"OF PLIMOTH
FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT.
WITH A
REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS INCIDENT TO THE RETURN OF THE
MANUSCRIPT TO
PRINTED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE SECRETARY
OF THE
COMMONWEALTH,
BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL COURT.
Electronic
Version Prepared by
Dr. Ted
Hildebrandt
March
1, 2002
WRIGHT
& POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,
1898.
INTRODUCTION.
To many people the return of the Bradford
Manu-
script is a
fresh discovery of colonial history. By
very
many it has
been called, incorrectly, the log of the
"Mayflower." Indeed, that is the title by which it is
described in
the decree of the Consistorial Court of
ford
undertook its preparation long after the arrival
of the
Pilgrims, and it cannot be properly considered
as in any
sense a log or daily journal of the voyage
of the"
Mayflower ." It is, in point of fact, a history
of the
Plymouth Colony, chiefly in the form of annals,
extending
from the inception of the colony down to
the year
1647. The matter has been in print since
1856, put
forth through the public spirit of the Mas-
sachusetts
Historical Society, which secured a tran-
script of
the document from
in the
society's proceedings of the above-named year.
As thus
presented, it had copious notes, prepared with
great care
by the late Charles Deane; but these are
not given in
the present volume, wherein only such
comments as
seem indispensable to a proper under-
standing of
the story have been made, leaving what-
iv
ever
elaboration may seem desirable to some future
private
enterprise.
It is a matter of regret that no picture
of Governor
flower
Company left an authenticated portrait of him-
self, and
that, painted in
this
volume. In those early days
have been a
poor field for portrait painters. The
people were
struggling for their daily bread rather
than for
to-morrow's fame through the transmission
of their
features to posterity.
The volume of the original manuscript, as
it was
presented to
the Governor of the Commonwealth and
is now
deposited in the State Library, is a folio
measuring
eleven and one-half inches in length, seven
and
seven-eighths inches in width and one and one-half
inches in
thickness. It is bound in parchment,
once
white, but
now grimy and much the worse for wear,
being
somewhat cracked and considerably scaled.
Much
scribbling,
evidently by the
upon its
surface, and out of the confusion may
be read the
name of Mercy Bradford, a daughter of the
governor. On the inside of the front cover is
pasted a
sheet of manilla paper, on which is written
the
following: --
"
Consistory Court of the Diocese of
In the matter of the application of The
Honorable
Thomas
Francis Bayard, Ambassador Extraordinary
and
Plenipotentiary
INTRODUCTION. v
in
him, on
behalf of the President and Citizens of the said States,
of the
original manuscript book entitled and known as The Log
of the
Mayflower.
Produced in Court this 25th day of March,
1897, and marked
with the
letter A.
HARRY
W. LEE
Registrar.
Doctors Commons"
Then come two manilla leaves, on both sides
of
which is
written the decree of the
These leaves
and the manilla sheet pasted on the in-
side of the
front cover were evidently inserted after
the decree
was passed.
Next comes a leaf (apparently the original
first leaf
of the
book), and on it are verses, signed "A. M."
on the death
of Mrs. Bradford. The next is evidently
one of the
leaves of the original book. At the top
of the page
is written the following: --
This book was rit by govener William
bradford and given
to his son
mager William Bradford and by him to his son mager
John
Bradford. rit by me Samuel brad ford
mach 20, 1705
At the bottom of the same page the name
John
written with
the book turned wrong side up.
vi
The next is
a leaf bearing the following, in the
handwriting
of Thomas Prince: --
TUESDAY, June 4--1728
Calling at Major John Bradford's at
son of Major
Wm. Bradford formerly Dep Gov'r of Plimouth
Colony, who
was eldest son of Wm. Bradford Esq their 2nd
Gov'r, &
author of this History; ye sd Major John Bradford
gave me
several manuscript octavoes wh he assured me were
written with
his said Grandfather Gov'r Bradford's own hand.
He also gave
me a little Pencil Book wrote with a Blew lead
Pencil by
his sd Father ye Dep Gov'r. And He also
told me
yt He had
lent & only lent his sd Grandfather Gov'r Brad-
ford's
History of Plimouth Colony wrote by his own Hand also,
to judg
Sewall; and desired me to get it of Him or find it out,
& take
out of it what I thought proper for my New-England
Chronology:
wh I accordingly obtained, and This is ye sd His-
tory: wh I
found wrote in ye same Handwriting as ye Octavo
manuscripts
above sd.
THOMAS PRINCE.
N. B. I also mentioned to him my Desire of
lodging this History
in ye New
England Library of Prints & manuscripts, wh I had been
then
collecting for 23 years, to wh He signified his willingness -only
yt He might
have ye Perusal of it while He lived.
T. PRINCE.
Following
this, on the same page, is Thomas Prince's
printed
book-mark, as follows: --
This Book belongs to
The New-England-Library,
Begun to be collected by Thomas Prince,
upon
his entring Harvard-College, July 6
1703; and was given by
INTRODUCTION. vii
On the lower
part of a blank space which follows
the word
"by" is written: --
It now belongs to the Bishop of
There are
evidences that this leaf did not belong to
the original
book, but was inserted by Mr. Prince.
At the top of the first page of the next
leaf, which
was
evidently one of the original leaves of the book,
is written
in Samuel Bradford's hand, "march 20
Samuel
Bradford;" and just below there appears, in
Thomas
Prince's handwriting, the following: --
But major
this Book of
his Grandfather's to Mr. Sewall & that it being of
his
Grandfather's own hand writing He had so high a value of
it that he
would never Part with ye Property, but would lend
it to me
& desired me to get it, which I did, & write down this
that sd
Major Bradford and his Heirs may be known to be the
right
owners.
Below this, also in Thomas Prince's
handwriting,
appears this
line: --
"Page
243 missing when ye Book came into my Hands at 1st."
Just above
the inscription by Prince there is a line
or two of
writing, marked over in ink so carefully as
to be wholly
undecipherable. On the reverse page
of
this leaf
and on the first page of the next are written
Hebrew
words, with definitions. These are all in Gov-
viii
ernor
pears the
following:--
Though I am growne aged, yet I have had a
long-
ing desire, to see with my own eyes,
something of
that most ancient language, and holy
tongue,
in which the Law, and oracles of God were
write; and in which God, and angels, spake
to
the holy patriarks, of old time; and what
names were given to things, from the
creation.
And though I canot attaine
to much herein, yet I am refreshed,
to have seen some glimpse here-
of; (as Moses saw the Land
of canan afarr of) my aime
and desire is, to see how
the words, and phrases
lye in the holy texte;
and to dicerne some-
what of the same
for my owne
contente.
J
Then begins the history proper, the first
page of
which is
produced in facsimile in this volume, slightly
reduced. The ruled margins end with page thirteen.
From that
page to the end of the book the writing
varies
considerably, sometimes being quite coarse and
in other
places very fine, some pages containing nearly
a thousand
words each. As a rule, the writing is
upon one
side of the sheet only, but in entering notes
and
subsequent thoughts the reverse is sometimes used.
The last
page number is 270, as appears from the
facsimile
reproduction in this volume of that page.
Page 270 is
followed by two blank leaves; then on
INTRODUCTION. ix
the second
page of the next leaf appears the list of
names of
those who came over in the "Mayflower,"
covering
four pages and one column on the fifth page.
The
arrangement of this matter is shown by the fac-
simile
reproduction in this volume of the first page
of these
names. Last of all there is a leaf of
heavy
double
paper, like the one in the front of the book
containing
the verses on the death of Mrs. Bradford,
and on this
last leaf is written an index to a few por-
tions of the
history.
