be blown off, but left hanging in the Shrouds; then her Missen. top; then all her Masting seemed blown away by the Board: Quickly after the Hulk brought into a Careen, she overset, and so vanished into a smoaky Cloud, which in some time dissipated, leaving, as everywhere else, a clear Air. The admiring Spectators could distinguish the several Colours of each Part, the Principal Riging, and such Proportions, as caused not only the generality of Persons to say, This was the Mould of their Ship, and thus was her Tragick End: But Mr. Davenport also in publick declared to this Effect, That God had condescended, for the quieting of their afflicted Spirits, this Extraordinary Account of his Sovereign Disposal of those for whom so many Fervent Prayers were made continually. Thus I am, Sir,

Your Humble Servant,

JAMES PIERPONT.

READER, There being yet living so many Credible Gentlemen, that were Eye-Witnesses of this Wonderful Thing, I venture to Publish it for a thing as undoubted, as 'tis wonderful.

[Magnalia, book i,“ Antiquities, or Field prepared for Considerable Things to be Acted thereupon," chapter 6, section 6.]

THE LAST DAYS OF THEOPHILUS EATON

His Eldest Son he maintained at the College until he proceeded Master of Arts; and he was indeed the Son of his Vows, and a Son of great Hopes. But a severe Catarrh diverted this Young Gentleman from the Work of the Ministry whereto his Father had once devoted him; and a Malignant Fever then raging in those Parts of the Country, carried off him with his wife within Two or Three Days of one another. This was counted the sorest of all the Trials that ever befel his Father in the Days of the Years of his Pilgrimage; but he bore it with a Patience and Composure of Spirit which was truly admirable. His dying Son look'd earnestly on him, and said, Sir, What shall we do! Whereto, with a well-ordered Countenance, he replied, Look up to God! And when he passed by his Daughter drowned in Tears on this Occasion, to her he said, Remember the Sixth Commandment,

Hurt not your self with Immoderate Grief; Remember Job, who said, The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord! You may mark what a Note the Spirit of God put upon it; in all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly God accounts it a charging of him foolishly, when we don't submit unto his Will patiently. Accordingly he now governed himself as one that had attained unto the Rule of Weeping as if we wept not; for it being the Lord's Day, he repaired unto the Church in the Afternoon, as he had been there in the Forenoon, though he was never like to see his Dearest Son alive any more in this World. And though before the First Prayer began, a Messenger came to prevent Mr. Davenport's praying for the Sick Person, who was now Dead, yet his Affectionate Father alter'd not his Course, but Wrote after the Preacher as formerly; and when he came Home he held on his former Methods of Divine Worship in his Family, not for the Excuse of Aaron, omitting any thing in the Service of God. In like sort, when the People had been at the Solemn Interment of this his Worthy Son, he did with a very Unpassionate Aspect and Carriage then say, Friends, I thank you all for your Love and Help, and for this Testimony of Respect unto me and mine: The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken; blessed be the Name of the Lord! Nevertheless, retiring hereupon into the Chamber where his Daughter then lay Sick, some Tears were observed falling from him while he uttered these Words, There is a difference between a sullen Silence or a stupid Senselessness under the Hand of God, and a Child-like Submission thereunto.

Thus continually he, for about a Score of Years, was the Glory and Pillar of New-Haven Colony. He would often say, Some count it a great matter to Die well, but I am sure 'tis a great matter to Live well. All our Care should be while we have our Life to use it well, and so when Death puts an end unto that, it will put an end unto all our Cares. But having Excellently managed his Care to Live well, God would have him to Die well, without any room or time then given to take any Care at all; for he enjoyed a Death sudden to every one but himself! Having Worshipped God with his Family after his usual manner, and upon some Occasion with much Solemnity charged all the Family to

carry it well unto their Mistress who was now confined by Sickness, he Supp'd, and then took a turn or two abroad for his Meditations. After that he came in to bid his Wife Good-night, before he left her with her Watchers; which when he did, she said, Methinks you look sad! Whereto he reply'd, The Differences risen in the Church of Hartford make me so; she then added, Let us e'en go back to our Native Country again; to which he answered, You may, [and so she did] but I shall Die here. This was the last Word that ever she heard him speak; for now retiring unto his Lodging in another Chamber, he was overheard about midnight fetching a Groan; and unto one, sent in presently to enquire how he did, he answered the Enquiry with only saying, Very Ill! And without saying any more, he fell asleep in Jesus: In the Year 1657 loosing Anchor from New-Haven for the better.

