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which they belonged . They are thus cruelly exiled because they have acted upon the great principle of independency upon which the churches of New Etigland were here founded . But they were wot permitted to perish in that dismal forest ; a merciful Providence directed their steps , and preserved their lives .
In the language of their pious leader , as the same sun shines on the wilderuesse that doth on a garden , so the same faithfull and all-sufficient God can comfort , feede , and safely guide even through a desolate howling wilderuesse / or , as he has expressed the same sentiment in verse , for Roger Williams also was a Pilgrim Poet :
" Lost many a time , I ' ve had no guide , No house , but hollow tree . In stormy winter night , no Fire , No Food , no Company—God makes a path , provides a guide And feeds in Wildernesse ; His glorious name , while earth remains , O that I may confess .
< e The Indians kindly received and hospitably sheltered them . The hearts of these rude beings were softened , their confidence secured , and their affections charmed , by the kindness , honesty ,
and Christian benignity whichever marked the deportment of Roger Williams . Throughout his whole history , he proved that it was possible to live on terms of mutual good-will with the Heathen inhabitants of the land . In all his intercourse
with them , he invariably expeneuced , again to use his language , ** How kindly flames of nature burne In wild humanitie . God ' s Providence is rich to his , Let none distrustful be . In wildernesse , in great distresse These Ravens have fed me .
" The exiled company were led to a place of refuge and safety , and there they lived , peaceful and prosperous . They became the founders of a free Commonwealth , and the name of him who conducted them is immortal . " —Pp . 41—45 .
Hugh Peters follows in this illustrious catalogue . He had been living for four or five vears at Rotterdam , whither he had retired from the oppression of Archbishop Laud , and where he had been received with great kindness , and was held iu high regard .
< c It was while he was thus living in prosperity and in honour , that his active and benevolent spirit felt an attraction towards the poor and feeble settlements of New-England . He perceived a wide
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field of usefulness opened to him here , and came over the ocean to occupy it . Within about two years from the time of his arrival he was ordained Pastor of this Church . His residence in America continued seven years . Faithful tradition , corrohoratiiig the testimony , and supplying the deficiencies of the imperfect records of that day , has informed us of his energy , his usefulness , and his
eloquence . He left the stamp of his beneficent and wonderful genius upon the agriculture , the fisheries , the manufactures , the commerce , and the navigation of New-England . Salem never advanced so rapidly , as during the period of his residence here . He reformed the police , introduced the arts , and erected a watermill , a glass-house , and salt works . He encouraged the planting of hemp , and established a market-house . He formed
the plan of the fisheries , and of the coasting and foreign voyages . Under his influence many ships were built , one of them of three hundred tons . He checked the tendency of the people to religious dissipation by diminishing the number of lectures and conferences which they were
in the habit of attending . As a preacher and pastor he was eminently successful . In the course of five years eighty males and as many female members were added to his Church . He took an active part in the service of the infant College ; and through his whole life continued to confer his
benefactions upon the inhabitants of the colony . It was not until after repeated solicitations on the part of the General Court of Massachusetts , that his affectionate and admiring church and congregation consented to let him accept the commission to which he had heen several times appointed , that of agent or ambassador from the Plantations to the government at home .
It is honourable to his character to find that , after his return to his own country , he continued to hold in grateful and respectful remembrance the people with whom he had resided in America . In a sermon , preached before both Houses of Parliament , the Lord Mayor and
Aldermen of London , and the Assembly of Divines , he passes the following culogium upon our early ancestors ; would that their descendants might also merit it ! * I have lived , ' said he , * in a country , where , in seven years , I never saw a beggar , nor heard an oath , nor looked upon a drunkard . '" - —Pp . 17—19 .
We refrain from citing the account of Hugh Peters * return to England , of bis patriotic conduct , of his heroic death , because these * , we trust , are not new to
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43 Critical Notices . — Th eologicu / .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Jan. 2, 1830, page 48, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2580/page/48/
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