American biography

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

RICHARD MONTGOMERY

AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

EDITED BY

JARED SPARKS

M

COTTON MATHER

By
WILLIAM B. O. PEABODY

RICHARD MONTGOMERY

By
JOHN ARMSTRONG

Vol. \\

HARPER & BROTHERS

PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON J902

Added

GIFT

CONTENTS

PAGE

LIFE OF COTTON MATHER 3

CHAPTER I

The Mather Family.— Early Education of Cot
ton Mather. — He enters Harvard College. —
His Studious Habits and Religious Impres
sions. — His Prayers and Fasts. — His " Es
says to do Good." — Settled in the Ministry
as a Colleague with his Father. — His Rules
of Preaching, and Manner of discharging Pa
rochial Duties. — Singular Meditations and
Ejaculations, to which he was accustomed . . 3

CHAPTER II

Marriage of Cotton Mather. — Character of his
Son, Samuel Mather. — Mode of instructing
and governing his Children. — Sir Edmund
Andros. — Increase Mather. — Sir William
Phips. — Cotton Mather's Agency in promot
ing the Delusions of Witchcraft 35

CHAPTER III

Sir William Phips. — Robert Calef. — The
Influence of his Writings in exposing the

M775804

CONTENTS

PAGE

Deceptions and allaying the Frenzy of Witch
craft. — Further Opinions of Cotton Mather
on this Subject, and his Attempts to justify
his Conduct 76

CHAPTER IV

Characteristic Extracts from his Diary. — His
Vigils. — Description of the " Magnolia Christi
Americana." — Instances of his Enthusiasm.
— A remarkable Courtship. — His Second Mar
riage 101

CHAPTER V

Governor Dudley. — Disappointment of Cotton
Mather at not being chosen President of Har
vard College. — His extraordinary Letter to
Governor Dudley. — His Belief in the special
Interpositions of Providence. — Elected a Fel
low of the Royal Society. — Received the De
gree of Doctor of Divinity. — His Domestic
Afflictions 122

CHAPTER VI

Philanthropic Undertakings. — He Attempts to
Christianize the Negroes. — Manner in which
he employed his Time. — Habits of Industry.
— First Introduction of Inoculation into Amer
ica. — It is boldly and firmly sustained by
Cotton Mather against a violent Opposition.
— Much Praise due for the Part he acted. —
Early and successful Labors of Dr. Boylston

CONTENTS

PAGE

in this Cause. — Warm Controversy on the
Subject 144

CHAPTER VII

Case of Self-delusion. — Harvard College. —
Curious Record from the Diary of Cotton
Mather describing the State of his own Mind.
— His last Sickness and Death. — Remarks
on his Character and Writings 167

LIFE OF RICHARD MONTGOMERY .... 193
v

LIFE

OF

COTTON MATHER

BY

WILLIAM B. O. PEABODY

COTTON MATHER.

CHAPTER I.

The Mather Family. — Early Education of Cot
ton Mather. — He enters Harvard College. — •
His Studious Habits and Religious Impres
sions. — His Prayers and Fasts. — His " Es
says to do Good." — Settled in the Ministry
as a Colleague with his Father. — His Rules
of Preaching, and Manner of discharging
Parochial Duties. — Singular Meditations
and Ejaculations, to which he was accustomed.

"UNDER this stone lies Richard Mather,
Who had a son greater than his father,
And eke a grandson greater than either."

This ancient epitaph is introduced, not on
account of its poetical merits, but because it
describes the priestly succession of this remark
able family, which bore a distinguished part in
the early history of New England. The scale
of reputation, which it contains, probably assigns
to each one of those commemorated the rank

AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

which lie deserves, at least so far as natura.
ability: fa concerned:

Richard Mather was a Non-conformist divine,
who became an exile for the sake of truth and
freedom, and emigrated to America in 1635.
The year after his arrival, he was invited to
become the pastor of the church in Dorchester,
where he resided till his death. He is not de
scribed as remarkable for talent, but as possess
ing a weight of character and knowledge of
ecclesiastical affairs, which gave him great in
fluence in his day. He also sustained the less
enviable reputation of an able controvertist, whose
services were called for on more than one occa
sion. Our fathers were good judges of intellect
teal and practical ability ; and, though we have not
many means of judging for ourselves, we may
safely believe that his high reputation was de
served.

The name of Increase Mather, the third son
of Richard, is, as the epitaph declares, more
distinguished than that of his father. He began
to preach the year after leaving college, and
soon after sailed for England, where his brother
Samuel lived, in great favor with the ruling pow
ers, till the time of the Restoration, when ne
was one of the ejected "two thousand." In
crease Mather was strongly urged to remain in
England ;. but he rejected all offers, which re

COTTON MATHER. 5

quired him to renounce his principles, "choosing
rather to trust God's providence than to violate
the tranquillity of hjs own mind," and after an
absence of four years he returned to his own
country. In 1664 he was ordained pastor of the
North Church in Boston. He was twice chosen
President of Harvard College. The first time,
in 1681, his church refused to part with him, on
any conditions ; but in 1684, when the office was
again offered him, he accepted with a stipulation
that he should retain his relation to his people.
He retired from the station in 1701, when an act
of the General Court was passed, requiring the
President to live at Cambridge. His son thought
that this law was aimed at him by his enemies ;
but other authorities say, and probably with suf
ficient reason, that he resigned on account of
infirmity and age.

Increase Mather was engaged in public ser
vices, not usual with members of his profession ;
these were high and honorable, and will be no
ticed in their proper place. His character needs
to be drawn, in order to show under what in
fluences Cotton Mather came forward in life.
Increase Mather was a man of great energy and
practical good sense, with an intellect clear and
strong, but not adventurous, and a heart that was
equal to all duties and dangers. Formed under
the teaching of one, who became an exile for

6 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the sake of conscience, and having himself been
tried and tempted in those changing times, he
had all the devotion of the " prophets old," to
gether with a leaning toward severity and gloom.
As a preacher, he was powerful and fervent, with
more regard to manner than was usual ; and such
was his conviction of the degeneracy of the times,
that all his sermons were filled with that plain
tive lamentation for the decline of religion, which
always finds audience in the heart.

It is curious to see his representations of the
state of society in his day. He says that drunk
enness, tavern-haunting, sabbath-breaking, and ne
glect of public and domestic worship, together
with all kindred transgressions, had become com
mon in New England. Unfortunately he re
garded the growing liberality of the age, no*
perhaps as one of its sins, but certainly as one
of its dangers ; he cried out against toleration, as
the instrument which Satan was employing to
root out every vestige of religion ; but, by a for
tunate and honorable inconsistency, his heart
being better than his maxims, he extended lib
erality further than some who thought it a duty
Though he had his trials when he lived, and
often suffered from the jealousy of others and
the want of a sufficient support, there was no
man of his age, who was more honored when
living, or more lamented when he died.

COTTON MATHER 7

The good sense and sound judgment, for which
Increase Mather was renowned and trusted, were
the very qualities in which his son was most
notoriously wanting; but this was a defect of
which Cotton Mather was not likely to be con
scious, and he was often perplexed to account for
the little confidence that was felt in him, and the
little reverence that was paid him. For many
years he was associated with his father in the
pastoral office, and he seems to have been great
ly admired for his talents and learning ; but the
confidence of the people, and the honors of pub
lic trust, were prizes that he never was able to
gain. He was well aware, that his father could
bear no comparison with himself in point of
genius and attainments; nor could he conceive
why one, not equal to himself in these re
spects, should stand so much higher in the gen
eral esteem.

It was not, however, to Cotton Mather's own
deficiencies alone that his want of influence was
owing ; other causes were at work to deprive
the clergy of that ascendency, which they had
held for many years. In the days of persecution
for conscience' sake, the pastor of the church
the leader of their devotions, stood in a different
relation to his people. His business then was
to defend, rather than to lead the flock ; to set
them an example of fortitude, patience, and in-

8 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

flexible resistance to all authority, which attempt
ed to enslave their souls. The qualities required
for such a duty were all of the bold and com
manding sort, and ordinary men did not covet a
distinction to which they knew that they were
not equal. But, when those times passed away,
and peaceful virtues were required for the sacred
office, the political influence of the clergy natu
rally lessened. Power was intrusted to other
hands ; a change which seemed to them humili
ating, though it was, in fact, placing them on
me ground, where their own usefulness and dutj
required them to stand.

There was a sufficient reason, then, why Cot
ton Mather should not inherit his father's politi
cal influence ; because the days of such influence
had passed by, and Increase Mather was the
last who was permitted to hold it in his hands.
And even he, venerated as he was, retained it
more from habit than any other reason ; the peo
ple had been taught to confide in him, and there
fore continued to make him an exception to the
general rule of his profession. Cotton Mather
does not appear to have understood the change
which was going on in the public mind, and he
therefore ascribed to the ill-will of his enemies,
that which they had little power to do.

COTTON MATHER was born in Boston, Feb
ruary 12th, 1662-3. His mother was Maria,

COTTON MATHER.

daughter of the celebrated John Cotton, a man
whose praise has been in all the churches, though
there is some reason to doubt, whether he de
served the whole of his renown. To show re
spect to his memory, Increase Mather gave the
name of Cotton to his son.

This account of his parentage is enough to
show what hi? expectations were likely to be.
Inheriting the name and profession of two such
men, he could see no cause why he should not
stand as high as they did in the public esteem.
But, for the reasons just given, this was impos
sible ; and it was not surprising, that this perpet
ual disappointment should have affected his view
of men and things. He must be censured with
forbearance and reserve ; for there are very few
who, in the same situation, would not have fel
deeply wounded. Many, doubtless, would have
kept the feeling more to themselves, knowing
how little sympathy it awakens ; but Cotton
Mather made no secret of his mind and heart ;
whatever his emotions were, he expressed them
with freedom, and did not always select the most
favorable and timely occasions

It is impossible to deny, that the reputation of
Cotton Mather has declined of late years. In
his own age, he was looked on as a wonder, not
so much on account of his talent and industry,
as for his extensive attainments His talents

10 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

were of a high order, and his energy and method
in seizing and using every moment of time for
some purpose of improvement are alone suffi
cient to show, that he was not an ordinary man.
The attainments in which he delighted were not
all of the most valuable kind; but it must be
remembered, they were approved by the pre
vailing taste, and made him a subject of universal
envy and applause. He is said to have known
more of the history of New England than any
other man ; but it is now discovered, that his
facts and dates are not to be relied on. Char
acters are drawn by him with great partiality,
and all his representations more or less colored
by his own likings and aversions.

The greatest stain upon his memory is the
part, which he took in the memorable witchcraft
delusion. This matter is not wholly explained ;
but enough appears to show, that the prevailing
frenzy was owing in some measure, at least, to
his influence and exertion. His father set his
face against those ferocious proceedings. Many
others of the clergy, also, though they believed
in witchcraft, were entirely opposed to the hasty
convictions and cruel executions of the accused.
But he, without seeming to have a full confi
dence in the goodness of his cause, does appear
to have urged others on to lengths, to which he
would himself have been afraid and ashamed to

COTTON MATHER. 11]

go. His writings on the subject show a willing
ness to excite the passions of others, together
with a desire to keep apart from the prosecu
tions, which, taken in connexion with subsequent
avowals, seem to prove, that he was not con
vinced that his course was honorable.

The account of his education and early life,
given by his biographers, is but meagre. This,
however, is no great loss ; for the incidents com
monly set down to fill this page of a great man's
history are poor indications of character, and are
more apt to show how much the writer was
pressed for materials, than what the subject of
his memoir was likely to be. We might natu
rally expect to find Cotton Mather manifesting
an early passion for books and learning, and in
this we are not disappointed. He was educated
at the free school in Boston, first by Mr. Ben
jamin Thompson, a man, we are assured, " of
great learning and wit " ; and afterwards by the
famous Mr. Ezekiel Cheever, whose memory has
descended to our own times, and who, in addi
tion to his other qualifications, had the advantage
of some experience in his profession, which he
followed for seventy years, His studies in prep
aration for college were more extensive, than
was usual at that day; since we hear of his
studying Homer and Isocrates, besides many Lat-

12 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

in authors, which were not very familiar, even
to those who had taken a degree.

He entered college at the age of twelve, which
was then thought very early, and certainly is toe
early both for the pursuits and temptations of
the place. But he seems to have had a strong
ambition, which aided his better principles, in
securing him from moral dangers, and making
him attentive to his duties. He wished and ex
pected to be a great man ; and though expecta
tions of this kind are not often shared by others
in his case, on account of his birth, they were
thought appropriate and graceful. When he be
came a member of the institution, Dr. Hoar, who
was then president, gave him according to cus
tom, " this head for his initial declamation ";

"Telemacho veniet, vivat modo, fortior oetas."

We have little information concerning his rank
in college ; but, judging from its close, it must
have been sufficiently high ; for, when he look
his first degree, President Oakes, in his Latin
oration at the commencement, expressed himself
in a strain, which may be thus translated.

"Mather is named Cotton Mather. What a
name ! But my hearers, I confess, I am wrong ;
I should have said what names ! I shall say
nothing of his reverend father, since I dare not
praise him to his face ; but should he resemble
and represent his venerable grandfathers, John

COTTON MATHER. 13

Cotton and Richard Mathar, in piety, learning,
elegance of mind, solid judgment, prudence, and
wisdom, he will bear away the palm ; and I trust
that in this youth, Cotton and Mather will be
united and flourish again."

Such an address, on such an occasion, would
now make a considerable sensation. The effect
of it was to fan the flame of Mather's ambition,
and so to make him what all expected him to
be. But it doubtless had another effect, which
was to produce much of that jealousy in others,
and that discontent in himself, which brought so
much unhappiness on his later years. Some poet
of the day alluded to what he called his " omin
ous name ";

" Where two great names their sanctuary take,
And in a third combined a greater make."

Being blessed, as his son informs us, "with a
modest inquisitiveness," a gift which is said not
to be uncommon in New England, he made rapid
advances before taking his second degree, which
he received from the hand of his father. The
TJiesis, which he then maintained, was "the di
vine origin of the Hebrew points "; but he after
wards saw reason to change his mind, and held
the contrary opinion to the last.

Such a man as Increase Mather would not
regard learning and intellectual accomplishments
as so important as religious education. His first

14 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

efforts, therefore, were directed to the formation
of a Christian character in his son, who had suf
ficient fervor and readiness to receive impres
sions, and wanted the judicious counsel, which his
father was well able to give. We are told, that
almost as soon as he began to speak he began to
pray, and practised this duty constantly in all his
earlier years. He often composed forms for his
schoolmates, and recommended the duty to them.
He frequently reproved them for profaneness and
misconduct, and set them the example of avow
ing his religious principles fearlessly on all proper
occasions ; a kind of moral courage, which, if it
were more generally found in the young, would
save many from ruin ; for the truth is, that many
are led away, not merely against their judgment,
but actually against their will, for the want of
firmness to bear up under the ridicule of those,
whose good opinion they would not value.

It is clear from the history of his emotions at
this time, that he needed judicious treatment like
that of his father; for his spirit was one that
might easily have been kindled with enthusiasm,
and thus have been a firebrand to 'he churches.
He was early, as his son assures us, * brought by
some miscarriages into inquiry into his spiritual
estate. He found very frequent returns of doubts
and fears, and frequently renewed his closure
with Jesus Christ, as his only relief against them."

COTTON MATHER. 15

While he was oppressed with a sense of his vile-
ness, his father took the occasion to point out to
him, as the chief beauty of religion, the welcome
which it gives to the repenting, whom it receives
as readily as if they had never wandered. By
clear illustrations he explained the subject to him
in such a manner, that the formation of his re
ligious character was not left to the imagination.

When he was fifteen, he was much affected
by reading Dr. Hall's " Treatise on Meditation,"
which advises the reader to proceed methodically
in the performance of this duty. Probably this
advice was never more faithfully regarded than
by Cotton Mather. He made many attempts to
form a perfectly logical system of meditation, and
wrote a treatise on the subject, which was highly
regarded by his friends. There cannot be much
doubt of its originality, as the reader will see from
a description. He first proceeded doctrinally,
with answering a question, explaining a scripture,
and considering the causes, effects, adjuncts, op-
posites, and resemblances of the subject of his
reflections. In the second place, he proceeded
practically, first with an examination of himself,
next an expostulation with himself, and lastly, a
resolution in the strength of grace offered in the
new covenant. His biographer calls this a happy
way of preaching with and to himself. Whatever
the religious effect may have been, it would not

16 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

be easy to find any thing more illustrative of his
peculiar character, and at the same time of .he
taste of the age.

At the age of fourteen he began that system
of prayer and fasting, which he afterwards carried
quite as far as nature could sustain it. In his
day, men had become skeptical as to the obliga
tion and effect of abstaining from food ; not so
with him. He was ambitious rather to resemble
a Rabbi mentioned in the Talmud, whose face
was black by reason of his fastings. His son ut
his funeral sermon remarks, that the fasts observed
by his father amounted to about four hundred and
fifty, and proceeds to fortify his assertion, by say
ing, that " he thought himself starved, unless he
fasted once a month ; " he often kept weekly
fasts, sometimes two in the week. Once, in the
latter part of his life, he was resolved to abstain
from food for three days together, and " to spend
the time in knocking at the door of heaven."
The character of the first day was confession and
contrition. The character of the second day was
resignation to the will of God, in which, says his
biographer, " he found astonishing entertainment " ;
the character of the third day was request. He
himself declares, that the last nad a happy effect
on his mind. On one occasion, it seems to have
affected his nervous system. He says that heaven
seemed open to him, so that he longed to die ;

COTTON FATHER. 17

he was hardly able to bear the ecstasies of divine
love. They exhausted him ; they made him
faint ; they were insupportable, and he was
obliged to withdraw from them, lest the raptures
should make him swoon away.

It is not surprising, that these observances, so
early begun and so steadily pursued, should have
had an effect on his character, inclining him to
grasp at every thing, which seemed like an emana
tion from the invisible world.

