smallpox made its appearance in Boston, the physicians, with one honorable exception, were opposed to the newly advocated system of vaccination on the general principle, strange to say, that "it was presumptuous in man to inflict disease on man, that being the prerogative of the Most High." The matter was discussed with great bitterness of feeling; and the mass of the people, as well as the civil authorities, were against the new treatment. But Cotton Mather had been convinced of the efficacy of vaccination; and accordingly, though he knew it would cost him his popularity, and perhaps expose him to personal violence, he resolutely faced the popular clamor, and boldly vindicated the truth. It was only after the lapse of considerable time that he had the satisfaction of seeing the popular prejudice give way.

It was a great disappointment to Cotton Mather that he was never chosen president of Harvard College, a position to which he ardently, though as he thought unselfishly, aspired. On two occasions, when he confidently expected election, he was humiliated by seeing less learned men chosen for the place. He attributed his defeat to the influence of his enemies, and never for a moment suspected the real cause, which was a distrust, perhaps too well founded, of his prudence and judgment.

He died Feb. 13, 1728. Though not a man of great original genius, his mind was massive and strong. He had the quality which some have held to be the essential thing in genius, the power of indomitable and systematic industry. His spiritual life, while influenced by Puritanic ideals, was profound; and unbelief has sometimes mocked at experiences which it lacked the capacity to understand. He was followed to the grave by an immense procession, including all the high officers of the Province; and the general feeling was that a great man had fallen, the weight of whose life, in spite of imperfections, had been on the side of righteousness.

SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD.

REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS.

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

JONATHAN EDWARDS.

OTHER WRITERS.

DAVID BRAINERD (1718-1747). Missionary to the Indians. A man of strong mental powers, fervent zeal, and extensive knowledge. Mirabilia Dei inter Indicos" and "Divine Grace Displayed" are made up of his missionary journals.

WILLIAM LIVINGSTON (1723-1790). Jurist, legislator, and poet. For a time governor of New Jersey. Author of the poem Philosophic Solitude."

MATHER BYLES (1706-1788). Preacher, poet, and wit. He published a volume of poems in 1736.

WILLIAM BYRD (1674-1744). Founder of the cities of Richmond and Petersburg. Author of the "History of the Dividing Line" between Virginia and North Carolina, "one of the most delightful of the literary legacies of the colonial age."

JAMES BLAIR (1656–1743). Founder of William and Mary College. Author of "The Present State of Virginia and the College," and "Our Saviour's Divine Sermon on the Mount."

WILLIAM STITH (1689–1755). President of William and Mary College, and author of the "History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia," — "in accuracy of detail not exceeded by any American historical work."

SAMUEL SEWALL (1652-1730). A graduate of Harvard, and chief-justice of Massachusetts in 1718. Among his works are "Answer to Queries Respecting America," and especially his “Diary," which presents an interesting and graphic account of Puritan life in the seventeenth century.

II.

SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD.

(1689-1763.)

THE early history of America has a peculiar interest for those who perceive the relation of its events to the subsequent development of the country. The growth of a great nation can be clearly traced step by step. Great interests were involved in the success or failure of apparently small enterprises. The life of a nation principles upon which the welfare of future millions depended - was often at stake in some obscure and apparently insignificant struggle.

The history of this period, with its small exploring parties, savage massacres, and petty military campaigns, seems at first sight to be a confused mass of disconnected events. But in the life of nations, as of individuals, "there is a destiny that shapes our ends;" and throughout all the maze of injustice, tyranny, and bloodshed, it is now possible to discern the divine purpose. God was keeping watch by the cradle of a great people.

With the beginning of the eighteenth century, America entered upon a new stage of progress. All the thirteen colonies, except Georgia, had been established. The toil and dangers of early settlement had been overcome. The colonies had largely increased in population; and agriculture, manufacture, and commerce had made a substantial

beginning. By the close of the period the population of the colonies had reached more than a million and a half. In 1738 forty-one topsail vessels, averaging a hundred and fifty tons, were built in Boston.

The educational interests of the colonies kept pace with their material advancement. In New England there was not an adult, born in this country, who could not read and write. During this period seven colleges — Yale, Princeton, King's (now Columbia), Brown, Queen's (afterwards Rutgers), Dartmouth, and Hampden-Sidney were founded. In 1704 the News-Letter, the first periodical of the New World, was published in Boston; and before the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, ten other newspapers had made their appearance in various. colonies. The press at last became free. Official censorship received its death-blow in New York in 1734, when Andrew Hamilton, an aged lawyer of Philadelphia, addressed the jury in behalf of an imprisoned printer : "The question before you is not the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone; it is the best cause the cause of liberty. Every man who prefers freedom to a life of slavery will bless and honor you as men who, by an impartial verdict, lay a noble foundation for securing to ourselves, our posterity, and our neighbors, that to which nature and the honor of our country have given us a rightthe liberty of oppo. ing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth."

It is not strange that the future greatness of America. began to dawn upon the minds of men. The world had never before witnessed such a rapid increase of prosperity and power. In contemplating the rising glory of America, an Italian poet sang that the spirit of ancient Rome, im