re at Austerfield, in the vicinity, states
distinctly, that Mr. Brewster's house was a "manor of the
bishop's." This description of the house furnished the key to
the difficulty. Scrooby is about one mile and a half south of
Bawtry, in Yorkshire, and from which Austerfield is about the
same distance northeast, and both not far distant from the
adjacent county of Lincoln. Mr. Hunter says, "I can speak with
confidence to the fact, that there is no other episcopal manor
but this, which at all satisfies the condition of being near
the borders of the three counties." The Brewsters were
residents of Scrooby: the manor place which they occupied
originally belonged to the Archbishops of York, and had been
leased to Sir Samuel Sandys, son of Dr. Sandys, the archbishop,
in 1586. The Brewster family were now tenants of Sir Samuel,
and were occupants of the mansion of the Sandys. This fact
serves both as an identification of the place, and as an
explanation of the circumstance that the Sandys took great
interest, at a subsequent period, in promoting the settlement
of the pilgrims, under the direction of Mr. Brewster, on the
shores of the Atlantic. Scrooby must henceforth be regarded as
the cradle of Massachusetts. Here the choice and noble spirits,
at the head of whom were Brewster and Bradford, first learnt
the lessons of truth and freedom. Here, under the faithful
ministration of the pastors, they were nourished and
strengthened to that vigorous and manly fortitude which braved
all dangers; and here, too, they acquired that moral and
spiritual courage which enabled them to sacrifice their homes,
property, and friends, and expatriate themselves to distant
lands, rather than abandon their principles and yield to
attempted usurpations on the liberty of their consciences."

This information is interesting, and supplies a great _hiatus_ in the
history, not of Robinson merely, but of the exiles and pilgrims
generally. Perhaps further research may lead to the discovery of papers
relating to this obscure portion of English history, similar to those
that have thrown so much light on the times of Cromwell, and William and
Mary. The letters recently published by Lord Mahon and Mr. Manners
Sutton, are probably specimens only of the literary treasures stored in
the old manorial and other houses of E