At the age of sixteen he made the Christian
profession. He considered this service as binding
him to efficient self-examination ; and some exer
cises which he wrote at this age, show his peculiar
sense of this duty. The language is certainly
overstrained and excessive ; apparently not so
much meant to express his feelings, as to state a
standard to which his feelings must be brought to
conform. This view of " things as they ought to
be, not as they were," runs through a great pro
portion of his writings.

But there was another duty to which he be
lieved himself bound by his Christian profession ;
it was usefulness ; doing good as he had oppor
tunity. He was deeply impressed with a sense
of this obligation, and there is reason to suppose
that he regarded it. He began by instructing his
brothers and sisters, exhorting the domestics, and
doing them every service in his power. As he

XI.— 2

18 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

grew older, he extended his aims and endeavors..
As his principles and maxims on this subject were
embodied in his well-known Essays to do Good,
it will not be out of place to give some account of
tha; performance now.

In this work, which was highly approved by
Dr. Franklin, he endeavors to show the various
ways and relations in which good may be done,
and to prove, that it is the only sure process by
which we can secure good for ourselves. He
says, that there is a " scorbutic and spontaneous
lassitude in the minds of men, which, while it
sometimes prevents their being active in evil, is
also the cause of their doing so little good." His
object is to remove it, by showing the various rea
sons they have for being active in usefulness, and
to point out to them the ways in which their energy
can be exerted without waste of power. But he
expresses a prophetic anticipation, that fields of
action, which were then unimagined, would after
wards be opened. " A vast variety of new ways
to do good will be lit upon ; paths, which no
fowl of the best flight at noble designs has yet
known, and which the vulture's most piercing eye
hath not seen, and where loins of the strongest
resolution have never passed."

He suggests the expediency of resorting to the
principle of association, to accomplish by the
authority and force of numbers, what individuals

COTTON MATHER. 1£

are unablr to do. There is reason to think, that
this suggestion, though not new, was adopted to
some extent, n consequence of his recommen
dation ; and tiius was established the system,
which now operates throughout our country. His
plan was to have associations formed in every
neighborhood, which should keep an eye upon
all growing evils, and use the most effectual means
fo oppress them. They were to extend their
oversight even to personal and domestic relations,
and, if they saw any man violating or neglecting
his duty, were to offer him their friendly warnings.
They were also to reconcile dissensions, and search
out and relieve distress.

But after he has sketched the plan of such
associations, and painted in glowing terms the good
they are able to do, he thinks it necessary to cau
tion their members, not to expect gratitude at
the hands of men. " When such societies have
done all the good they can, and nothing but good,
and walk on in more unspotted brightness than
that of the moon in heaven, let them look to be
maligned and libelled as a set of scoundrels."
This is not very encouraging, and hardly consists
with Scripture ; " Who is he that will harm you,
if ye be followers of that which is good ? " He
was one of those unlucky persons, who, from want
of discrimination, would mortally offend those
whom he was most desirou? to serve

20 AMERICAN BIOGRAPH/.

He subjoins to this work a list of desirable
objects, which such societies should keep in view
The first is, the communication of the gospel to
other nations. He says, however, that " till the tern
pie be cleansed, there will be no gathering of the
nations to worship in it ; and there will be danger
that many persons, active in such societies, will be
more intent on propagating their own little forms,
fancies, and interests, than the more weighty mat
ters of the gospel." He also proposes sending
Bibles, Psalters, and other works, among the na
tions, translated into the various languages of the
world. He recommends soldiers and sailors as
proper subjects of instruction, believing that the
moral character of those professions may be much
exalted. He also points out the tradesman's
library as a source of moral influence, and pro
poses institutions for teaching the young the ele
ments of religious duty.

On the whole, he takes a comprehensive view
of a subject, which was not then familiar as it now
is to the public mind, disfigured only by com
plaints of human ingratitude, which are not par
ticularly graceful, in those who profess to act on
motives not connected with the present world.

While he was thus ambitious to be useful, even
in his early childhood, there were some traits in
his goodness peculiar to himself. Among other
things we are told, that he thought it his duty to

COTTON MATHER. 21

devote to Melchizedek a tenth part of all that was
afforded him. It is not easy to tell precisely what
was the nature of this appropriation ; but it il-
listrates character, and that is sufficient for the
present purpose. There were other instances in
which he had some remarkable proofs of the truth
of the maxim, that virtue is its own reward. He
calls them " the retaliating dispensations of heaven
towards him." " I can tell," he says, " that the
Lord has most notably, in many instances, retali
ated my dutifulness to my father. As now, I was
the owner of a watch, which I was fond of for the
variety of motions in it. I saw my father took a
fancy to it, and I made a present of it unto him,
with some thoughts, that, as it was but a piece of
due gratitude unto such a parent, so I should not
go without a recompense. Quickly after this
there came to me a gentlewoman, from whom I
had no reason to expect so much as a visit. But
in her visit, she, to my surprise, prayed me to ac
cept, as a present from her, a watch, which was
indeed preferable to that with which I had parted,
i resolved hereupon to stir up dutifulness to par
ents, u"i myself and others, more than ever." His
exhortations would probably have taken effect, if
children could have looked forward to an imme
diate payment in kind ; but when acts of favor
were attended with such retaliations, it did not
require any remarkable self-sacrifice to do them

22 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

At another time he bought a Spanish Indian
servant, and afterwards bestowed him on his fath
er. Some years after, a knight, whom he had
laid under obligations, bestowed a Spanish Indian
servant upon him.

For the seven years after leaving college, Cotton
Mather engaged in the business of instruction,
chiefly in preparing students for college. He had
some under his care, older than himself. He car
ried them through the various branches of aca
demic learning, including some which would now
hardly be embraced in preparatory studies. He
heard their recitations every day in the originals
both of the Old and New Testaments, giving par
ticular attention to the Hebrew. But he consid
ered these attainments quite inferior to others, and
therefore labored most assiduously to instruct them
in the principles of religious duty. He endeav
ored to turn every incident and every lecture into
an occasion for giving this kind of instruction,
which practice, his son assures us, had a good ef
fect upon his readiness and wit, and had a happy
influence on the young men.

There is no doubt that his fervor and his strong
passion for learning must have inspired similar
desires in his pupils. Many of them became emi
nent and useful men. He used sometimes to say,
that he " would give all that he was worth in the
world, for the measures of grace and sense, which

COTTON MATHER. 23

he saw in some that were once his scholars/' He
no doubt believed what he said ; but it shows his
simplicity not to perceive the line where humility
borders on affectation. But it was said, because
he had imposed upon himself; not because he
had any desire to impose upon others.

Cotton Mather, the heir of two such ecclesias
deal names, could of course be destined to no
other profession than the ministry ; but there was
a difficulty in his way not easily overcome, which
was, an uncommon impediment in his speech,
with which he was troubled from his early years.
His son says, that the evil was made more tolera-
ole by the circumstance, that Moses, Paul, Virgil,
and Boyle were stammerers before him ; and to have
such great and good companions in adversity must
have been a great relief. However this may have
been, he did wisely to follow the advice of " that
good old schoolmaster, Mr. Corlet," who called
on purpose to advise him ; saying, that he must
accustom himself to a " dilated deliberation " in
public speaking ; for, as in singing no one stam
mers, so by prolonging his pronunciation he might
get a habit of speaking without hesitation. This
advice was followed, and with perfect success

He had for some time given up all thoughts of
the ministry on account of this defect ; but, when
he was thus taught to surmount it, he abandoned
his medical studies, in which he had become

24 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

deeply engaged ; and, after having given the atten
tion to theology which was then thought neces
sary, he prepared for his public appearance. In
so doing he did what probably would not have
been thought of by others ; " on account of the
calling he had relinquished, he did, in his first
sermon, consider our Saviour as the glorious phy
sician of souls."

" Nachmanides," says Samuel Mather, " was
styled Rabbi at eighteen years of ago ; " and Cot
ton Mather deserved the title at the same age ;
for at this age he distinguished himself and began
to teach ; for in August, 1680, he first preached
for his grandfather in Dorchester, the Sabbath
after for his father in Boston, and on the sue
ceeding Sabbath in his grandfather's desk in Bos
ton. The North Church turned their attention
to him at once as a proper person to associate
with his father, and in February, 1680, gave
him a unanimous invitation. It would not be
easy now, to invite a preacher in February, who
preached the first time in August of the same
year; but this was in the days when the New
Style was not adopted.

It does not appear what the terms of this iavi
tation were ; it could not have been to become
a colleague with his father ; for this offer was ac
cepted, and yet it was not till January, 1682, that
they invited him to become their pastor. He for

COTTON MATHER. 25

some time declined complying for various reasons ;
one was, that his father was in full strength, and
did not need a colleague ; another was, his low
estimation of his own powers ; and we are told,
that, whenever he read the text, " They watch
for your souls as those who must give an account,"
the words " caused an earthquake within him."

Before he accepted the trust that was offered,
he kept many days of fasting and prayer. At last,
having made up his mind, he was ordained May
13th, 1684, when Mr. Allen, Mr. Willard, and
his father, imposed hands on him, and he received
from the celebrated Eliot the fellowship of the
churches. Some portion of the scruples, which
prevented his acceding to the wishes of the soci
ety before, rested upon the subject of ordination.
To satisfy himself, he examined the Fathers of the
first three centuries, and at last determined that
the choice of the people was essential to the
validity of that service. Truly, there are not
many now, of any sect, who, even without exam
ining the Fathers, would hesitate to adopt his
conclusions.

This congregational principle does not appear
to have been carried to its full extent, even bv
those wno considered it as most important. In
the year 1697, the church of which the Mathers
were pastors, voted, " a letter of admonition to
the church in Charlestown, for betraying the ib-

26 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

erties of the churches, by putting into the hands
of the whole inhabitants, the choice of a minister."
Cotton Mather says, that many people would not
allow the church any priority of right in the choice
of a pastor. Sometimes the church made choice
of several pastors, from whom the congregation
selected one ; a mode which seems only to have
answered the purpose of securing the authority of
the church in name, since it gave to the inhabit
ants generally all the substantial power. It is
plain enough to every one who reads our history,
that, in political matters, the people were jealously
careful to retain all rights and powers within their
owr control, if not in their own hands ; and this
circumstance would serve to show, that they con
sidered ecclesiastical powers quite as much their
own, and never to be surrendered, where it was
important to insist upon them.

At the time of entering upon his duties, he was
conscientious and apprehensive ; and a passage in
his Diary * shows in a curious manner, what were
his temptations, and the means employed to re
sist them. He writes, " The apprehension of
cursed pride, the sin of young ministers, working

* During many years of his life, Cotton Mather kept
a Diary, in which personal incidents and opinions were
often minutely en;ered. This Diary is now scattered
in different places. It has been examined, and much
use made of it, in drawing up the present memoir.

COT TON MAT HER. 27

in my heart, filled me with inexpressible bitterness
and confusion before the Lord. In my early
youth, even when others of my age are playing
in the streets, I preached unto very great assem
blies, and found strange respects among the peo
ple of God. I feared, and thanks be to God that
he ever struck me with such a fear, lest a snare
and a pit were by Satan prepared for such a
novice. I resolved, therefore, that I would set
apart a day, to humble myself before God for the
pride of my heart, and entreat that by his grace I
may be delivered from that sin, and the wrath to
which I may, by that sin, be exposed."

In the account given of the exercises of that
day, he contrives to award himself a considerable
portion of praise. He states with great honesty
the reasons he had for self-applause, but he says,
that " proud thoughts fly-blow 'd his best perform
ances." In order to take down his self-exalting
spirit, he taxes his invention for hard names to
apply to himself oy way of humiliation. He says,
that he is " viler than a beast " ; " unsavory salt,
fit for nothing but th^ dunghill." His son gives
the passage at great length, thinking that, as he
had found it beneficial to himself, it might be so
to others, especially of the sacred order. It is
valuaole as a remarkable specimen of self-delusion
in which he reminds himself constantly of his own
" grandeurs," as he calls them, in the same tone

28 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

that the rich man uses when he professes himself
to be poor, a profession which he will thank no
one for believing.

His niles of preaching were systematic, in some
respects more so than was necessary. They sen'e
to show the man and his habits of mind. When
he was at a loss for a text, " he would make a
prayer to the Holy Spirit of Christ, as well to find
a text for him as to handle it " ; which seems to
be carrying the principle oi dependence quite as
far as it should go. He never undertook to treat
a subject, without carefully examining the text
in the original languages, and consulting all
commentators concerning it. He always chose
his subjects with a view, not to the display of
his own resources, but to the edification of his
hearers. He studied variety in his topics and
illustrations, bringing scriptural quotations to bear
on every part, and endeavoring " to fill his hour
well."

So far as respected manner, he was carefu. no*
to be too fast nor too loud, writing in short sen
tences, so that every hearer could easily grasp his
meaning. He always made use of notes in
preaching, though he was not enslaved oy them.
In this he differed from his father, who, with al)
his various and laborious duties, imposed on him
self the labor of writing his sermons and commit
ting them to memory ; a process which shows his

COTTON MATHER 29

of faithfulness in his duty. In general,
very little would be gained by this preparation ;
it would not have the effect of extemporaneous
speaking ; but there are some men, who, by hav
ing some such support to lean upon, can address
audiences in words suggested by the occasion,
hrow out new thoughts and illustrations as they
arise, and give to these efforts the finish of
studied, together with the fervor of extempora
neous speaking.

It may be as well to give, in this place, an
account of the plan on which he proceeded in
order to make himself useful in his profession.
He took a list of all the members of his church,
" and, in his secret prayers, resolved that he would
go over the catalogue, by parcels, upon his knees,
and pray for the most suitable blessings he could
think of, to be bestowed on each person by name
distinctly mentioned/7 He also endeavored "to
procure an exact account of those evil humors, of
which the place where he lived was at any time
under the dominion ; and, whereas those devils
could only be cast out by fasting and prayer, to
set apart a day of secret prayer and fasting fb
each of them."

His ideas of the amount of visiting, required in
the discharge of duty, show that it was not ex
pected from a clergyman in that day to have fre
quent intercourse with his people He devoted

30 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

one and sometimes two afternoons in the week tc
that purpose, sending word beforehand to the
families that he intended to visit them. It was
not, however, a familiar visit, so much as a re
ligious exhortation, when he inquired particular!)
into the religious feelings of each member of the
family, and gave them the counsel which they
seemed to require. " He could seldom despatch
more than four or five families in an afternoon,"
and he looked on this work as one of his most
difficult labors. Dr. Palfrey, in his Sermon on
the history of the Church in Brattle Square, re
marks that Dr. Colman extolled Cooper for
" knowing where to find the sick and poor of the
society when they sent their notes." It should
be remembered, that congregations then thought
it necessary to have two clergymen, one of whom
was called pastor, the other teacher, though their
duties were the same.

His son tells us, that " his love to his church
was very flaming." He often kept a fast with
special reference to its wants and welfare, and
then, though there were about four hundred con
nected with it, he would pray for each one of
them by name. Before his evening prayers, he
would ask himself, Which hath shown me any
kindness ? And he would supplicate heavenly bless
ings on each one that had obliged him. He did
not limit his prayer« to his friends, but endeavored

COTTON MATHER. 31

to keep his mind in a proper state toward his
enemies ; but in this endeavor he appears to have
been less successful, if the style of his controversy
truly represents his feelings.

He was certainly solicitous to be useful, and
spared neither labor nor expense in promoting the
spiritual good of his people. What subsistence
was allowed him by his people does not appear.
His father suffered much from poverty at times,
which might have been owing to his accepting the
agency abroad ; a trust in which the agent was
thought sufficiently recompensed by its honors.
Cotton Mather was constantly employed in dis
tributing religious books among his people. We
are assured by good authority, that he sometimes
gave away more than a thousand a year, and this
at a time when such works were more ponderous
than they are now, and the cheap inventions of
modern times were entirely unknown.

The disposition to derive improvement from all
circumstances, for himself and others, attended
him through life ; and though it was always sin
cere, it did not always manifest itself in the most
judicious and edifying manner. He determined
early in life to let no suggestion pass by him, and
many , which most men would never have thought
of turning to purposes of instruction, were wel
comed as excitements of devotion in his soul.

When the common business of the household

32 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

was going on, he was led into spiritual raedita
ticns. If they happened to be brewing, he would
say, " Lord, let us find in a glorious Christ a pro
vision for our thirsty souls ; " when baking, " Lord,
let a glorious Christ be the bread of life unto us ; "
arid on the washing-day, which is not apt to bring
the mind into a devotional frame, he would say,
" O, wash us thoroughly from sin ! O, take away
our filthy garments from us." These ejaculations
were provided and used on all such occasions.

So in all his personal actions. Late in his life
he writes in his Diary : " The snuffing of my can
dle is a frequent action with me. I have provided
a great number of pertinent wishes and thoughts
and prayers and praises, to be formed upon the
occurrences in my life, which afford occasions for
them." It must have been by an oversight that this
action was so long omitted. For all his mature
life he had been accustomed, when he wound up
his watch, to bless God for another day, and pray
that it might be spent to his glory. When he
heard a clock strike, he would pray that he might
so number his days, as to apply his heart unto
wisdom. When he knocked at a door, he used
it as an occasion for reviving the memory of the
promise, " Knock, and it shall be opened unto
you." When he mended his fire, it was with a
prayer that his love and zeal might be kindled
into a flarae. When he put out his candle on

COTTON MATHER. 33

retiring to rest at night, it was with an address
to the Father of lights, that his light might not go
out in darkness. When he paid a debt, he reflect
ed, that he should owe no man any thing but love.

