The Exploits of Myles Standish, etc

Front matter

THE EXPLOITS OF MYLES STANDISH. FROM AN ENGRAVING BY MESSRS. APPLETON AND CO. OF THE ONLY KNOWN PORTRAIT OF MYLES STANDISH, NOW PRESERVED IN THE PILGRIM HALL, NEW PLYMOUTH. THE EXPLOITS OF MYLES STANDISH By HENRY JOHNSON ("MUIRHEAD ROBERTSON") AUTHOR OF "FROM SCROOBY TO PLYMOUTH ROCK," " UNTRUE TO HIS TRUST," "a LOMBARD STREET MYSTERY," ETC. WITH PORTRAIT LONDON SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY, LTD. _bt Duust.in's jt]o__t Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. CHISWICK PRESS ; — CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. NOTE. Comparatively little is known with certainty respecting the first thirty-six years of the life of Myles Standish. In dealing with this period the author of the following story has used the license of probability and inference to supply the deficiency of accredited facts.

The latter portion of the story — from the departure of Standish to America to his death — is in substan tial agreement with the original records of the New Plymouth colony. In connection with these records it is interesting to observe that the chief source of information — the manuscript of Governor Bradford's account of the " Mayflower's " voyage and the history of the Plymouth Plantation — was on May 26th, 1897, transferred to the custody of the Governor of Massachusetts, after resting for more than a century in the library of the Bishop of London at Fulham. How the manuscript found its way to Fulham is only matter of speculation. Bishop Bloomfield permitted a copy to be taken and printed in 1856, and last year a fac simile was produced for a limited number of subscribers. PAGE CONTENTS.

Chap. I. From Childhood to Youth. Rural Lancashire — Robbed of an inheritance — The Standishes in war and as faithful Catholics — The "Lan cashire Plot " — The Golden Age — Myles's School-days — Choosing a Vocation — " Seeing London " — Eager for action — Stories from the wars — The little lieutenant sets off for the Netherlands i Chap. II. The Siege of Ostend. Fighting for a sandbank— A motley mass of " martial men " — " On her beam-ends " — Carnival of plunder and death — A human wall — The little lieutenant wins his spurs — English won't desert — Courteous cannon balls — The schemes and the doom of a traitor — A big butcher's bill, and a banquet 14 Chap. III. Amongst English Exiles. The truce of 1609 — Captain Standish at Leyden — Fraternizing with Puritan Separatists — A story of per secution — Protestant or Catholic? — Standish's first courtship — The Isle of Man revisited — A Puritan council—" Sounding " the Captain — Standish joins the emigrants 24 Chap. IV.

Chapter I From Childhood To Youth

Rural Lancashire — Robbed of an inheritance — The Stan dishes in war and as faithful Catholics — The " Lancashire Plot " — The Golden Age — Myles's School-days — Choosing a Vocation — " Seeing London " — Eagerfor action — Stories from the wars — The little lieutenant sets off for the Netherlands. Lancashire has the honour of sending to America the first real pioneer soldier who intended to remain there — a soldier of grit, of sterling merit — one who would stick to his guns to the last gasp. On the London and North- Western Railway, one hundred and ninety-three miles from Euston, there is a little station called Standish, about four miles north of Wigan. In the sixteenth century, long before the district was honeycombed with collieries and weighted with factory chimneys, the walk between the two places had rural and picturesque attractions for the lover and his lass and the honest burgher EAST COAST of UNITED STATES to jn company *The Exploits of AMefl StanÆsb.'by H. Johnson. THE EXPLOITS OF MYLES STANDISH.

CHAPTER I. FROM CHILDHOOD TO YOUTH

Rural Lancashire — Robbed of an inheritance — The Stan dishes in war and as faithful Catholics — The " Lancashire Plot " — The Golden Age — Myles's School-days — Choosing a Vocation — " Seeing London " — Eagerfor action — Stories from the wars — The little lieutenant sets off for the Netherlands. LANCASHIRE has the honour of sending to America the first real pioneer soldier who intended to remain there — a soldier of grit, of sterling merit — one who would stick to his guns to the last gasp. On the London and North- Western Railway, one hundred and ninety-three miles from Euston, there is a little station called Standish, about four miles north of Wigan. In the sixteenth century, long before the district was honeycombed with collieries and weighted with factory chimneys, the walk between the two places had rural and picturesque attractions for the lover and his lass and the honest burgher and his spouse.

