In such
a community, before the ecclesiastical power had been solidified by time,
only a spark was needed to kindle a conflagration, and that spark was
struck by a woman.
So early as 1634 a restless spirit was abroad, for Winthrop was then set
aside, and now, in 1636, young Henry Vane was enthusiastically elected
governor, though he was only twenty-four, and had been but a few months in
the colony. The future seemed bright and serene, yet he had hardly taken
office before the storm burst, which not only overthrew him, but was
destined to destroy that unhappy lady whom the Rev. Thomas Welde called
the American Jezebel. [Footnote: Opinions are divided as to the authorship
of the _Short Story_, but I conclude from internal evidence that the
ending at least was written by Mr. Welde.]
John Cotton, the former rector of St. Botolph's, was the teacher of the
Boston church. By common consent the leader of the clergy, he was the most
brilliant, and, in some respects, the most powerful man in the colony. Two
years before, Anne Hutchinson, with all her family, had followed him from
her home in Lincolnshire into the wilderness, for, "when our teacher came
to New England, it was a great trouble unto me, my brother, Wheelwright,
being put by also." [Footnote: Hutch. _Hist_. ii. 440.] A gentlewoman
of spotless life, with a kind and charitable heart, a vigorous
understanding and dauntless courage, her failings were vanity and a bitter
tongue toward those whom she disliked.
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