led to think that he was not exactly sure of his birthday. Thus in a letter written to John Winthrop in 1632, he said he was "nearer upwards of thirty than twenty-five." Again, in 1679, he said he was "near to fourscore years of age." Even with the most careful arithmetic, we shall have to be content with the rather vague information that he was born near the beginning of the seventeenth century.

As to his birthplace, on this point also there has been much dispute. For many years it was thought to be Wales, but now it has been quite clearly proved that Roger Williams was born in London. The ancient court records that point to this fact show that James Williams was the father of Roger and a merchant tailor living in the parish of "St. Sepulchres, without Newgate, London." He was apparently in comfortable circumstances, for his will provided not only for his wife and children, but directed that gifts of money and bread be distributed among the city poor.

Alice Williams, the mother of Roger, who survived her husband, owned or leased property in Cow Lane. In her will she mentioned four children--Sidrach, the oldest, Roger, "now beyond the seas," Katherine, wife of John Davies, and Robert. To Roger she bequeathed ten pounds, or about fifty dollars, to be paid yearly for a term of twenty years.

The oldest boy of the family, Sidrach, after he grew up, became a merchant of Turkey and other southern countries of Europe. Roger Williams referred to him as follows:

"Myself have seen the Old Testament of the Jews, most curious writing, whose price was threescore pound, which my brother, a Turkey merchant, had and showed me."

Roger's younger brother Robert became, like himself, a Rhode Island colonist. He was one of the first settlers of Providence and later became a schoolmaster at Newport.

Like many another boy, Roger Williams owed his start in life to a great man. Sir Edward Coke was a brilliant English lawyer when Roger was young. His friendship for the lad is best described by Sir Edward's daughter:

"This Roger Williams, when he was a youth, would, in a short-hand, take sermons and speeches in the Star Chamber, and present them to my dear father. He, seeing so hopeful a youth, took such liking to him that he sent him in to Sutton's Hospital, and he was the second placed there."

The Star Chamber was a London Court, so called because the room in which it met had a ceiling decorated with gilt stars. The school mentioned in the letter is better known as the Charter House School. On its roll of students are such famous names as Addison, Steele, John Wesley and Grote. That Roger Williams remembered his early friend with gratitude is shown by these words written in middle life:

"And I may truly say, that beside my natural inclination to study and activity, his example, instruction and encouragement have spurred me on to a more than ordinary, industrious and patient course in my whole course hitherto."

There is, indeed, every reason to think that Roger Williams proved to be the kind of pupil Sir Edward hoped he would be, for while at the Charter House he successfully prepared himself for college. Yet of his real life as a schoolboy--his chums, his sports, his pranks, his holidays--we know almost nothing. One tiny bit of information has come down to us, however, which would seem to show that Roger Williams was not very different from other boys. Thackeray, the great novelist, who was himself a scholar at the Charter House School years later, once said, in a lecture in Providence, that he had found in a beam of the old school the letters "R W" which Roger Williams cut there as a boy. Whenever Thackeray had to educate his boy characters, he usually sent them to this venerable old institution. This is the way he pictures it in "The Newcomes":

"Under the great archway of the hospital he could look at the old Gothic building; and a black-gowned pensioner or two crawling over the quiet square, or passing from one dark arch to another. The boarding-houses of the school were situated in the square, hard by the more ancient buildings of the hospital. A great noise of shouting, crying, clapping forms and cupboards, treble voices, bass voices, poured out of the schoolboys' windows: their life, bustle and gaiety contrasted strangely with the quiet of those old men, creeping along in their black gowns under the ancient arches yonder, whose struggle of life was over, whose hope and noise and bustle had sunk into that gray calm."

In all probability, Roger Williams continued his education at Pembroke College. Being the college of the great man who had interested himself in the boy, it was the one that would most likely be chosen. After graduating with a degree, Roger Williams studied law for a time. Then, deciding to become a minister, he took orders in the Church of England and obtained a position as chaplain in the household of Sir William Masham of Otes, in the county of Essex.

A delightful and, at the same time, amusing love story has come to light which reveals one of the last glimpses of Roger Williams in the Old World. It seems that the wife of his patron, Lady Masham, had a cousin, Jane Whalley, with whom the young chaplain fell in love. He proceeded to write two letters to Miss Whalley's aunt and guardian, Lady Barrington, asking for the hand of her niece. In the first, he mentions the fact that the affair has caused considerable talk and he hints that Miss Jane returns his affection. Then he sums up his worldly possessions--an expected trifling legacy from his mother, a little money and a small library . Pitiful means, indeed, for winning a young lady of rank! Yet Roger Williams frankly pointed out to the aunt that the advantages were not all on one side, for in spite of Miss Whalley's high birth, she had a most passionate temper.

Everything considered, it is not strange that the struggling minister was flatly rejected. The second letter addressed to Lady Barrington is such as only a disappointed, angry lover could write. He says in plain language that the Lord is very angry with her ladyship and that if she does not repent, all sorts of dreadful things are likely to happen to her. The lengthy sermon-letter is filled with Scriptural quotations. Still, although he asserts, "We hope to live together in the heavens though the Lord have denied that union on earth," time proved a rapid healer. In less than two years he had transferred his affection to a Miss Mary Warnard, or Barnard, and made her his wife.

