THE LADY ARBELLA


The ship in which Mr. Johnson and his lady embarked, taking Grandfather’s
chair along with them, was called the Arbella, in honor of the lady
herself. A fleet of ten or twelve vessels, with many hundred passengers,
left England about the same time; for a multitude of people, who were
discontented with the king’s government and oppressed by the bishops, were
flocking over to the new world. One of the vessels in the fleet was that
same Mayflower which had carried the Puritan pilgrims to Plymouth. And
now, my children, I would have you fancy yourselves in the cabin of the
good ship Arbella; because if you could behold the passengers aboard that
vessel, you would feel what a blessing and honor it was for New England to
have such settlers. They were the best men and women of their day.

Among the passengers was John Winthrop, who had sold the estate of his
forefathers, and was going to prepare a new home for his wife and children
in the wilderness. He had the king’s charter in his keeping, and was
appointed the first Governor of Massachusetts. Imagine him a person of
grave and benevolent aspect, dressed in a black velvet suit, with a broad
ruff around his neck and a peaked beard upon his chin. There was likewise
a minister of the Gospel, whom the English bishops had forbidden to
preach, but who knew that he should have liberty both to preach and pray
in the forests of America. He wore a black cloak, called a Geneva cloak,
and had a black velvet cap, fitting close to his head, as was the fashion
of almost all the Puritan clergymen. In their company came Sir Richard
Saltonstall, who had been one of the five first projectors of the new
colony. He soon returned to his native country. But his descendants still
remain in New England; and the good old family name is as much respected
in our days as it was in those of Sir Richard.