by
his new friends. They were both numerous and sincere: and, among them,
none were more attached to him than the Maitland family, who agreed
with him in most of his religious and political opinions, and valued
his society on account of his unaffected piety, and the various powers
and accomplishments of his mind. Possibly, it was the attraction that
Roger Williams found in this family that caused him so long to turn a
deaf ear to the repeated solicitations of his old friends at Salem,
that he would again take up his abode among them. Certainly, it was not
fear of the rulers of Boston that kept his undaunted spirit in a
district over which they had no authority; neither was it altogether
the harmony that subsisted between his views and those of the
hospitable Plymouthers. On many points they agreed, but not on all;
and those who differed from him feared that his continued residence
among them might excite a party spirit, and mar that peace which had
hitherto reigned in their community.

Still Roger Williams did continue to dwell at New Plymouth; and still
his visits to the house of Maitland became more and more frequent.[*]

[Footnote: A few liberties are taken with the private life of this
interesting character, in order to connect him more closely with the
events of the narrative. But all the incidents which can be regarded as
important are strictly historical, although the date and order of them
may be slightly altered.]

CHAPTER XIX.

My child, my child, thou leav'st me!--I shall hear
The gentle voice no more that blest mine ear
With its first utterance I shall miss the sound
Of thy light step, amidst the flowers around;
And thy soft breathing hymn at twilight's close;
And thy "good night," at parting for repose!
----Yet blessings with thee go!
Love guard thee, gentlest! and the exile's woe
From thy young heart be far!' HEMANS.

At the period when Roger Williams was induced to seek a home among the
Pilgrim Fathers of New Plymouth, Edith Maitland had attained to
womanhood. She was not beautiful, strictly speaking, but she was
possessed of that 'something than beauty dearer,'--that nameless and
indescribable charm that is sometimes seen to surround a person whose
form and features would not satisfy the critical eye of an artist. It
was Edith's character which looked out from her clear hazel eye, and
won the interest and the affection of all who knew her. Gentle and
affectionate in disposition, but at