In those far-off days, when may blossom and wild rose decked the borders of the winding lanes, and the skylark sprang merrily to wards the gates of the sun, a lad, with brown hair and chubby face, might have been seen exploring hedgerows and coppice, nutting and berrying, or angling in the waters of the Douglas or the Yarrow. This lad, Myles Standish, was a cadet of an old Lancashire family of that name, divided into two branches, the Standishes of Standish Hall, and the Standishes of Duxbury Hall, only a short distance separating the two residences. It was to the latter branch that Myles belonged. He was born about 1584, although some authorities give 1565, thus adding nineteen years to his age. Baptismal re gisters were not preserved with so much care in those days as they are now, and the register that ought to contain the name of Myles does not con tain it.

This deficiency may be owing to the ravages of time, but most likely to the tampering fingers of certain persons who had in their possession many broad acres to which Myles and his immediate ancestors were entitled. These tampering fingers went to work as late, it is thought, as the present century, using pumice-stone to erase the name of Myles, and so effectually preventing his heirs from proving their claim to rich estates. The pumice stone had rubbed out the names opposite the years 1584 to 1586, and so rubbed away an income of £100,000. Possibly Myles made some attempt in early life to obtain his rights ; but, getting sick of the task, or lacking money to pursue it, he left his descendants to renew the litigation, if they chose to do so. A clause in his will, made only a short time before he died, runs thus : — " I give unto my son and heir apparent, Alexander Standish, all my lands as heir apparent by lawful descent in Ormskirk, Boscough, Wrightington, Maudsley, Newbury, Croxton and in the Isle of Man, and given to me as right heir by lawful descent, but surreptitiously detained from me, my grandfather being a second or younger brother from the house of Standish of Standish."

But Myles's loss of income was America's gain, for foreign countries would probably never have attracted the young Englishman had he succeeded in obtaining his rights. The supposed derivation of the name " Standish " is singularly characteristic of that member of the family whose story is told in these pages. In the old parish church of Chorley the name "Milo Standanaught" (Stand-at-nothing), is said to appear, and there is reason for assuming that this was the original name of the family. Passing from mouth to mouth — when writing was little in vogue, and chiefly confined to monks and priests — the name might easily get corrupted to " Standaught." From " Standaught " it might have been altered in con versation to " Standaush," and, finally, to " Standish." The last change would occur when the art of writing had become a general acquisition, and would therefore render " Standish " permanent.

The Christian name (Miles = Lat., a soldier) is also appropriate, and if ever a man unconsciously shaped his character and career in conformity with the names he bore it was Myles Standish. There have been several soldiers in the house from which Myles sprang. A Sir Ralph Standish won honours at Agincourt, and was slain in France in the service of Henry VI. Sir Alexander Standish was made a baronet for his heroism in the battle of Hutton Field, in Scotland, in 1482. It was a Ralph (or John) Standish who gave the finishing stroke to Wat Tyler when Richard II. went out to meet the rebel band in Smithfield. Captain Thomas Standish fell, fighting for the king, at Manchester during the Civil Wars, and another Ralph Standish was taken prisoner at Preston when serving the Pretender. The family had long and persistently adhered to the Catholic faith.

Henry Standish, Bishop of St. Asaph, and a member of the Franciscan order, sided warmly with Queen Katharine during the divorce proceedings of her husband, Henry VIII., and there was a John Standish who wrote a book against the Reformation. After the fall of James II. the family remained his stout supporters, and at Standish Hall was hatched the " Lancashire Plot " (1694) for replacing him on the throne. When warrants were issued for the arrest of the chief conspirators, William Standish absconded, and although a reward was offered for his apprehen sion he successfully eluded discovery. The Hall was searched by the warrant officers, and Mistress Standish tried in vain to put them off the scent, for they found, secreted up a chimney, a quantity of weapons, which, it was alleged, were intended for use in the projected rising.

