a history in which the succession of cause and effect is the main topic � a history of the of colony planting in the first half of the century who were the of english life in america what sent them for refuge to a wilderness what visions beckoned them to undertake the of new states what manner of men were their leaders and what is the story of their hopes their experiments and their disappointments these are the questions i have tried to answer the of the little that had the unexpected fortune to into an empire i have not been able to treat otherwise than here are no forefathers or but simply english men and women of the century with the faults and as well as the virtues of their age i have disregarded that which � � preface the of a nation makes it for a writer of american history to explain that in the first was not just like other and that their cruelty and injustice were under the circumstances this walking backward to throw a mantle over the of ancestors may be admirable as an example of piety but it is none the less in the writing of history while the present work is complete in itself it is also part of a larger enterprise as the half title in january i began to make studies for a history of life in the united states for the last sixteen or seventeen years by far the greater part of my time has been given to on the culture history of the united states in the period of english that good old colony time about which we have had more sentiment than information as year after year was consumed in this preparation the magnitude of the task became apparent and i began to feel the fear for my work so expressed by that the darkness of age and death would have covered over both it and me before the performance it seemed better therefore to redeem from the chance of such a portion of my work by this most difficult part of the task in order that when early or late the inevitable night shall fall the results of my labor such as they are may not be wholly covered over by the darkness there is always difference of opinion in regard to the comparative with which the several portions of a historical narrative should be treated and i can not hope to escape criticism on this point i have related some events with what will be considered of detail but the purpose of this work is to give an insight into the life and character of the people and there are details that make the reader feel the very spirit and manner of the time it is better to let the age disclose itself in action it preface ix is only by ingenious and through that we can win this kind of knowledge from the past literary considerations should have some weight in deciding how fully an episode shall be treated unless the historian is content to perform the homely service of a of the crude ore of knowledge i have sought to make this a work of art as well as of historical science to borrow a phrase from some in this volume will be explained when its appear i find it an embarrassing task to make acknowledgment to those who have assisted me the debts that have accumulated since i began are too many to be recorded i must not neglect to express my grateful remembrance of the hospitality shown to my during my various in england at the british museum and at the public record office every facility has been extended to me and a similar attention was shown to my wants at other less public of books such as the society for the of the gospel to dr richard the head of the printed book department of the museum i owe thanks for many personal attentions i am also indebted to mr e m keeper of the in the museum the late mr w of the record office was very obliging i owe most of all to the kindness of the right honorable james m p who found time in the midst of his as a member of parliament and his duties in high office to secure for me access to private stores of historical material lord with generous kindness put himself to much trouble to my examination of the at house i am indebted to lord for permission to visit house and read there s in the original manuscript i must ask others in england who my to accept a general acknowledgment but i can not forget the of a nation their courtesy to a stranger in common with students i received polite attentions during my in paris at the in this country i owe much to the of public and their � too much to allow me to my obligations to individuals at the and at the under its more recent management my debt has been continual for many years are due to the officers of the boston public library the library of the in and the of the new york the the the and the virginia historical societies to college library and to the new york state library am specially indebted from them i have been able to my own collection by the library has granted me similar privileges the new york library on the other hand i have not found hospitable to to my generous friend mr i owe thanks for many dr thomas opened his valuable collection to me and the late mr s l m showed me similar kindness my friend mr s permitted me to use at my own desk valuable works from his collection there are others whose friendly attentions can be more recognized in later volumes of this series and yet others whom i 