He bore upon his mind a great number of
ejaculatory prayers, prepared for the occasions
when they were to be used. As a specimen,
those which were sometimes used at table may be
given. Looking on the gentlewoman that carved
for the guests, he said to himself, " Lord, carve a
rich portion of thy graces and comforts to that
person." Looking on a gentlewoman stricken in
years, " Lord, adorn that person with the virtues
which thou prescribest for aged women." For
one lately married, "Lord, marry and espouse
that person to thyself in a covenant never to be
forgotten." For a gentlewoman very beautiful,
" Lord, give that person an humble mind, and let
her be most concerned for those ornaments that
are of great price in thy sight."

So when he walked the streets, he implored
secret blessings upon those, who passed by him.
'At the sight of a tall man, he said, " Lord, give
that man high attainments in Christianity." For
a lame man, "Lord, help that man to walk up
rightly." For a negro, "Lord, wash that poor
soul; make him white by the washing of thy
spirit." For a very little man, "Lord, bestow
great blessings on that man." For young gentle-
xi. — 3

34 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

women, " Lord, make them wise virgins, and as
polished stones in thy temple." For a man going
by without observing him, " Lord, I pray thee,
help that man to take a due notice of Christ."
For a very old man, " Lord, make him an old
disciple." For a wicked man, " Lord, rescue
that poor man, who, it is to be feared, is possessed
by Satan, who leads him captive."

When he had a family, he taught his children,
in like manner to use the incidents of life as so
many suggestions from on high. Some years
after this he writes ; " Two of my children have
oeen newly scorched with gunpowder, wherein,
though they have received a merciful deliverance,
yet they undergo a smart that is considerable. I
must improve this occasion to inculcate lessons of
piety upon them ; especially with relation to theii
danger of everlasting burnings."

COTTON MATHER,

CHAPTER II.

Marriage of Cotton Mather. — Character of his
Son, Samuel Mather. — Mode of instructing
and governing his Children. — Sir Edmund
Andros. — Increase Mather. — Sir William
Phips. — Cotton Mather's Agency in promot
ing the Delusions of Witchcraft.

IN his twenty-fourth year, Cotton Mather
thought it advisable to marry ; not being moved
to that step by a partiality for any particular per
son, but by more general considerations relating
to his usefulness in life. " He first looked up to
Heaven for direction, and then asked counsel of
his friends." Having thus commenced where
most men end, he looked around for some suitable
person on whom to fix his affections. The person,
whom he selected to be the object of this passion
ate attachment, was the daughter of Colonel
Phillips of Charlesiown, and to her he was mar
ried shortly after. It is recorded of her by Samuel
Mather, with somewhat faint praise, that " shs
was a comely, ingenious woman, and an agreea
ble consort ; " but he might have enlarged upon
her merits without seeming too partial. Her
husband evidently had reason to bless the hour

36 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

in which he formed the connexion. By this
lady he had nine children, of which but one sur
vived him.

Samuel Mather, who afterwards officiated as
his biographer, was one of two children by a
second wife. He was a man very sparingly ea
dowed with talent, but with something of his
father's taste for a certain kind of learning. As
for the monument, which he erected to his father's
memory, no one can read it without lamenting
that he had not left that pious office to other
hands. It is a proof of his filial reverence and
affection, but it does him no honor in any othei
point of view. It is chiefly remarkable for its
resolute silence in regard to all those peculiarities
of habit, character, feeling, and domestic life,
which his relation to the subject of the memoir
gave him the best opportunity to know. He
seems to have admired nothing in his father, not
even his industry, energy, and various learning,
so much as the fasts, vigils, and other forms which
he so religiously observed. As a specimen of the
work, it may be mentioned, that the whole history
of witchcraft is despatched in a couple of pages ;
and, as if to show that this was not an intentional
silence to save his father's memory, he gives the
history of inoculation, by far the most honorable
passage in his father's life, in somewhat less than
lix lines. Those, who are interested to know

COTTON MATHER. 37

something of Cotton Mather, consult the book
with a perpetual feeling of disappointment, and
unfeigned sorrow that he had not left it to some
other writer. In the business of educating his
children, Cotton Mather was far more judicious
than could have been expected from a man of his
peculiar temperament, and certainly deserves great
credit for acting on a system, which was entirely
opposed to the prevailing theory and practice. His
son, who had the best opportunities of knowing,
says that he was zealous against " the slavish way
of education carried on with raving, kicking, and
scourging ; he looked upon it as a dreadful judg
ment of God upon the world."

He believed that children were alive to prin
ciples of reason and honor at a much earlier
period of life than is generally supposed. He
endeavored, first of all, to convince them of his
own affection, and in that way, to lead them to
the belief that to follow his judgment was the best
way to secure their own good. He impressed
upon them, that it was shameful to do wrong ; and,
when one of his children had offended , his first
punishment was, to express his astonishment that
the child could do any thing so unworthy. Re
moval from his presence was his ordinary punish
ment, and it was only in extreme and peculiar
cases that he ever inflicted a blow. He rewarded
obedience by teaching them some curious piece

38 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of knowledge, which he had always at command ;
and thus, beside giving the immediate recompense
of good conduct, he conveyed the impression, that
to gain instruction was not a hardship, but a
privilege and reward. His earliest attempt at
intellectual education consisted in entertaining his
children with stories, generally selected from the
Scriptures. He hardly ever rose from table with
out some such effort to excite reflection in young
minds. He also sought opportunities to teach
moral lessons, showing them the duty of being
kind to each other, and warmly applauding them
when they had obeyed the law of love. He
taught them to write at an earlier age, and in a
less formal way, than is usual, and thus enabled
them to record for themselves many things, which
it was important for them to remember. If they
deserved censure, he would forbid their reading
and writing ; a prohibition which was strongly as
sociated in their minds with degradation. All
this was well-judged ; and it is very doubtful if
such cases were often to be found in those days,
when parental discipline was generally conducted
more in the spirit of fear than love.

Though he was deeply interested in having his
children governed by principles of reason and
honor, he did not rely on those impulses alone.
He led their minds as early as possible to religious
thoughts and contemplations ; giving them views

COTTON MATHER. 39

of religion, which were as solemn as possible, but
taking care to make them sensible of the goodness
of God. He often told them of the good angels,
whose office it was to protect them, and who ought
never to be offended by misconduct or neglect.
" He would not say much to them about the evil
angels, because he would not have them enter
tain any frightful fancies about the apparitions of
devils ; but yet he would briefly let them know
that there are devils, who tempt them to wicked
ness, who are glad when they do wickedly, and
who may get leave of God to kill them for it."
But his chief aim was to give them a spirit of
prayer, and to lead them to make known their
wants and cares to his father and their father, to
his God and their God.

The troubles in which New England was involv
ed with the mother country began the year after
Cotton Mather's ordination. At the close of 1686
Sir Edmund Andros made his appearance with c.
commission as governor, and from the beginning
showed a determination to push his authority quite
as far as it would go. A sentiment, too, had been
expressed by Dudley, the president of the Council,
which tended to alarm the free spirit of New Eng-
tand. He said, that the colonists must not think,
that they could carry the privileges of Englishmen
with them to the ends of the world. There was
a deep and growing excitement it was plain that

40 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

usurpation must at length be resisted ; but no one
could tell where or in what form the explosion
was most likely to come.

The clergy had, from the peculiar construction
of the state, been allowed a great ascendency in
public affairs, and had been consulted on all great
occasions. When Charles the Second, in 1683,
demanded an unconditional surrender of the charter
of Massachusetts, Increase Mather, at the request
of the authorities, appeared in a meeting of citi
zens, who were met to deliberate concerning
a compliance with that demand. He exhort
ed them to resist it by all the means in their
power ; not to rush into ruin with their eyes open,
but to resolve, that if they must be undone, it
should be by the tyranny of others, and not their
own folly. This spirited advice prevailed. " The
clergy," says Hutchinson, " turned the scale for
the last time ; " probably there never was a time
when their influence was exerted more to their
own honor or the advantage of their country. It
was one of those acts and counsels, from which op
pression should have taken warning.

When Andros first came to New England, he
concealed his true character ; and, though the char
ter was forfeited, there was no very general senti
ment against him. But he soon began to show a
disposition to encroach upon the rights of the peo
ple, in some instances, for purposes of extortion, in

COTTON MATHER. 41

others, simply to make them feel his power. One
of his first proceedings was, to restrain the liberty
of the press, and Randolph, who was universally
detested, was appointed licenser of publications.
An alteration also was made in the regulations re
specting marriage, by which the parties were
obliged to enter into bonds with sureties, to the
governor, to be forfeited in case that any impedi
ment should afterwards appear.

The Congregational clergy were regarded as
mere laymen ; and by this exaction, it was con
templated to provide for the support of the Epis
copal ministers, who were to be introduced. At
this time there was no Episcopal church in Massa
chusetts, and hardly a society ; but the people were
threatened with having their meeting-houses taken
from them, and worship in the congregational forms
suppressed by law. After a time these apprehen
sions were quieted for a moment by James's decla
ration in favor of toleration ; but, when they saw
cause to suspect that this was preparing the way
for the Roman Catholic religion, the alarm was
greater than ever.

Besides these greater causes of uneasiness, there
was a general irritation occasioned by exorbitant
fees, and other similar exactions. The governor,
with a few of his creatures in the Council, laid what
ever taxes they thought proper ; and, as if these
sources of revenue were not sufficient, they main
tained that all titles to land were invalidated by the

42 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

loss of the charter, and required holders of estates
to take out a patent from them, for whatever
consideration they thought proper to demand.

On account of Increase Mather's agency in pre
venting the surrender of the charter, and the great
influence which he possessed, which it was well
known would be exerted to prevent a tame sub
mission to wrongs, Randolph, who was the most
active of the cabal that surrounded the governor,
attempted to ruin Dr. Mather with the govern
ment, thinking it impossible to bring him into sus
picion with the people. Randolph professed to
have intercepted a letter from Dr. Mather to a
person in Amsterdam, containing many passages
likely to exasperate men in power, and showed it
to Sir Lionel Jenkins, secretary of state. He
treated it with perfect contempt, so that the strata
gem was defeated. When Dr. Mather heard of
the attempt, he immediately declared, that the
letter was a forgery, executed either by Randolph
or his brother. Randolph brought an action for
defamation against the Doctor, in which he did not
succeed ; but, some time after, by some perversion
of justice, the same action being brought again,
Dr. Mather kept concealed to avoid the service of
the writ, knowing that, in those days, right would
avail but little in a contest with power.

Some of the chief men of the colony, governed
oy a feeling of loyalty, hoped that their grievances

COTTON MATHER. 43

wera jnauthorized by the King, and that redress
might be obtained by a direct appeal to the throne.
Dr. Mather was selected as their agent, and as the
service of Randolph's writ would have prevented
the expedition, he was taken on board the ship at
night, and in disguise, by some members of his
society. During all these proceedings, Cotton
Mather was associated in interest and feeling with
his father, and some passages in his Diary show
how deeply he laid these things to heart. On one
occasion, he says, that he rose at night, and threw
himself upon the floor of his study, in tears, pray
ing for his country, and that he was assured of the
happy result of all these troubles by a sign from
Heaven.

Dr. Mather sailed for England in April, 1688.
In April of the succeeding year, the report of the
landing of the Prince of Orange reached this
country, and shortly after came a copy of his Pro
clamation, which was brought from Virginia by a
gentleman, who was imprisoned for the crime.
Nothing was, or could be known of William's
success ; and doubtless the prudent course would
have been to wait till the event was known, since,
if he succeeded, there would be no need of revo-
lutiDn in New England, and, if he failed, all con
cerned in such a revolution must have suffered for
treason. But by one of those sudden and unac
countable impulses, which are sometimes given to

44 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the public mind, the people rose, seized and im
prisoned the governor and some of his associates,
and recalled the old magistrates to authority till
something could be learned from England. The
people came in from the country in great numbers,
and insisted upon it, that the governor should be
put in irons. To satisfy them, he wa? confined in
the fort, where he received a communication from
the magistrates, informing him that his authority
was at an end in New England.

The services of Cotton Mather were called for on
this occasion. A long declaration was read from
the gallery of the town-house, which was prepar
ed by him, as was generally supposed, with very
little warning. Hutchinson says, "There would
be room to doubt whether this declaration was not
a work of time, and prepared beforehand, if it
did not appear, from the style and language, to
have been the work of one of the ministers in
Boston, who had a remarkable talent for quick
and sudden composures." The circumstance, that
his services should have been called for, shows
that he was familiar with the political affairs and
questions of the day.

From the account given by Samuel Mather of
his father's agency in the revolution, one would
suppose that the movement against Andros and
his crew, as he calls them, was not wholly unex
pected. He says, that while those " roaring lions

COTTON MATHER. 45

and ravaging bears were in the midst of theii
ravages," which, by a slight confusion of meta
phor; he makes to consist in their " fleecing " the
people, (a phrase which does not very accurately
describe the operations of those animals against
the flock,) a strange disposition entered into the
body of the people to assert their liberties. The
phrase, strange revolution, implies his own, and
probably his father's opinion, that it was not called
for ; and he actually says, that the more sensible
gentlemen in Boston feared lest a public excite
ment of the kind should be produced by some
soldiers, who, having refused to take part in the
eastern war, and having thereby incurred the
governor's displeasure, would, for the sake of
securing themselves, engage the country in a
revolution, that would destroy the chief magis
trate's power.

These gentlemen consulted with Mr. Mather,
and agreed, if possible, to extinguish by their per
sonal influence and exertions, all fires, that others
might attempt to kindle ; but that, if they found
the country people, who were more excited than
others, should push the matter so far as to render
a revolution unavoidable, they would put them
selves at the head of the movement and direct
It. A declaration was accordingly prepared, to
be used, in case of necessity, doubtless the one
which was afterwards employed. It was not, then,

46 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

as Hutchinson supposed, a quick and sudden com
posure ; Samuel Mather had ample information on
the subject ; and, had it been possible for him to
claim for his father the honor of preparing such
a paper on the spur of the occasion, he would
have seized the opportunity to mention it to his
praise.

The same authority assures us, that when the
community suddenly rose on the 18th of April,
those gentlemen, who had anticipated that result,
found it necessary to appear, as they had pro
posed in case of emergency, to direct the blind
fury of the people. Then, he says, Mr. Mather
appeared, like Nestor or Ulysses, and, by his wise
and powerful appeals, withheld the people from
those excesses, into which they were ready to
run. This, he thinks, saved the fallen oppressors
from a tragical fate ; for, had a single syllable been
said by any man of influence in favor of avenging
the public wrongs on those who had inflicted
them, they would have been put to death without
mercy or delay.

He also mentions that this change wTas season
able, to prevent his father from suffering undei
their persecution ; for, on the very day that he
was to have been committed to prison, those who
were to have done him that injury were actually
imprisoned themselves. There is no other infor
mation given on the subject of this proposed

COTTON MATHER. 47

arrest ; but there is no reason to doubt it ; for,
while there was no ground for a legal charge
against him, the governor probably had informa
tion of his movements, and covM easily have found
a pretext for giving the name cf justice to personal
revenge. He was desired to attend a meeting
of the inhabitants of Boston, previous to the revo
lution, when he addressed the people with great
effect, dissuading them from violence, which would
be injurious to their cause, and thus succeeded in
restraining their passions. This, to be sure, was
a favor to the government ; but men of that de
scription always resent a favor of that kind, as
much as an insult or wrong.

Dr. Mather, at this change, which seemed so
favorable for Massachusetts, made efforts, which
were seconded by several men of influence in
England, to obtain the restoration of the charter,
and at one time seemed to come very near
succeeding. He had engaged the interest of the
Dissenting ministers, who, at that time, formed a
powerful body, and several members of Parliament
also took a strong interest in his mission. But the
King was strongly prejudiced against the former
charter, and was determined to retain the appoint
ment of governor in his ownt hands. A bill was
introduced into the House of Commons and
passed, providing for the restoration of the char
ters ; but the King suddenly prorogued the Par

48 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

liament for the purpose of going to Ireland, and
the opportunity was lost, if ever it had really ex
isted. Andros, instead of being punished for his
tyranny, obtained from the King the government
of Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his
life.

Dr. Mather, believing the restoration of the old
charter to be entirely out of the question, aban
doned all hope of succeeding, and thought it best
to secure as favorable terms as possible without
insisting on this. But two other agents, who were
sent out from Massachusetts, declared that their
authority only extended to the solicitation of the
old charter, without permitting them to accept a
new one. A new one, however, was prepared,
which Dr. Mather thought it advisable to accept,
as the best which could be had, though it de
prived the colony of some of the privileges, which
it had claimed and enjoyed before. As the other
agents were of a different opinion, the business
was managed with him alone ; and, as an act of
grace to him, the appointment of all those officers,
which the new charter reserved to the crown, was
given to Dr. Mather; a compliment which was
rather unfortunate, since it gave the impression,
that he had acted the part of a courtier rather
than of a friend to his country.

These suspicions were certainly unjust ; for he
had spent considerable sums of bis oT*rn property

COTTON MATHER 40

for his support while ab.'oad, for which he never
received full payment ; and, from his well-known
character, it is manifest tnat his error, if it was one,
was an error of judgment and not cf intention.
But the General Court, who might be supposed
good judges of what was wanted, approved his
conduct, and appointed a day of thanksgiving in
consequence of his return, and the successful re
suit of his labors. His son might have seen
enough in his father's history to give him a dis
taste for those public cares, in which he had a
strong passion for engaging ; for his father, through
all his remaining days, was troubled with the feel
ing that he was suspected, distrusted, and abused
by those, whom he had done his best to serve.
If the charter was, as the General Court declared
in the proclamation for thanksgiving, a "settlement
of government, in which their Majesties graciously
gave distinguishing marks of their royal favor and
goodness," there seemed to be no reason why his
accepting such favors should be censured as inju
rious to his country.