For copy, there was used the edition
printed in
1856 by the
proof was
carefully compared, word for word, with
the
photographic facsimile issued in 1896 in both
evident in
that a total of sixteen lines of the original,
omitted in
the original first copy, is supplied in this
edition. As the work of the Historical Society could
not be
compared, easily, with the original manu-
script in
errors in
word and numeral, are not unreasonable.
The curious
will be pleased to learn that the sup-
plied lines
are from the following pages of the man-
uscript,
viz.: page 122, eight lines; page 129, two
lines; the
obverse of page 201, found on the last
page of
Appendix A, two lines; page 219, two
x
lines; pages
239 and 258, one line each. The pages
of the
manuscript are indicated in these printed pages
by numerals
in parentheses.
There are several errors in the paging of
the origi-
nal
manuscript. Pages 105 and 106 are marked
145
and 146, and
pages 219 and 220 are marked 119 and
120,
respectively. Page 243 is missing.
Such as it is, the book is put forth that
the public
may know
what manner of men the Pilgrims were,
through what
perils and vicissitudes they passed, and
how much we
of to-day owe to their devotion and
determination.
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
LEGISLATURE.
xi
JOURNAL
OF THE SENATE.
MONDAY, MAY 24, 1897.
The
following message from His Excellency the Gov-
ernor came
up from the House, to wit: --
To the
Honorable Senate and House of Representatives.
I have the
honor to call to your attention the fact that
Wednesday,
May 26, at 11 A.M., has been fixed as the date of
the formal
presentation to the Governor of the Commonwealth
of the
Bradford Manuscript History, recently ordered by decree
of the
Consistory Court of .the Diocese of London to be returned
to the
Honorable
Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador at the Court
of St.
James; and to suggest for the favorable consideration
of your
honorable bodies that the exercises of presentation be
held in the
House of Representatives on the day and hour above
given, in
the presence of a joint convention of the two bodies
and of
invited guests and the public.
ROGER WOLCOTT.
Thereupon, on motion of Mr. Roe, --
Ordered, That, in accordance with
the suggestion of
His
Excellency the Governor, a joint convention of
the two
branches be held in the chamber of the House
xiii
xiv
of
Representatives, on Wednesday, May the twenty-
sixth, at
eleven o'clock A.M., for the purpose of wit-
nessing the
exercises of the formal presentation, to
the Governor
of the Commonwealth, of the
Manuscript
History, recently ordered by decree of
the
Consistory Court of the Diocese of London to be
returned to
the
the hands of
the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately
Ambassador
at the Court of St. James; and further
Ordered, That the clerks of the
two branches give
notice to
His Excellency the Governor of the adop-
tion of this
order.
Sent down for concurrence. (It was concurred with
same date.)
PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE. xv
JOURNAL
OF THE SENATE.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1891.
Joint Convention.
At eleven o'clock A.M., pursuant to
assignment, the
two branches
met in
CONVENTION
in the
chamber of the House of Representatives.
On motion of Mr. Roe, --
Ordered, That a committee, to
consist of three mem-
bers of the
Senate and eight members of the House
of
Representatives, be appointed, to wait upon His
Excellency
the Governor and inform him that the two
branches are
now in convention for the purpose of
witnessing
the exercises of the formal presentation, to
the Governor
of the Commonwealth, of the
Manuscript
History.
Messrs. Roe, Woodward and Gallivan, of the
Senate,
and Messrs.
Pierce of Milton, Bailey of
Brown of
Newbury,
Sanderson of
xvi
and Bartlett
of Boston, of the House, were appointed
the
committee:
Mr. Roe, from the committee, afterwards
reported
that they
had attended to the duty assigned them, and
that His
Excellency the Governor had been pleased
to say that
he received the message and should be
pleased to
wait upon the Convention forthwith for the
purpose
named.
His Excellency the Governor, accompanied by
His
Honor the
Lieutenant-Governor and the Honorable
Council, and
by the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard,
lately
Ambassador of the
of St.
James's, the Honorable George F. Hoar, Sena-
tor from
States, and
other invited guests, entered the chamber.
The decree of the Consistorial and
Episcopal Court
of
and its
delivery to the Governor, was read.
The President then presented the Honorable
George
F. Hoar, who
gave an account of the manuscript and
of the many
efforts that had been made to secure its
return.
The Honorable Thomas F. Bayard was then
intro-
duced by the
President, and he formally presented
the
manuscript to His Excellency the Governor, who
accepted it
in behalf of the Commonwealth.
On motion of Mr. Bradford, the following
order
was adopted:
--
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE LEGISLATURE. xvii
Whereas, In the presence of the
Senate and of the
House of
Representatives in joint convention assembled,
and in
accordance with a decree of the Consistorial and
Episcopal
Court of London, the manuscript of Brad-
ford's
"History of the Plimouth Plantation" has this
day been
delivered to His Excellency the Governor
of the
Commonwealth by the Honorable Thomas F.
Bayard,
lately Ambassador of the
Court of St.
James's; and
Whereas, His Excellency the
Governor has accepted
the said
manuscript in behalf of the Commonwealth;
therefore,
be it
Ordered, That the Senate and the
House of Repre-
sentatives
of the
on record
their high appreciation of the generous and
gracious
courtesy that prompted this act of inter-
national
good-will, and express their grateful thanks
to all
concerned therein, and especially to the Lord
Bishop of
London, for the return to the Common-
wealth of
this precious relic; and be it further
Ordered, That His Excellency the
Governor be re-
quested to
transmit an engrossed and duly authenti-
cated copy
of this order with its preamble to the
Lord Bishop
of
His Excellency, accompanied by the other
dignita-
ries, then
withdrew, the Convention was dissolved,
and the
Senate returned to its chamber.
Subsequently a resolve was passed
(approved June
xviii
10, 1897)
providing for the publication of the history
from the
original manuscript, together with a report
of the
proceedings of the joint convention, such report
to be prepared
by a committee consisting of one mem-
ber of the
Senate and two members of the House of
Representatives,
and to include, so far as practicable,
portraits of
His Excellency Governor Roger Wolcott,
William
Bradford, the Honorable George F. Hoar, the
Honorable
Thomas F. Bayard, the Archbishop of Can-
terbury and
the Lord Bishop of
of pages
from the manuscript history, and a picture
of the book
itself; copies of the decree of the Con-
sistorial
and Episcopal Court of London, the receipt
of the
Honorable Thomas F. Bayard for the manu-
script, and
the receipt sent by His Excellency the
Governor to
the Consistorial and Episcopal Court; an
account of
the legislative action taken with reference
to the
presentation and reception of the manuscript;
the
addresses of the Honorable George F. Hoar, the
Honorable
Thomas F. Bayard and His Excellency
Governor
Roger Wolcott; and such other papers and
illustrations
as the committee might deem advisable; the
whole to be
printed under the direction of the Secre-
tary of the
Commonwealth, and the book distributed by
him
according to directions contained in the resolve.
Senator Alfred S. Roe of Worcester and
Represent-
atives
Francis C. Lowell of
Bouve of
Hingham were appointed as the committee.
DECREE
OF THE
CONSISTORIAL AND EPISCOPAL
COURT OF LONDON.
xix
DECREE.
