of member, or life, to be inflicted. With power allso (our assente being had) to remove, & displace ye governours or rulers of those collonies, for causes which to you shall seeme lawfull, and others in their stead to constitute; and require an accounte of their rule & govermente, and whom you shall finde culpable, either by deprivation from their place, or by imposition of a mulcte upon ye goods of them in those parts to be levied, or banishmente from those provinces in wch they have been gove or otherwise to cashier according to ye quantity of ye offence. And to constitute judges, & magistrats politicall & civill, for civill causes and under ye power and forme, which to you 5. or more of you shall seeme expediente. And judges & magistrats & dignities, to causes Ecclesiasticall, and under ye power & forme which to you 5. or more of you, with the bishops vicegerents (provided by ye Archbishop of Counterbure for ye time being), shall seeme expediente; and to ordaine courts, pretoriane and tribunall, as well ecclesiasticall, as civill, of judgmentes; to detirmine of ye formes and maner of procceedings in ye same; and of appealing from them in matters & causes as well criminall, as civill, personall, reale, and mixte, and to their seats of justice, what may be equall & well ordered, and what crimes, faults, or exessess, of contracts or injuries ought to belonge to ye Ecclesiasticall courte, and what to ye civill courte, and seate of justice.

Provided never ye less, yt the laws, ordinances, & constitutions of this kinde, shall not be put in execution, before our assent be had therunto in writing under our signet, signed at least, and this assente being had, and ye same publikly proclaimed in ye provinces in which they are to be executed, we will & comand y' those lawes, ordinances, and constitutions more to obtaine strength and be observed shall be inviolably of all men whom they shall concerne.

*

Notwithstanding it shall be for you, or any 5. or more of you, (as is afforsaid,) allthough those lawes, constitutions, and ordinances shalbe proclaimed with our royall assente, to chainge, revocke, & abrogate them, and other new ones, in forme afforsaid, from time to time frame and make as afforesaid; and to new evills arissing, or new dangers, to apply new remedyes as is fitting, so often as to you it shall seeme expediente. Further

• A superfluous and comes after "observed" in the manuscript. - ED.

more you shall understand that we have constituted you, and every 5. or more of you, the afforesaid Archbishop of Counterburie, Thomas Lord Coventrie, Keeper of ye Great Seale of England, Richard, Bishop of Yorke, Richard, Earle of Portland, Henery, Earle of Manchester, Thomas, Earle of Arundale & Surry, Edward, Earell of Dorsett, Francis Lord Cottinton, Sr Thomas Edmonds, knighte, Sr Henry Vane, knight, Sr Francis Windebanke, knight,† our comissioners to hear, & determine, according to your sound discretions, all maner of complaints either against those collonies, or their rulers, or govenours, at ye instance of ye parties greeved, or at their accusation brought concerning injuries from hence, or from thence, betweene them, & their members to be moved, and to call ye parties before you; and to the parties or to their procurators, from hence, or from thence being heard ye full complemente of justice to be exhibted. Giving unto you, or any 5. or more of you power, y' if you shall find any of ye collonies afforesaid, or any of ye cheese rulers upon ye jurisdictions of others by unjust possession, or usurpation, or one against another making greevance, or in rebelion against us, or withdrawing from our alegance, or our comandments, not obeying, consultation first with us in y1 case had, to cause those colonies, or ye rulers of them, for ye causes afforesaid, or for other just causes, either to returne to England, or to comand them to other places designed, even as according to your sounde discretions it shall seeme to stand with equitie, & justice, or necessitie. Moreover, we doe give unto you, & any 5. or more of you, power & spetiall comand over all ye charters, leters patents, and rescripts royall, of ye regions, provinces, ilands, or lands in foraigne parts, granted for raising colonies, to cause them to be brought before you, & ye same being received, if any thing surrepticiously or unduly have been obtained, or yt by the same priviledges, liberties, & prerogatives hurtfull to us, or to our crowne, or to foraigne princes, have been prejudicially suffered, or granted; the same being better made knowne unto you 5. or more of you, to comand them according to ye laws and customs of England to be revoked, and to doe such other things, which to ye profite & safgard of y' afforesaid collonies, and of our subjects residente in ye same, shall be necessary.

*Edwards in the manuscript. -ED.

† Sir John Cooke is here omitted in the enumeration. - ED.