Perhaps the selection, which he made, of a
person to hold the office of governor, was one of
the chief reasons of this suspicion. Sir William
Phips, a person adventurous and energetic by
nature, but singularly destitute of the ability and
discretion, which were needed in that high trust?
was the man whom he recommended ; and in this

xi.— 4

50 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

choice he was influenced by Cotton Mathei who
probably thought it not the least of Phips's merits,
that he was willing to receive advice from wiser
men. He had made himself known by his persever
ing efforts to discover the rich wreck of a Spanish
vessel near the Bahamas, in which he succeeded,
gaining considerable property from the vessel, and
the honor of knighthood from the crown. His
principal merit in the eye of the country was, that
he did not coincide with Andros in his oppression,
and that he rejected the government when it was
offered him by King James.

Sir William Phips did not long retain the office
in which the partiality of his friends, the Mathers,
had placed him. Though kind and generous in
his disposition, he was fiery and indiscreet. He
first brought himself into discredit by a dispute
with the collector of the customs, whose authori
ty was not universally admitted. The people
thought it enough to enter and clear at the naval
office, and the governor, himself being the naval
officer, favored the popular impression ; but, the
collector asserting his right and seizing a vessel,
the governor resented it so warmly, as to inflict
personal violence upon him. He had a similar
misunderstanding with the captain of a British
frigate. Having required him, as he had a right,
to detach some of the hands on a particular ser
vice, the captain refused ; upon which the governor

COTTON MATHER. 51

beat him in the street, and then committed him
to prison. He was ordered to England to answer
ror this proceeding ; but, while he was engaged
in securing his authority and answering the com
plains offered against him, he was seized witn an
illness of which he died.

It is in connexion with the proceedings on the
subject of witchcraft, that Cotton Mather is most
generally and least favorably known. But prom
inent as his name appears, in all this affair, from
its beginning to its close, it is not easy to under
stand the precise extent of his responsibility. He
fully believed in this kind of supernatural agency,
as was common in that day ; the wise and foolish
stood on the same ground ; though many were
skeptical as to particular cases of that agency,
there was none who seemed wholly to deny it?
existence. The circumstance of his giving credit
to tales of this kind, would not form any just re
proach upon the name of Mather, since no amount
of learning and talent could then exempt any man
from superstition.

But there is reason to believe, that he went
farther than this ; and that he led the men of his
day farther than they would have gone, had it
not been for him. How far his credulity will
justify his attempting to excite the public mind
upon the subject, must be left for the moralist to
say. He was not probably aware what a fierce

52 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

spirit he was raising ; and when it was raised, he
was at once swept away with its fury ; so that,
though we cannot hold him guiltless, his responsi
bility is less than if he had not been so thoroughly
steeped in the delusion. No one, who reads the
history of the time, can doubt his agency in creat
ing the general excitement ; and a question arises,
What could have been his object in making those
ill-omened exertions ? Was it his natural restless
ness, which compelled him to interest himself in
all that was passing ? Or was it to gratify his
ravenous appetite for wonders ? Or was it a move
ment, by which he hoped to restore to the clergy
the influence, which they once held in public af
fairs, but which the change of circumstances and
public sentiment was fast wresting from their hands ?
The latter supposition would imply a degree of art
and hypocrisy, which does not appear to have been
in his nature. He was more adroit in imposing
on himself than on others. At the same time,
various impulses, of some of which he was not
conscious, may have combined to make him ex
cite in the public mind that superstitious fear, the
most savage of all passions, which, when once ex
cited, could not be satisfied without blood.

If he had followed the example of some other
good men, who, after the frenzy was over, lament
ed and publicly acknowledged the blind fanaticism
under which they had acted, he would have been

COTTON MATHER. 53

more generally forgiven. But it does not appear
that his eyes were ever opened. To the day of his
death, he seems to have retained his full conviction
that all was preternatural ; and indeed that the
loss Df innocent lives, so far from being the result
of delusion, was the effect of diabolical agency
exerted with unusual art and power. The public
accused him as the chief author of the excitement ;
but while he was very desirous to throw off the
odium, which rested upon him, by showing that
he himself had always preached caution and for
bearance, it is clear that no uneasiness from within,
no self-upbraiding for the part he had acted, ev«r
disturbed his repose.

After the executions in Salem, he admits that
there has been " a mistake " ; not in believing in
the witchcraft, nor, so far as can be discovered,
in the selection of victims ; the mistake appeared
in the character of those, against whom charges
were at last made ; for the accusers, becoming
satiated with humble sacrifices, at length brought
their accusations against those in high places,
whereupon it was discovered that they were going
too far. He seems to lament this chiefly because
it gives advantage to the accuser of the brethren.

In 1685, the year in which he was ordained,
he published a work called Memorable Providen
ces relating to Witchcraft. This was several
years before the Salem tragedy ; and he remarks

54: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

that this work of his was used as authority on that
occasion, at the same time greatly commending
the wisdom of the magistrates, for submitting
themselves to the counsel of learned writers.
Cases of witchcraft at distant intervals had oc
curred in some parts of the country. One victim
had been hanged in Charlestown half a century
before. One was executed at Hartford in 1662 ;
and in 1671 there was a case at Groton, which
was attended with circumstances, which, one would
have thought, might have opened the most super
stitious eyes.

One Elizabeth Knapp, moved probably by spite
against a neighbor, went through the ordinary
evolutions, and was pronounced bewitched ; but
the person accused, instead of resenting it, went
directly to the accuser, who endeavored to pre
vent her approach by counterfeited convulsions,
prayed by her bedside, and so wrought upon her
conscience, that she dared not persevere in her
vile purpose ; she came to herself, confessing that
she had been moved by Satan to bring a false and
malicious charge. Had others, in similar circum
stances, possessed the good sense and religious
temper of this person, the probability is, that all
would have been saved from destruction ; but, as
the charge was generally fixed on those, who
were disliked for their ill temper, and they were
exasperated to madness by the accusation, there

COTTON MATHER. 55

was no such appeal made to the conscience and
the fears of the accuser.

Another case, which indeed seems almost the
only one beside, was attended with self-explaining
circumstances. The other instances do not be
long to the department of witchcraft, but to that
of haunted houses, such as are not unknown at
the present day, when some inmate of a family,
in sport or wantonness, undertakes to practise on
the fears of the rest.

The case alluded to was that of one Smith of
Hadley, a worthy and exemplary man, who had
been severely threatened by a pauper, whom he
had offended in the discharge of some official duty.
He fell into a painful decline ; and, says Mather,
while he was yet of a sound mind, he assured
his brother that strange things should be seen in
Hadley ; that he should not be dead when he
seemed to be so, and at the same time expressed
his suspicion, that the woman in question had
made him the subject of her revenge. He then
" became delirious and uttered a speech incessant
and voluble, and, as it was judged, in various lan
guages. He cried out, not only of pains, but ol
pins tormenting him in various parts of his body ;
and the attendants found one of them." This
seemed to Cotton Mather a clear case of witchcraft,
and he recorded it with sufficient minuteness. Hap
pily the people of Hadley saw the matter in its

56 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

true light; and though some young men under
took to persecute the woman, they soon desisted,
and she was saved from a death, which was inflic
ted on many when the evidence was equally strong
in favor of the accused.

It was not long before he enjoyed the great fe
licity of having a case of witchcraft directly under
his eye. In 1688, the family of John Goodwin,
in Boston, was afflicted with preternatural visita
tions. The eldest daughter, about thirteen years
of age, had some quarrel with a laundress, an
Irishwoman, and, shortly after, the girl and her
sisters were tormented by strange affections of the
body, which, to any one at all suspicious, would
have carried their own explanation with them, but
were pronounced diabolical by the superstitious
physicians who happened to be consulted. The
ministers of Boston and Charlestown held a day of
fasting and prayer ; and the youngest of the chil
dren, afraid to persevere, and at the same time
afraid to confess, was delivered from its tormentors.
But the magistrates took up the affair, and, having
examined the person on whom suspicions rested,
committed her to prison.

Her conduct, when brought to trial, so clearly
Indicated mental derangement, that the court could
not with decency proceed without appointing
several physicians " to examine her very strictly
whether she was no way crazed in her intellectuals."

COTTON MATHER 57

They do not appear to have been acquainted with
the fact, that a person may be deranged on one
subject, and yet sane on all others. They con
versed with her a good deal, and, finding that she
gave connected replies, agreed that she was in full
possession of her mind. She was then found
guilty of witchcraft and sentenced to die.

Cotton Mather was now in his element. He
paid many visits to this poor old lunatic after her
condemnation, and received vast entertainment
from her communications. She described her in
terviews with the Prince of darkness, and her at
tendance upon his meetings, with a clearness that
seems to have filled him with perfect delight.

After her execution, the children, not inclined to
abandon their successful stratagem, complained of
suffering as much as before. Some instances of
their prudence are amusing. He says, " they
were often near drowning or burning themselves,
and they often strangled themselves with their
neckcloths ; but the providence of God still order
ed the seasonable succors of them that looked after
them." On the least reproof of their parents,
" they would roar excessively " ; it usually took
abundance of time to dress or undress them, through
the strange postures into which they would be
twisted on purpose to hinder it." " If they were
bidden to do a needless thing, such as to rub a
clean table, they were able to do it unmolested ;

58 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

but if to do a useful thing, as to rub a dirty table,
they would presently, with many torment?, be
made uncapable." Truly, if such are the evi
dences that children are bewitched, there is reason
to doubt whether preternatural visitations have yet
ceased from the land.

Such a choice opportunity, as this family afforded,
for inquiry into the physiology of witchcraft, was
by no means to be lost. In order to inspect the
specimen more at leisure, he had the eldest daugh
ter brought to his own house ; he wished " to
confute the Sadducism of that debauched age,"
and the girl took care that the materials should not
be wanting.

Her conduct during her residence there is well
worth noting, as it is recorded by his own hand.
When he prayed in the room, her hands were by
a strong, but not even force, clapped upon her
ears ; and, when the bystanders withdrew them, she
would declare that she could not hear a word that
he said. She complained that Glover's (the name
of the person that was executed) chain was on
her leg, and thereupon walked with the constrained
gait of one who was bound. An invisible chain
would be thrown upon her, while she cried out
with pain and fear. Sometimes he could knock it
off, or rather prevent its being fastened ; but often
she would be pulled by it out of her chair towards
the fire, so that they were obliged to bold her

COTTON MATHER. 59

She seemed to take great pleasure in entertaining
him in this way, perhaps out of gratitude that he
never intimated any suspicion.

The manner in which she played with his re
ligious prejudices shows considerable art. A
Quaker's book, which was then one of the greatest
of abominations, was brought to her, and she read
whole pages in it, with the exception of the names
of the Deity and the Savior, which she was not
able to speak. Such books as she might have read
with profit, she was not permitted to open ; or, if
she was urged to read in her Bible or Catechism,
she was immediately taken with contortions. On
the contrary, she could read in a jest-book without
the least difficulty, and actually seemed to enjoy it.
Popish books she was permitted to read at pleas
ure, but a work against the Catholics, she might
not touch.

One gleam of suspicion seemed to shoot over
his mind on one occasion ; for he says, " I, con
sidering there might be a snare in it, put a stop to
this fanciful business. Only I could not but be
amazed at one thing; a certain prayer-book, [the
Episcopal, doubtless,] being brought her, she not
only could read it very well, but also did read a
large part of it over, calling it her Bible, and put
ting more than ordinary respect upon it. If sne
were going into her tortures, at the tender of this
book, she would recover herself to read it. Only

'60 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

when she came to the Lord's prayer, now and then
occurring in that book, she would have her eyes
put out ; so that she must turn over a new leaf,
and then she could read again. Whereas also
there are scriptures in that book, she could read
them there ; but if any showed her the same scrip
tures in the Bible itself, she should sooner die than
read them. And she was likewise made unable to
read the Psalms in an ancient metre, which this
prayer-book had in the same volume with it."

It was not very surprising, that she should after
a time lose her veneration for him. Accordingly,
he remarks, that, though her carriage had been
dutiful, " it was afterwards with a sauciness, which
I was not used to be treated withal." She would
knock at his study door, telling him that some one
below would be glad to see him ; when he had
taken the trouble to go down, and scolded her for
the falsehood, she would say, " Mrs. Mather is
always glad to see you." " She would call out
to him with numberless impertinencies." Having
determined to give a public account of her
case, in a sermon to his congregation, she was
troubled at it, thinking it not unlikely that sharper
eyes than his might be turned upon her. She
made many attempts to prevent it by threatening
him with the vengeance of the spirits, till he was
almost out of patience, and exorcized them in
Latin. Greek, and Hebrew. All these were per-

COTTON MATHER. 61

fectly intelligible to them ; " but the Indian Ian
guages they did not seem so well to understand."

One part of the system of this artful young
creature was to persuade him, that he was under
the special protection of Heaven, so that spells
could have LO power over him. When he went to
prayer, " the demons would throw her on the
floor, where she would whistle, and sing, and yell,
to drown the voice of prayer ; and she would fetch
blows with her fist and kicks with her foot at the
man that prayed. But still her fist and foot would
recoil, when within an inch or two of him, as if
rebounding against a wall." This powerful appeal
to his vanity was not lost upon him. It made him
more solicitous than ever to patronize the delu
sion. *

This account of his personal intercourse with the
demoniacs is given at length, because it illustrates
his character, and the heartiness with which he
entered into the snare. It also affords the only
apology which can be made for his attempts to
spread the excitement, by showing that he was

* In the archives of the Massachusetts Historical So
ciety, among the manuscripts of Cotton Mather, there is r»
paper, on which is endorsed the following curious record
in his hand-writing. "November 29#i, 1692. While I was
preaching at a private fast, (kept for a possessed you^or
woman,) on Mark ix. 28,29, the Devil in the damsel flew
upon me, and tore the leaf, as it is now torn, over against
the text"

62 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHS

himself completely deluded. No man, with an)
artful design, would have exhibited himself in
so grotesque a light. I jet it be remembered, too,
that the above particulars were reprinted in Lon
don, with a preface by Richard Baxter, in which
he says, " This great instance comes with such
convincing evidence, that he must be a very ob
durate Sadducee, that will not believe it."

It is not difficult to conceive what the fascina
tion of such narratives must have been, when they
came from the pen of a learned divine, who was
supposed to have devoted particular attention to
the subject. They were dressed in such forms, as
to excite the appetite of superstition, and from our
knowledge of human nature we are safe in belie v
ing, that the Wonders of the Invisible World was
popular, both with old and young, in every part of
the country. There is no account of any other
person, who displayed the same taste or attempted
to operate on others ; while it is certain, that he
exerted himself diligently for the purpose ; mak
ing no secret of his persuasion, that such an excite
ment might be made an engine for restoring the
fallen authority of religion, and as a preliminary,
replacing that power in the hands of the clergy,
which they lost when the circumstances of the
country and the feelings of the people were altered.

In 1692, the seed, which he had sown, began
to bear fruit. Some young girls in the family of

COTTON MATHER. 63

Mr. Parris, minister of Salem village, now a part
of Danvers, began to go through such evolutions
as they had seen described in cases of witchcraft.
Physicians were consulted, and one of them in aij
evil hour gave it as his opinion that supernatural
agency was concerned. Cotton Mather himself
says, " They were in all things afflicted as bad as
John Goodwin's children at Boston," and gives
this as a reason for not enlarging upon their suffer
ings. So that the movements of the young con
spirators on this occasion seem to have been
regulated by their pattern, excepting that thev
were carried a little farther.

The circumstances were made important at once,
by appointing a day of fasting and prayer. The
girls accused an old Indian woman, who lived in
Mr. Parris's family, as the person who bewitched
them ; and she, worn out by fear, exhaustion, and,
as it is intimated, by severe treatment, confessed ab
that was expected and required. This encouraged
the girls to persevere, if they can be supposed to
have acted with deliberation, when the probable
explanation of their conduct is, that they were be
wildered and swept away with the frenzy, which
they had themselves excited.

The agency of Cotton Mather soon appeared in
this transaction. The magistrates applied to the
Boston clergy for advice ; which they gave in such
a manner, as to encourage the excesses already

64 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

committed, and to lead on to more. They recom
mended caution in respect to evidence, but at the
same time advised that the proceedings should be
vigorously carried on.

The result of these deliberations was drawn up by
Cotton Mather, who often mentioned it afterwards
in terms of high praise. That there may be no
doubt as to the authorship, he says that it was
drawn up by Mr. Mather the younger. There
were many formal expressions in it, in which pru
dence was recommended ; but the spirit and cer
tain effect of it were to sanction what had been
done, and to encourage farther investigations.

He was not sustained by all the clergy. Mr.
Brattle, in his letter on the subject, published in
the Collections of the Historical Society, says, that
" Increase Mather did utterly condemn " the pro
ceedings of that period. Samuel Willard also, a
venerable man, would never sanction the measure,
though three of the judges were members of his
church. This bears hard on Cotton Mather ; fc~
his father and Dr. Willard undoubtedly believed in
the reality of witchcraft, as well as he ; and this
shows, that to believe in supernatural agency was
one thing, and to turn the engines of persecution
on those, who were accused of that crime, \ve.s
another.

There is no need here of tracing the history of
the events, that took place in Salem, any farther

COTTON MATHER. 65

than Cotton Mather is directly concerned; and it
must be acknowledged, that he made himself very
prominent in all the proceedings. He greatly com
mends the impartiality and forbearance of the
judges, who borrowed light from his books among
their other sources. What sort of counsel they
were likely to get from this quarter, appears from
a passage extracted by Mr. Upham from one of
his sermons. "When we are in our church as
semblies, how many devils do you imagine crowd
in among us? There is a devil that rocks one to
sleep. There is a devil that makes another to be
thinking of, he scarcely knows what himself. And
there is a devil that makes another to be pleased
with wild and wicked speculations. It is also pos
sible, that we have our closets or our studies glori
ously perfumed with devotions every day ; but alas !
can we shut the devil out of them? No; let us
go where we will, we shall still find a devil nigh
unto us." Little did the venerable doctor think,
that he himself and his coadjutors were furnishing
one of the best proofs of diabolical agency in the
world, by their unhappy activity on these memo
rable occasions.