MANDELL by Divine Permission
LORD BISHOP OF
The Honorable
ARD Ambassador
Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to
Her Most Gracious
Majesty
Queen Victoria at the Court of Saint James's
in
of
Greeting --
WHEREAS a Petition has been filed in
the Registry
of Our Consistorial and Episcopal Court
of
Bayard as
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipoten-
tiary to Her
Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria
at the Court
of Saint James's in
of the
President and Citizens of the
Our Custody
as Lord Bishop of
Manuscript
Book known as and entitled "The Log
of the
Mayflower" containing an account as narrated
by Captain
William Bradford who was one of the
Company of
Englishmen who left
1620 in the
ship known as "The Mayflower" of
the circumstances
leading to the prior Settlement of
xxi
xxii
that Company
at Leyden in
their
landing at
Settlement
at New Plymouth and their later history
for several
years they being the Company whose Set-
tlement in
nisation of
the New England States and wherein you
have also
alleged that the said Manuscript Book had
been for
many years past and was then deposited in
the Library
attached to Our Episcopal Palace at Ful-
ham in the
est interest
importance and value to the Citizens of
the
of the earliest
records of their national History and
contains
much valuable information in regard to the
original
Settlers in the States their family history and
antecedents
and that therefore you earnestly desired
to acquire
possession of the same for and on behalf
of the
President and Citizens of the said
of America
AND WHEREIN you have also alleged
that you are
informed that We as Lord Bishop of
of the said
Manuscript Book to the Citizens of the
United
States of
have to its
possession and that We were desirous of
transferring
it to the said President and Citizens
AND WHEREIN
you have also alleged that you are
advised and
believe that the Custody of documents in
CONSISTORIAL
DECREE. xxiii
the nature
of public or ecclesiastical records belong-
ing to the
See of London is vested in the Consis-
torial Court
of the said See and that any disposal
thereof must
be authorised by an Order issued by the
Judge of
that Honorable Court And that you there-
fore humbly
prayed that the said Honorable Court
would
deliver to you the said Manuscript Book on
your
undertaking to use every means in your power
for the safe
transmission of the said Book to the
custody in
the Pilgrim Hall at New Plymouth or in
such other
place as may be selected by the President
and Senate
of the said
conditions
as to security and access by and on behalf
of the
English Nation as that Honorable Court might
determine
AND WHEREAS the said Petition was set
down for
hearing on one of the Court days in Hilary
Term to Wit
Thursday the Twenty fifth day of March
One thousand
eight hundred and ninety seven in Our
Consistorial
Court in the
Paul in
Hutchinson
Tristram Doctor of Laws and one of Her
Majesty's
Counsel learned in the Law Our Vicar Gen-
eral and
Official Principal the Judge of the said Court
and you at
the sitting of the said Court appeared by
Counsel in
support of the Prayer of the said Petition
and during
the hearing thereof the said Manuscript
Book was
produced in the said Court by Our legal
xxiv
Secretary
and was then inspected and examined by
the aid
Judge and evidence was also given before
the Court by
which it appeared that the Registry at
and
Ecclesiastical Documents relating to the Diocese
of
of
remained by
custom within the said Diocese AND
WHEREAS it
appeared on the face of the said Man-
uscript Book
that the whole of the body thereof with
the
exception of part of the last page thereof was in
the
handwriting of the said William Bradford who
was elected
Governor of New Plymouth in April
1621 and
continued Governor thereof from that date
excepting
between the years 1635 and 1637 up to
1650 and
that the last five pages of the said Manu-
script which
is in the hand writing of the said Wil-
liam
Register
between 1620 and 1650 of the fact of the
Marriages of
the Founders of the Colony of New
and the
names of their Children the lawful issue of
such
Marriages and of the fact of the Marriages of
many of
their Children and Grandchildren and of the
names of the
issue of such marriages and of the
deaths of
many of the persons named therein And
after
hearing Counsel in support of the said applica-
tion the
Judge being of opinion that the said Manu-
CONSISTORIAL DECREE. xxv
script Book
had been upon the evidence before the
Court presumably
deposited at
time between
the year 1729 and the year 1785 during
which time
the said Colony was by custom within the
Diocese of
Registry of
the said
mate
Registry for the Custody of Registers of Mar-
riages
Births and Deaths within the said Colony and
that the
Registry at
for
Historical and other Documents connected with
the Colonies
and possessions of
the Seas so
long as the same remained by custom
within the
Diocese of
laration of
the
within the
Diocese of
Court had
ceased to be a public registry for the said
Colony and
having maturely deliberated on the Cases
precedents
and practice of the
bearing on
the application before him and having
regard to
the Special Circumstances of the Case De-
creed as
follows -- (1) That a Photographic facsimile
reproduction
of the said Manuscript Book verified by
affidavit as
being a true and correct Photographic re-
production
of the said Manuscript Book be deposited
in the
Registry of Our said Court by or on behalf
of the
Petitioner before the delivery to the Petitioner
of the said
original Manuscript Book as hereinafter
xxvi
ordered --
(2) That the said Manuscript Book be
delivered
over to the said Honorable Thomas Francis
Bayard by
the Lord Bishop of
Lordship's
absence by the Registrar of the said Court
on his
giving his undertaking in writing that he will
with all due
care and diligence on his arrival from
person the
said Manuscript Book to the Governor
of the
States of
House in the
City of
of the
delivery of the said Book to him by the said
Lord Bishop
of
he shall
have delivered the same to the Governor of
sonal
custody -- (3) That the said Book be deposited
by the
Petitioner with the Governor of
for the
purpose of the same being with all convenient
speed
finally deposited either in the State Archives of
the
of the said
Commonwealth in the City of
the Governor
shall determine -- ( 4) That the Gov-
ernors of
the said Commonwealth for all time to
come be
officially responsible for the safe custody
of the said
Manuscript Book whether the same be
deposited in
the State Archives at
Historical
Library in
CONSISTORIAL DECREE. xxvii
the
performance of the following conditions subject to
a compliance
wherewith the said Manuscript Book is
hereby
decreed to be deposited in the Custody of the
aforesaid
Governor of the
chusetts and
his Successors to wit: -- (a) That all
persons have
such access to the said Manuscript Book
as to the
Governor of the said Commonwealth for the
time being
shall appear to be reasonable and with such
safeguard as
he shall order -- (b) That all persons
desirous of
searching the said Manuscript Book for
the bona
fide purpose of establishing or tracing a
Pedigree
through persons named in the last five pages
thereof or
in any other part thereof shall be per-
mitted to
search the same under such safeguards as
the Governor
for the time being shall determine on
payment of a
fee to be fixed by the Governor --
( c) That
any person applying to the Official having
the
immediate custody of the said Manuscript Book
for a
Certified Copy of any entry contained in proof of
Marriage
Birth or Death of persons named therein
or of any
other matter of like purport for the pur-
pose of
tracing descents shall be furnished with such
certificate
on the payment of a sum not exceeding one
Dollar --
(d) That with all convenient speed after
the delivery
of the said Manuscript Book to the Gov-
ernor of the
ernor shall
transmit to the Registrar of the Court a
Certificate
of the delivery of the same to him by
xxviii
the
Petitioner and that he accepts the Custody of
the same
subject to the terms and conditions herein
named AND
the Judge lastly decreed that the Peti-
tioner on
delivering the said Manuscript Book to the
Governor
aforesaid shall at the same time deliver to
him this Our
Decree Sealed with the Seal of the
Court
WHEREFORE WE the Bishop of
aforesaid
well weighing and considering the premises
DO by virtue
of Our Authority Ordinary and Epis-
copal and as
far as in Us lies and by Law We may
or can
ratify and confirm such Decree of Our Vicar
General and
Official Principal of Our Consistorial and
Episcopal
Court of London IN TESTIMONY whereof
We have
caused the Seal of Our said Vicar General
and Official
Principal of the Consistorial and Episco-
pal Court of
London which We use in this behalf to
be affixed
to these Presents DATED AT LONDON
this Twelfth
day of April One thousand eight hun-
dred and
ninety seven and in the first year of Our
Translation.
