CHAP. of affection. He so loved his present tranquillity, that XI. he signed the death-warrants of innocent men, rather

1660.

than risk disquiet; but of himself he was merciful, and
was reluctant to hang any but republicans. His love
of placid enjoyments and of ease continued to the end.
On the last morning of his life, he bade his attendants
open the curtains of his bed, and the windows of his
bed-chamber, that he might once more see the sun.1
He desired absolution; "For God's sake, send for a
Catholic priest; " but checked himself, adding, “it
may expose the duke of York to danger."
doned all his enemies, no doubt sincerely.
sent to beg forgiveness for any offences.
woman, she beg my pardon!" he replied; "I beg hers
with all my heart; take back to her that answer." 3
He expressed some regard for his brother, his children,
his mistresses. "Do not leave poor Nelly Gwyn to
starve," was almost his last commission.1

2

He parThe queen "Alas, poor

Such was the lewd king of England, on whose favor depended the liberties of the New England colonies, where lewdness was held a crime, and adultery inexorably punished by death on the gallows.

Massachusetts, strong in its charter, made no haste to present itself in England as a suppliant. "The colony of Boston," wrote Stuyvesant,5" remains constant to its old maxims of a free state, dependent on none but God." Had the king resolved on sending them a governor, the several towns and churches throughout the whole country were resolved to oppose him."

I Barillon, in Dalrymple, App. to
p. i. b. i. Compare James' II. Me-
moirs, i. 746; Evelyn, ii. 130, 131.
2 James' II. Memoirs, i. 747.
3 Dalrymple, book i. p. 66,

6

4 Burnet, ii. 284. So, too, Evelyn, iii. 132.

5 Albany Records, xviii. 124. Oct. 6. 1660.

Hutch. Coll. 339; Belknap, 437.

XL

Mar.

14.

The colonies of Plymouth, of Hartford and New CHAP Haven, not less than of Rhode Island, proclaimed the new king, and acted in his name; and the rising 1660 republic on the Connecticut appeared in London by its representative, the younger Winthrop, who went, as it were, between the mangled limbs of his father-in-law, to ensure the welfare of his fellow-exiles in the west. They had purchased their lands of the assigns of the earl of Warwick, and from Uncas they had' bought the 1661 territory of the Mohegans; and the news of the restoration awakened a desire for a patent. But the little colony proceeded warily; they draughted among themselves the instrument which they desired the king to ratify; and they could plead for their possessions their rights by purchase, by conquest from the Pequods, and by their own labor, which had redeemed the wilderness. A letter was also addressed from Connecticut 1661. to the aged Lord Say and Seal, the early friend of the emigrants, and now, on the restoration, while it was yet the royal policy to conciliate the Presbyterians, a favored officer of the crown. By the memory of past benefits, and the promise of grateful regard, they request his influence to obtain for them a guaranty for their liberties.

The venerable man, too aged for active exertion, secured for his clients the kind offices of the lord chamberlain, the earl of Manchester, a man "of an obliging temper, universally beloved, being of a virtuous and generous mind."3 "Indeed he was a noble and a worthy lord, and one that loved the godly." "He

1 Quantum mutatus ab illo Hectore, adds Stuyvesant, who was very fond of a Latin quotation. There was, however, no change in the political principles of New England,

CHAP. and Lord Say did join together, that their godly friends XI. in New England might enjoy their just rights and

1661. liberties."

From

But the chief happiness of Connecticut was in the selection of its agent. In the younger Winthrop, the qualities of human excellence were mingled in such happy proportions, that, while he always wore an air of contentment, no enterprise in which he engaged seemed too lofty for his powers. Even as a child, he had been the pride of his father's house; he had received the best instruction which Cambridge and Dublin could afford; and had perfected his education by visiting, in part at least, in the public service, not Holland and France only, in the days of Prince Maurice and Richelieu, but Venice and Constantinople. boyhood his manners had been spotless; and the purity of his soul added lustre and beauty to the gifts of nature and industry; as he travelled through Europe, he sought the society of men eminent for learning. Returning to England in the bloom of life, with every promise of preferment which genius, gentleness of temper, and influence at court, could inspire, he preferred to follow his father to the new world; regarding "diversities of countries but as so many inns," alike conducting to" the journey's end." When his father, the father of Massachusetts, became impoverished by his expenses in planting the colony, the pious son, unsolicited and without recompense, relinquished his large inheritance, that " it might be spent in furthering the great work "4 in Massachusetts; himself, singlehanded and without wealth, engaging in the enterprise