As soon as the fury of the storm was over, he is
found drawing up an account of the trials. This
is said to have been published by the special com
mand of the governor, and is heralded with a
flourish of trumpets from Stoughton, the presiding

xi. — 5

66 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

judge. He takes a contemptuous notice of the
doubts, which had begun to prevail upon the sub
ject, but does not give any intimation to his readers
that the whole country was filled with horror and
shame.

If any are disposed to speak lightly of New
England, in consequence of this visitation, he re
peats for their instruction the following story,
which answers the double purpose of recognizing
the doctrine of possession, and of furnishing him
with a reply. " There are many parts of the world,
who, if they do on this occasion insult over the
people of God, need only to be told the story of
what happened at Lorin in the Duchy of Gulic,
where, a Popish curate having ineffectually tried
many charms to eject the devil out of a damsel
there possessed, he at last, in a passion, bid the
devil come out of her into himself; but the devil
answered him (in good Latin), ' What need I med
dle now with one, whom, at the last day, I am
sure to have and hold as my own for ever/ "

Some points, he thinks, are clearly established
by the results of the trials. The chief one is,
that there is a great conspiracy among the powers
of darkness to root out the Christian religion from
New England. The devil having always looked
upon that land as his own, naturally felt aggrieved
when the Pilgrims took possession of it, and even
more disgusted with their religious principles and

COTTON MATHER. 67

lives. It is also proved, that the devil, " exhibit
ing himself ordinarily as a small black man, has
decoyed a number of base creatures, and enlisted
them in his service, by entering their names in a
book." These persons meet with their employer
in "hellish rendezvouses," wherein they have their
diabolical sacraments, imitating the baptism and
supper of our Lord. Each one of these associa-
tors has spectres or devils in his command, and
many are suffering under their evil hands, " being
miserably scratched and bitten." The spectres
have an odd faculty of clothing the most substan
tial instruments of torture with invisibility, while
the wounds given by them are sufficiently palpable.
One of the worst things about it is, that the devils
have obtained power to take on themselves the
likeness of harmless people; "there is an agony
in the minds of men, lest the devil should shame
us with devices of a finer thread than was ever
before practised upon the world." "And mean
time he improves the darkness of this affair to push
us into a blind man's buffet, and we are even ready
to be sinfully, yea hotly and madly, mauling one
another in the dark."

The conclusion to which he came is more prac
tical, than could have been expected from such a
beginning. " If we carry things to such extremes
of passion, as are now gaining among us, the devil
will bless himself to find such a convenient lodg-

68 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ing. And it may be that the wrath, which we
have had, one against another, has had more than
a little influence on the coming down of the devil
in that wrath, which now amazes us. For this,
among other causes, perhaps God has permitted
the devils to be worrying as they now are among
us. But it is high time to leave off all devilism,
when the devil himself is falling upon us ; it is no
time to be reviling and censuring one another with
a devilish wrath, when the wrath of the devil is
annoying us." If he had himself followed this
sensible advice, the visitation of darkness might
have brought happier results than it did.

In his account of some of the trials at Salem,
his moral sense seems to be strangely perverted.
When the clergyman, George Burroughs, was be
fore the court, with no other testimony against
him, than that he had shown many exploits of
bodily strength, some of the witnesses, confused
perhaps by the consciousness of their perjury, were
for a time unable to speak. The judge, Stough-
ton, inquired of Burroughs, what he supposed hin
dered them from giving testimony. He replied
he imagined it was the devil. "That honorable
person replied : ' How comes the devil, then, to be
so loath to have testimony brought against you?'
which cast him into a very great confusion." As
well it might ; for it made it clear as the sun, that
he had no chance for his life, in the hands of a

COTTON MATHER. 69

judge, whom superstition and prejudice made so
oppressive and unfeeling.

Among other perversions of justice, two of the
afflicted were permitted to testify, that the ghosts
of Burroughs's wives had appeared and declared
that he had been the death of them. It is true,
as Mr. Upham remarks, that there are very strong
indications of personal malice in this testimony
against Mr. Burroughs, who had formerly preached
in Salem village, and been the object of some ill-
will.

This, however, was not peculiar to him. Several
of the women appeared to have been ill-tempered
and violent in their language, and in that way to
have become objects of general hatred and suspi
cion, till the public sentiment was so strong against
them, that no one lamented their fate. It is proba
bly true, that they had at times threatened the wit
nesses. Considering the proportion of evil in the
world, the witnesses could not pass through life
without some disasters, and, in all cases of accident
and suffering, their suspicions turned at once upon
their ill-favored neighbors.

Neither was their testimony an entire fabrication.
Among other things they deposed, that strong drink
in their vessels had suddenly and unaccountably
disappeared; which was doubtless true; but might
have happened without diabolical agency, and in
fact without any other than their own. The evils

X

70 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

complained of were sickness, misfortune in busi
ness, loss of cattle and other visitations, which no
doubt had occurred, as they said, but might have
been accounted for by the common order of nature.

One remark of Cotton Mather is true, though
the reasoning in it requires to be inverted. Speak
ing of the provoking manner in which the witches
elude observation, he breaks forth in a tone of dis
appointment ; " Our witches do seem to have got
the knack ; and this is one of the things, which
make me think that witchcraft will not be fully
understood, till the day when there shall not be one
witch in the world." It is true, in point of fact,
not that witchcraft has been explained, because
witches are gone, but that witches are no longer
found, because the matter is understood.

There are in the testimony, which he has set
before us as the most convincing offered on these
occasions, many such instances of mistaking cause
for effect. It was testified in the case of Bridget
Bishop, that a woman named Whetford had ac
cused Bishop of stealing a spoon ; Bishop resented
the charge, and made many threatenings of re
venge. One night, Bishop, with another person,
appeared by her bedside, and consulted what should
be done with her. At length, they took her to the
sea-side and there tried to drown her; but she
called on God, and his name destroyed their pow
er. After this, Whetford was a "crazed sort of

COTTON MATHEK. 71

woman." Nothing could be clearer than that the
lunacy was father to the charge; but at that day
it was thought much more natural to ascribe the
lunacy to preternatural power.

Cotton Mather afterwards was unwilling to bear
the odium of what he had done. He then endeav
ored to show, and probably deluded himself into
the belief, that he had discouraged the popular
passion. But there can be no doubt, that he
officiated on the occasion like the fire department
of Constantinople, who are said at times to pour
oil from their engines upon, the fire, which they
profess to extinguish. In this report of the trials,
he quotes "gracious words," as he modestly calls
them, from the advice given by the Boston clergy.
"We cannot, but with all thankfulness," says he,
" acknowledge the success, which the merciful God
has given unto the sedulous and assiduous endeav
ors of our honorable rulers, to detect the abomi
nable witchcrafts which have been committed in
the country; humbly praying that the discovery
of these mysterious and mischievous wickednesses
may be perfected." The only touch of humanity
about the work is found in his reference to Giles
Corey, whom he tenderly calls, "a poor man,
lately prest unto death, because of his refusing to
plead." The manifest objection to this represen
tation is, that it gives the impression that Corey's
suffering under the peine forte et dure was a mat-

72 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ter of taste and choice; whereas the truth is, that
he firmly refused to plead, because he saw that
there was no hope of justice or mercy from the
savages into whose hands he had fallen.

It is also said in the close of the report ; " If a
drop of innocent blood should be shed in the pros
ecution of the witchcrafts among us, how unhappy
should we be! For which cause I cannot express
myself in better terms than those of a most worthy
person, who lives near the present centre of those
things. ' The word of God in these matters is to
be looked into with due circumspection, that Satan
deceive us not with his devices.' But on the other
hand, if the storm of justice do only fall on the
guilty witches and wretches, which have defiled our
land, how happy !" From this it appears, that
there was nothing insupportable in his unhappiness
on this occasion.

The manner in which, in his MAGNALIA, he re
fers to the Salem history does him no honor.
Without the least expression of regret for the
innocent blood that had been shed, he only remarks
that " there had been a going too far in that affair."
But, so far from taking any responsibility upon
himself, or his coadjutors, he charges these ex
cesses upon the powers of darkness, which he
said had circumvented them, and made them pro
ceed against persons, who were not guilty. That
they had gone too far, he says, using the words

COTTON MATHER. 73

of another, appears from the numbers of the ac
cused; "it^was not to be conceived, that in so small
a compass of land, so many should so abominably
leap into the devil's lap all at once." Many of
thehf~were persons of blameless lives, who could
hardly be supposed guilty of such a sin. Of the
nineteen who were executed, not one at the last
moment confessed himself guilty.

On the strength of these considerations, which
unfortunately did not occur to him till somewhat
late in the day, he thought there was some mis
take, and says that he had heard of the like mis
takes in other places. In fact, there was nothing
in the acknowledgments of error made by many
of the actors in these scenes, which would have
prevented their engaging in a similar prosecution
at any future time. Some were sincerely peni
tent, and had their eyes entirely opened. But
some of the most distinguished actually regretted,
that the turning tide of popular feeling prevented
them from clearing the land of witchcraft and
sorcery.

There were those, who, at the time, disapproved
these proceedings, but, finding themselves unable
to resist the current, chose rather to be silent ob
servers of the scene, than to hazard their peace, and
even their lives, by an ineffectual opposition. In
effectual they supposed it would be; and yet it
appears, that, as soon as one energetic man turned

74 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

upon his accusers, and prosecuted them for libel
and slander, the spell was broken, their charges were
seen in the true light, and it was impossible to re
new the delusion.

That there were those, who understood the true
history and character of the excitement, appears
from the remarkable letter of Thomas Brattle,
which is written in the spirit of the present age.
It was not published at the time, and, had it been,
it might possibly have injured him without serv
ing the cause of truth ; but it is matter of regret,
that the experiment was not tried ; for sometimes,
when wisdom cries and no man regards it at the
moment, it prepares the way for an earlier triumph
of reason and humanity ; and in cases where it ex
cites passion, as his letter probably would have
done, the public are inflamed because the voice
reaches their conscience, requires them to justify
their proceedings to themselves, and compels them,
in spite of themselves, to ponder, and thus deprives
them of the apology and consolation, that " they
know not what they do."

Had the governor of the Commonwealth been a
man of higher order, much of this fanaticism, or
rather the cruel results of it, might have been pre
vented. When William Penn officiated as judge
in his new colony, two women, accused of witch
craft, were presented by the grand jury. Without
treating the charge with contempt, which the public

COTTON MATHER. 75

mind would not have borne, he charged the jury to
bring them in guilty of being suspected of witch
craft, which was not a crime that exposed them to
the penalty of the law. Sir William Phips appears
to have been in every thing the reverse of Penn.
He had much of that active energy, which is so
often mistaken for intellectual ability, though he
was neither sagacious nor discerning. In his own
concerns he was sufficiently headstrong and ungov
ernable ; but in matters like witchcraft he was whol
ly at the disposal of others, not having formed, and
not being capable of forming, any sound judgment
of his own.

76 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER III.

Sir William Phips.— Robert Calef. — The
Influence of his Writings in exposing the
Deceptions and allaying the Frenzy of
Witchcraft. — Further Opinions of Cotton
Mather on this Subject, and his Attempts
to justify his Conduct.

NOTHING can exceed the triumph, with which
Cotton Mather hailed the appointment of Phips to
the office of governor. He writes in his Dairy,
" The time for favor is now come ; yea, the set
time is come. I am now to receive the answers
of so many prayers as have been employed for my
absent parent, and the deliverance and settlement
of my poor country. We have not the former
charter, but we have a better in the room of it ; one
which much better suits our circumstances. And,
instead of my being made a sacrifice to wicked
rulers, all the counsellors of the province are of my
father's nomination, and my father - in - law, with
several related to me, and several brethren of my
own church, are among them. The governor of
the Province is not my enemy, but one whom I bap
tized, and one of my flock, and one of my dearest
friends."

COTTON MATHEE. 77

Cotton Mather was not disappointed in his ex
pectations. Governor Phips, as long as he remained
in office, was uniformly friendly to him. It is not
right to say, without direct evidence to that effect,
that Cotton Mather was the keeper of his con
science ; but he was certainly his confidential ad
viser, and the governor adopted his views and feel
ings with respect to the invisible world. Not so
his lady ; she appears to have had a mind and will
of her own. Once, in her husband's absence, hear
ing that a poor creature had been committed to
prison on suspicion of witchcraft, she sent orders to
the officer to release the accused person without
delay ; and the sheriff, though the movement was
not strictly legal, thought it his wisdom and safety
to comply.

The governor probably felt grateful to Cotton
Mather and his father for their exertions in his be
half; but there were many in the country, who
were no better satisfied with the new governor
than with the new charter, and always felt indig
nant at Cotton Mather for the part he took at the
time of Andros's fall. The general sentiment was,
that the old magistrates then should reassume their
offices, and go on as if nothing had happened ; but
Cotton Mather exerted himself to persuade the peo
ple, that such a step would interrupt the prosperous
course of his father's agency, and make the King
less willing to grant the privileges they desired.

78 AMERICAN BIOGIiAPIIY.

When the new charter came, with its abridgment
of their rights, they felt as if, had not his influ
ence prevented the resumption of the old charter,
they might have continued in the enjoyment of
it, without any interruption or question from Eng
land. Probably they would not have found it so ;
but such was their suspicion, and of course, they
were provoked with him, whose influence prevent
ed them taking the step, by which they believed
that their ancient privileges might have been se
cured.

Those who were at enmity with Cotton Mather,
on account of his concern with witchcraft, brought
this also against him, that he was the means of giv
ing them such a chief magistrate. They seem, how
ever, to ascribe Sir William's misdeeds to his weak
ness, and do not hesitate to say, that if his clerical
adviser could have had his way, the reign of terror
would not have been over so soon. Not that they
ascribe the sudden stop put to the prosecutions to
any rising independence on the part of the gov
ernor, but simply to the circumstance that his own
lady was at length accused. It is said, that Cotton
Mather, finding that so much of the responsibility
was coming home to himself, resorted to his pen
for defence, and wrote a sort of apologue, in which
he compared himself to Orpheus, and his father to
Mercury, attempting to give a striking represen
tation of the value of the blessings, which they

COTTON MATHEE. 79

both had been instrumental in bringing to the
country.

The way in which Calef speaks of Sir William
Phips, shows his conviction, that he was a well-
meaning man, who desired the good of his country ;
but, from his want of talent and education, was
unable to act independently for the public good.
At the same time, he shows his opinion of the ex
tent of Cotton Mather's activity and influence, by
ascribing to him the responsibility of all that the
governor had done. Phips died too soon to be
grateful to Calef for this defence, which ascribed his
innocence to his inefficiency; but Mather, though
on any other occasion he would have been proud
to have it said that the chief magistrate was under
his influence, felt that, in this instance, the credit
of having that influence would bring him more re
proach than renown. It is intimated, that, on this
account rather than from the natural exaggeration
of friendship, he represents Phips as a man of more
ability than he or any one else believed him to
possess.

The name of Robert Calef deserves to be men
tioned with honor in connexion with this unhappy
delusion. Though a merchant by profession, and
therefore not so directly concerned as many others
with such subjects of thought, he had good sense
enough to see the truth and the right. In this he
was not alone ; there were others who saw plainly,

80 AMERICAN BIOGBAPHT.

that all the accusations, and the cruelty which they
occasioned, were either the result of hypocrisy
or excited imaginations. But, while others were
swept away by the torrent, he was stout-hearted
enough to declare his sentiments and maintain
them. The plain common sense with which he
opposed fanaticism, was exceedingly provoking to
those, who had involved their reputation in the
success of the delusion; and the general outcry of
wrath, with which his statements were received,
showed the fear on the part of his adversaries, that
truth would be found on his side, and error and
shame on theirs.

Calef's letters and defence were published in
London in the year 1700. The delusion was then
in a great measure done away; but, as Hutchin-
son remarks, there were so many living, who had
taken part in those transactions, and were therefore
interested to keep up the impression that there was
some supernatural agency on the occasion, that,
long after the public mind was disabused, the
truth could find no welcome. As soon as Calef's
book reached this country, it was ordered by Dr.
Increase Mather to be publicly burned in the Col
lege Yard; a ceremony which doubtless had the
usual effect of such burnt - offerings, causing the
book to be in general demand, and therefore fill
ing the hearts of the author and bookseller with
joy.

COTTON MATHEE. 81

The part taken by Calef was particularly offen
sive to Cotton Mather, inasmuch as he charges him
with being the chief agent in exciting the passions
of the community to this work of blood. After
the execution of Mrs. Hibbins, the widow of one
of the counsellors, who was hanged for witchcraft
in Boston in 1655, much to the dissatisfaction of
many judicious persons, the taste for such scenes
had abated ; and it was not till Cotton Mather, in
1685, published an account of several cases of witch
craft with arguments to prove that they were no
delusions, that such fears and fancies revived. The
case of Goodwin's family took place soon after, and
this being also published renewed the appetite for
horrors, and prepared the way for the scenes exhib
ited in Salem.

The advice given by the Boston clergy to the
Governor and Council, which was drawn up by
Cotton Mather, was another reason for Calef s di
recting his battery against him. Douglass speaks
of it as the address of some of the very popular,
but very weak clergy, to Sir William Phips, a very
weak governor, with thanks for what was already
done and exhortations to proceed.

It cannot be said that this is an unfair represen
tation of it ; for it certainly exults in the success,
which had attended the prosecutions, and though it
gives many exhortations and rules for caution, it
winds up with these words : " We cannot but hum-
xi. — 6

82 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

bly recommend un-to the government the speedy
and vigorous prosecution of such as have rendered
themselves obnoxious, according to the directions
given in the laws of God, and the wholesome stat
utes of the English nation, for the detection of
witchcraft." There is no doubt as to the course
recommended ; and the dissuasion only amounts to
a caution, not to rely too much upon evidence " re
ceived only on the devil's authority," since he was
not to be implicitly trusted.

