fathers, and in his promises to those who sought aright and followed his precepts in singleness of heart.

The transition is easy from individuals of the pilgrims to those of the Massachusetts colonists. This colony was contemplated earlier, but not much was done until the summer of 1630, when Governor Winthrop and Deputy-Governor Dudley, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Johnson, and others, several of them learned divines and eminent physicians, sailed from England in a fleet of twelve ships, containing fifteen hundred souls. Many of these adventurers died, during a long voyage, by the small pox, and other diseases; and there were no ready accommodations for them when they reached these shores, and of course many died soon after their landing. But notwithstanding every discouragement, they instantly set about organizing themselves into churches, and, trusting in heaven, went on as if in the utmost prosperity. Winthrop was truly a great man, and so were many of his coadjutors. Winthrop had been a distinguished lawyer in Groton, in the county of Suffolk, before he came to this country. It was thought a great acquisition to the enterprise when he was induced to join it. He was well acquainted with the great doctrines of civil liberty, which had just begun to be thoroughly examined by the most eminent jurists of Europe. The works of Grotius had been dispersed though the civilized world, and the strong minded had profited by them.

Winthrop not only attended to his duty as a chief magistrate, but kept a journal of his proceedings, and the general current of events, from the commencement of his voyage to the time of his death, or nearly to it, embracing the period from 1630 to 1649. A portion of this journal was preserved among his descendants, but not published until 1790; and other parts of it were lost. It had often been alluded to as having been a guide to others; but all hopes of finding it were given up, when, in the spring of 1816, the lost manuscript was discovered in the tower of the old south church, in Boston. It had slept among the rubbish of a church library until this time. The antiquarian considered it a God-send, and the lovers of American literature at large were much delighted at this discovery. Here was something authentick; a history written day by day, as the events transpired, by one who knew the whole matter, and in which he acted no small part: a journal not written to please any set of men, or to assist the designs of a party. This valuable manuscript was put into the hands of James Savage, Esq., a lawyer of distinction at the Suffolk bar, whose taste and talents fitted him for the task of arranging and commenting upon it. The learned notes given to the world by that gentleman, in his edition of this journal, justly entitle him to the thanks and respect of his countrymen. The life of Win

throp was one of great activity, magnanimity, and suffering, and adds another fact to prove that the pioneers in all great enterprises must be actuated by high motives and patriotic feelings; for their enjoyment is scanty, and the sun of glory bursts not from the cloud to cheer their parting souls, but shines only on their mouldering monu

ments.

Dudley, the deputy governor, was a man well educated, and from his letters, appears to have had a correct view of the undertaking of building up a church in the wilderness, although he did not rank with the very learned men of his time. He had more learning, however, than tolerance. It was not an age of liberal feeling.

Sir Richard Saltonstall did not come out with any pretensions to learning; he was a statesman of no small parts, but from his report, which is to be found in the appendix to Winthrop's journal, Savage's edition, he appears to have been well educated; for it is written in better English, and in a more elegant style, than other specimens of that period; except perhaps some of Winthrop's works.

John Wilson, the pastor of the first church in Boston, was a learned man-spoke Latin with great fluency. He was a firm friend to liberality and science, and was, generally, both the friend of Winthrop and of Cotton; but when called to decide in the antinomian controversy, he joined with Winthrop against his ecclesiastical senior. John Elliot, generally styled "the apostle to the Indians," deserves to be remembered among the good and learned men of that age. He came to Boston in 1631; and although he intended settling at Boston, chose to live at Roxbury, and was there a great favourite of his congregation throughout his long life. But one opinion has ever been entertained of this great scholar and christian philanthropist. Gifted by nature with quick perceptions, and a strong memory, to which was added the most untiring industry, he became an admirable linguist; and soon made himself master of the Indian language. He preached to the Indians, who readily understood him; and, with immense labour, he succeeded in translating the Bible and several religious tracts into their vernacular tongue. This Indian Bible is now a great curiosity. Probably there is not three men living who can do more than pick out a few words which they can read and understand. Elliot was a man of great simplicity of character; zealous in his profession, and ardent in his desire to convert the Indians; but this was destined to be of more benefit to the whites than to the Indians; for, in the Pequod war, these "praying Indians," as those converted by Mr. Elliot were called, were either neutral or friendly to the whites; and a different feeling towards the colonies would have been dangerous to the new settlement. Elliot was well acquainted with the rights of man, in his civil as well as religious cha

racter. He wrote the first political pamphlet which was published in this country, entitled "The Christian Commonwealth." This work is full of free and noble principles; but the magistrates took alarm at it, and the good man had to recant his opinions, or rather apologize for this publication. He lived to the age of eighty-six ; to a time when the colonies had grown to a large and flourishing people. The tribe of Indians which he instructed is now nearly extinct. There are not more than a dozen of them left. One of these Naticks was tried, a few years ago, for murdering his grandmother, and then all that were left of the tribe assembled. The Indians are fated to fade away before the progress of civilization: it was so written in the destiny of nations.

Cotton, Haynes, and Hooker, all came to this country in 1633, in the same ship. The former settled in Boston, “and in compliment to him, in the expectation of his coming from Boston, in Lincolnshire, did that ancient town in New-England receive its name." Mr. Cotton was, until the time of his death, the chief of the apostles to the new world. “A mighty fame as a scholar and preacher had preceded him,” and this expectation was not tarnished nor diminished by his conduct in the colony. Hooker went with Haynes to Connecticut, after three years residence in Massachusetts, as ministers at Newton. Haynes was one year governor of the colony before he removed. Hooker wrote many sermons which were printed, but his greatest work was on “Church Discipline.”