The sequel of the unfortunate love affair is rather interesting. Of course Miss Jane married another man, but, as it happened, he was a clergyman like her former sweetheart. In turn she came to know the pioneer life of New England as did Roger Williams, being located for some years in Massachusetts and Connecticut. She later returned to old England, where her husband became chaplain to her cousin, Oliver Cromwell, who was also a friend of Roger Williams. In fact, Cromwell's real family name was Williams and some historians have even asserted that he was related to Roger Williams.

The correspondence with Lady Barrington is of importance aside from the disappointing love passages it records. For here is given an early inkling of that unrest and dissatisfaction in religious matters that was to play so large a part in the future life of the youthful chaplain. Already beginning to protest against the established forms of worship, he writes, "A tender conscience hath kept me back from honor and preferment." Then follows the merest hint of having received a call from New England.

These, then, are the few meager facts of the beginnings of Roger Williams' existence before he set his face toward the New World. His life in England will always remain more or less of a mystery. Not so, fortunately, his life in America. His hardships, trials, adventures and sufferings have become familiar history. And it is this part of the story that is most important, for Roger Williams is, first and last, a great American.

WESTWARD, HO!

Now it was not surprising that all persons of that day did not care to support the same church. They were not able to think alike, any more than we who live to-day. Curious, indeed, it would be if we held exactly the same views as our neighbors and worshiped in the same church. Some of the men of Roger Williams' day objected to the teachings of the national church, others wished to do away with its forms and ceremonies. And because they could not conscientiously worship the way the sovereign commanded, serious trouble arose. Those who were independent enough to defy the king were liable to be fined, banished or imprisoned. And the prisons of those days were anything but pleasant places in which to spend one's time!

"We do not think our ministers should wear vestments. Neither do we believe it right to make the sign of the cross in baptism. Kneeling at sacrament is sinful in our eyes, also the use of the organ in church. These ceremonies are too much like those of the Roman church from which we have turned. But the established church is our church. She is our own dear mother and we will not forsake her. At the same time, while still remaining her children, we will try to lead her to a better, purer life."

The Separatists went further than this. In turn, they argued:

"The church is corrupt and we will have nothing to do with her. We will form congregations of our own and worship according to our own consciences."

That is just what he did. A little band of Separatists, who were later to become world-famous, were glad to flee to Holland to escape persecution. It was no small thing, three hundred or more years ago, for any European country to shelter a people whose religion differed from that of the state church and we therefore like to think of the liberality of the Dutch. They and the English immigrants lived together like brothers for a period of years. A thriving settlement was founded at Leyden, and here, for about twelve years, the fugitives knew the meaning of peace and happiness. Many of them learned to speak and write the Dutch language, which one writer has called "the sister language nearest to the English." There were certainly marriages between the two peoples and the English children were doubtless sent to the free Dutch schools for their education.

As Roger Williams was familiar with Dutch, it may be that he studied the language with the idea of making Holland his home. However that may be, such a plan was never carried out. At least once he had occasion to address King James, though what the occasion was, we are unable to guess. He merely referred to the monarch briefly as "King James, whom I have spoke with."

Why did the English in Holland begin to long for still another home? Living so contentedly, why were they not satisfied to remain so? There seem to have been two reasons for their feeling as they did. To begin with, there was grave danger of their becoming a part of the Dutch nation. They were afraid of losing their speech, customs, religion--everything that made them English Separatists.

Then, too, when they had attempted to spread their doctrines by means of printing, King James had interfered and taken possession of the types. When such tyranny as this could exist even in kindly Holland, they thought it was high time to seek a home elsewhere.

"No home for these!--too well they knew The mitered king behind the throne; The sails were set, the pennons flew, And westward, ho! for worlds unknown."

The rest of the story of the "Pilgrim Fathers" we all know--how they crossed the water, battled against famine, disease and poverty, and succeeded slowly but surely in building up a settlement at Plymouth.

Years passed before they had any neighbors. At last, in 1628, the little settlement of Salem was formed by the Massachusetts Bay Company. This was followed two years later by a big migration of Puritans to New England under John Winthrop which led to the founding of Boston and several smaller towns. The colony which embraced these different settlements was called Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Meanwhile, things had been going from bad to worse in England. King Charles was now on the throne and his subjects were discouraged to find that he was even more of a tyrannical master than James, his father. How could anybody expect justice or fairness from a ruler who believed that because he was a king, he could do no wrong? It grew more and more uncomfortable for the Puritans every day, even in the established church. One of Charles' chief advisers, Archbishop Laud, was busy ridding the country of all "heretics" and other offenders against the royal will and law. If Roger Williams had now taken notes in the Star Chamber as he did when a boy, he would have recorded many undeserved punishments, such as heavy fines, whippings and worse. But he was now a man and looking with longing eyes across the ocean, as so many of his countrymen had before him.

As to Roger Williams' true place among the different sects of his time, he was without doubt a Separatist. More than one passage in his letters points to this as the truth. There was no half-way to a man of his decided character. Believing as he did, there was only one thing for him to do--seek a refuge in the New World.

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