Calef remarks with sufficient sharpness on Ma
ther's publications, in one of his own, entitled
More Wonders from the Invisible World. He de
clares that many of those facts, to which the afflict
ed, according to Mather, testified, were fabrications
without the least basis of truth, and that some
times circumstances, which were true and easily ac
counted for, were exaggerated and distorted, till not
a vestige of truth remained. In some instances,
where the afflicted, according to Mather, were bit
ten by the witches, it was sufficiently evident to the
court and jury, that the prisoners had not a tooth
in their head.

One instance, related by him, shows how basely
justice was perverted. While one of the accused
was on trial, a girl testified that the accused had
stabbed her with a knife, which was broken in
her limb, and the broken piece of the blade was
produced in court ; but a young man came forward

COTTON MATHEK. 83

and stated to the judges, that he had broken his
knife the day before, and threw away the broken
piece in presence of the witness. He immediately
produced his broken knife, and, on comparing the
parts, it appeared that his statement was true.
Instead of committing this perjured wretch for
trial, the court only reprimanded her, and actually
used her testimony for the condemnation of other
prisoners.

The witnesses were allowed to tell old stories of
twenty or thirty years' standing, which could have
no relation to the case on trial, except what preju
dice gave them ; and it is clear to any one, who
reads the testimony, that the judges did every thing
in their power, by artful leading questions and over
bearing menaces, to drive the prisoners either to
confession or condemnation, or, what was worse, to
cheat them with false hopes of mercy.

The case of Mr. Burroughs, the clergyman, is a
dark one, and Cotton Mather, according to Calef,
was guilty of misrepresenting the testimony against
him, and of cruelly exulting in his doom. The
principal things alleged against him were his feats
of personal strength. Mather says, that he was a
feeble man ; but Calef declares, that all, who ever
knew him, were well aware that he was from his
youth remarkable for physical power. In fact, he
proved on his trial, that another person had at the
same time performed the same exploits of strength,

84 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

so that they evidently were not beyond human
power. But, instead of admitting this testimony,
which was conclusive in his favor, the court infa
mously turned it against him, declaring that it must
have been the devil in human shape, aud Mather
has so reported it in his account of the trial. Ca-
lef informs us, that, when Burroughs was led to
execution, he conducted himself in such a noble
manner, and prayed so fervently, as to melt the
bystanders with admiring compassion ; but Mather,
moving about among the crowd, assured them that
it was the devil who enabled him to do this, in
order to deceive them ; and thus encouraged, they
exulted in his fate, and afterwards treated his
corpse with a brutality unexampled in a Christian
land.

If Calef had been a man of doubtful character,
or strongly prejudiced against the clergy, it would
weigh in favor of those whom he accused. But
nothing of the kind is charged against him. Hutch-
inson, who was nearly connected with the Mather
family, speaks of Calef as a man of fair mind, who
was deliberate in his statements and brought good
evidence to sustain them ; and however hardly his
statements bear on Cotton Mather, they cannot be
rejected without doing him great and manifest in
justice.

In a pamphlet, which purports to have been
published by some of Cotton Mather's society in

COTTON MATHER. 85

defence of their pastor against Calef's charges,
these accusations are commented upon with no lit
tle asperity, from an idea, which was no doubt cor
rect, that his attack was directed against the whole
magistracy and clergy of the State. They say, that,
when he arraigns those honorable persons as guilty
of shedding innocent blood, it is strange, that the
fear of God, if he ever had any, should not have
reminded him of the text, " Thou shalt not speak
evil of the ruler of thy people." As to the clergy, he
says, they upheld the delusion so long as they were
themselves in no danger ; but, when they could no
longer defend their ground, not one of them was
found conscientious and candid enough to enlighten
the public mind upon the subject.

To this, the defenders reply, by quoting some
passages from the advice of the clergy, in which
they formally recommend caution. It seems, how
ever, that Calef did not confine his charges to one
subject, but carried the war into the general field
of theology. He declared that the clergy taught
"that there are more Almighties than one, and that
Satan is almighty, and can do what he pleases."
To this they reply, not by disproving the charge,
but by charging him with " venomous and malig
nant purpose to bring the clergy into contempt,"
which, they say, will only return upon his own
head ; while, so far from alienating the people from
their ministers, they will be requited good " for

X 2

86 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the curses of every Shimei." The sarcastic power,
with which this pamphlet is written, may be in
ferred from their merry play on Calef's unfortu
nate name; "this calf" being the name by which
he is mentioned.

At the close of this pamphlet Cotton Mather
appears in his own defence, beginning with a
lamentation, that he should be called on to an
swer a vile book, written by one, who pretends to
be a merchant, when he is nothing more than a
weaver. The only argument advanced by Calef,
on the subject of all the remarkable providences,
is, " that there is a certain weaver that won't be
lieve them." Therefore Mather addresses himself to
his friends, and not to Calef, who, he says, had never
mentioned his name without some lie about him.

In reply to the charge, that he had favored the
•witchcraft delusion, Cotton Mather says, that he
had always recommended great caution and char
ity. On this he insists in the strongest terms.
"But you '11 say, How came it to pass, that so
many people took up a different notion of me ?
Surely, Satan knows. Perhaps 't was because I
thought it my duty always to speak of the honora
ble judges with as much honor as I could; a
crime, which I am generally taxed for, and for
which I have been fairly requited ; this made peo
ple, who judge at a distance, to dream that I ap
proved all that was done. Perhaps also my dis-

COTTON MATHER. 87

position to avoid extremes, as 't is said ' he that
feareth God shall come out of them,' causeth me
to be generally obnoxious to the violent in all par
ties. Or, perhaps, my great adversary always had
people full of Robert Calef's malignity, to serve
him with columnies and reproaches."

One passage in it is a singular specimen of pa
tient and resigned devotion. He is speaking of a
misrepresentation, which Calef had published in
regard to a visit relating to the subject of witch
craft, which he had made to an energumen of his
flock. ** I believe there is not one Christian," says
he, " but would think of it with indignation, that
when ministers of the gospel faithfully and carefully
discharge their duty in visiting the miserable in
their flocks, little bits, and scraps, and shreds of
their discourse, carried away perhaps by some idle
eavesdroppers, should be basely tacked together
to render them contemptible ; and many false
hoods, yea, and smutty ones too, and such as none
but a coal fetched from hell could have suggested,
should be added for the blackening of them. It
were enough to procure me the respect and friend
ship of all men, who have the least grain of
honesty in them, if I had it not before, to see such
a man and such a book treat me with such brutish
malignity. However, I am verily persuaded, that
the holy Lord, whose we are, and whom we serve,
will at some time or other, make this man a Ma*

88 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

ger Massalib for his deliberate wickedness. I will
say no more of it, but leave it to those hands, which
alone will do right unto us."

It is much to be feared, however, that if justice
should be done to him, so far as relates to his con
duct on this occasion, he must appear at consider
able disadvantage. His contemporaries, as has
been suggested, were, almost all of them, more or
less involved in the delusion, and of course were
not forward to bring charges against each other.
But in modern times, when the actors in this tra
gedy and those directly interested in them are
passed away, as soon as the attention is turned to
this subject, it must be confessed, that the name of
Mather appears foremost, as the most effective
and prominent agent in creating the excitement,
and pushing it on to its excesses.

That he sincerely believed in the reality of
witchcraft, cannot for a moment be doubted ; but
this does not excuse him beyond a certain extent ;
for his father, though as firm a believer in such
agency as he, did not countenance the bloody and
revengeful proceedings of the day. Unfortunately
Cotton Mather did, much as he afterwards attempt
ed to disclaim it. Probably his feelings and
opinions on the subject were not well defined in
his own mind ; but every impartial reader sees,
that, while he felt bound to give cautions, he gave
still more encouragement to the work of blood, and

COTTON MATHER. 89

never wrote one syllable, expressing the least regret
for the waste of innocent lives, though he confessed
that the matter had been carried too far.

When Mr. Upham published his Lectures on this
subject, he was called upon by a writer in the pub
lic prints, to make good his charge against Cotton
Mather, of having exerted himself to increase and
extend the frenzy of the public mind. He pro
duced in reply, an original letter from Dr. Mather
to Stephen Sewall of Salem, in which he manifests
an excessive earnestness to prevent the excitement
from subsiding. This was written in September,
after the summer which had witnessed the execu
tions in Salem, and contains an importunate re
quest, that Mr. Sewall would furnish him with the
evidence given at the trials. He urges this request,
by reminding him of the benefit that may follow,
and wishes him to add to it remarks and observa
tions of his own. He tells him, that he must not
consider himself writing to Cotton Mather, but to
an obstinate unbeliever in all such matters, and he
must adopt the tone and style most likely to make
an impression on such a man. "Imagine me as
obstinate a Sudducee and witch - advocate as any
among us ; address me as one that believed noth
ing reasonable ; and when you have so knocked
me down, in a spectre so unlike me, you will en
able me to box it about among my neighbors till
it come, I know not where at last."

90 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

It appears that he did box it about among his
neighbors, with more success than could have been
expected, after the revulsion of public feeling, which
followed the transactions in Salem. In 1693, one
Margaret Rule was seized in a remarkable manner,
which he ascribed to spectral visitations. He says,
that she had at some previous time shown symp
toms of religious thoughtf ulness ; but he does not
undertake to speak with confidence respecting her
character, a forbearance, which implies that it was
not irreproachable. She was assaulted by several
cruel spectres, some of which had their faces cov
ered, so that she could not be sure respecting them.
They requested her to put down her name in a
book, and, on her declining to subscribe, they tor
mented her in a cruel manner, at the command of
a black man, who stood by, and appeared to be
their master. She was thrown into such agonies,
that Cotton Mather says, with much pathos, " they,
that could behold the doleful condition of that poor
family without sensible compassions, might have en
trails indeed ; but I am sure they could have no true
bowels in them."

He says, that to imagine that all this was im
posture, would be an uncivil and unchristian thing.
Indeed it is not necessary to the entire explanation
of the affair, for he has thrown abundant light upon
it when he assures his readers, that the young wom
an fasted for nine days, her tormentors not allow-

COTTON MATHER. 91

ing her to swallow any food all the while, except
an occasional spoonful of rum. Whoever under
stands the relation between cause and effect, would
readily believe in the witchcraft, after such a dis
closure ; but it does not seem to occur to him, when
he makes the statement, that the rum would help
to account for any of the appearances ascribed to
spectral visitation.

Calef thought it advisable to inquire into this
affair, while it was in progress. Accordingly he
attended in her chamber one night, when Cotton
Mather and his father were there. The former
conducted the examination by leading questions,
such as this. "Do there a great many witches
sit upon you?" Answer; "Yes." "The witches
scratch, and pinch, and bite you, don't they ?" An
swer, "Yes." This is a specimen of the whole
investigation, which of course produced the an
swers desired. The questions to her attendants
were also satisfactorily answered. " What does she
eat and drink 2" Answer, " She eats nothing at all,
but drinks rurn." Soon after the clergymen with
drew, the afflicted desired the women to be gone,
saying, " that the company of the men was not of
fensive to her, and having laid hold of the hand of
a young man, said to have been her sweetheart
formerly, who was withdrawing, she pulled him
again into his seat, saying he should not go to
night."

92 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Calef 's interference gave offence to Cotton Mather,
who complained much of his misrepresentation of
the scene ; but on examining these alleged misrep
resentations, it appears that Calef s statement is ad
mitted to be substantially true. Calef proposed to
Dr. Mather to meet with him and converse upon the
subject ; but, instead of granting the interview, Cot
ton Mather caused him to be arrested for a libel, and
bound over to answer at the sessions. A correspond
ence passed between them, but little to the satisfac
tion of either party.

One of the most remarkable documents brought
forward was the testimony of several persons, who
declared that they had seen her elevated in a sur
prising manner. If their evidence had stopped
there, no one, who considered the nature of her diet,
would have hesitated to believe them ; but they de
posed, that they had seen her lifted up from her
bed, without any exertion on her own part, and sus
pended in the air at a considerable height ; one ac
count says, high enough to touch the garret floor
without touching any support whatever. Several
strong men were obliged to exert all their strength
to pull her down.

Calef remarks on this* testimony, that they should
have stated the number of persons employed, in
order to ascertain how many are required to over
come an invisible force. "On the whole," he
says to Cotton Mather, " I suppose you expect I

COTTON MATHEK. 93

should believe it ; and, if so, the only advantage
gained is, that that which has been so long con
troverted between Protestants and Papists, whether
miracles are ceased, will hereby seem to be decided
for the latter." Testimony of this kind, so ex
plicit and so unaccountable, without taking it for
granted that the witnesses were perjured, would
probably have taken effect, even with the Salem
history fresh in the public mind, had it not been
for the firmness of Calef. Influence was against
him, but truth and reason were so manifestly on
his side, that, with small pretensions to learning, he
overcame the divines in argument, and dispersed
the remnants of delusion.

Mr. Upham has produced another letter, which,
though the signature is wanting, was evidently
from the style, and, as we are told, from the hand
writing, the work of Cotton Mather. Like the
former, it is addressed to Mr. Sewall, and describes
the public manner in which he had been insulted
in Boston. This was in 1707, several years after
these events had taken place, but while he was yet
in trouble from his controversy with Governor Dud
ley. He tells Mr. Sewall, that, one day in a book
seller's shop in Boston, he was railed at by a couple
of malignant fellows, who, among other things, said,
"His friend Mr. Noyes has cast him off;" on
which they set up a shout of laughter. He wishes
Mr. Sewall to show that part of the letter to Mr.

94: AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Noyes, in order to ascertain whether there was
any truth in what they had said; for, though he
professed not to believe it, he thought it not im
possible that there might be some foundation for
the story.

The truth is, that he was suspicious and dis
trustful ; the public had accused him as the one,
who had done most to mislead them, and his stand
ing in society was suddenly changed. From being
regarded as a man of great and venerable charac
ter, he was generally shunned and treated with
aversion. Possibly this conversation was accident
al, and had reference to some other person ; but,
at any rate, the incident shows the state of his
own feeling, and betrays a consciousness that he
had lost his former place in the public respect and
good-will.

The part of his Diary, which relates to this por
tion of his history is still preserved, and throws
some light upon the subject of his own feelings
and opinions. It is not, however, so full as could
be desired. It seems to have been written after
the excitement was over, when the subject was no
longer pleasant to him. It is written with an at
tempt at self-justification, which shows either that
he had misgivings at the time when he was most
engaged, or that the altered feelings of those about
him induced him to suspect and reexamine his
own.

COTTON MATHER. 95

In the beginning of the year 1692, he says, that
his heart is set upon a design of reformation to ex
tend through the churches, to revive the sinking
spirit of piety, and prevent religion from declining.
In order to produce this revival, he applied himself
to the neighboring clergy ; but they were in the
habit of waiting for the agency of the divine spirit,
and showed no disposition to join with him in tak
ing the measures proposed. Finding that he must
act alone, he wrote the publication entitled, "A
Midnight Cry" He says, " I set myself to re
count the abasing circumstances of the land, and
my soul mourned over them. I wrestled with my
God, that he would awaken the churches to do
some remarkable thing in returning to him." This
language shows, that he was desirous to see some
enthusiastic impulse given to the public mind,
which should excite it to powerful action ; and,
when the panic of witchcraft came, he was doubt
less prepared to welcome it as an answer to his
prayer.

There is another memorandum on the 29th day
of the second month, to this effect ; " This day I
obtained help of God, that he would make use of
me as of a John, to be a herald of the Lord's
kingdom now approaching." This evidently re
ferred to the case of witchcraft, since the sentence
concludes thus, "My prayers did especially insist
upon the horrible enchantments and possessions

90 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

broke forth in Salem village, things of a most pro
digious aspect; a good issue to those things, and
my own direction and protection thereabout, I did
especially petition for."

The rest of the Diary for this year is not dated,
and, as has been said, is written in a singular spirit
of self-defence. After commenting upon the man
ner in which, by the judgment of Heaven, evil
spirits were permitted to torment unfortunate per
sons in Salem, he says, that many persons, of vari'
ous characters, were accused and prosecuted upon
the visions of the afflicted.

" For my own part," he adds, " I was always
afraid of proceeding to convict and condemn any
person, as a confederate with afflicting demons,
upon so feeble an evidence as a spectral represen
tation. Accordingly, I ever protested against it,
both publicly and privately ; and in my letters to
the judges, I particularly besought them, "that
they would by no means admit it; and when a
considerable assembly of ministers gave in their
advice about that matter, I not only concurred with
them, but it was I who drew it up. Nevertheless,
on the other side, I saw in most of the judges a
most charming instance of prudence and patience,
and I knew the exemplary prayer and anguish of
so ill wherewith they had sought the direction of
Heaven above most other people; whom I gen
erally saw enchanted into a raging, railing, scanda-

COTTON" MATHER. 97

lous, and unreasonable disposition, as the distress
increased upon us. For this cause, though I could
not allow the principles, that some of the judges
had espoused, yet I could not but speak honorably
of their persons, on all occasions; and my com
passion upon the sight of their difficulties, raised
by my journeys to Salem, the chief seat of those
diabolical vexations, caused me yet more to do so.
And merely, as far as I can learn, for this reason,
the mad people through the country, under a fasci
nation on their spirits equal to that which energu-
mens had on their bodies, reviled me as if I had
been the doer of all the hard things that were done
in the prosecutions of the witchcraft."

He appears to forget, that the "advice," of
which he claims the authorship, contained not only
cautions, but a recommendation to the authorities
to prosecute vigorously those, who were under the
charge of witchcraft. There is every reason to be
lieve, that, had he spoken as doubtfully on all oc
casions, as he does in making this registry in his
journal, the courts, not sustained by the clergy,
would have suffered the matter to rest. It would
be gratifying to see these things explained in any
way creditable to his fame.