The earlier date, 1565, which some set down as the year of Myles's birth, seems to have been fixed upon in order to account for certain passages in his career; but the later one, 1584, to which the majority of authorities lean, bears the stamp of greater probability, and will be our starting-place in this story. In the year of Myles's birth Shakespeare had most likely just arrived in London. The works of Spenser, Bacon, and many other writers were being widely read. Raleigh had just returned from the New World, to make Elizabeth a present of Virginia, and to spur on the ambition of adventurers to explore, discover, and colonize. When Myles was four years old, both Protestants and Catholics snatched up pike, bow, and harque buse to defend their country against the impertinent claims of the Spanish Don, and, aided by the winds of heaven, scattered the" Invincible Armada."

Be fore the coming of the Spanish galleons, Elizabeth had been trying to stamp out Popish sedition ; and soon after the repulse of Spain, she attempted to put down the Puritan Separatists, because they objected to some of the forms and ceremonies of the Church of England, and preferred to meet by themselves for reading the Scriptures and for worship. Many of these Puritans were sent to prison, and several were hanged at Tyburn and other places. The nineteen years from the date of Myles's birth to the death of the queen was a busy and exciting time in England, and this monarch's reign forms the most interesting and brilliant chapter in English history, except that of Victoria. There is no reliable record, so for as is known, of the early years of Standish. We know nothing even about his father and mother, and all that can be done to fill up the gaps in this portion of his life is to make probability and inference take the place of missing facts.

As he grew up from childhood to youth he heard in the old home what was going on in England, and what England was doing abroad. The valiant deeds of English soldiers in foreign lands — and Holland in particular — the dis coveries and maritime adventures of Raleigh, Drake, Frobisher, Fitch, Raymond, Lancaster, Cavendish, and others ; the great victory over Spain ; the stirring events in France and Holland ; the assassination of William of Orange ; all this would tend to rouse a desire in the youth to take an active part in the affairs of the world, and prove himself worthy of the name of Englishman. He may have been sent for his education to Oxford or Cambridge, or more likely to one of the grammar schools in the district — Manchester, Bolton or elsewhere. His later life gives evidence of some proficiency in languages, doubtless attained after leaving England.

When school-days came to an end the question arose with him and his parents what was to be his future vocation. His father promised him a small annual allowance, sufficient for his support ; but idleness did not agree with the young man's natural disposition. He decided he would not remain at home, or stay in London and join the gay throng on the fringe of the court. He wanted a life of action — he was bent on seeing the world and engaging in its turmoil and strife. Whilst in London, putting up at one of the inns in the neighbourhood of Fleet Street, trying to fix on an occupation, he visited the Globe and the Fortune Theatres, paying his twopence for admis sion to the gallery, or perhaps a shilling for the privilege of taking a place in the "lords' room," rubbing shoulders with court dandies, and watching with delight the performance of Shakespeare's plays.

He went to see the Zoological Gardens at the Tower, the monuments of Westminster, and paid his penny for a view of London from the damaged steeple of St. Paul's. He mixed with the fine folk shopping on London Bridge, or in Cheap side ; looked in at the famous " Mermaid," and strolled up Holborn, for the gardens and fresh air. Not the smallest attractions for him were the numerous fencing schools, and the archery practice in the fields around London. But what delighted him most of all were the stories of deeds of daring on land and sea of English soldiers and sailors. Wherever men gathered — at sports, amusements, the dinner-tables of taverns, in the nave of St. Paul's, in the streets and on the river — the stories of adventures at sea, and of stirring exploits at the wars passed from one to another, and formed leading topics in the conversation of the day.

