He was united
to the gentle Ruth Harding only the week before the father sailed on his
second pilgrimage.
It is not our intention to dwell on the incidents of the voyage. Though
the genius of an extraordinary man had discovered the world which was now
beginning to fill with civilized men, navigation at that day was not
brilliant in accomplishments. A passage among the shoals of Nantucket must
have been one of actual danger, no less than of terror; and the ascent of
the Connecticut itself was an exploit worthy of being mentioned. In due
time the adventurers landed at the English fort of Hartford, where they
tarried for a season, in order to obtain rest and spiritual comfort. But
the peculiarity of doctrine, on which Mark Heathcote laid so much stress,
was one that rendered it advisable for him to retire still further from
the haunts of men. Accompanied by a few followers, he proceeded on an
exploring expedition, and the end of the summer found him once more
established on an estate that he had acquired by the usual simple forms
practised in the colonies, and at the trifling cost for which extensive
districts were then set apart as the property of individuals.
Pages:
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35