Send me
word what persons are to goe, who of usefull faculties, & how many, &
perticulerly of every thing.
I know you wante not a minde. I am sorie
you have not been at London all this while, but ye provissions could not
want you. Time will suffer me to write no more; fare, you & yours well
allways in ye Lord, in whom I rest.
Yours to use,
JOHN' ROBINSON.
VII
THE LETTER OF THE PLANTERS TO THE
MERCHANT ADVENTURERS (FROM SOUTHAMPTON)
Aug. 3. Ano. 1620.
Beloved freinds, sory we are that ther should be occasion of writing at
all unto you, partly because we ever expected to see ye most of you hear,
but espetially because ther should any difference at all be conceived
betweene us. But seing it faleth out that we cannot conferr togeather,
we thinke it meete (though brefly) to show you ye just cause & reason of
our differing from those articles last made by Robert Cushman, without
our comission or knowledg.
And though he might propound good ends to himselfe, yet it no way
justifies his doing it. Our maine diference is in ye 5.& 9. article,
concerning ye deviding or holding of house and lands; the injoying
whereof some of your selves well know, was one spetiall motive, amongst
many other, to provoke us to goe. This was thought so reasonable, yt
when ye greatest of you in adventure (whom we have much cause to
respecte), when he propounded conditions to us freely of his owne
accorde, he set this downe for one; a coppy wherof we have sent unto you,
with some additions then added by us; which being liked on both sids, and
a day set for ye paimente of moneys, those in Holland paid in theirs.
After yt, Robert Cushman, Mr. [John] Pierce, & Mr. [Christopher] Martine,
brought them into a better forme, & write them in a booke now extante;
and upon Robarts [Cushmans] shewing them and delivering Mr. [William]
Mullins a coppy thereof under his hand (which we have), he payed in his
money. And we of Holland had never seen other before our coming to
Hamton, but only as one got for him selfe a private coppy of them; upon
sight wherof we manyfested uter dislike, but had put of our estats & were
ready to come, and therfore was too late to rejecte ye vioage. Judge
therefore we beseech you indifferently of things, and if a faulte have
bene comited, lay it where it is, & not upon us, who have more cause to
stand for ye one, then you have for ye other. We never gave Robart
Cushman comission to make any one article for us, but only sent him to
receive moneys upon articles before agreed on, and to further ye
provissions till John Carver came, and to assiste him in it. Yet since
you conceive your selves wronged as well as we, we thought meete to add a
branch to ye end of our 9. article, as will allmost heale that wound of
it selfe, which you conceive to be in it. But that it may appeare to all
men yt we are not lovers of our selves only, but desire also ye good &
inriching of our freinds who have adventured your moneys with our
persons, we have added our last article to ye rest, promising you againe
by leters in ye behalfe of the whole company, that if large profits
should not arise within ye 7. years, yt we will continue togeather longer
with you, if ye Lord give a blessing. - [Bradford adds in a note, "It is
well for them yt this was not accepted."] - This we hope is sufficente to
satisfie any in this case, espetialy freinds, since we are asured yt if
the whole charge was devided into 4. parts, 3. of them will not stand
upon it, nether doe regarde it, &c. We are in shuch a streate at
presente, as we are forced to sell away 60li. worth of our provissions to
cleare ye Haven [Southampton] & withall put our selves upon great
extremities, scarce haveing any butter, no oyle, not a sole to mend a
shoe, nor every man a sword to his side, wanting many muskets, much
armoure, etc. And yet we are willing to expose our selves to shuch
eminente dangers as are like to insue, & trust to ye good providence of
God, rather then his name & truth should be evill spoken of for us. Thus
saluting all of you in love, and beseeching ye Lord to give a blesing to
our endeavore, and keepe all our harts in ye bonds of peace & love, we
take leave & rest,
Yours, &c
Aug. 3. 1620.
["It was subscribed with many names of ye cheefest of ye company."
- Bradford, "Historie," Mass. ed. p. 77.]
VIII
THE LETTER OF ROBERT CUSHMAN (FROM SOUTHAMPTON)
TO EDWARD SOUTHWORTH
To his loving friend Ed[ward] S[outhworth] at Henige House, in ye Duks
Place [London], these, &c.
Dartmouth [Thursday] Aug. 17, [Anno 1620.]
Loving friend, my most kind remembrance to you & your wife, with loving
E. M. &c. whom in this world I never looke to see againe. For besids ye
eminente dangers of this viage, which are no less then deadly, an
infirmitie of body Hath seased me, which will not in all licelyhoode
leave me till death. What to call it I know not, but it it is a bundle
of lead, as it were, crushing my harte more & more these 14. days, as
that allthough I doe ye acctions of a liveing man, yet I am but as dead;
but ye will of God be done. Our pinass [the SPEEDWELL] will not cease
leaking, els I thinke we had been halfe way at Virginia, our viage hither
hath been as full of crosses, as our, selves have been of crokednes. We
put in hear to trime her, & I thinke, as others also, if we had stayed at
sea but 3.
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