The siege of Ostend was in progress — it commenced in 1601 — and hundreds of Englishmen were being mowed down. For many years war had been going on in the Nether lands between the Dutch and the Spaniards. England had helped the Dutchmen again and again. As far back as 1572, "martial men, who spent their time at home in idleness," says Camden " began to flock into the Low Countries out of Eng land." In 1585 an expedition, under the Earl of Leicester, was sent over by Elizabeth, and down to 1609 numerous " martial men," sometimes singly and sometimes in small companies, went over to win honour, wounds, or death. And now from Ostend came tales of heroism and daring, of hairbreadth escapes, of slaughter and reprisal, of the deeds of Sir Francis Vere, Sir Edward Cecil, Sir John Ogle, Sir John Fairfax, and last, but not least in interest, of the plucky Cornishman, John Carew, " who, in a sally, having his arm taken offby a piece of ordnance, and carried a good way from him, whilst his fellows lamented his mishap, took it up with an undaunted courage, and without all sense of pain, brought it into the town in his other hand, and, showing it to the surgeon, cried, ' Behold the arm which to-day at dinner served my whole body ! ' " More men were still wanted in Holland, and young Standish's blood was fired to take part in the conflict, and win his spurs in emulating the deeds of his brave countrymen.

A life of adven ture, of wars' alarms — a chance of giving the haughty Spaniard a taste of his steel, and avenging the death of Sir Philip Sidney — a desire to get out of England, where he and his father had been robbed of their rights — all these things weighed with him. His mind was made up — he would go ; and when Standish had formed a decision he was not to be turned from its execution. Unable to restrain his ardour, or check his resolve, the friends of Standish discussed the situation, and, lest the youth should hurry off to the wars as a common soldier, made the most of their influence at court, and procured for him a lieutenancy in her Majesty's forces on the Continent. Standish was young — only eighteen — to be appointed lieu tenant, and to be despatched, raw and inexperi enced, to command a " band " at the seat of war.

But there were no strict regulations and limitations of age in those days as in the days of Victoria ; in fact, the only hard-and-fast regulation existing at that period, lay in the method of forming an army when her Majesty required one. The royal man date must be obeyed. If volunteers could be enrolled, so much the better; but, failing a sufficient number of volunteers, the deficiency was made up by forcible impressment. The officers employed in this service made inroads on the scum of London and of other towns, and visiting the gaols, collected gangs of ruffians, rogues, and thieves, and transformed them, nolentes volentes, into troops of the vestal queen. Capable and industrious young men, who happened to come within their clutches, were powerless to resist im pressment, except by means of the " silver key."

As soon as Standish obtained his commission he submitted to a brief and rough-and-ready military training, extending only to a week or two, and then, leaving the attractions of court and town behind him, set off to join in the fray. Let us try to picture the young lieutenant as he steps on board a naval craft at Greenwich or Gravesend, with the banner of St. George floating at the main. A young man of eighteen, considerably below the average height, perhaps not more than four feet six inches, a chubby face still, a little brown hair on the upper lip and chin, fine large dark-blue eyes, with hot temper flashing in the corners, muscles well developed, features denot ing firmness, candour, honesty — clothed in doublet, breeches, jack-boots and velvet cap, a sword dangling at his side (his armour is packed away in his sea-chest) — and this is the little lieutenant in the service of the most renowned and victorious Princess Elizabeth, exciting no little surprise, and perhaps amusement, at his smallness of stature, as he steps on board with a determined, jaunty air — a full-fledged officer, prepared to take the command of a " band " of two hundred men at his captain's bidding.

That low stature must not prejudice us in estimating the youth's capabilities and character. Many of the most distinguished soldiers have been little men — our own valiant commander-in-chief for instance. Nothing but " glorious uncertainty " faces him ; he may be shot down at the first sortie from Ostend and never have a chance of trying his muscles against the Spaniards, or he may rise, by courageous deeds, to honour and renown, and receive a knighthood from the great queen's hands. Not the remotest idea enters his head that he is destined to take a conspicuous part in the founding of the American republic.

