and the courts are subject to antichrist, &c. Therefore the prayers, &c.

Touching the last part of your letter, which concerneth the differences of these days, the apostle Paul saith he heareth that there are differences in the church of the Corinthians, and I believe it in part, saith he, to be true, for there must be heresies among them, that they which are approved amongst them may he known, thereby teaching us that it is no new thing that differences in religion are in the church, for the end thereof God often turneth to greater manifestation of His truth, and the furthering of the same as also to the procuring much glory to His own name and to the good of His church and children so tried and approved. We read in the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah these words,-"My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill, and he hedged it and gathered the stones out of it, and he planted it with the best plants, and he built a tower in the midst thereof, and made a winepress therein; then he looked that it should bring forth grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes ;"-and in the same prophecy in another place he called them trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. Now make use and application of these testimonies. If the vineyard and church of Israel, which was of the Lord's own planting and constitution, brought forth wild grapes, what marvel though your Church of England, which is not of the Lord's planting and constitution, but of antichrist's planting and of the constitution of the man of sin, bring forth wild grapes? You know the words of Christ,-" do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit ;—a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt

tree bring forth good fruit;-therefore by their fruit ye shall know them," saith the Lord. As the said prophet Isaiah spake of the people of the Jews, so may we speak of the Church of England,—" from the sole of the foot unto the head there is nothing whole therein, but wounds, and swellings, and sores full of corruption,-the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is heavy."

And we confidently deny that ever the English nation, or any one of our predecessors, were of the faith of Christ, or at any time believed visibly in a true constituted church, but were come of the race of the pagans, till Rome the mother came and put upon us her false baptism, worship, and ministry, and so our case is simply paganish, and the Holy Ghost in the scriptures compareth us to the worst kind of pagans, calling persons apostatising from the true constitution of the Church, Babylonians, Egyptians, Sodomites, &c. teaching us, the Church of England, that he esteemeth no otherwise of the church or baptism, than of the synagogue of Babylon, than of the washing of Egypt, than of the worship of Sodom. Your Church of England, therefore, being of antichrist's constitution, is a false Church, and can there be anything true in a false Church, but only the scriptures and the truths therein contained? but your Church hath a false constitution, a false ministry, a false worship, a false government, and a false baptism, the door and entry into the Church; and so all is false in your Church. Wherefore, beloved cousin, we wish you in the Lord, diligently and seriously to consider and weigh your universal state and standing, that it is most fearful and lamentable, and now at the last to hearken unto the Lord's voice that sounded from heaven, saying, "Go out of Babylon, my people, that ye be not partakers with her in her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."

Beloved cousin, concerning your request of a book of our present settled government, there is none extant, though there be divers books written by our pastors touching the matters in controversy between the Church of England and us, and touching the differences between us and the other churches here.

The order of the worship and government of our Church is, 1. We begin with a prayer; after, read some one or two chapters of the Bible, give the sense thereof, and confer upon the same: that done, we lay aside our books, and after a solemn prayer made by the first speaker, he propoundeth some text out of the Scripture, and prophesieth out of the same by the space of one hour or three quarters of an hour. After him standeth up a second speaker, and prophesieth out of the said text, the like time and place, sometimes more, sometimes less. After him the third, the fourth, the fifth, &c., as the time will give leave. Then the first speaker concludeth with prayer as he began with prayer, with an exhortation to contribution to the poor, which collection being made, is also concluded with prayer. This morning exercise begins at eight of the clock and continueth unto twelve of the clock. The like course and exercise is observed in the afternoon from two of the clock unto five or six of the clock. Last of all, the execution of the government of the Church is handled.

other

Loving cousin, I have by this bearer sent unto you a book of the making of Mr. Smith, our pastor: I wish you diligently to peruse, and seriously with judgment to examine the same, and if you request any more of this argument written by him, either for yourself or for your friends, to signify the same unto us by your letters and we will (the Lord willing) procure the same so that find a you

or any

faithful messenger to whom we may safely commit the carriage thereof, for we have heretofore sent divers books into England, and they have perished through the . of the carrier, and came not into the hands of the parties unto whom they were sent.

Yours in the Lord, at all times to use,

Hugh and Anne Bromhead.

To their loving cousin

William Hamerton, at

London, this be delivered."

V.

Extract from a CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY of NEW ENGLAND: by Thomas Prince, M.A., 12mo. Boston, 1736.

We have here an excellent account of the distinction of the two Separatist Churches, both originating in the joining borders of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire, Smith's at Amsterdam, and Robinson's at Leyden the latter only being entitled to the distinction of being the founders of the New England community.

"Some noted writers not with a sufficient accuracy studied in the Religious History of those times have through great mistake represented as if this people were a congregation of Brownists. But even Baylie himself, that bitter inveigher, both against the Brownists and Independents, owns that Mr. Robinson, their pastor, was a man

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of excellent parts, and the most learned, polished, and modest spirit as ever separated from the Church of England; that the apologies he wrote were very handsome: that by Dr. Ames and Mr. Parker he was brought to a greater moderation than he at first expressed; that he ruined the rigid separation allowing the lawfulness of communicating with the Church of England in the word and prayer, though not in the sacraments and discipline; that he was a principal overthrower of the Brownists, and became the Author of Independency.' The like account of Mr. Robinson, Hornius also gives us. And how inconsistent is it. then to call him or his people Brownists when he was known to be a principal overthrower of them.

Agreeably, Hornius, from my Lord Brook, seems to express himself in this more accurately than other writers, by dividing those who separated from the Church of England into two sorts, viz.: (1) The Rigid Separatists or Brownists; (2) The Semi-Separatists or Robinsonians, who, after a while, were called Independents, and still retain the name. And so distant were the former in their principles and temper from the latter; that as the chief seat of the Brownists was then at Amsterdam; Governor Winslow, a principal member of Mr. Robinson's Church, acquaints us "that the Brownists there would hardly hold communion with the people at Leyden."

The same gentleman also tells us, "that Mr. Robinson was always against separation from any of the Churches of Christ, holding communion with the Reformed Churches, both in Scotland, France, and the Netherlands; that his study was for peace and union so far as might agree with faith and a good conscience: but for the Government of the Church of England, as in the Episcopal way, the