and that the great end of the religion revealed in the Scriptures was not so much to make our conduct or outward deportment correct, or bring us under a covenant of works, as to include us under a covenant of grace by imparting to our souls the Holy Spirit of God.

However unpalatable such doctrines were in a formal and sanctimonious condition of society and manners, they would probably meet with a hearty response from enlightened Christians of all denominations at the present day. It is indeed wonderful, that a female in Mrs. Hutchinson's circumstances, placed beyond the reach of every influence that might be thought necessary to lead to such results, encompassed by the privations of a wilderness and the cares of a young and numerous family, could have made such an advance beyond the religious knowledge of her age. It is indeed impossible, whatever may be thought of her deportment in other views of the case, not to admire her genius, skill, firmness, and perseverance. And when we think of her sufferings, and of the bloody tragedy, which brought those sufferings to a close, we must acknowledge that her character and history are invested with an interest which is scarcely surpassed by that of any of her sex in the annals of the world.

The opinions broached by Mrs. Hutchinson, in consequence of which such a great disturb

ance arose throughout the colony, have been particularly mentioned, partly, as I have already observed, as a matter of justice to the generation which debated them. It has been the practice to ridicule the whole affair, and to express astonishment that men of sense and learning could ever have been engaged in it. But this is a very incorrect as well as unfair view of the case. It is true, indeed, that the theological technology of the discussion is, at the first glance, obscure enough, but it is not mere verbiage or jargon. When we remove the outer covering of scholastic terms of disputation, and ascertain the real sense, which to our eyes they conceal rather than display, we shall find, that it was not by any means an unmeaning or an unimportant controversy. The questions at issue embraced the primary and essential principles of Christianity, and, under one form or another, have constituted the leading topics of investigation and debate in every age of the church, from the gathering of the first general councils in the primitive centuries to the present hour, and have been the favorite subjects of meditation and inquiry to the most enlightened, comprehensive, and spiritual minds of every Christian communion.

CHAPTER V.

Vane an Adherent of Mrs. Hutchinson. - Crisis of the Controversy. Colonial Election.

Vane superseded. Supported by Boston.-
One of the earliest Advocates of Religious
Liberty.- Eulogized
Eulogized as such by Mackintosh.

Colonial Legislation adverse to the Rights of Conscience. Views of the Colonists on the Subject of Religious Liberty. - Vane's Controversy with Winthrop. His Embarkation for England.

It was necessary to give a fair representation of the famous controversy between Mrs. Hutchinson and the Puritans of Massachusetts, in order to do justice to the memory of Governor Vane. He was deeply implicated in its progress. It was indeed impossible for one of his character and temperament to stand aloof, and take no interest in such an affair. He came to America prepared to engage in it with all his soul. He was fresh from the theological schools of Geneva, where such inquiries received, as they deserve, the highest degree of attention; and where the genius and intellectual energy of Calvin had been so deeply stamped upon the minds of the people,

that they continue, to this hour, to bear witness to them in the zeal with which they engage in religious investigations, and in that strong desire for truth, which characterizes them as a community. The mind of Vane, originally prone to take delight in the topics of religion, received an additional impulse in that direction, while residing in Geneva; and in the great controversy, which absorbed all other questions, during his administration of the government of Massachusetts, he not only naturally but necessarily took a lively interest; and, I doubt not, that, when the subject is thoroughly understood, his agency in its scenes will reflect no discredit upon his judgment or his feelings.

He espoused the cause of Mrs. Hutchinson. He believed her to be a woman of unquestionable piety as well as talent; and, however worthy of censure he might have thought her on the score of propriety and prudence, it was scarcely possible for him not to sympathize with her; for he entirely approved of her theological sentiments, and throughout his whole life regarded with abhorrence any such proceedings, as those instituted against her on account of her religious opinions.

With the support of Governor Vane and John Cotton, Mrs. Hutchinson was, for a time, enabled to protect herself against the persecution with which she was threatened in consequence of her

theological sentiments. Winthrop, the founder, and father, and first governor of the colony, led the opposition, and was supported by Mr. Wilson and all the other ministers of the country, by all the churches but that of Boston, and by a considerable and very active minority there.

In a contest where the parties were so unequally matched, it could not long remain a matter of uncertainty on which side the victory would rest; and, in that age of the world, the genuine spirit of toleration had gained admission to so few minds, that the defeated party could expect no mercy. As the quarrel continued to rage, not only with unmitigated, but with ever-increasing fury, the hearts of the contending parties were constantly growing more and more full of anger and bitterness towards each other. Mrs. Hutchinson had rendered herself inexpressibly odious by her actual or supposed attempts to injure the clergy, and the same odium was directed against all, who dared to countenance or tolerate the opinions with which she was charged.

At length the theological storm reached its crisis. The day of the annual election came round, and the party opposed to Governor Vane was concentrated at the appointed place and time. The Rev. Mr. Wilson clambered up into a tree, and harangued the electors in a style, which, in those grave times and in one of his calling, could not