ohn Robinson--he who had been honored
and respected by every Puritan community, whether in Europe or America,
and for whose arrival the Pilgrims had looked, with anxious hope, ever
since the day of their sorrowful parting in Holland. 'Surely'--as a
friend of Bradford's wrote to him from Leyden--our pastor would never
have gone from hence, if prayers, tears or means of aid could have
saved him.' The consternation of the settlers was great indeed. Year
after year they had gone on, expecting and waiting for his coming to
resume his official duties among them; and, therefore, they had never
taken any measures to provide themselves with regular pastors, who
might preach the gospel to them three times every Lord's day, according
to their custom in Europe and also administer to them the sacrament,
which, previous to their exile, all the grown-up members of the
community had habitually received every Sunday.

The death of their spiritual leader and counselor had destroyed all
their hopes of being again united to him on earth; and the blow fell
heavily on all, and cast a gloom over the settlement that was not soon
dispersed; but still the Pilgrims did not immediately proceed to choose
another minister. The belief that the divine service could receive no
part of its sanctity from either time, place, or person, but only from
the Holy Spirit of God, which hallows it--was then, as it is now, a
leading feature of the Independent and Presbyterian churches of
America, and, therefore, the Puritans of New Plymouth did not feel it a
necessity--although they deemed it a _privilege_--to enjoy the
spiritual ministrations of ordained clergymen.

Hitherto the venerable Brewster, with the occasional aid of Bradford,
Winslow, and a few others distinguished for piety and eloquence, had
delivered the customary addresses and prayers, and had performed the
rite of baptism. At length, in the year 1628, Allerton, the assistant
of Bradford, after he had been on a mission to England, brought back
with him a young preacher of the name of Rogers, who very shortly gave
such evident signs of insanity, that the settlers were obliged to send
him back to his native land, at a considerable expense and trouble.

In the meantime, the number of settlers on other parts of the coast of
New England had augmented to a great extent; and in Salem alone there
were four ministers who had come out with the English emigrants, of
whom only two could find adequate employme