If you had pleas'd Sir, faid he with a world of Modefty, and yet with great Readiness, to have heard me, you would have found no room to have been difpleas'd, much lefs to think fo hard of me, that I fhould fuggeft, that you have not had wonderful Affiftances and Deliverances; and I hope, on your Behalf, that you are in the Way of God's Bleffing, and your Design is exceeding good, and will profper: But, Sir, tho' it were more fo, than is even poffible to you, yet there may be fome among you that are not equally right in their Actions: And you know, that in the Story of the Children of Ifrael, one Achan in the Camp remo→ ved God's Bleffing from them, and turn'd His Hand fo against them, that fix and thirty of them, tho' not concern'd in the Crime, were the Object of Divine Vengeance, and bore the Weight of that Punishment.

I was fenfibly touch'd with his Difcourfe, and told him, his Inference was so juft, and the whole Defign feem'd so fincere, and was really so religious in its own Nature, that I was very forry I had interrupted him, and begg'd him to go on; and in the mean time, because it feem'd, that what we had both to fay might take up fome Time, I told him, I was going to the English Mens Plantations, and ask'd him to go with me, and we might difcourfe of it by the Way: He told me, he would more willingly wait on me thither, because there partly the Thing was acted, which he defir'd to fpeak to me about, fo we walk'd on ; and I prefs'd him to be free and plain with me; in what he had to say.

Why

Why then, Sir, fays he, be pleafed to give me Leave to lay down a few Propofitions, as the Foundation of what I have to fay, that we may not differ in the general Principles, tho' we may be of fome differing Opinions in the Practice of Particulars. First, Sir, tho' we differ in fome of the doctrinal Articles of Religion; and it is

very unhappy that it is so, especially in the Cat &

fore us, as I fhall fhew afterwards: Yet there are fome general Principles in which we both agree, (viz.) firit, That there is a God ;and that this God having given us fome stated general Rules for our Service and Obedience, we ought not willingly and knowingly to offend him; either by neglecting to do what he has commanded, or by doing what he has exprefly forbidden: And let our different Religions be what they will, this general Principle is readily own'd by us all, That the Bleffing of God does not ordinarily follow a prefumptuous finning against his Command; and every good Chriftian will be affectionately concern'd to prevent any that are under his Care, living in a total Neglect of God and his Commands. It is not your Men being Proteftants, whatever my Opinion may be of fuch, that difcharges me from being concern'd for their Souls, and from endeavouring, if it lyes before me, that they fhould live in as little Distance from and Enmity with their Maker, as poffible, especially if you give me Leave to meddle fo far in your Circuit.

I could not yet imagine what he aim'd at, and told him, I granted all he had faid, and thank'd him, that he would fo far concern himself for us; and begg'd he would explain the Particulars of what he had obferved, that like Jobua, to take

his own Parable, I might put away the accurfed Thing from us.

Why then, Sir, fays he, I will take the Liberty you give me; and there are three Things, which, if I am right, must stand in the Way of God's Bleffing, upon your Endeavours here, and which I fhould rejoice for your Sake and their own to fee remov'd. And Sir, fays he, I promise myfelf, that you will fully agree with me in them all, as foon as I name them; efpecially, because I fhall convince you, that every one of them may, with great Eafe, and very much to your Satisfa&tion, be remedy'd.

He gave me no Leave to put in any more Civilities, but went on: Firft, Sir, fays he, you have here four English Men, who have fetch'd Women from among the Savages, and have taken them as their Wives, and have had many Children by them all, and yet are not marry'd to them after any stated legal Manner, as the Laws of God and Man require; and therefore are yet, in the Sence of both, no lefs than Adulterers, and living in Adultery. To this, Sir, fays he, I know you will object, that there was no Clergy-man or Prieft, of any Kind, or of any Profeffion, to perform the Ceremony; nor any Pen, and Ink, or Paper, to write down a Contract of Marriage, and have it fign'd between them: And I know alfo, Sir, what the Spaniard Governour has told you, I mean, of the Agreement that he oblig'd themto make, when they took thefe Women (viz.) That they fhould chufe them out by Confent, and keep feparately to them; which, by the way, is nothing of a Marriage, no Agreement with the

Women,

Women, as Wives, but only an Agreement among themselves, to keep them from quarrelling.

But, Sir, the Effence of the Sacrament of Matrimony (fo he call'd it, being a Roman) confifts not only in the mutual Confent of the Parties to take one another, as Man and Wife, but in the formal and legal Obligation, that there is in the Contract, to compel the Man and Woman at all Times, to own and acknowledge each other, obliging the Men to abftain from all other Women, to engage in no other Contract while these fubfift; and on all Occafions, as Ability allows, to provide honeftly for them and their Children, and to oblige the Women to the fame or like Conditions, mutatis mutandis, on their Side.

Now, Sir, Says he, Thefe Men may, when they please, or when Occafion prefents, abandon these Women, difown their Children, leave them to perifh, and take other Women, and marry them while these are living; and here he added, with fome Warmth, How, Sir, is God honour'd in this unlawful Liberty? And how fhall a Bleffing fucceed your Endeavours in this Place? However good in themfelves, and however fincere in your Defign, while these Men, who at prefent are your Subje&s, under your abfolute Government and Dominion, are allowed by you to live in open A dultery?

I confefs, I was ftruck at the Thing itself, but much more with the convincing Arguments he fupported it with; for it was certainly true, that tho' they had no Clergy-man upon the Spot, yet a formal Contract on both Sides, made before Witnesses, and confirm' by any Token, which they had

L 2

all

all agreed to be be bound by, tho' it had been but breaking a Stick between them, engaging the Men to own thefe Women for their Wives, upon all Occafions, and never to abandon them or their Children, and the Women to the fame with their Husbands; had been an effectual lawful Marriage in the Sight of God; and it was a great Neglect that it was not done.

But I thought to have gotten off with my young Prieft, by telling him, that all that Part was done when I was not here, and they had liv'd fo many Years with them now, that if it was an Adultery, it was past Remedy, they could do nothing in it

now.

Sir, Jays he, asking you Pardon for fuch Freedom, you are right in this, that it being done in your Abfence, you could not be charg'd with that Part of the Crime: But I beseech you, flatter hot your self, that you are not therefore under an Obligation to do your utmost now, to put an End to it. How can you think, but that, let the Time past lie on who it will, all the Guilt for the future will lie entirely upon you? Because it is certainly in your Power now to put an End to it, and in no Body's Power but your's.

I was fo dull fill, that I did not take him right; but I imagin'd, that by putting an End to it, he mean'd that I fhould part them, and not fuffer them to live together any longer; And I said to him, I could not do that by any Means, for that it would put the whole Ifland into Confufion: He feem'd furpriz'd, that I fhould fo far mistake him. No, Sir, Jays he, I do not mean, that you should now separate them, but legally and effectually mar

ry