And therfore we doe comand you that aboute ye premisses at days & times, which for these things you shall make provission, that you be diligente in attendance, as it becometh you; giving in precepte also, & firmly injoyning, we doe give command to all and singuler cheefe rulers of provinces into which ye colonies afforesaid have been drawne, or shall be drawne, & give atendance upon you, and be observante and obediente unto your warrants in perill. In testimoney wherof, we have caused these our letters to be made pattente. Wittnes our selfe at Westminster the 28. day of Aprill, in ye tenth year of our Raigne. By write from yo privie seale,

WILLIES.

Anno Dom: 1634.

No. III.

Upon the life and death of that godly matron, Mistris Alice
Bradford, widdow, late deceased on the 27th day of March,
Anno: Dom: 1670, and was interred at Plymouth on the
30th of the same month.*

Heer lyes the shaddow of a blessed mother
In Israel, well knowne to one and other,
Of good decent of holy predecessors;
Her father equall was to the confessors
And holy martires, suffered for Christ sake,
Altho hee suffered not at fiery stake,

And shee with him and other in her youth
Left theire owne native country for the truth,t

These verses on Mrs. Bradford are pasted inside the cover which incloses the original History of the Governor. Mr. Hunter writes that they are a good deal decayed or injured; that the last four lines are not easily read. From the last line but one, it may be inferred that Morton was the author. - ED. In the Plymouth Church Records, under date of March 19-20, 1667, is a record of the death, at Plymouth, of

Mary Carpenter, sister of Mrs. Alice Bradford, the wife of Governor Bradford, being newly entered into the 91st year of her age. She was a godly old maid, never married." From this Dr. Young naturally infers that the maiden name of Mrs. Bradford was Carpenter. Mr. Hunter says: "We do not trace families of that name in Basset-Lawe. She might be a half-sister." Young, p. 353; Hunter's Founders,

See

And in successe of time she marryed was
To one whose grace and vertue did surpasse,
I mean good Edward Southworth," whoe not long
Continued in this world the saints amonge.

With him shee lived seven years a wife,

Till death did put a period to his life.

And in some space of time, by Gods good hand,
Shee was brought over into New England,
And in short time the Lord did soe dispose,
That Mr. William Bradford shee did choose
To be her second husband;† whom to fame
I need not, for it is enough to name
The name of Bradford fresh in memory,
Which smeles with odoriforus fragrancye.
With him shee lived a wife yeares thirty four,
Till God saw good his time should be noe more
In this sad world, but tooke him hence to heaven,
Ann' one thousand six hundred fifty seven.

E'r since that time in widdowhood shee hath
Lived a life in holynes and faith,

In reading of Gods word and contemplation,
Which healped her to asurance of salvation
Through Gods good sperit workeing with the same,
For ever praised be his holy name.

To about fourscore yeares shee did attaine,
But shee afflicted much with heavy paine;
As Moses saith, her strength but sorrow was,
And shee to eternall rest made hast apace.
Shee now with holy Abram hath attained
A good old age. Her life was never stained
With any sin that any one could call
Remarkable, notorious, capitall,

But contrary wise shee lived soe

As silence might the most mallignant foe
She had, or any other that professe

The waies of Christ and of just righteousnes.

&c., 2d ed. p. 119. She and her father may have been of the Scrooby church, and emigrated with it into Holland. She was then seventeen or eighteen years of age. - ED.

1st

* See page 72. — Ed.

She came in the Anne, about the of August, 1623, and was married to Governor Bradford on the 14th of that month. See pages 71, 142. — ED.

Tis sad to see our houses disposessd
Of holy saints whose memory is blessd;
When they decease and closed are in tombe,
Theres few or none that rises in their rome
That's like to them in holines and grace,

Which makes our times looke with so sad a face.
Her glasse is run, her worke is done, and shee
Is happy unto all eternity.

Lett her relations all and every one

Take her example, doe as shee hath done,

In love to God his waies and one another.

Then they will well improve theire blessed mother
Her holy, blessed, heavenly example,

That gives a gracious presedent soe ample
To them and unto all both one and other
That follow may after this blessed mother.
Ile multiply noe more words but ab....e
That I dare use concerning her dear...e
Adoe, my loving freind, my aunt, my mother,
Of those that's left I have not such another.