Chapter II. The Siege Of Ostend

Fighting for a sandbank— A motley mass of "martial men "— " On her beam-ends "—Carnival of plunder and death— A human wall— The little lieutenant wins his spurs- English won't desert — Courteous cannon-balls — The schemes and the doom of a traitor— A big butcher's bill, and a banquet. The struggle for the possession of a sandbank cost 140,000 lives. The siege of Ostend — a place con sisting of low thatched houses and 3,000 inhabitants — lasted three years and nearly a hundred days. The town had been fortified in 1582, and more securely a few years later. It was the only scrap of land in Flanders possessed by the Dutch republic ; but the Archduke Albert had set his heart upon it, encouraged by his wife, whose father had bequeathed it to her without the smallest right to do so. Re presentatives of almost every nationality under the sun flocked thither to help either the besieged or the besiegers.

The dregs of great cities, chivalrous gentlemen, and scions of noble houses formed as odd a mixture of types and races as ever assembled in any quarter of the globe. Queen Elizabeth promised Maurice of Nassau 5,000 men to assist him in de fending the town. Many volunteers of good families promptly offered their services ; but the rank and file were drawn, for the most part, from the prisons of London, and from the herds of poor creatures caught by the impressment officers. They were slipped into red uniforms, with the cross of St. George on cassock or jerkin, and were then con sidered fit subjects for the slaughter-house over the water. The little lieutenant must have quailed when he saw the specimens of humanity put into his charge. The town of Ostend became a Babel. English, Scotch, Dutch, Flemish, French and German soldiers mingled in about equal numbers, and, as the greater part were flotsam and jetsam, Sir Francis Vere, the commander-in-chief, had more than he could do to maintain anything approaching order.

The war in the Netherlands was now concentrated at Ostend, and the eyes of the world were directed to those sand-hills, as the scene of the greatest siege that had THE EXPLOITS OF MYLES STANDISH. occurred within the memory of Europe. The Dutch, having the control of the sea-board, were able to import men and provisions ad libitum. Detach ments of soldiers arrived as they were wanted, to replace fallen warriors and swell the butcher's bill. Food, including delicacies of all kinds, the choicest wines and the best beer were landed daily to supply the wants and the dainty predilections of officers and men. Strange to say, too, during the earlier period of the siege, trade and commerce made rapid progress, and the merchants conducted their business quite indifferent to the roar of cannon and the advent of stray balls in their midst.

Plunder was the order of the day. If the de fenders got hold of a dead or wounded Spaniard, their first proceeding was to rifle his pockets, and strip him of every article of value. If a house in the town was set on fire by a missile from the foe, the soldiers took care to save as much of its contents as possible for their own benefit. A rich grocer had his head dashed off by a cannon-ball, and before long the red-coats swarmed into his house and stores, and appropriated hundreds of pounds' worth of goods ; and Sir Francis Vere might, with equal effect, have ordered the ocean to cease encroaching on his sandbanks as order those men to respect the eighth commandment. He had been heard to de clare that the town was like a ship on her beam ends — its contents at everybody's mercy. On the enemy's side there was no lack of men, food, guns, or ammunition.

All requirements were attended to with despatch and punctuality. As soon as the ranks at any point of attack grew thin, fresh companies of Spaniards and Italians promptly ap peared on the field to earn five stivers a day and a grave in the trenches. "The Spaniards," says an eye-witness, " fell like apples when the autumn wind blows through the orchard." The Archduke drove his men to the attack like flocks of sheep to the shambles. He fed the fiend of death and destruc tion with as much coolness and indifference as if he were feeding chickens in a farmyard. He knew there was plenty more of such food to be had for the ordering — and he would keep up the game for eighteen years if need be — till the canals turned to blood, and Spain and Italy were drained of fighting flesh. To some on Albert's side, who only looked on, the siege presented little more than a grand c spectacular display.

Her Royal Highness the gay Archduchess came regularly into the field for the pleasure of hearing the guns and seeing the sheep driven to the shambles. She came attended by no less than eighteen coaches, full of lovely maids of honour, and often fired a cannon, amid the applause and delight of the grimy gunners. Practised engi neers made their appearance from all countries, offering infallible recipes for terminating the siege in a single day ; but such nostrums were useless for hastening the catastrophe. Sir Francis Vere, always watching for an opportunity for a sally, wipes off company after company of the Archduke's forces. His most trusty and dashing officers take the lead in cleverly-contrived surprises, and rouse the enthusiasm of their men by their fearlessness of danger and death. And now Lieutenant Standish, in helmet and corselet, stealthily creeps out with his band of two hundred ruffian, rifling red-coats, to meet, surround, and exterminate a company of Albert's sheep.

