idence hath combined together in as strong bond of brotherly affection, by the sameness of their condition, as Joab and Abishai were, whose several armies did mutually strengthen them both against several enemies-2 Sam. 10-9, 10, 11, or rather they are joined together as Hippocrates his twins, to stand and fall, to grow and decay, to flourish and wither, to live and die together. In witness of the premises we subscribe our names, JOHN DAVENPORT, THEOPH. EATON." The 12th day of the 1st Month Anno 1638*. Behold him then planted here in New Haven. He and his friend Eaton build their dwellings over against each. other on the same street; and the intimacy begun when they were children and strengthened in their earlier manhood, is prolonged without interruption, till in a good old age, death separates them for a little season, to meet again in heaven. They were never out of each other's thoughts; and rarely could a day pass by, in which they did not see each other and take counsel together. The voice of prayer, or the evening psalm, in one of their dwellings, might be heard in the other. Whatever changes came upon one family, the other was sure to partake immediately in the sorrow or the joy. In such neighborhood and intimacy, these two friends passed their days here, till the full strength of manhood in which they came, had gradually turned to venerable age. They saw trials, many and various; trials such as weigh heaviest upon the spirit, and cause the heart to faint; but in all their trials they had one hope, one consolation; and how refreshing to such men, in such vicissitudes, is the sympathy of kindred souls, well-tried and true. Strong in themselves, with the gifts of nature, the endowments of education and experience, and the unction of Almighty grace; strong in their individual reliance upon God their help and Savior; they were the stronger for their friendship, the stronger for their mutual # This letter was first published in the appendix to Winthrop, (I, 404,) and afterwards in the Mass. His. Coll. (III Series, III, 165,) from which it has been frequently copied. The original is still in possession of F. B. Winthrop, Esq., of this city. counsels the stronger for the sympathy by which each drew the other towards the great fountain of strength, and love, and life. Such are the friendships of good men. Their intima cies make them better, holier, happier, more patient for endurance, wiser for counsel, stronger for every godlike action. "But the ungodly are not so." 12 DISCOURSE VI. JOHN DAVENPORT AND THEOPHILUS EATON THE FOUNDERS OF A NEW REPUBLIC: VICISSITUDES IN NEW HAVEN TILL 1660. MATT. iii, 3.-The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. SOME lineaments of the character of Mr. Davenport and his friend Governor Eaton, may be traced in the institutions which they gave to the little community of which they were the founders, and in the conduct of that commonwealth while it was under their controlling influence. None who read the records of the town and colony, can doubt either that in whatever respects New Haven differed from the other New England colonies, the difference was owing chiefly to the influence of these two men; or that in whatever particulars the institutions and government of New Haven were conformed to those of the other colonies, that conformity was because these two men were of the same sort with those truly noble men who planted Plymouth, and the Bay, and the Connecticut. First, then, the fact that John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton had this commanding influence in the colony of New Haven, shows that they were extraordinary men. What gave them this influence over their associates ? They brought with them no royal grant making them Lords Proprietaries, as Penn and Calvert were in their respective provinces. They had no commission from king or parliament, to exercise authority over the emigrants that came with them. Their influence could not be ascribed to their wealth; for though Eaton was the wealthiest of the colonists-his estate being rated at three thousand pounds; and though Davenport was one of the nine who, after the governor, were the richest inhabitants of the town, their estates being rated at one thousand pounds each; their superiority in this respect was at the most but trifling, and in such a country as this was then, wealth alone can do but little towards giving its possessor permanent influence. To what then shall we ascribe their controlling influence in the colony? Will you say it was because they were followed hither by a company of weak, enthusiastic men, easily led and managed? But weak, enthusiastic people, easily managed by one man to-day, will be just as easily led by another to-morrow. It was not so in this case. The people of New Haven, in eighteen successive annual elections, made Theophilus Eaton their chief magistrate; and for thirty years, through all sorts of changes, they adhered to their honored and venerated pastor with constant attachment. The great power of these two men had its seat in the understandings and affections of the people. It was none other than the power of intellectual superiority combined with unquestionable moral worth. That they had such power, in such a community, proves that they were of the number of those who are created to govern their fellow men by the divine right of genius and virtue. It will be worth our while, then, to look at the distinctive character of the New Haven colony, as illustrating the personal character of its two principal founders. 1. New Haven was distinguished above the other colonies by its zeal for education. On this point, if I should go into all the particulars which would be interesting, I should greatly transgress the limits which I have prescribed to myself; and indeed there is the less occasion for this, as the subject has been recently treated by another, far better than I could hope to do.* I will only say, then, that if we of this city enjoy in this respect any peculiar privileges—if it is a privilege that any poor man here, with ordinary health in his family, and the ordinary blessing of God upon his industry, may give to his son, without sending him away from home, the best education which the country affords—if it is a privilege to us to live in a city in which learning, sound and thorough educa tion, is, equally with commerce and the mechanic arts, a great public interest-if it is a privilege to us to record among our fellow citizens some of the brightest names in the learning and science, not of our country only, but of the age, and to be conversant with such men, and subject to their constant influence in the various relations of society-if it is a privilege that our young mechanics, in their associations, can receive instruction in popular lectures from the most accomplished teachers-if, in a word, there is any privilege in having our home at one of the fountains of light for this vast confederacy-the privilege may be traced to the influence of John Davenport, to the peculiar character which he, more than any other man, gave to this community in its very beginning. Every one of us is daily enjoying the effects of his wisdom and public spirit. Thus he is to-day our benefactor; and thus he is to be the benefactor of our posterity through ages to come. How aptly might that beautiful apostrophe of one of our poets have been addressed to him: "The good begun by thee shall onward flow In many a branching stream, and wider grow; And yield thee fruit divine in heaven's immortal bowers." 2. Another characteristic of the New Haven colony, while it continued under the influence of its two great fathers, was great strictness in the administration of the laws. In the words of Hubbard, "They were very vigorous in the execution of justice, and especially the punishment of offenders." The meaning of this is not, that their laws were more severe than those of the other colonies; on the contrary, I am persuaded, after considerable investigation, that the reverse is true. The meaning is, that they carried all their laws into effect, with a more impartial and undeviating strictness than was practiced elsewhere. He who examines our public records, with reference to this matter, will find much reason to believe that the historian just quoted did not speak at ran |