HARRY W. LEE
Exd. H.E.T. Registrar
(L. S.)
RECEIPT
OF
AMBASSADOR
BAYARD.
xxix
RECEIPT OF
AMBASSADOR BAYARD.
In the
Consistory Court of London ;
IN THE MATTER OF THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
OF THE BOOK ENTITLED AND KNOWN AS "THE
LOG OF THE MAYFLOWER."
I THE HONOURABLE
THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD
lately
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the
Saint James's
London Do hereby undertake, in com-
pliance with
the Order of this Honourable Court
dated the
twelfth day of April 1897 and made on
my Petition
filed in the said Honourable Court, that
I will with
all due care and diligence on my arrival
from
convey over
the Original Manuscript Book Known
as and
entitled" The Log of the Mayflower" which
has been
this twenty ninth day of April 1897 deliv-
ered over to
me by the Lord Bishop of
the City of
and on my
arrival in the said City deliver the same
over in
person to the Governor of the Common-
wealth of
State House
in the said City of
ther hereby undertake
from the time of the said
xxxi
xxxii PLUMOUTH
delivery of
the said Book to me by the said Lord
Bishop of
London until I shall have delivered the
same to the
Governor of Massachusetts, to retain
the same in
my own personal custody.
(Signed) T.
F. BAYARD
29 April
1897
RECEIPT
OF
HIS
EXCELLENCY ROGER WOLCOTT.
xxxiii
RECEIPT OF
GOVERNOR WOLCOTT.
His
Excellency ROGER WOLCOTT, Governor of the Commonwealth
of
To the
Registrar of the Consistorial and Episcopal Court of London.
Whereas, The said Honorable Court,
by its decree
dated the
twelfth day of April, 1897, and made on
the petition
of the Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard,
lately
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
of the
Saint James
in
original
manuscript book then in the custody of the
Lord Bishop
of
"The
Log of the Mayflower," and more specifically
described in
said decree, should be delivered over to
the said
Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard by the
Lord Bishop
of
ified in
said decree, to be delivered by the said
Honorable
Thomas Francis Bayard in person to the
Governor of
the
thereafter
to be kept in the custody of the aforesaid
Governor of
the
his
successors, subject to a compliance with certain
conditions,
as set forth in said decree;
And Whereas, The said Honorable
Court by its
decree
aforesaid did further order that, with all con-
venient
speed after the delivery of the said manuscript
book to the
Governor of the
xxxv
xxxvi
chusetts,
the Governor should transmit to the Regis-
trar of the
said Honorable Court a certificate of the
delivery of
the same to him by the said Honorable
Thomas
Francis Bayard, and his acceptance of the
custody of
the same, subject to the terms and con-
ditions
named in the decree aforesaid;
Now, Therefore, In compliance with
the decree
aforesaid I
do hereby certify that on the twenty-sixth
day of May,
1897, the said Honorable Thomas Francis
Bayard
delivered in person to me, at my official
office in
the State House in the city of
the
States of
America, a certain manuscript book which
the said
Honorable Thomas Francis Bayard then and
there
declared to be the original manuscript book
known as and
entitled "The Log of the Mayflower,"
which is
more specifically described in the decree
aforesaid;
and I do further certify that I hereby
accept the
custody of the same, subject to the terms
and
conditions named in the decree aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto
signed my
name and
caused the seal of the Commonwealth to
be affixed,
at the Capitol in
of July in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and
ninety-seven.
ROGER WOLCOTT.
By His
Excellency the Governor,
WM. M. OLIN,
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
ADDRESS
OF THE
HON. GEORGE F. HOAR.
xxxvii
ADDRESS
OF SENATOR HOAR.
The first
American Ambassador to
the end of
his official service, comes to
on an
interesting errand. He comes to deliver
to the
lineal
successor of Governor Bradford, in the presence
of the
representatives and rulers of the body politic
formed by
the compact on board the "Mayflower,"
Nov. 11,
1620, the only authentic history of the
founding of
their Commonwealth; the only authentic
history of
what we have a right to consider the most
important
political transaction that has ever taken
place on the
face of the earth.
Mr. Bayard has sought to represent to the
mother
country, not
so much the diplomacy as the good-will
of the
American people. If in this anybody be
tempted to
judge him severely, let us remember
what his
great predecessor, John Adams, the first
minister at
the same court, representing more than
any other
man, embodying more than any other man,
the spirit
of
the first
day of June, 1785, after the close of our
long and
bitter struggle for independence:
"I shall
esteem
myself the happiest of men if I can be instru-
xxxix
xl
mental in
restoring an entire esteem, confidence and
affection,
or, in better words, the old good-nature
and the old
good-humor between people who, though
separated by
an ocean and under different govern-
ments, have
the same language a similar religion
and kindred
blood."
And let us remember, too, the answer of
the old
monarch,
who, with all his faults, must have had
something of
a noble and royal nature stirring in his
bosom, when
he replied: "Let the circumstances of
language,
religion and blood have their natural and
full
effect."
It has long been well known that Governor
Brad-
ford wrote
and left behind him a history of the
settlement
of
chroniclers. There are extracts from it in the rec-
ords at
compiled his
annals. Hubbard depended on it when
he wrote his
"History of New England."
Cotton
Mather had
read it, or a copy of a portion of it;
when he
wrote his "Magnalia." Governor
Hutchin-
son had it
when he published the second volume of
his history
in 1767. From that time it disappeared
from the
knowledge of everybody on this side of the
water. All our historians speak of it as lost, and
can
only guess
what had been its fate. Some persons
sus-
pected that
it was destroyed when Governor Hutchin-
son's house
was sacked in 1765, others that it was
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. xli
carried off
by some officer or soldier when
was
evacuated by the British army in 1776.
In 1844 Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of
afterward
Bishop of Winchester, one of the brightest
of men,
published one of the dullest and stupidest of
books. It is entitled "The History of the
Protestant
Episcopal
Church in
from
manuscripts which he said he had discovered in
the library
of the Bishop of London at Fulham. The
book
attracted no attention here until, about twelve
years later,
in 1855, John Wingate Thornton, whom
many of us
remember as an accomplished antiquary
and a
delightful gentleman, happened to pick up a
copy of it
while he was lounging in Burnham's book
store. He read the bishop's quotations, and carried
the book to
his office, where he left it for his friend,
Mr. Barry,
who was then writing his "History
of
note which
is not preserved, but which, according
to his
memory, suggested that the passages must have
come from
claim for
Mr. Thornton. On the other hand, it is
claimed by
Mr. Barry that there was nothing of that
kind
expressed in Mr. Thornton's note, but in read-
ing the book
when he got it an hour or so later,
the thought
struck him for the first time that the
clew had
been found to the precious book which
had been
lost so long. He at once repaired to
Charles
xlii
Deane, then
and ever since, down to his death, as
President
Eliot felicitously styled him, "the master of
historical
investigators in this "country."
Mr. Deane
saw the
importance of the discovery. He communi-
cated at
once with Joseph Hunter, an eminent English
scholar. Hunter was high authority on all matters
connected
with the settlement of
visited the
palace at Fulham, and established beyond
question the
identity of the manuscript with Governor
ford having
been sent over for comparison of hand-
writing.
How the manuscript got to Fulham nobody
knows.