2

1 Winthrop, i. 348 and 354; Mather, b. ii. c. xi.

2 Winthrop, i. 341.

3 His letter, in Winthrop, i. 359. 4 Mather, b. ii. c. xi.; Winthrop's will, in Winthrop, ii. 360.

of planting Connecticut.

the motive to his actions.1

Care for posterity seemed chap.
His vast and elevated mind

XI.

had, moreover, that largeness, that he respected learn- 1661, ing, and virtue, and genius, in whatever sect they might be found. No narrow bigotry limited his affections or his esteem; and when Quakers had become the objects of persecution, he was earnest and unremitting in argument and entreaty, to prevent the effusion of blood.2 Master over his own mind, he never regretted the brilliant prospects he had resigned, nor complained of the comparative solitude of New London; a large library 3 furnished employment to his mind; the study of nature, according to the principles of the philosophy of Bacon, was his delight; for "he had a gift in understanding and art;" and his home was endeared by a happy marriage, and "many sweet children." His knowledge of human nature was as remarkable as his virtues. He never attempted impracticable things; but, understanding the springs of action, and the principles that control affairs, he calmly and noiselessly succeeded in all that he undertook. The New World was full of his praises; Puritans, and Quakers, and the freemen of Rhode Island,' were alike his eulogists; the Dutch at New York, not less than all New England, had confidence in his integrity;5 Clarendon and Milton, Newton and Robert Boyle,7 became his correspondents. If he had faults, they are

1 "And zealous care for their poseritie, Of all his acts, the primum mobile." Wolcott.

2 Bishop's N. E. Judged. "Did not John Winthrope, the Governor of the jurisdiction of Connecticote, labor with you, that ye would not put them to death? And did he not say unto you, that he would beg it of you on his bare knees, that ye would not do it?" p. 157.

.

3 Winthrop, ii. 20.

4 Roger Williams's Letters, in Knowles.

5 Albany Records, iv. 405, and xviii. 188, 189.

6 MSS. in my possession.

7" Mr. Winthrop, my particular acquaintance." R. Boyle's letter, in Mass. Hist. Coll. xviii. 49. Dedication of vol. xl. of the Transactions of the Royal Society.

CHAP. forgotten. In history he appears by unanimous testiXI. mony, from early life, without a blemish; and it is 1661. the beautiful testimony of his own father, that "God gave him favor in the eyes of all with whom he had to do." In his interview with Charles II., there is reason to believe, he was able to inspire that naturally benevolent monarch with curiosity; perhaps he amused him with accounts of Indian warfare, and descriptions of the marvels of a virgin world. A favorable recollection of Charles I., who had been a friend to his father's father, and who gave to his family an hereditary claim on the Stuarts, was effectually revived. His personal merits, sympathy for his family, his exertions, the petition of the colony, and, as I believe, the real good will of Clarendon,-for we must not reject all faith in generous feeling,-easily prevailed April to obtain for Connecticut an ample patent. The courtiers of King Charles, who themselves had an eye to possessions in America, suggested no limitations; and perhaps it was believed, that Connecticut would serve to balance the power of Massachusetts.

1662.

20.

The charter, disregarding the hesitancy of New Haven, the rights of the colony of New Belgium, and the claims of Spain on the Pacific, connected New Haven with Hartford in one colony, of which the limits were extended from the Narragansett River to the Pacific Ocean. How strange is the connection of events! Winthrop not only secured to his state a peaceful century of colonial existence, but prepared the claim for western lands. Under his wise direction, the careless benevolence of Charles II. provided in advance the school fund of Connecticut.

Thurloe, i. 763; "a person of signal worth, as all reports present."