In the grey morning the party advances, silently and cautiously, until within a few paces of the foe. Then, with a thunder of yells, the holocaust commences at close quarters. The cannon booms, and the captain of Standish's company drops dead, smashed by a ball. Standish instantly takes the lead, and, whilst his men hack and fire away, his luck favours at last. He comes face to face — blue eyes to black — with a Spanish officer. A brief tussle — thrust and parry for a few seconds — dodging, feint, manœuvre — one must fall — down goes the don, with a groan and a curse. The little lieutenant has won his spurs ; he steps into his dead leader's shoes, and the next day is hailed in the town as Captain Standish. The besiegers shot arrows into the English quarters, and each arrow carried a letter promising ten stivers (ia 2d., now equal to 5-f.) a day to every Englishman who would desert and sight under the colours of the Archduke.

Such offers were treated with scorn. Though the offscouring of London, these troops had the true British backbone. Once or twice a ball was shot by the enemy right into the mouth of a charged cannon, which, " because it would not be too long indebted for such a courtesy, taking fire with the blow, returned the bullet in stantly back again, attended with another of its own." A soldier had bought a loaf of bread, and was flourishing it boastingly, when a shot took away the upper half, leaving the other in the soldier's hand. By a cunningly-laid plot an Englishman named Conisby, in the pay of the enemy, contrived to obtain admittance into the town for the purpose of delivering it into the hands of the Archduke. He first of all went to England and succeeded in getting recommendations from high quarters to Sir Francis Vere, who, in the face of such testimonials, allowed the fellow to enter the town.

" This traitor having screwed himself into Ostend, quickly began his practice." He supplied information to the enemy daily, tried to induce several of the English to assist him, and had prepared a little plan for blowing up a magazine, and making a gap sufficient for the Archduke's forces to scramble through. With regu larity and punctuality he deposited his despatches in a sheltered nook agreed upon, which were duly fetched by the emissaries of the foe, and replaced by a small packet of coin as an instalment for services rendered. It was a pity, for the Archduke's sake, that he was unable to consummate his schemes single-handed ; assistance was absolutely necessary. He made himself most agreeable to the English, noted mentally a few likely lieutenants, and took an opportunity of divulging his arrangements to some half dozen of them, laying stress on the rich reward with which they would be compensated for their aid.

He felt he had made a deep impression on a certain burly sergeant, who appeared to enter into the plot with enthusiasm, and who was sup plied with every detail of the operations. Thus primed to the full, the sergeant went straight to the Governor and revealed everything. Within an hour Master Conisby was consigned to rack and dungeon, and that was the finale of the game he tried to play in the siege of Ostend. More and more grim becomes the work of defence. The sea makes inroads into the flanking outworks. The command is issued to pile up corpses to shut out the water, and Standish takes his share in the horrible task. Bodies lying about are quickly collected, and others are disinterred from their rest to add stability to the bank of flesh and bones. Pestilence breaks out, and brings a new feature into the hellish carnival.

But still men and provisions come by shiploads to replenish reduced supplies. This sort of thing might go on forever, if only the fortifications would hold out. But that can scarcely be expected ; they are now growing old and wheezy. One by one they collapse under the compulsion of 40-pounders and of storming parties. Nearer and nearer the Spaniards, Italians and Walloons advance to the sandbank. House after house in the town succumbs to cannon-balls, until not one remains. And now the houseless people, with plenty to eat and drink, but not a roof amongst them, begin to burrow in the earth to find shelter and sleeping accommodation. The commander thinks it almost time to surrender ; but no doubt some of his ruffians prefer the three years' fete of rifling, pilfering and sacking to be prolonged.