Their estates were
confiscated; their lives declared forfeited; any man who
befriended them did so at his own peril.
These tidings produced excitement and alarm in Boston. The
Puritans of the colony were all warmly inclined towards
their endangered guests. Some would have protected them at
all hazards; others felt inclined to help them to escape; a
few thought it might be their duty to take them prisoners.
The illustrious fugitives settled this difficulty by
privately leaving Cambridge and making their way overland to
New Haven. Here they were well received. In truth, the Rev.
John Davenport, one of the founders of the colony, did not
hesitate to speak to his congregation in their behalf. We
quote from his bold and significant words, whose slightly
masked meaning his hearers failed not to understand.
"Withhold not countenance, entertainment, and protection
from the people of God,--whom men may call fools and
fanatics,--if any such come to you from other countries, as
from France or England, or any other place. Be not forgetful
to entertain strangers. Hide the outcasts, betray not him
that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab. Be
thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler."
Mr. Davenport was not afraid to live up to the spirit of his
words.
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