Thomas Parker, another of the New-England fathers, came to the country in 1634, and was for a year an assistant to Mr. Ward of Ipswich, and then removed to Newbury, on a river which now bears his name. James Noyes, his friend, was teacher to the same people; and these learned men did much good in their settlement. Noyes acted in the capacity of a schoolmaster, and did much to enlighten his flock. It is a remarkable fact that, in later times, this spot has been noted for being the birth place of several learned men. Judge Parsons, Professor Pearson, Professor Webber, Professor John Smith, and several others of fame, were natives of Newbury, and born near the old farm of Mr. Parker. While Noyes was training the youthful mind, Parker was deep in the mysteries of the profession, and produced a treatise which was much read by the learned of that day. Mr. Parker was an amiable man, but some of his writings brought him into the field of controversy with President Chauncey. It is not to be presumed that these controversies had really so much bitterness in them as, at this distance of time, we may suppose them to have had. It was the fashion of the day to break a lance with a neighbouring divine merely to try each others' skill and strength, and to acquire a fame for shrewdness and learning. This

habit has, in some measure, continued to the present day. It is a bloodless war of words, and the discussion will be read by many who would perhaps read nothing else.

The name of Shephard is intimately connected with the early history of American literature. Thomas, the first in the catalogue, came to Boston and Cambridge, in 1635, as successor to Hooker, who had left this vineyard abounding in labourers, and had set out, through the wilderness, to form a settlement on Connecticut river, at Hartford. Mr. Shephard was an excellent scholar, particularly deep in metaphysicks, and yet he wrote without that obscurity which is often found in the writings of men of that cast of mind. He died in the forty-fourth year of his age, but he lived long enough to publish many works of merit. Several of them were very popular. "The Morality of the Sabbath," "New-England's Lamentation for Old England's Errours," and also, "An Explanation of the Parable of the Ten Virgins." From this latter fountain, the great Doctor Edwards acknowledged that he drew copiously in writing his "Treatise on the Affections." Thomas Shephard's eldest son bore his father's christian name, and was heir to his father's talents and virtues, but he joined the congregation of the dead still younger than his parent. President Oakes delivered an elegant Latin oration upon his death. His days were devoted to literature and religion. There were two other sons of the elder Thomas Shephard, Samuel and Jeremiah. The first of these died at the age of twenty-seven. Mitchell wrote his eulogy. The latter Shephard lived to a good old age. These three sons were educated at Harvard College. Cotton Mather speaks of them with admiration, and says, "that having three such excellent ministers is something better than to have three orators, like the Curii of Rome."

Our ancestors had among them men of all casts of mind, and some who, fearless of the austerity of the times, often indulged in wit and satire. Of this class no one was more distinguished than Nathaniel Ward. He was a lawyer, a divine, and a satirist, who came to this country, and for a while, was settled at Ipswich; was invited to preach the election sermon by the freemen, without consulting the magistrates, and also to draw up a code of laws, which he did. This code consisted of one hundred laws, called "the body of the liberties." Among his satirical works is one called "The simple Cobbler of Agawam." He was a high royalist, and this was in part written to abuse the enemies of Charles I. It had been admired for its causticity, but its coarseness is equal to its pungency.

Peter Bulkeley was a gentleman who came to this country to enjoy the liberty of conscience and the liberty to preach. He was a clergyman in Bedfordshire, and continued his labours there for

twenty years; but on being silenced for non-conformity, he left England and gathered a church in Concord, within twenty miles of Boston. His fortune was large and his benevolence unbounded. He was said to have been very learned. He wrote Latin poetry; some scraps of which Cotton Mather has handed down to us. He also published a celebrated work on "the covenant of grace opened." This work went through many editions, and was praised by the great theologians of that day.

Nathaniel Rogers, minister of Ipswich, was a descendant of John Rogers, the martyr in Queen Mary's time. He came to this country in 1636. He was one of the greatest of that distinguished band of christian emigrants who suffered by the persecutions of Laud. He is mentioned in high terms by Johnson, Winthrop, and Mather.

Ezekiel Rogers came about the year 1638, and settled in Rowley, and was held in veneration by the people of Rowley and throughout the colony. He preached the election sermon in 1643. In this he advocated the pure democratick doctrine of rotation in office, and strenuously urged the good people not to choose a governor twice in succession: but they did not regard his advice. He was a publick benefactor, giving his library by will to Harvard College, and leaving considerable property for the support of a clergyman in the town of Rowley.

Many more of these founders of the republick might be named, if our time would allow it, who, for liberty of conscience, left ease, plenty, and friends in their native land, and all the charms of elevated society, and threw themselves upon the wilds of America. Their hardships can never be fully told. They spent their lives in subduing nature, and teaching an humble flock; acting as patrons, pastors, physicians, lawyers, and often as nurses to mind and body. A lively sense of duty, and a full measure of grace, could alone have supported them in their labours, while in their hearts they sighed for the country they had left. Even in their dreams they visited the shores of England, and could not but acknowledge that with all her faults they loved her still.

One of the most remarkable events in the history of our early literature was the founding of a college in the Massachusetts colony at Cambridge, in the year 1636. Scarcely had they cultivated sufficient ground to supply the wants of nature, before they began this great work of establishing an institution of learning, that theological learning should not be lost among them for want of education. The projectors were wise men, and laid a good foundation. They were unfortunate in their first president, who proved a tyrant; but he was soon dismissed, and an excellent man, President Dunster, entered upon the duties of his office. He was a man of learning and great