There may, however, have been a reason for his
delicacy on this occasion, which one would have
thought would have occurred to no one else, were
it not for his assurance that it suggested itself sooner

XL— 7

98 AMERICAN BIOGKAPHY.

to others than to him. It seems that this visita
tion of evil spirits was, in some sort, a personal
attack upon himself, so that, as a party concerned,
he could not decently be free in giving his opinion
to the judges.

" I had filled my country with little books," he
says, " in several whereof I had, with a variety of
entertainments, offered the new covenant, formally
drawn up, unto my neighbors, hoping to engage
them eternally unto the Lord by their subscribing
with heart and hand unto that covenant. Now, in
the late horrid witchcraft, the manner of spectres
was, to tender books unto the afflicted people, so
liciting them to subscribe a league with the devil
therein exhibited, and so to become the servants
of the devil for ever. Which when they refused,
the spectres would proceed to wound them with
scalding, burning, pinching, pricking, twisting, chok
ing, and a thousand preternatural vexations. Be
fore I made any such reflection myself, I heard the
reflection made by others, who were more consid
erate, that this assault of the evil angels upon the
country was intended by Hell, as a particular defi
ance unto my poor endeavors to bring the souls of
men unto Heaven."

It would seem impossible for credulity to go
further than this, and, so far as the sincerity of his
delusion is an excuse for his attempting to influence
others with the same excitement, he is entitled to

COTTON MATHER. 99

the benefit of it all. But it seems, that his doubts
grew upon him in later years ; for his Diary con
tains this passage, dated the 15th day of the sec
ond month, 1713; "I entreated of the Lord, that
I might know the meaning of that descent from
the invisible world, which, nineteen years ago, pro
duced, in a sermon from me, a good part of what
is now published." This relates to the Salem
witchcraft, and shows that the subject troubled
him at times, long after the excitement had passed
away.

He was very much annoyed with the letters of
Calef, which were so civil and respectful in man
ner, that no complaint could be made of the form.
The substance was so unanswerable as to be partic
ularly trying. In 1701, he says, " I find that the
enemies of the churches are set with an implaca
ble enmity against me ; and one vile tool, namely
R. Calf, is employed by them to go on with more
of his filthy scribbles, to hurt my precious opportu
nities of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. I had
need to be much in prayer to my glorious Lord,
that he would preserve his poor servant from the
malice of this evil generation, and of that vile man
particularly." It appears from this, that he con
sidered all his persecutions from men or demons,
as so many testimonies to his zealous exertions in
the cause of religion ; a view of the subject, which
must have brought with it peculiar consolation.

100 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

It would be unjust to Cotton Mather to leave
this subject without mentioning an act recorded in
his Diary, which shows that his thoughts some
times reverted to Salem, perhaps with a touch of
self-upbraiding, though he does not confess it. But
•whatever his motive may have been, the citizens
of that ancient town will doubtless rejoice to pre
serve the memory of his benefactions. In the lat
ter part of his life, he writes ; " There is a town in
this country, namely, Salem, which has many poor
and bad people in it, and such as are especially
scandalous for staying at home on the Lord's day.
I wrapped up seven distinct parcels of money, and
annexed seven little books about repentance, and
seven of the monitory letter against profane ab
sence from the house of God. I sent those things
with a nameless letter unto the minister of that
town, and desired and empowered him to dispense
the charity in his own name, hoping thereby the
more to ingratiate his ministry with the people.
Who can tell how far the good angels of Heaven
cooperate in these proceedings ?"

COTTON MATHER. 101

CHAPTER IY.

Characteristic Extracts from his Diary. — His
Vigils. — Description of the " Magnolia
Christi Americana" — Instances of his En
thusiasm. — A remarkable Courtship. — His
Second Marriage.

IN the Diary for 1696, is an entry dated the
23d day of the second month, which shows what
kind of circumstances made most impression on
his imagination, and what he thought it most
important to record. -_ '"'This: v^vening .I-met with
an experience, which it may not be unprofita
ble for me to remember. I had* been t'or db^t a
fortnight vexed with an extraordinary heart-burn,
and none of all the common medicines would re
move it, though for the present some of them
would a little relieve it. At last, it grew so much
upon me, that I was ready to faint under it. But
under my fainting pain, this reflection came into
my mind. There was this among the sufferings
and complaints of my Lord Jesus Christ. My
heart was like wax melted in the midst of my
bowels. Hereupon, I begged of the Lord, that,
for the sake of the heart-burn undergone by my

102 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Savior, I might be delivered from the other and
lesser heart-burn wherewith I was now incommod
ed. Immediately it was darted into my mind, that
I had Sir Philip Paris's plaster in my house, which
was good for inflammations ; and laying the plaster
on, I was cured of my malady."

All incidents of this kind were ascribed by him
to a particular Providence, and his journal abounds
with intimations and assurances received directly
from Heaven. On the 22d day of the twelfth
month, 1699, he says, " A terrible thing happened
in my family ; for my daughter Katy, going into
the cellar with a candle, her muslin ornaments about
her shoulders took fire from it, and blazed up so as
to set her head-gear likewise on fire. But, by the
wonderful and merciful providence of God, her
shriek A>r lielp was heard," and by that help the fire
was extinguished. The child's life was preserved,
and her head' and 'face, though in the midst of hor
rible flames ; but her neck and hands were horribly
burnt, and she was thrown into exquisite misery.
My child fell into a fever, and her neck obliged her
to so wry a posture of her head, that I was in
grievous distress, whether she would live, or wheth
er, if she did live, there would not be some visible
mark of the stroke of the wrath of the Lord always
upon her. I cried unto the Lord in this my dis
tress, and I obtained assurance from Heaven, that
the child should not only be shortly and safely

COTTON MATHEK. 103

cured of her burning, but that God would mate the
burning to be the occasion of her being more effect
ually than ever brought home to himself."

Not only was information thus given, but he
believed that interpositions of Heaven in his be
half were common and manifest, particularly in
what related to his public labors. He says; "I
often find, that when I preach on the angels, or
on any subject, such as the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ, particularly agreeable to the angels,
I have a more than ordinary assistance in my
public ministrations. My mind, and voice, and
strength are evidently under some special agency
from the invisible world, and a notable fervency,
and majesty, and powerful pungency set off my
discourses."

There are many curious passages in his Diary,
which show the peculiar nature of his devotions,
and how firmly he expected, and perhaps in conse
quence of that expectation, found, an immediate an
swer to his prayers. In 1702, he began the practice
of keeping vigils, that is, of spending whole nights
in prayer.

" I called unto mind," says he, " that the primi
tive Christians, in obedience to that command of
watching unto prayer, sometimes had their vigils;
accordingly I resolved, that I would make some
essay toward a vigil. I dismissed my dear consort
unto her repose, and, in the dead of the night, I

1.04 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

retired into my study, and there, casting myself
prostrate on my study floor before the Lord, I was
rewarded with communications from Heaven, that
cannot be uttered. There I lay for a long time,
wrestling with the Lord, and I received some
strange intimations from Heaven, about the time
and the way of my death, and about mercies in
tended for my family, and several points, about
which my mind may be too solicitous. Lord, what
is man that thou visitest him ? If those be vigils,
I must, so far as the sixth commandment will allow,
have some more of them."

The intimations, which he received on this oc
casion, were so direct and satisfactory, that the
practice became a favorite one with him. What
ever service it may have done to his devotional
feelings, it did not benefit his health or spirits;
but he seems to have persevered in it to the last,
notwithstanding some discouraging circumstances
that attended it. For example, immediately after
this vigil, he writes; "Now, as I have often ob
served it, so it still continues matter of observation
unto me, that, when I have been admitted to some
near and sweet and intimate communion with Heav
en, I must immediately encounter some vexation on
earth; either bodily illness, or popular clamor, or
Satanic buffets immediately followed. I expected
something on this occasion. Accordingly, when I
was preaching on the day following, one of my

COTTON MATHEK. 105

chimneys took fire, and my own house, with my
neighbors', was endangered, and a great congrega
tion ran out of the meeting-house to the relief of
my house, and I was thus marked out for talk all
over the town."

Thus it appears, that he was so much in the
habit of looking for consequences of a certain kind,
that the most trifling accidents were ascribed to
special agency, and, if necessary, exalted into
crosses and trials. It was an instance of rare
moderation on the part of Satan, one would say,
to satisfy his revenge by setting fire to a chimney ;
and there are few of the ills, which flesh is heir
to, that may be regarded as lighter, than that of
being the owner of a chimney, which occasioned
such an alarm. But, as there was no other event
near the vigil in the order of time, which could
be ascribed to Satanic malice, this accident was
compelled to officiate in that capacity, though it
was hardly equal to the occasion.

In 1704, he writes; "I am very much concerned
about one thing. My little daughter, Nancy, has
her unknown distemper still hanging about her.
She languishes and perishes under a pain, which
the ablest physicians in all the town confess them
selves unable to cure. I cry to the Lord about it ;
yea, I have received over and over again a particu
lar faith from Heaven, as I thought, that the child
shall be recovered, and yet the malady proceeds

106 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

even to a hopeless extremity. Lord, what shall I
think of this thing ?"

Such was the reliance, which he placed on
these intimations, he does not say in what manner
conveyed, that he is very much perplexed to
know how to reconcile the child's growing worse,
with these promises made to him from on high.
He speaks sometimes of sensible appearances; at
others, he seems to have taken his own feelings,
as direct suggestions of Heaven, and to have relied
upon them as firmly, as if they had been spoken
by an angel's articulate voice. About a fortnight
after, he writes ; " Now again I see, that faith is
not fancy. My little daughter, Nancy, is wonder
fully recovered. The Lord showed us how to
encounter her malady. The child is got abroad
again, perfectly recovered from any sign of her
late sickness, and her strength comfortably returns
to her."

He had another proof, quite acceptable to an
author, that faith is not fancy. In 1 701, he
writes; "This day I received letters from Lon
don. My church history is a bulky thing, of
about two hundred and fifty sheets. The impres
sion will cost about six hundred pounds. The
booksellers of London are cold about it. Their
proposals for subscriptions are of uncertain and
tedious event. But behold what my friend, Mr.
Bromfield, writes me from London. 'There is

COTTON MATHER. 107

one Mr. Robert Hackshaw, a very serious and
godly man, who proposes to print the Ecclesiasti
cal History of New England, which you entrusted
me withal. He is willing to print it at his own
charges, and to serve you with as many books,
I believe, as you desire. When he proposed it to
me, I said, Sir, God has answered Mr. Mather's
prayers. He declared, that he did it, not with any
expectation of gain to himself, but for the glory
of God.' "

This was the MAGNALIA, a chaotic collection of
materials for a history of New England, rather than
a history itself ; a work, which contains so much
that is valuable, that it is read with interest and
pleasure still, though it is deformed by some enor
mous faults, and not to be trusted as a guide in
matters of importance.* Cotton Mather was gen
erally allowed to know more particulars of the
history of New England than any other man ;
and had his other qualifications as an historian
been proportionate to his curiosity and industry,
he might have raised a durable monument to his
own fame. But the portion of history, which it
embraced, was so near his own times, as to awaken

* The work is entitled, "MAGNALIA CHRISTI AMERI
CANA, or the Ecclesiastical History of New England."
It was published in London, in the year 1702, making
a large folio volume. It was reprinted at Hartford,
Connecticut, 1820, in two volumes octavo.

108 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

his partialities and aversions, so that in many of
his sketches of character, we have little more than
a view of his own prejudices. The times, too,
were credulous, and he even more so than the
times. Hence the marvellous was often quite as
welcome to him as the true.

As to dates, it was not to be expected that any
man could despatch in a few years a work, which
was large enough to be the labor of a life, without
falling into various errors in matters, which he
doubtless regarded as of very small importance.
Grahame calls the Magnalia the most interesting
work, which the literature of this country has pro
duced, declaring that many of the biographical
parts of it are superior to Plutarch ; but this is
absurd and extravagant praise; the highest pre
tension of the work is, that it is curious and enter
taining.

The Magnalia is divided into seven books, or
parts. The first part contains the history of New
England, with a description of the design whereon,
the manner wherein, and the people whereby, the
colonies were planted. This is followed by a set
of portraits of the public men and divines, who
had distinguished themselves in the country. He
then gives an account of Harvard College, which
had not yet had the opportunity to displease him.
From this, he proceeds to the articles of faith and
rules of discipline, which prevailed in the churches.

COTTON MATHEK. 109

The sixth book was that, in which his soul delight
ed, because it recorded the manifestations of Di
vine Providence in connexion with the wonders of
the invisible world. The last book contains an ac
count of the disturbances, which the New England
colonies suffered from Indians, Quakers, and wolves
in sheep's clothing, who were grouped together in
an unheard-of association, as so many allies in op
position to the cause of God.

This work, which it was formerly difficult to pro
cure, has been made so familiar in modern times,
by a cheap edition, that it needs no particular de
scription. Every one knows its general character,
and its quaintness recommends it to those who read
for amusement, while it is fallen into disrepute with
those who read for instruction. The miscellane
ous scraps of learning, strung together on invisible
threads of association, make the reader wonder at
his industry, however misapplied ; and occasional
gleams of talent assure him, that the author was
really an able man, apart from his affectation. It
is like an antiquarian collection, the value of which
must not be estimated by its usefulness, but by
the more doubtful standard of its oddity and its
age.

How far he sometimes carried his peculiar en
thusiasm, appears from a memorandum dated the
23d day of the sixth month, 1702. He says, that
when sitting in his study, he perceived a strange

110 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

impression on his mind, that God was willing to
converse with him after a very familiar manner,
if he would look and wait in a proper posture.
It was actually said to him, " Go into your great
chamber, and I will speak with you." He imme
diately went to a large apartment, the most retired
in his house, and there threw himself prostrate ou
the floor. " There," he says, " I cried unto the
Lord, with humble and bitter confessions of my
own loathsomeness before him. I abhorred my
self as worthy to be thunderstruck in dust and
ashes."

For a time he perceived nothing out of the com
mon course ; but at length there came an ex
traordinary afflatus, which dissolved him in tears,
that ran down upon the floor. He burst forth
with such expressions as this ; " And now my
heavenly Father is going to tell me what he will
do for me. My Father loves me, and will fill me
with his love, and will bring me unto everlast
ing life. My Father will never permit any thing
to befall me, but what shall be for his interest.
My Father will make me a chosen vessel to do
good in the world. My Father will yet use me
to glorify his church ; and my opportunities, my
precious opportunities to do good, shall be after
a special manner increased and multiplied. The
condition of my dear consort, my Father will give
me to see his wonderful favor in it. My Father

COTTON MATHEE. Ill

will be a father to my children too. He will pro
vide for them, and they shall, every one, serve him
through eternal ages." This conversation with
Heaven, he describes as leaving a heavenly, sweet,
and gracious impression on his soul.

This reference to the condition of his wife, was
on account of a lingering sickness, of which, after
much suffering, she died in the year 1702. It is
recorded in his Diary, that, after she had been
sick about half a year, he fasted and prayed on
her account ; and that same night, there appeared
to her, she supposed in her sleep, a grave person
leading a woman in the most meagre and wretch
ed state. She broke forth into praising God, that
her condition was so much more tolerable, than
that woman's. The grave person then told her,
that she had two distressing symptoms, for which
he would point out some relief. For the intol
erable pain in her breast, he told her to take the
warm wool from a living sheep, and lay it upon
the part affected. For the salivation, which noth
ing had relieved, he told her to take a tankard
of spring water, and dissolve in it over the fire a
quantity of isinglass and mastic, of which she was
to drink often. She communicated this vision to
her physician ; he advised her to try the experi
ment. She did so for a time with singular suc
cess. She was even able to leave her chamber ;
but her disorder was too deeply fixed, and in De-

112 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

cember it became evident that she must die. His
account of her death is affecting.

" The black day arrives ! I had never seen so
black a day in all the time of my pilgrimage.
The desire of my eyes is this day to be taken
from me. Her death is lingering and painful.
All the forenoon of this day, she "was in the pangs
of death, and insensible till the last minute or two
before her final expiration. I cannot remember
the discourse that passed between us ; only her
devout soul was full of satisfaction about her go
ing to a state of blessedness with the Lord Jesus
Christ. As far as my distress would permit, I
studied to confirm her satisfaction and consolation.
When I saw to what a point of resignation I was
called of the Lord, I resolved, with his help, to
glorify him. So, two hours before she expired, I
kneeled by her bedside, and took into my hands
that dear hand, the dearest in the world, and sol
emnly and sincerely gave her up to the Lord. I
gently put her out of my hands and laid away
her hand, resolved that I would not touch it again.
She afterwards told me, that she signed and seal
ed my act of resignation ; and before that though
she had called for me continually, after it, she nev
er asked for me any more. She conversed much
until near two in the afternoon. The last sensi
ble word that she spoke was to her weeping father ;
' Heaven, Heaven will make amends for all !' "

COTTON MATHEK. 113

A passage, which follows hard upon this, is writ
ten with the same solemnity, while the subject is
ludicrous in the extreme. It shows his want of
taste ; his mind hardly seemed to discover any dif
ference of magnitude and proportion between any
two subjects, that happened to come before it.
Shortly after the death of his wife, as he was re
flecting upon the follies to which persons situated
as he was are frequently led, he prayed earnestly
that God would sooner kill him, than suffer him to
do any thing that would bring discredit upon the
religion which he professed. He assures us, that,
a few minutes after, he was taken very ill, and was
not a little alarmed ; for, said he, " I suspected that
the Lord was going to take me at my word." The
disorder did not prove fatal ; he soon recovered ;
and then, as if perfectly unable to discover any thing
other ui^c than serious in the subject, says, "I per
ceived it was nothing but vapors."

