Page:History of Barrington, Rhode Island (Bicknell).djvu/168

 128 THE HISTORY OF BARRINGTON. 1666, after the death of Mr. Newman, (in 1663), it was voted by the town that Mr. Myles be invited " to preach, viz.: once in a fortnight in the week day, and once on the Sabbath Day," in the orthodox church of the town. And in August of the same year the town voted " that Mr. Myles shall continue to lecture on the week day, and further on the Sabbath, if he be thereunto legally called." This interchange of pulpit relations indicates a cordial sen- timent between the two churches, which is in striking con- trast to the hostility manifested to the new church but three years before, when the members were warned out of the town, and suggests that animosity had been conquered by good will, and that sober judgment had taken the place of passionate bigotry. The history of Mr. Myles has already been sketched, from his home in Swansea, Wales, where he occupied a prominent place among the Baptist clergy of that country, to his new home in Swansea, New England, where he became a leader in the establishment, not only of Baptist principles in Plym- outh and Massachusetts Bay Colonies, but also in the grander and broader notion of religious toleration. In these times, when a liberal Christian sentiment pervades our com- munities quite generally, it is difficult for us to appreciate the struggles and contests which the last two centuries have witnessed to secure it. The men who could plant churches in the wilderness under so severe personal persecutions, with a firm reliance on the divine arm for support, possessed the courage and sublime faith which make heroes. Certainly the various trials which Mr. Myles and his associates endured show that they acted upon the instructions given to Joshua of old, " Be strong and of good courage." The covenant of the church, already given, indicates that Mr. Myles was a strong advocate of open communion, although while in Wales he was equally strenuous in advo- cating close or restricted communion. He also declared " that the ministry might take the liberty to Baptize infants or grown persons as the Lord shall persuade their con-