e presence of that God who instituted marriage, and hollowed it;
and they were sanctified by the 'prayer of faith,' which rises as
freely, and as acceptably, from the wilderness as from the stately
cathedral. Had Edith and her much-loved brother known that their
earthly fate was thus being decided so nearly at the same period, how
would the supplications which they offered for themselves have been
mingled with prayers for the happiness of one another!

A brief sojourn in her much-loved home was allowed to Edith after her
marriage; and then she gladly, but tearfully, left her parents, to
share the fortunes of him who would be more to her than father, or
mother, or brother, or sister, could be. The pinnace that belonged to
the colony was appointed by the Governor to convey Roger and his bride
to Massachusetts Bay, and land them as near as possible to their new
home in Salem; and thus Edith was spared the fatigue and difficulty of
a long and toilsome journey through the woods and the wilderness by
land. She was kindly and joyfully welcomed by her husband's friends and
admirers, who were already disposed to regard her with favor, and who
soon learnt both to love and respect her for her own many amiable and
estimable qualities.

CHAPTER XX.

'She was a woman of a steadfast mind,
Tender and deep in her excess of love.'

The life of peace and tranquillity which Roger and his young bride
enjoyed in their new home, was not long permitted to be their happy
lot. The apprehensions that had been felt by Edith's anxious parents,
were but too soon realized; and, notwithstanding all the good advice
that he received at Plymouth, and all his own sincere resolutions to
avoid, if possible, all future disputes with the elders or the Boston
Church, Roger Williams again became the object of their persecuting
intolerance.

The fact of his being again invited to Salem to assist the pastor, was
regarded as extremely offensive to the government of Boston: but when
Shelton died very shortly after Roger's arrival, and he was elected to
be the regular minister of the congregation, it was looked upon as a
sinful defiance of lawful authority, and one which demanded exemplary
punishment. An opportunity for this exercise of power soon occurred.
The township of Salem lain claim to a certain disputed piece of land,
and addressed a petition to the government of Massachusetts, in which
they demanded to be put in possession of it. But in conseque