Whether it
was carried over by Governor Hutchin-
son in 1774;
whether it was taken as spoil from the
tower of the
with other
manuscripts, it was sent to Fulham at the
time of the
attempts of the Episcopal churches in
episcopate
here, -- nobody knows. It would seem
that
office; that
an officer would naturally have sent it to
the war
office; and a private would have sent it to
the war
office, unless he had carried it off as mere
private
booty and plunder, -- in which case it would
have been
unlikely that it would have reached a pub-
lic place of
custody. But we find it in the posses-
sion of the
church and of the church official having,
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. xliii
until
independence was declared, special jurisdiction
over
Episcopal interests in
outh. This may seem to point to a transfer for some
ecclesiastical
purpose.
The bishop's chancellor conjectures that
it was sent
to Fulham
because of the record annexed to it of
the early
births, marriages and deaths, such records
being in
But this is
merely conjecture.
I know of no incident like this in
history, unless
it be the
discovery in a chest in the castle of
dred and
eleven years, of the ancient regalia of Scot-
land, -- the
crown of Bruce, the sceptre and sword
of
state. The lovers of Walter Scott, who
was one
of the
commissioners who made the search, remem-
ber his
intense emotion, as described by his daughter,
when the lid
was removed. Her feelings were worked
up to such a
pitch that she nearly fainted, and drew
back from
the circle.
As she was retiring she was startled by
his voice
exclaiming,
in a tone of the deepest emotion, "some-
thing
between anger and despair," as she expressed
it: "By God, no!" One of the commissioners, not
quite
entering into the solemnity with which Scott
regarded
this business, had, it seems, made a sort
of motion as
if he meant to put the crown on the
head of one
of the young ladies near him, but the
xliv
voice and
the aspect of the poet were more than
sufficient
to make this worthy gentleman understand
his error;
and, respecting the enthusiasm with which
he had not
been taught to sympathize, he laid down
the ancient
diadem with an air of painful embar-
rassment. Scott whispered, "Pray forgive me,"
and
turning
round at the moment observed his daughter
deadly pale
and leaning by the door. He immedi-
ately drew
her out of the room, and when she had
somewhat
recovered in the fresh air, walked with
her across
Mound to
spoke all
the way home," she says, "but every
now and then
I felt his arm tremble, and from that
time I
fancied he began to treat me more like a
woman than a
child. I thought he liked me better,
too, than he
had ever done before."
There have been several attempts to
procure the
return of
the manuscript to this country. Mr. Win-
throp, in
1860, through the venerable John Sinclair,
archdeacon,
urged the Bishop of London to give it
up, and proposed
that the Prince of Wales, then just
coming to
this country, should take it across the
Atlantic and
present it to the people of Massachu-
setts. The Attorney-General, Sir Fitzroy Kelley, ap-
proved the
plan, and said it would be an exceptional
act of
grace, a most interesting action, and that he
heartily
wished the success of the application. But
the bishop
refused. Again, in 1869, John Lothrop
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. xlv
Motley, then
minister to England, who had a great
and deserved
influence there, repeated the proposi-
tion, at the
suggestion of that most accomplished
scholar,
Justin Winsor. But his appeal had the
same
fate. The bishop gave no encouragement, and said,
as had been
said nine years before, that the prop-
erty could
not be alienated without an act of Par-
liament. Mr. Winsor planned to repeat the attempt
on his visit
to England in 1877. When he was at
Fulham the
bishop was absent, and he was obliged
to come home
without seeing him in person.
In 1881, at the time of the death of
President
Garfield,
Benjamin Scott, chamberlain of London, pro-
posed again
in the newspapers that the restitution
should be
made. But nothing came or it.
Dec. 21, 1895, I delivered an address at
Plymouth,
on the occasion
of the two hundred and seventy-fifth
anniversary
of the landing of the Pilgrims upon the
rock. In preparing for that duty, I read again,
with
renewed
enthusiasm and delight, the noble and touch-
ing story,
as told by Governor Bradford. I felt
that
his precious
history of the Pilgrims ought to be in
no other
custody than that of their children. But
the case
seemed hopeless. I found myself
compelled
by a serious
physical infirmity to take a vacation,
and to get a
rest from public cares and duties, which
was
impossible while I stayed at home. When
I
went abroad
I determined to visit the locality, on the
xlvi PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
borders of
Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, from which
Bradford and
Brewster and Robinson, the three lead-
ers of the
Pilgrims, came, and where their first church
was formed,
and the places in Amsterdam and Leyden
where the
emigrants spent thirteen years. But I
longed
especially to see the manuscript of Bradford
at Fulham,
which then seemed to me, as it now
seems to me,
the most precious manuscript on earth,
unless we
could recover one of the four gospels
as it came
in the beginning from the pen of the
Evangelist.
The desire to get it back grew and grew
dur-
ing the
voyage across the
how such a
proposition would be received in Eng-
land. A few days after I landed I made a call upon
John
Morley. I asked him whether he thought
the
thing could
be done. He inquired carefully into the
story, took
down from his shelf the excellent though
brief life
of Bradford in Leslie Stephen's "Bio-
graphical
Dictionary," and told me he thought the
book ought
to come back to us, and that he should
be glad to
do anything in his power to help. It
was my
fortune, a week or two after, to sit next
to Mr.
Bayard at a dinner given to Mr. Collins by
the American
consuls in Great Britain. I took occa-
sion to tell
him the story, and he gave me the
assurance,
which he has since so abundantly and
successfully
fulfilled, of his powerful aid. I was
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. xlvii
compelled,
by the health of one of the party with
whom I was
travelling, to go to the continent almost
immediately,
and was disappointed in the hope of an
early return
to England. So the matter was delayed
until about
a week before I sailed for home, when
I went to
Fulham, in the hope at least of seeing
the
manuscript. I had supposed that it was a
quasi-
public
library, open to general visitors. But I
found
the bishop
was absent. I asked for the librarian,
but there
was no such officer, and I was told very
politely
that the library was not open to the public,
and was
treated in all respects as that of a private
gentleman. So I gave up any hope of doing any-
thing in
person. But I happened, the Friday
before
I sailed for
home, to dine with an English friend
who had been
exceedingly kind to me. As he took
leave of me,
about eleven o'clock in the evening,
he asked me
if there was anything more he could
do for
me. I said, "No, unless you happen to
know
the Lord
Bishop of London. I should like to get
a sight at
the manuscript of Bradford's history before
I go
home." He said, "I do not know
the bishop
myself, but
Mr. Grenfell, at whose house you spent
a few days
in the early summer, married the bishop's
niece, and
will gladly give you an introduction to his
uncle. He is in Scotland. But I will write to him
before I go
to bed."
Sunday morning brought me a cordial letter
from
xlviii PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
Mr.
Grenfell, introducing me to the bishop. I wrote
a note to
his lordship, saying I should be glad to
have an
opportunity to see Bradford's history; that
I was to
sail for the United States the next Wednes-
day, but
would be pleased to call at Fulham Tuesday,
if that were
agreeable to him.
I got a note in reply, in which he said
if I would
call on
Tuesday he would be happy to show me "The
Log of the
Mayflower," which is the title the English,
without the
slightest reason in the world, give the
manuscript. I kept the appointment, and found the
bishop with
the book in his hand. He received me
with great
courtesy, showed me the palace, and said
that that
spot had been occupied by a bishop's palace
for more
than a thousand years.
After looking at the volume and reading
the records
on the
flyleaf, I said: "My lord, I am going to say
something
which you may think rather audacious. I
think this
book ought to go back to Massachusetts.
Nobody knows
how it got over here. Some people
think it was
carried off by Governor Hutchinson, the
Tory
governor; other people think it was carried off
by British
soldiers when Boston was evacuated; but
in either
case the property would not have changed.
