MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.

THE following singular memoranda are copied from Winthrop's Journal, a work little known; but which gives a minute account of the first years of the colony of Massachusetts.

"1631. At a court, one Josias Playstone, and two of his servants, were censured for stealing corn from Chickatabot, and two of his men, who were present; the master to restore two-fold, and to be degraded from the title of a gentleman, and fined five pounds, and his men to be whipped.

was

"1634, (Nov. 24). About the same time, one twenty-one days upon Plumb (so spelt in the book) Island, and found, by chance, frozen in the snow, yet alive, and did well. He had been missing twenty days; and himself said he had no food all that time.

"1685. At this court, brass farthings were forbidden, and musket bullets made to pass for farthings.

1637. Being about full moon, about ten of the clock in the evening, in a clear sky, a perfect moon was seen about a slight shot northerly from the true moon. It was seen too about half an hour, and then vanished with dim flashings. It was more dim than the true moon.

"1637. There was an old woman in Ipswich, who came out of England blind and deaf; yet her son could make her understand any thing, and know any man's name by her sense of feeling. He could write upon her hand some letters of the name, and by other such motions, would inform her. This the governor himself (i. e. the writer of this account) had tried often when he was at Ipswich.

"1638. This was a very hard winter. The snow lay from November 4th to March 23, one yard and a half deep about the Massachusetts, and a yard deep beyond Merrimack; and so the more north, the deeper, and the spring was very backward. This day (November 4th) it did snow two hours together, after much rain from the north-east, with flakes as big as a shilling.

"1638. The court taking into consideration the great disorder proceeding through the country, in costliness of apparel, and following new fashions, sent for the elders of the churches, and conferred with them about it; and laid it upon them as belonging to them to redress it, by urging it upon the conscience of the people, which they promised to do. But little was done about it; for divers of the elders' wives, were, in some measure, partners in this general disorder.

"1638. Those who were gone with Mrs. Hutchinson, fell into new errors daily. One Nic. Eason, a tanner, taught that gifts and graces were that anti-christ mentioned in Thess. ii. 2.; that every one of the elect had the holy ghost, and also the devil in-dwelling. Another, one Herne, taught that women had no souls; and that Adam was not created in true holiness, for then he could not have lost it.

"1638. The devil would never cease to disturb our peace, and to raise up insurgents one after another. Amongst the rest, there was a woman in Salem, wife of one Oliver, who suffered somewhat in England for refusing to bow at the name of Jesus; though, otherwise, she was conformed to all their orders. She was, for ability of speech, and appearance of zeal and devotion, far before Mrs. Hutchinson; and so the fitter instrument to have done hurt, but that she was poor, and had little acquaintances. She took offence at this, that she might not be admitted to the Lord's Supper without giving public satisfaction to the church of her faith, &c., and covenanting or professing to walk with them, according to the rule of the Gospel. So as, upon the sacrament day, she openly called for it; and stood to plead her right, though she were denied, and would not forbear before the magistrate, Mr. Endicott, did threaten to send the constable to put her forth. This woman was brought to the court for disturbing the peace in the church; and there she gave such peremptory answers, as she was committed until she should find sureties for her good behaviour. After she had been in prison three or four days, to the governor, and submitted herself, and acknowledged her fault in disturbing the church. Whereupon he took her husband's bond for her good behaviour, and discharged her out of prison; but he found after, that she still held her former opinions, which were very dangerous.As, firstly, that the church is the head of the people, both magistrates and ministers met together, and that these have power to ordain ministers, &c. Secondly, that all that dwell in the same town, and will profess their faith in Christ Jesus, ought to be received to the sacraments there; and that she was persuaded that if Paul were at Salem, he would call all the inhabitants there saints. Thirdly, that excommunication is no other but where Christians withdraw private communication from one that hath offended.

she sent

"About five years after, this woman was adjudged to be whipped for reproaching the magistrates. She stood without tying; and bore her punishment with a masculine spirit, glorying in her suffering: but after, when she came to consider the reproach, which would stick by her, &c. she was

much dejected about it, She had a cleft stick on her tongue for half an hour, for reproaching the elders.

"1639. At the general court, an order was made to abolish that vain custom of drinking one to another; and that upon these and other grounds :-Firstly, it was a thing of no good use. Secondly, it was an inducement to drunkenness, and occasion of quarrelling and bloodshed. Thirdly, it occasioned much waste of wine and beer. Fourthly, it was very troublesome to many, especially the masters and mistresses of the feast, who were forced thereby to drink more often than they would. Yet divers, even godly persons, were loth to part with this idle ceremony.