NEW-ENGLAND's Glory, full of Warmth and Light,
Stole away (and said nothing) in the Night.

[Magnalia, book ii, "Lives of the Governours, and the Names of the Magistrates, that have been Shields unto the Churches of New England (until the Year 1686)," chapter 9, sections 9 and 10.]

THE PIETY OF THOMAS SHEPARD

As he was a very Studious Person, and a very lively Preacher ; and one who therefore took great Pains in his Preparations, for his publick Labours, which Preparations he would usually finish on Saturday, by two a Clock in the Afternoon; with Respect whereunto he once used these Words, God will curse that Man's Labours, that lumbers up and down in the World all the Week, and then upon Saturday in the Afternoon goes to his Study; whereas God knows, that Time were little enough to pray in and weep in, and get his Heart into a fit Frame for the Duties of the approach

ing Sabbath. So the Character of his daily Conversation, was A Trembling Walk with God. Now to take true Measures of his Conversation, one of the best Glasses that can be used, is the Diary, wherein he did himself keep the Remembrances of many Remarkables that passed betwixt his God and himself; who were indeed A sufficient Theatre to one another. It would give some Inequality to this Part of our Church History, if all the Holy Memoirs left in the Private Writings of this Walker with God, should here be Transcribed: But I will single out from thence a few Passages, which might be more agreeably and profitably exposed unto the World.

[Magnalia, book iii, "Lives of Many Reverend, Learned, and Holy Divines (arriving such from Europe to America) by whose Evangelical Ministry the Churches of New-England have been Illuminated," chapter 5, section 17.]

JOHN ELIOT AND THE INDIAN LANGUAGE

The First Step which he judg'd necessary now to be taken by him, was to learn the Indian Language; for he saw them so stupid and senseless, that they would never do so much as enquire after the Religion of the Strangers now come into their Country, much less would they so far imitate us, as to leave off their beastly way of living, that they might be Partakers of any Spiritual Advantage by us: Unless we could first address them in a Language of their own. Behold, new Difficulties to be surmounted by our indefatigable Eliot! He hires a Native to teach him this exotick Language, and with a laborious Care and Skill, reduces it into a Grammar which afterwards he published. There is a letter or two of our Alphabet, which the Indians never had in theirs; tho' there were enough of the Dog in their Temper, there can scarce be found an R in their Language; (any more than in the Language of the Chinese, or of the Greenlanders) save that the Indians to the Northward, who have a peculiar Dialect, pronounce an R where an N is pronounced by our Indians; but if their Alphabat be short, I am sure the Words composed of it are long enough to tire the Patience of any Scholar in the World; they are Sesquipedalia Verba, of which their Linguo is composed; one would think,

they had been growing ever since Babel, unto the Dimensions to which they had now extended. For instance, if my Reader will count how many Letters there are in this one Word, Nummatachekodtantamooonganunnonash, when he has done, for his Reward I'll tell him, it signifies no more in English, than our Lusts, and if I were to translate, our Loves; it must be nothing shorter than Noowoman tammooonkanunonnash. Or, to give my Reader a longer Word than either of these, Kummogkodonattoottummooetiteaongannunnonash, is in English, Our Question: But I pray, Sir, count the Letters! Nor do we find in all this Language the least Affinity to, or Derivation from any European Speech that we are acquainted with. I know not what thoughts it will produce in my Reader, when I inform him, that once finding that the Daemons in a possessed young Woman, understood the Latin and Greek and Hebrew Languages, my Curiosity led me to make Trial of this Indian Language, and the Dæmons did seem as if they did not understand it. This tedious Language our Eliot (the Anagram of whose Name was TOILE) quickly became a Master of; he employ'd a pregnant and witty Indian, who also spoke English well, for his Assistance in it; and compiling some Discourses by his Help, he would single out a Word, a Noun, a Verb, and pursue it through all its Variations: Having finished his Grammar, at the close he writes, Prayers and Pains thro' Faith in Christ Jesus will do any thing! And being by his Prayers and Pains thus furnished, he set himself in the Year 1646 to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, among these Desolate Out

casts.

[Magnalia, book iii, part 3, part 3.]