Or, if you
treat it as a booty, in which last case,
I suppose,
by the law of nations ordinary property
does change,
no civilized nation in modern times
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. xlix
applies that
principle to the property of libraries and
institutions
of learning."
"Well," said the bishop, "I
did not know you
I cared
anything about it."
"Why," said I, "if there were in existence in
England a
history of King Alfred's reign for thirty
years,
written by his own hand, it would not be more
precious in
the eyes of Englishmen than this manu-
script is to
us."
"Well," said he, "I think
myself it ought to go
back, and if
it had depended on me it would have gone
back before
this. But the Americans who have been
here many of
them have been commercial people --
did not seem
to care much about it except as a curi-
osity. I suppose I ought not to give it up on my
own
authority. It belongs to me in my
official
capacity,
and not as private or personal property.
I think I
ought to consult the Archbishop of Can-
terbury. And, indeed," he added, "I think I
ought
to speak to
the Queen about it. We should not do
such a thing
behind Her Majesty's back,"
I said: "Very well. When I go home I will have
a proper
application made from some of our literary
societies,
and ask you to give it consideration."
I saw Mr. Bayard again, and told him the
story.
He was at
the train when I left London for the
steamer at
Southampton. He entered with great in-
1 PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
terest into
the matter, and told me again he would
gladly do
anything in his power to forward it.
When I got home I communicated with
Secretary
Olney about
it, who took a kindly interest in the
matter, and
wrote to Mr. Bayard that the adminis-
tration
desired he should do everything in his power
to promote the
application. The matter was then
brought to
the attention of the council of the Ameri-
can
Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical
Society, the
Pilgrim Society of Plymouth and the
New England
Society of New York. These bodies
appointed committees
to unite in the application.
Governor
Wolcott was also consulted, who gave his
hearty
approbation to the movement, and a letter was
dispatched
through Mr. Bayard.
conversation,
had himself become Archbishop of Can-
terbury, and
in that capacity Primate of all England.
His
successor, Rev. Dr. Creighton, had been the
delegate of
John Harvard's College to the great cele-
bration at
Harvard University on the two hundred
and fiftieth
anniversary of its foundation, in 1886.
He had
received the degree, of doctor of laws from
the
university, had been a guest of President Eliot,
and had
received President Eliot as his guest in
England.
He is an accomplished historical scholar,
and very
friendly in
sentiment to the people of the United
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. li
States. So, by great fortune, the two eminent eccle-
siastical
personages who were to have a powerful
influence in
the matter were likely to be exceed-
ingly well
disposed. Dr. Benjamin A. Gould, the
famous
mathematician, was appointed one of the com-
mittee of
the American Antiquarian Society. He
died
suddenly,
just after a letter to the Bishop of London
was prepared
and about to be sent to him for sign-
-ing. He took a very zealous interest in the
matter.
The letter
formally asked for the return of the manu-
script, and
was signed by the following-named gentle-
men: George
F. Hoar, Stephen Salisbury, Edward
Everett
Hale, Samuel A. Green, for the American
Antiquarian
Society; Charles Francis Adams, William
Lawrence,
Charles W. Eliot, for the Massachusetts
Historical
Society; Arthur Lord, William M. Evarts,
William T.
Davis, for the Pilgrim Society of Plym-
outh;
Charles C. Beaman, Joseph H. Choate, J. Pier-
pont Morgan,
for the New England Society of New
York; Roger
Wolcott, Governor of Massachusetts.
The rarest good fortune seems to have
attended
every step
in this transaction.
I was fortunate in having formed the
friendship of
Mr. Grenfell,
which secured to me so cordial a
reception
from the Bishop of London.
It was fortunate that the Bishop of London
was
Dr. Temple,
an eminent scholar, kindly disposed
toward the
people of the United States, and a man
lii PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
thoroughly
capable of understanding and respecting
the deep and
holy sentiment which a compliance
with our
desire would gratify.
It was fortunate, too, that
thought he
must have the approbation of the arch-
bishop
before his action, when the time came had
himself
become Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate
of all
England.
It was fortunate that Dr. Creighton had
succeeded
to the see
of London. He is, himself, as I have
just said,
an eminent historical scholar. He has
many friends
in America. He was the delegate of
Emmanuel,
John Harvard's College, at the great Har-
vard
centennial celebration in 1886. He
received the
degree of
doctor of laws at Harvard and is a mem-
ber of the
Massachusetts Historical Society. He
had,
as I have
said, entertained President Eliot as his
guest in
England.
It was fortunate, too, that the
application came in
a time of
cordial good-will between the two coun-
tries, when
the desire of John Adams and the long-
ing of
George III. have their ample and complete
fulfilment. This token of the good-will of England
reached
Boston on the eve of the birthday of the
illustrious
sovereign, who is not more venerated and
beloved by
her own subjects than by the kindred
people
across the sea.
It comes to us at the time of the
rejoicing of the
THE ARCHBISHOP OF
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. liii
English
people at the sixtieth anniversary of a reign
more crowded
with benefit to humanity than any
other known
in the annals of the race. Upon the
power of
England, the sceptre, the trident, the lion,
the army and
the fleet, the monster ships of war,
the
all-shattering guns, the American people are
strong
enough now to look with an entire indiffer-
ence. We encounter her commerce and her manu-
facture in
the spirit of a generous emulation. The
inheritance
from which England has gained these
things is
ours also. We, too, are of the Saxon
strain.
In our halls is hung
Armory of the invincible knights of old.
Our temple covers a continent, and its
porches are
upon both
the seas. Our fathers knew the secret to
lay, in
Christian liberty and law, the foundations of
empire. Our young men are not ashamed, if need
be, to speak
with the enemy in the gate.
But to the illustrious lady, type of
gentlest woman-
hood, model
of mother and wife and friend, who came
at eighteen
to the throne of George IV. and William;
of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity; the maiden
presence
before which everything unholy shrank; the
sovereign
who, during her long reign, "ever knew
the people
that she ruled;" the royal nature that
disdained to
strike at her kingdom's rival in the
hour of our
sorest need; the heart which even in
liv PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
the bosom of
a queen beat with sympathy for the
cause of
constitutional liberty; who, herself not un-
acquainted
with grief, laid on the coffin of our dead
Garfield the
wreath fragrant with a sister's sympa-
thy, -- to
her our republican manhood does not dis-
dain to
bend.
The eagle, lord of land and sea,
Will stoop to pay her fealty.
But I am afraid this application might
have had
the fate of
its predecessors but for our special good
fortune in
the fact that Mr. Bayard was our ambas-
sador at the
Court of St. James. He had been, as
I said in
the beginning, the ambassador not so much
of the
diplomacy as of the good-will of the American
people. Before his powerful influence every obstacle
gave
way. It was almost impossible for
Englishmen
to refuse a
request like this, made by him, and
in which his
own sympathies were so profoundly
enlisted. You are entitled, sir, to the gratitude of
Massa-
chusetts, to
the gratitude of every lover of Massa-
chusetts and
of every lover of the country. You
have
succeeded where so many others have failed,
and where so
many others would have been likely
to
fail. You may be sure that our debt to
you is
fully
understood and will not be forgotten.
The question of the permanent abiding-place
of this
ADDRESS OF SENATOR HOAR. lv
manuscript
will be settled after it has reached the
hands of His
Excellency. Wherever it shall go it
will be an
object of reverent care. I do not think
many
Americans will gaze upon it without a little
trembling of
the lips and a little gathering of mist
in the eyes,
as they think of the story of suffering,
of sorrow,
of peril, of exile, of death and of lofty
triumph
which that book tells, -- which the hand of
the great
leader and founder of America has traced
on those
pages.