"1640. One of the ships, which came this summer, struck upon a whale, with a full gale, which put the ship a-stays. The whale struck the ship on her bow, with her tail, a little above water; and broke the planks, and six timbers, and the beam, and staved two hogsheads of vinegar.

"1640, At the court of assistants, one Hugh Bewett was banished for holding publicly, and maintaining that he was free from original sin, and from actual also, for half a year before; and that all true Christians, after regeneration, were enabled to live without committing sin."

NON-RESISTANCE.

"AFTER the Reformation, the protestant divines, as appears by the homilies composed by the wisest and most disinterested men, such as Cranmer and Latimer, preached up "non-resistance" very strongly; but it was only to oppose popery. The case was this :-the Pope threatened to excommunicate and depose Edward, and he did put his threats into execution against Elizabeth. This was esteemed such a stretch of power, and so odious, that the Jesuits contrived all means to soften it. One was, by searching into the origin of civil power, which they brought rightly (though for wicked purposes) from the people, as Mariana and others. To combat this, and to save the person of the sovereign, the protestant divines preached up divine right. Hooker, superior to every thing, followed the truth. But it is remarkable, that this "non-resistance," which, at the Reformation, was employed to keep out popery, was, at the Revolution, employed to bring it in; so eternally is truth sacrificed to politicks.”— Warburton in a Letter to Hurd.

VOLTAIRE AND THE BOOKSELLERS.

THE following is a copy of an original letter written by Voltaire to Mr. Peter Des Maizeaux, one of the editors of Bayle's Dictionary. The original letter is preserved in Dr. Birch's collection in the British Museum.

SIR,

"I hear Prevost* has a mind to bring you a second time as evidence against me. He says I have told you I had given him five-and-twenty books for thirty guineas. I remember very well, sir, I told you at Rainbow's coffee-house, that I had given him twenty receipts for the Henriade, and received thirty guineas down; but I never meant to have parted with thirty copies, at three guineas each, for thirty-one pounds; I have agreed with him upon quite another foot; and I am not such a fool (though a writer) to give away all my property to a bookseller: therefore, I desire you to remember, that I never told you of having made so silly a bargain. I told, I own, I had thirty pounds or some equivalent down; but I did not say it was all the bargain. This I insist upon, and beseech you to recollect our conversation; for I am sure I never told you a tale so contrary to truth, to reason, and to my interest. I hope you will not back the injustice of a bookseller, who abuses you, against a man of honour, who is Your most obedient servant,

"To Mr. Des Maizeaux.

VOLTAIRE.

"I beseech you to send me an answer to my lodgings without any delay: I shall be extremely obliged to you.'

+

FATALITY ATTENDING THE TITLE OF "GLOUCESTER."

THE house of Stuart has often been referred to as a memorable instance of evil fortune adhering to a family through many successive generations. The title of "Gloucester" affords another instance of the same kind; and, perhaps, one more remarkable, since it has not followed one line of descent, and has been equally unlucky on whomsoever it alighted.

Richard I. made earl of Gloucester, 1189, was afterwards king of England. This unfortunate prince, during his tur

* Prevost was at this time one of the most eminent foreign booksellers in London.

bulent reign, lost all his foreign dominions; infamously surrendered his crown to the Pope; and was, at last, poisoned by a monk of Swineshead Abbey, leaving his kingdom in the hands of rebellious subjects, or foreign enemies, and his successor an infant.

9

Geoffrey Mandeville, earl of Essex and Gloucester, was killed at a tournament.

Gilbert Clare, earl of Gloucester, was slain at the battle of Bannockburn, 1314.

Hugh Despencer, the younger earl of Gloucester, was hanged at Hereford, 1326.

Thomas Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester, was stifled at Calais, 1397.

Thomas Despencer, earl of Gloucester, restored to the title by Richard II., was beheaded at Cirencester in 1400, having taken up arms, with other lords, to restore king Richard.

Humphrey Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester, was murdered by the procurement of Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI. 1447.

Richard, duke of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III. was slain at Bosworth Field, 1483.

Henry Stuart, duke of Gloucester, died just after the Restoration, in 1660, aged twenty-one.

William Stuart, duke of Gloucester, died in 1700, aged

eleven.

Frederick, duke of Gloucester, afterwards prince of Wales, and father of George III., experienced the frowns of fortune, and died in the bloom of life, 1757.

BENEFIT OF CLERGY.

ANCIENTLY, if a criminal, capitally condemned, could read a verse in the Bible, opened at a venture, he was entitled to what was called benefit of Clergy, and saved his life. The was hence called his neck-verse. Strange! that to encourage learning, it should confer the privilege of thieving with less danger!