Still, it was a lot that involved much of hardship and personal privation, as a drawback to the liberty, both religious and political, that had been obtained by emigration.  The harvests were scanty, and not nearly sufficient to provide bread for the increasing community, and also seed for the following year, and the supplies that were occasionally procured from the Wampanoges, and their allies, were very uncertain.  At one time, every species of grain became so scarce that the settlers had recourse to pig-nuts as a substitute for bread; and the last pint of corn that remained to the colony, after the fields were sown, was counted out among the whole community, when five grains fell to the share of each person, and these were looked upon as a rare treat, and eaten as a particular dainty.  Cattle were, as yet, unknown in the colony; and their chief subsistence consisted of game, wild fowl, and fish, of which the supply was frequently both scanty and precarious.  ‘Often,’ we are told in the diary of the Governor Bradford, ’we do not know in the evening where we shall get a meal next morning; but yet we bear our want with joy, and trust in Providence.’  And strong, indeed, must have been the faith and patience of these Pilgrim Fathers, which sustained their spirits amidst such long-continued trials, and enabled them to meet and overcome such complicated difficulties without hesitation and without a murmur!

At one period their only food was fish, and occasionally merely shellfish; but never was this miserable fare partaken of by the emigrants, who assembled to receive their respective portions, without a blessing being asked, and thanks being offered by the pious Brewster, who, with a spirit of gratitude too often unknown to those who revel in abundance, praised God for having permitted them ’to suck out of the fullness of the sea, and for the treasures sunk in the sand.’  While such an example of holy trust, and patient submission to the will of God, was set by the leading men of this suffering colony—­men who were both loved and respected—­not a complaining word was uttered by the rest.  All felt that they were bound to emulate the faith and piety of their high-souled Governor, and their venerated elder.

And, truly, they had need of every motive, and of every aid—­both human and divine—­that could keep their souls in peace, when actual famine at length stared them in the face.  The second winter had been endured; and, in spite of cold and privation, the health of the colony had improved; and spring again brought brighter hopes, and better prospects of the summer’s harvest.  But before the grain was well grown up, a drought came on, that threatened the utter destruction of the crops.  For six long weeks not one drop of rain fell on the thirsty land.  ’The sky was as brass’ to the fainting emigrants, and ’the earth was as iron’ to them.  Yet these men of God did not despair.  They were accustomed to regard every dispensation of Providence, whether prosperous