There is nothing like it in human annals
since the
story of
Bethlehem. These Englishmen and English
women going
out from their homes in beautiful Lin-
coln and
York, wife separated from husband and
mother from
child in that hurried embarkation for
Holland,
pursued to the beach by English horsemen;
the thirteen
years of exile; the life at Amsterdam
"in
alley foul and lane obscure;" the dwelling at
Leyden; the
embarkation at Delfthaven; the farewell
of Robinson;
the terrible voyage across the Atlantic;
the compact
in the harbor; the landing on the rock;
the dreadful
first winter; the death roll of more than
half the
number; the days of suffering and of famine;
the wakeful
night, listening for the yell of wild
beast and
the war-whoop of the savage; the build-
ing of the
State on those sure foundations which
no wave or
tempest has ever shaken; the breaking
of the new
light; the dawning of the new day; the
lvi
beginning of
the new life; the enjoyment of peace
with
liberty, -of all these things this is the origi-
nal record
by the hand of our beloved father and
founder. Massachusetts will preserve it until the
time shall
come that her children are unworthy of
it; and that
time shall come, -- never.
ADDRESS
OF
THE
HON.
THOMAS F. BAYARD.
lvii
ADDRESS OF AMBASSADOR BAYARD.
Your Excellency, Gentlemen of the two
Houses of
the
Legislature of Massachusetts, Ladies and Gentle-
men, Fellow
Countrymen: The honorable and most
gratifying
duty with which I am charged is about
to receive
its final act of execution, for I have the
book here,
as it was placed in my hands by the
Lord Bishop
of London on April 29, intact then and
now; and I
am about to deliver it according to the
provisions
of the decree of the Chancellor of Lon-
don, which
has been read in your presence, and the
receipt
signed by me and registered in his court that
I would obey
the provisions of that decree.
I have kept my trust; I have kept the book
as
I received
it; I shall deliver it into the hands of
the
representative of the people who are entitled
to its
custody.
And now, gentlemen, it would be
superfluous for
me to dwell
upon the historical features of this
remarkable
occasion, for it has been done, as we
all knew it
would be done, with ability, learning,
eloquence
and impressiveness, by the distinguished
Senator who
represents you so well in the Con-
gress of the
United States.
lx PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
For all that related to myself, and for
every
gracious
word of recognition and commendation that
fell from
his lips in relation to the part that I have
taken in the
act of restoration, I am profoundly
grateful. It is an additional reward, but not the
reward which
induced my action.
To have served your State, to have been
instru-
mental in
such an act as this, was of itself a high
privilege to
me. The Bradford manuscript was in the
library of
Fulham palace, and if, by lawful means, I
could have
become possessed of the volume, and have
brought it
here and quietly deposited it, I should
have gone to
my home with the great satisfaction of
knowing that
I had performed an act of justice, an
act of right
between two countries. Therefore the
praise,
however grateful, is additional, and I am very
thankful for
it.
It may not be inappropriate or unpleasing
to you
should I
state in a very simple manner the history
of my
relation to the return of this book, for it all
has occurred
within the last twelve months.
I knew of the existence of this
manuscript, and
had seen the
reproduction in facsimile. I knew that
attempts had
been made, unsuccessfully, to obtain the
original
book.
At that time Senator Hoar made a short
visit to
informed by
him of the great interest that he, in
AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS. lxi
common with
the people of this State, had in the
restoration
of this manuscript to the custody of the
State.
We
discussed the methods by which it might be
accomplished,
and after two or three concurrent sug-
gestions he
returned to the United States, and pres-
ently I
received, under cover from the Secretary of
State, -- a
distinguished citizen of your own State,
Mr. Olney,
-- a formal note, suggesting rather than
instructing
that in an informal manner I should en-
deavor to
have carried out the wishes of the various
societies
that had addressed themselves to the Bishop
of London
and the Archbishop of Canterbury, in
order to
obtain the return of this manuscript.
It necessarily had to be done
informally. The strict
regulations
of the office I then occupied forbade my
correspondence
with any member of the British gov-
ernment
except through the foreign office, unless it
were
informal. An old saying describes the
entire
case, that
"When there's a will there's a way."
There
certainly
was the will to get the book, and there cer-
tainly was
also a will and a way to give the book,
and that way
was discovered by the legal custodians
of the book
itself.
At first there were suggestions of
difficulty, some
technical
questions; and following a very safe rule,
the first
thought was, What is the law? and the case
was
submitted to the law officers of the Crown.
lxii PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
Then there
arose the necessity of a formal act of
permission.
There could be entertained no question as
to the
title to the
manuscript in the possession of the British
government. There was no authority to grant a claim,
founded on
adverse title, and the question arose as
to the
requisite form of law of a permissive rather
than of a
mandatory nature, in order to be authorita-
tive with
those who had charge of the document.
But, as I have said, when there was a will
there
was found a
way. By personal correspondence and
interviews
with the Bishop of London, I soon discov-
ered that he
was as anxious to find the way as I was
that he
should find it. In March last it was
finally
agreed that
I should employ legal counsel to present
a formal
petition in the Episcopal
of
sent the
strong desire of Massachusetts and her people
for the
return of the record of her early Governor.
Accordingly, the petition was prepared,
and by my
authority
signed as for me by an eminent member
of the bar,
and it was also signed by the Bishop of
London, so
that there was a complete consensus. The
decree was
ordered, as is published in the London
"Times"
on March 25 last, and nothing after that
remained but
formalities, in which, as you are well
aware, the
English law is not lacking, especially in
the
ecclesiastical tribunals.
AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS. lxiii
These formalities
were carried out during my ab-
sence from
London on a short visit to the Conti-
nent, and
the decree which you have just heard read
was duly
entered on April 12 last, consigning the
document to
my personal custody, to be delivered
by me in
this city to the high official therein named,
subject to
those conditions which you have also heard.
Accordingly, on the 29th of April last I
was sum-
moned to the
court, and there, having signed the re-
ceipt, this
decree was read in my presence. Then the
Bishop of
London arose, and, taking the book in
his hands,
delivered it with a few gracious words
into my
custody, and here it is to-day.
The records of those proceedings will no
doubt be
preserved
here as accompanying this book, as they
are in the
Episcopal Consistorial Court in London,
and they
tell the entire story.
But that is but part. The thing that I wish to
impress upon
you, and upon my fellow countrymen
throughout
the United States, is that this is an act
of courtesy
and friendship by another government --
the
government of what we once called our "mother
country"
-- to the entire people of the United States.
You cannot limit it to the Governor of
this Com-
monwealth;
nor to the Legislature; nor even to the
citizens of
this Commonwealth. It extends in its
courtesy,
its kindness and comity to the entire people
of the
United States. From first to last there
was
lxiv PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
the ready
response of courtesy and kindness to the
request for
the restoration of this manuscript record.
I may say to you that there has been
nothing that
I have
sought more earnestly than to place the affairs
of these two
great nations in the atmosphere of
mutual
confidence and respect and good-will. If
it
be a sin to
long for the honor of one's country,
for the
safety and strength of one's country, then
I have been
a great sinner, for I have striven to
advance the
honor and the safety and the welfare
of my
country, and believed it was best accom-
plished by
treating all with justice and courtesy, and
doing those
things to others which we would ask to
have done to
ourselves.
