Daily globe., 1883-08-29
THE NEW ENGLAND PRIMER.
Extracts from Remarkable Book Compiled
by John Eliot.

''SA4AS
lest primers in use in New England. A
single copy of an Indian primer, com
piled by John Eliot, and printed in
Cambridge in 1869, has been preserved.
Mr.. I. Hammond Trumbull, OF Hart
ford, Conn, it appears, is Of opinion
that its contents are substantially the
same as those of the earliest New En-
gland primer in English before they
were enlarged" and improved or
"adorned with cuts" This is nearly
twenty years older than the first New
England primer which can be traced,
and sixty-eight years older than the
earliest now known to survive in com
plete form. The New England prim-
err Of 1737," the CofgregotjonGjjst
says, has on the inside of the first leaf,
before the title, wood cut of King
George the Second and on the reverse
a CHASTITY image labeled The Pope, or
Man Of Sim It has THE Great Ca3i-
tai Letters the Small Letters fae
'Easie Syllables for Children and so
on to those caterpilliary ones of six
syllables each. Then came the wood
cuts with their rhymes, beginning N
Adams fall we sinned n-but stop
ping short of the late d.. Taylor's sag
gestion of the enunciation OF the next
stage of the same truth:
In Gains murder
We sinned furder.
These are succeeded by The Dutiful
Child's Promises" by An Alphabet cf
Lessons for Youth" the Lords PRAYER,
the Greed, the Commandments; six
verses, zone of which every child sIo,,l,i;
learn by heart" among which IS Now
[ lay me-" etc, and another:
Have communion with few,
Be intimate with ONE;
Deal justly by all,
Speak evil of none
Then came prayers at lying down and
for the morning, the names and orders
of the books of the Old and New Testa-
ment, with "Verses for Little Chill
dren," beginning:
Lord, if Thou lengthen out my days, etc,
and the hymn:
Though 1 am young, little one
followed, over leaf, by the famous and
never to be forgotten picture cut of
"Mr. John Rogers, Minister Of the
Gospel in London, the first martyr in
Queen Mary's Reign"-his wife with
nine small Children and one at her
Breast following him to the Stake"
Then follow the verses said to have
been made by Mr.. Rogers as an "iIx-
hortation" Gin later editions, "Advice")
to his children; but which Mr.. Truua-
bull shows were, in fact, composed bv
Robert Smith, a contemporary OF Rogers,
and later a martyr also. The " "Shortc-
Catechism,' completes the book. Tie
next edition known to exist is called
the New England Primer, Improved"
printed at Boston in 17GS. and ve,.v
considerably altered from its pEa;cco.;-
8or. Dr. Irumbull points out ta4s s.le
Great Revival" had interveuei be-
tween these two editions, and he traces
to the influence Of this fact the obvious
change which now comes ever the ai,i1i5
Of the primer, which is 10 longer mi
marily anti-papal, but evangelical. The
Pope as a bugbear is gone, and al
that sayored Of worldliness, frivoity
and vain imaginiDgs" was ousteI bv a
substitute of distinctively religious
tone. Notice some such changes Of
this character as the following:
ORIGINAL. IMPROVED"
The cat doth play Christ crucified
And after slay. For sinners dy'd
dog will bite The Deuge drown'd
thief at night. The earth around.
Nightingales sing Noah did view
In time OF Spring. TIL old world & new
Time cuts down all, Young Timothy
Both great and small. Learnt sin to fly.
Dr.. Trumbull also points out how the
liberty thus taken by this editor en-
boldened those who published later
editions to make still further innova-
tions. Witness the following changes
in regard to the letter K:
1877. Our King the good
No man of blood.
i76S. Proud Korah's troop
Was swallowed up. 4
1897. The British King
Lost States thirteen.
1872. 'Tis youths delight
To fly their Kite.
This improved" primer was issued
in succeeding editions in ITO, 1776 and
1777.
SCORPIONS.