When the Chancellor pronounced his decree
in March
last, he
cited certain precedents to justify him in re-
storing this
volume to Massachusetts. One precedent
which
powerfully controlled his decision, and which
in the
closing portion of his judgment he emphasizes,
was an act
of generous liberality upon the part of
the American
Library Society in Philadelphia in vol-
untarily
returning to the British government some
volumes of
original manuscript of the period of James
the First,
which by some means not very clearly
explained
had found their way among the books of
that
institution.
Those books were received by a
distinguished man,
Lord
Romilly, Master of the Rolls, who took occasion
AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS. lxv
to speak of
the liberality and kindness which dictated
the action
of the Philadelphia library. Gentlemen,
I
am one of
those who believe that a generous and
kindly act
is never unwise between individuals or
nations.
The return of this book to you is an echo
of the
kindly act
of your countrymen in the city of Phila-
delphia in
1866.
It is that, not, as Mr. Hoar has said, any
influence
or special
effort of mine; but it is international good
feeling and
comity which brought about to you the
pleasure and
the joy of having this manuscript re-
turned, and
so it will ever be. A generous act will
beget a
generous act; trust and confidence will beget
trust and
confidence; and so it will be while the world
shall last,
and well will it be for the man or for the
people who
shall recognize this truth and act upon it.
Now, gentlemen, there is another
coincidence that
I may venture
to point out. It is history repeating
itself. More than three hundred years ago the ances-
tors from
whom my father drew his name and blood
were French
Protestants, who had been compelled to
flee from
the religious persecutions of that day, and
for the sake
of conscience to find an asylum in Hol-
land. Fifty years after they had fled and found
safety
in Holland,
the little congregation of Independents
from the
English village of Scrooby, under the pas-
torate of
John Robinson, was forced to fly, and with
lxvi PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
difficulty
found its way into the same country of the
Netherlands,
seeking an asylum for consciences' sake.
Time passed on. The little English colony re-
moved, as
this manuscript of William Bradford will
tell you,
across the Atlantic, and soon after the
Huguenot
family from whom I drew my name found
their first
settlement in what was then the New
Netherlands,
now New York. Both came from the
same cause;
both came with the same object, the
same purpose,
-- "soul freedom," as Roger Williams
well called
it. Both came to found homes where
they could
worship God according to their own con-
science and
live as free men. They came to these
shores, and
they have found the asylum, and they
have strengthened
it, and it is what we see to-day, --
a country of
absolute religious and civil freedom, --
of equal
rights and toleration.
And is it not fitting that I, who have in
my veins
the blood of
the Huguenots, should present to you and
your Governor
the log of the English emigrants, who
left their
country for the sake of religious freedom?
They are blended here, -- their names,
their inter-
ests. No man asks and no man has a right to ask
or have
ascertained by any method authorized by law
what is the
conscientious religious tenet or opinion
of any man,
of any citizen, as a prerequisite for
holding an
office of trust or power in the United
States.
AMBASSADOR BAYARD'S ADDRESS. lxvii
I think it
well on this occasion to make, as I am
sure you are
making, acknowledgment to that heroic
little
country, the Low lands as they call it, the Neth-
erlands, --
the country without one single feature of
military
defence except the brave hearts of the men
who live in
it and defend it.
Holland was the anvil upon which religious
and
civil
liberty was beaten out in Europe at a time
when the
clang was scarcely heard anywhere else.
We can never
forget our historical debt to that
country and
to those people. Puritan, Independent,
Huguenot,
whoever he may be, forced to flee for
conscience's
sake, will not forget that in the Nether-
lands there
was found in his time of need the
asylum where
conscience, property and person might
be secure.
And now my task is done. I am deeply grateful
for the part
that I have been enabled to take in this
act of just
and natural restitution. In
Massachusetts
or out of
Massachusetts there is no one more will-
ing than I
to assist this work; and here, sir [address-
ing Governor
Wolcott], I fulfil my trust in placing in
your hands
the manuscript.
To you, as the honored representative of
the people
of this
Commonwealth, I commit this book, in pur-
suance of my
obligations, gladly undertaken under
the decree
of the Episcopal Consistorial Court of
London.
ADDRESS
OF
HIS EXCELLENCY ROGER WOLCOTT.
lxix
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR WOLCOTT.
On receiving
the volume, Governor Wolcott, ad-
dressing Mr.
Bayard, spoke as follows: I thank you,
sir, for the
diligent and faithful manner in which
you have
executed the honorable trust imposed upon
you by the
decree of the Consistorial and Episcopal
Court of
London, a copy of which you have now
placed in my
hands. It was fitting that one of your
high
distinction should be selected to perform so
dignified an
office.
The gracious act of international courtesy
which is
now
completed will not fail of grateful appreciation
by the
people of this Commonwealth and of the
nation. It is honorable alike to those who hesitated
not to
prefer the request and to those whose generous
liberality
has prompted compliance with it. It may
be that the
story of the departure of this precious
relic from
our shores may never in its every detail
be revealed;
but the story of its return will be read
of all men,
and will become a part of the history
of the
Commonwealth. There are places and
objects
so
intimately associated with the world's greatest men
or with
mighty deeds that the soul of him who gazes
upon them is
lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it
lxxii PLYMOUTH PLANTATION.
listens to
the voice that speaks from the past, in
words like
those which came from the burning bush,
"Put
off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place
whereon thou
standest is holy ground."
On the sloping hillside of Plymouth, that
bathes
its feet in
the waters of the Atlantic, such a voice
is breathed
by the brooding genius of the place, and
the ear must
be dull that fails to catch the whispered
words. For here not alone did godly men and women
suffer
greatly for a great cause, but their noble pur-
pose was not
doomed to defeat, but was carried to
perfect
victory. They stablished what they
planned.
Their feeble
plantation became the birthplace of re-
ligious
liberty, the cradle of a free Commonwealth.
To them a
mighty nation owns its debt. Nay, they
have made
the civilized world their debtor. In the
varied
tapestry which pictures our national life, the
richest
spots are those where gleam the golden threads
of
conscience, courage and faith, set in the web by
that little
band. May God in his mercy grant that
the moral
impulse which founded this nation may
never cease
to control its destiny; that no act of
any future
generation may put in peril the funda-
mental
principles on which it is based, -- of equal
rights in a
free state, equal privileges in a free
church and
equal opportunities in a free school.
In this precious volume which I bold in my
hands
-- the gift
of
GOVERNOR WOLCOTT'S ADDRESS. lxxiii
sachusetts
-- is told the noble, simple story" of Plimoth
Plantation." In the midst of suffering and
privation
and anxiety the pious hand of William
"
Bradford here set down in ample detail the history
of the
enterprise from its inception to the year 1647.
From him we
may learn "that all great and hon-
ourable
actions are accompanied with great difficulties,
and must be
both enterprised and overcome with
answerable
courages."
The sadness and pathos which some might
read into
the
narrative are to me lost in victory. The
triumph
of a noble
cause even at a great price is theme for
rejoicing,
not for sorrow, and the story here told
is one of
triumphant achievement, and not of defeat.
As the official representative of the
Commonwealth,
I receive
it, sir, at your hands. I pledge the
faith
of the
Commonwealth that for all time it shall be
guarded in
accordance with the terms of the decree
under which
it is delivered into her possession as one
of her
chiefest treasures. I express the thanks
of the
Commonwealth
for the priceless gift. And I venture
the prophecy
that for countless years to come and
to untold
thousands these mute pages shall eloquently
speak of
high resolve, great suffering and heroic en-
durance made
possible by an absolute faith in the
over-ruling
providence of Almighty God.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
BY THE
BISHOP OF LONDON.
lxxv