In the month of February, he records, that he
was beset with " a very astonishing trial." Others
might have been disposed to smile at it, but he evi
dently considered it no subject of mirth. It dwelt
upon his mind, and troubled him so that his life be
came almost a burden. There was a young lady,
whom he describes as so remarkably accomplished,
that no one in America exceeded her, abounding in
wit and sense, with a comely aspect, and most win
ning conversation, who, after writing to him once

XL— 8

114 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

or twice, made him a visit, and gave him to under
stand, that she had long felt a deep interest in his
ministry, and that, since his present condition had
given her more liberty to think of him, " she had
become charmed with my person to such a degree,
that she could not but break in upon me with her
most importunate requests, that I would make her
mine." She however declared, that the chief inter
est she felt in the attachment arose from her desire
for religious improvement; for, if she were once
connected with him, she did not doubt that her sal
vation would be secured.

To a proposal so direct and flattering, it was not
easy to make any other than a grateful reply. It
•was not altogether to his taste, but he could not say
so to her. All at once, a way of escape seemed to
be offered ; and, nothing doubting that it would an
swer the purpose, he told her of his austere manner
of life, and the frequent fasts and vigils, which his
wife was expected to share. But, instead of being
daunted by this communication, she told him that
this was the very thing of all others, which she de
sired; for she had already weighed all those dis
couragements, but was prepared with faith and for
titude to encounter them all.

" Then," he says, " I was in a great strait how
to treat so polite a gentlewoman, thus applying her
self unto me. I plainly told her I feared whether
her proposal would not meet with unsurmountable

COTTON MATHER. 115

objections from those, who had an interest in dis
posing of me. However I desired that there might
be time taken to see what would be the wisest and
fittest resolution. In the mean time, if I could not
make her my own, I should be glad to be any way
instrumental in making her the Lord's."

Having secured this reprieve, he seemed to
breathe freely, though he was utterly unable to
discover any way of escape from this affectionate
persecution.

This matter appears for some time to have op
pressed his very soul, and the manner in which he
treats it is too characteristic to be passed by. Af
ter a time, the Diary proceeds ; " My sore distresses
and temptations I this day carried before the Lord.
The chief of them lies in this. The most accom
plished gentlewoman, mentioned, though not by
name, in the close of the former year, one whom
everybody sees with admiration, confessed to be,
for her charming accomplishments, an incompara
ble person, addressing me to make her mine, and
professing a disposition unto the most holy flights
of religion to lie at the bottom of her addresses, I
am in the greatest strait imaginable what course to
steer. Nature itself causes in me a mighty ten
derness towards a person so amiable. Breeding
requires me to treat her with honor and respect,
and very much of deference ; but religion, above
all, obliges me, instead of a rash rejecting of her

116 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

conversation, to contrive rather how I may imitate
the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the deal
ing with such as are upon a conversion to him."
No contrivance could arrange the matter to his
mind ; for again he says, " As for my special, soul-
harassing affair, I did, some days ago, under my
hand, beg, as for my life, that it might be desisted
from, and that I might not be killed by hearing
any more about it." But even his written solicita
tions produced no effect, so desirous was she to se
cure the welfare of her soul.

To add to his trouble, his relations, suspecting
some attachment to exist between him and the
lady, treated him as if the engagement was already
formed. So intolerable was their upbraiding, that
he says, " My grievous distresses, occasioned espe
cially by the late addresses made unto me by the
person formerly mentioned, caused me to fall down
before the Lord with prayers and tears continually.
And because my heart is sore pained within me,
what shall I do, or what shall be the issue of this
distressing affair ?"

Some light began to be thrown upon this subject,
but, though recorded by his hand, it does not ap
pear to have explained any thing to him. He goes
on with the registry, with the same blending of
simplicity and self-applause.

"First month, 6th day, 1703. That young gen
tlewoman, of so fine accomplishments, that there

COTTON MATHER. 117

is none in this land comparable to her, who has,
with such repeated importunity pressed my re
spects unto her, that I have had much ado to keep
clear of great inconveniences, hath, by the disad
vantage of the company which commonly resorted
to her father's house, got but a bad name among
the generality of people. There appears no pos
sibility of her speedy recovery from it, be her car
riage never so virtuous. By an unhappy coinci
dence of some circumstances, there is a noise, and
a mighty noise it is, made about the town, that I
am engaged in a courtship to that young gentle
woman ; and, though I am so very prudent, and
have aimed so much at a conformity with our Lord
Jesus Christ, yet it is not easy prudently to confute
the rumor." Upon this he gathered all his ener
gies for a decisive blow. "The design of Satan
to entangle me in a match, that might have proved
ruinous to my family or my ministry, is deferred
by my resolution totally to reject the addresses
of the young gentlewoman. I struck the knife
into the heart of my sacrifice, by a letter unto her
mother."

In this curious history it appears, that, while he
had no particular regard for the lady, he was not
insensible to her professed admiration for him. He
does not perceive, that, while he delays, he is giv
ing encouragement to her, and affording a subject

118 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of remark to others. Nor does he seem to suspect,
from first to last, that her zeal for the interest of
her soul may have been counterfeited, as a pre
text for approaching him. The course of conduct,
which he praised in himself as so wise and prudent,
was so extremely unguarded, that he was fortu
nate indeed, not to have been unconsciously entan
gled in an engagement from which there was no
escaping.

Though the decided stand, which he had taken
in self-defence, released him from the lady's ad
dresses, it does not seem to have restored peace to
his soul. A fortnight after he writes ; " Was ever
man more tempted than the miserable Mather?
Should I tell in how many forms the devil has as
saulted me, and with what subtlety and energy his
assaults have been carried on, it would strike my
friends with horror. Sometimes temptations to
vice, to blasphemy and atheism, and the abandon
ment of all religion as a mere delusion, and some
times to self-destruction itself; these, even these,
do follow thee, 0 miserable Mather, with astonish
ing fury. But I fall down into the dust on my
study floor, with tears, before the Lord; and then
they quickly vanish, and it is fair weather again.
Lord, what wilt thou do with me ?"

In one respect he was more fortunate than could
have been expected; for, as he has intimated, the
attachment was made a subject of common conver-

COTTON MATHER. 119

sation, and was carried about in a form not flatter
ing or favorable to him. After complaining bitter
ly of the manner in which he is misrepresented, he
says ; " God strangely appears for me in this point
also, by disposing the young gentlewoman, with her
mother, to furnish me with their assertions that I
have never done any unworthy thing. Yea, they
have proceeded so far beyond all bounds in my
vindication, as to say, that they verily look on Mr.

M r to be as great a saint as any upon earth.

Nevertheless, the devil owes me a spite, and he in
spires his people in this town to whisper imperti
nent stories."

The perplexity, into which he was thrown, had
a strong effect upon his ill-regulated mind ; and his
friends, apprehensive of the consequences, urged him
to marry again. Seeing how much his family of
young children suffered for the want of a mother,
" he looked to Heaven to heal the breach, that had
been made in his household." Samuel Mather, who
says very little of the first wife, is more diffuse on
the subject of the second, who had the honor of
being his mother. His father's petitions, he says,
" were abundantly answered. God showed him a
gentlewoman, a near neighbor, whose character I
give, as I had it from those who intimately knew
her. She was one of finished piety and probity,
and of unspotted reputation ; one of good sense,
and blessed with a complete discretion in ordering

120 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

a household ; one of singular good humor, and in
comparable sweetness of temper; one with a very
handsome and engaging countenance, and honora
bly descended and related. 'Twas Mrs. Elizabeth
Hubbard ; she had been a widow four years, when
Dr. Mather married her, which was August 18th,
1703. He rejoiced in her, as having found great
spoil."

From this time, not however on account of this
connexion, his condition began to change. The de
cline of that respect and consideration, with which
he had been regarded, began to make itself felt.
He was at open enmity with the government, and
was not sustained, as the antagonists of ruling pow
ers are apt to be, by the sympathy and affection
of the people. They, having learned to charge
him with the guilt of misleading them on for
mer occasions, were no longer disposed to follow
his guidance, nor even to treat him with common
respect and regard. This was sufficiently irrita
ting to one like him, who had been accustomed to
live on applause, and was almost famished with
out it.

When to this was added the evil of an unprom
ising household of children, some of whom, though
qualified by nature to be his glory, were fated to
be his sorrow and shame, it is easy to see how
dreary and depressing his closing years must have
been. Even his piety, which, though strangely

COTTON MATHEE. 121

expressed, was no doubt sincere, depended so
much on evidences and manifestations, that it was
more likely to see, in these changes, signs of the
displeasure, than of the trials and chastening, of
the Most High.

122 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER Y.

Governor Dudley. — Disappointment of Cot
ton Mather at not being chosen President
of Harvard College. — His extraordinary
Letter to Governor Dudley. — His Belief in
the special Interpositions of Providence. —
Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. —
Received the Degree of Doctor of Divinity.
— His Domestic Afflictions.

IN 1702, Joseph Dudley was appointed govern
or of Massachusetts. He was strongly attached to
New England, though he was not disposed to
favor popular claims. When Andros was governor,
he held the offices of chief justice and president of
the council, and was severely handled at the time
of Andros's fall. He was then appointed chief
justice of New York; but he could not rest, till
he obtained some commission in Massachusetts,
which was the object of his desire and ambition,
and was pursued, as was generally thought, with
too little regard to the means employed. He was
long engaged in soliciting the appointment, and did
not receive it till 1702, when he had the address
to procure a letter from Cotton Mather in his favor,
which, being exhibited in England, removed the

COTTON MATHER. 123

objections of the King, and was supposed to be the
cause of his appointment to the chair.

He found, on his arrival, that he had a difficult
part to act. On the one hand he was to secure
the prerogative of the crown, and on the other
he desired the favor of the people. This occasion
ed a conflict of purpose and action ; but, finding it
impossible to please both sides, he resolved to
keep on good terms with the fountain of honor and
power. In order to do this, he was obliged to as
sert his own prerogative in the first place ; and
whereas Sir William Phips had been under the
influence of some of the leading clergy, and Lord
Bellamont's popularity saved him from the neces
sity of taking such decided ground, Governor Dud
ley was compelled to enter upon a course of claims
and conduct, which were new to the people. •

The first step was to release himself from the
clergy, whom he treated with respect, while he
steadily refused to consult them. This was not
pleasant to the Mathers, who conceived them
selves entitled to consideration, the father from his
public, the son from his personal services, and who
were not prepared for the sudden change from un
bounded respect and confidence to alienation and
disregard.

The early years of his administration were full
of trouble, arising partly from the unprosperous
state of the country, and partly from his collision

124 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

with the representatives of the people, who stead
ily opposed him in all his public designs. A
letter written by his son, Paul Dudley, the at
torney-general, was transmitted from England, in
which he remarked, "The government and col
lege are disposed of here in chimney-corners and
private meetings, as confidently as can be. This
country will never be worth living in for lawyers
and gentlemen, till the charter is taken way.
My father and I sometimes talk of the Queen's
establishing a court of chancery in this country."
This letter, taken in connexion with the governor's
course of conduct, made him so unpopular, that
many attempts were made to remove him, but
without success.

One circumstance, which was diligently used to
his disadvantage, gave his enemies the opportunity
to charge him with treasonable communication with
the French, with whom the English were then at
war. A person, who was sent to Nova Scotia to
negotiate an exchange of prisoners, returned with
a very small number, and was immediately charg
ed with having spent his time in trading with the
enemy, and supplying them with military stores,
instead of attending to the business of his mission.
Some merchants of note were also accused, and
brought to trial with him, and all were found guilty.

At the same time a memorial to the Queen,
signed by Nathaniel Higginson and several others,

COTTON MATHER. 125

some in Boston and others in London, charged
Governor Dudley with participating in the guilt of
these transactions. The Council and House of
Representatives at once passed votes declaring their
persuasion, that the charges were false; but, such
was his unpopularity, that it was with the utmost
difficulty he was able to maintain his ground.

In 1707, at the death of Samuel Willard, Pres
ident of Harvard College, if learning alone had
been a sufficient qualification, Cotton Mather would
have been selected to fill the vacancy; and he was
so confident of receiving the appointment, that he
observed days of fasting, after his usual manner, to
solicit the divine direction. But Governor Dudley
prevailed on Judge Leverett, who was one of his
Council, and in every respect fitted for the trust, to
accept the office, which he filled with usefulness
and honor for many years. This appointment was
a signal to the Mathers, that their influence was
at an end, and they made no secret of their dis
pleasure. While President Leverett was in the
chair, they seldom, if ever, attended the meetings
of the Overseers. Cotton Mather was not honored
with a place in the Corporation ; while he was
compelled to see Dr. Colman and Mr. Brattle, men
with whom he was not on friendly terms, members
of that board, and holding the concerns of the
institution in their own control.

Though many, who admired the attainments of

126 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Cotton Mather, were disappointed at his not re
ceiving the charge of the College, the general senti
ment approved the conduct of Governor Dudley
in passing him by ; not from any disposition to
underrate him, but from a conviction, apparently
well-founded, that in judgment, prudence, and prac
tical ability, he was inferior to others, who were
not to be compared with him for learning. In
fact the public feeling, in the latter part of Dud
ley's administration, took a turn in his favor. His
ability, patriotism, and engaging manners made
friends of many, who had been strongly opposed to
him in politics, and he was generally admitted to
hold a high place among the useful and eminent
men of the country.

A passage found in Cotton Mather's Diary, dated
June 16th, 1702, shows what kind of language he
thought himself authorized to hold to the governor,
and how much he was exasperated to find his coun
sels disregarded.

" I received a visit from Governor Dudley.
Among other things that I said to him I used
these words ; ' Sir, you arrive to the government
of a people, that have their various and divided
apprehensions about many things, and particularly
about your own government over them. I am
humbly of opinion, that it will be your wisdom to
carry an indifferent hand to all parties, if I may
use so coarse a word as parties, and to give occa-

COTTON MATHER. 127

sion to none to say, that any have monopolized you,
or that you took your measures from them alone.
I will explain myself with the freedom and the jus
tice, though not perhaps with the prudence, which
you would expect from me. I will do no otherwise
than I would be done to. I should be content, I
would approve and commend it, if any one should
say to your Excellency, By no means let any people
have cause to say, that you take all your measures
from the two Mr. Mathers. By the same rule I
may say without offence, By no means let any peo
ple say, that you go by no measures in your con
duct but Mr. Byfield's and Mr. Leverett's. This I
speak, not from any personal prejudice against the
gentlemen ; but from a due consideration of the
disposition of the people, and as a service to your
Excellency.' The wretch went unto those men,
and told them that I had advised him to be no
ways advised by them ; and inflamed them into an
implacable rage against me."

Whatever degree of prudence the governor ex
pected from Cotton Mather's reputation for that
virtue, it cannot be regarded as surprising, that he
should have taken this choice speech as a warning
against Leverett and Byfield, nor that he should
have felt as if there was something too assuming
in such dictation from such a quarter. He proba
bly did not put himself often in the way of so free
a counsellor ; and the alienation, combined with

128 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

other causes, created so much discontent in Cot
ton Mather, that, in 17 07, he addressed a letter
to Governor Dudley, which seems intended for
no other purpose, than to express his own dis
pleasure.

He begins this long and singular production by
telling the governor, that he feels it to be his duty
to give him some words of faithful advice; and
this is what he proposes to do. Having heard
that the governor had done him injuries, his pur
pose is to return good for evil. He assures his
Excellency, that a letter from himself, read to King
William, had been the means of placing him in
the chair of state ; and, if he never received any
thanks for it, he had at least received all that he
expected.

He would have Governor Dudley call to mind
what he had said to him in former days. The
whole country knew his efforts to lead the chief
magistrate to a right discharge of duty. But it
was all in vain. Had it been otherwise, he never
would have known the meaning of a "troubled
sea." But now it is evident, that the Lord has a
controversy with him; and the best office of love,
that can be done, is to show him wherein his ways
have displeased the Lord.

This office of love Cotton Mather performs in
a very hearty manner, and without the least mani
fest reluctance. He tells his Excellency, that the

COTTON MATHER. 129

chief difficulty he has to contend with is covetous-
ness, the thing which a ruler should hold in most
aversion. When a man makes his government
an engine to enrich himself, and does many base
and dishonorable things for the sake of gain, it
excludes him from the kingdom of Heaven, and
sometimes from his worldly station. It was
known, that he once said to Sir William Phips,
that the office might be made worth twelve hun
dred a year; to which Phips replied, that it could
not be done by an honest man; but now it ap
pears how the thing is done.

He also tells the governor, that, to his own
knowledge, he has been guilty of bribery and cor
ruption. Besides, the infamous things done by
his son reflect dishonor on him, because it is
known, that they are intimately associated in all
that they do. The Pagans themselves condemned
such proceedings, but Christians in high office
are seen practising what they condemned as the
worst of crimes. This is pernicious to the Queen's
government, but far more so to the man who is
guilty, because there is one requisite of saving
repentance, with which he can never bring him
self to comply, and that is, restitution.

He then goes on to charge the government with

having carried on an unlawful trade with the

enemies of his country. The circumstances are

known, but it is feared, that, when an investiga-

xi.— 9

130 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

tion takes place, the disgrace will be greater than
it is now. The attempt to cover the transaction by
a forced vote of the Council will not shield him. He
then charges the governor with having libelled the
people of New England in his official despatches
to England. He also recounts the military enter
prises of the existing administration ; Church, sent
against Port Royal, but secretly forbidden to take
it, and the forces retreating from it as if they were
afraid of its being surrendered. These proceed
ings, to say nothing of the expense, bring a shame
on the country, that will not soon be forgotten.

He tells the governor, that, hi all civil affairs,
he is irregular, impatient, and not the least reli
ance can be placed upon his word. Sometimes
he asserts a thing with great vehemence, and soon
after, if any indirect purpose is to be answered,
he asserts the contrary with equal decision. The
Council are not allowed to deliberate ; they are
hurried, forced, and driven; and when they are
thus pushed into unjust measures, the governor
lays they are wholly owing to the Council. A
day is sometimes appointed for the election of
justices ; it is often privately altered, and an ear
lier one appointed, when none are present but
those whose company is desired.

These things being so, it must needs be, that
the governor is under the divine displeasure.
There is a judgment to come, when he will be

COTTON MATHER. 131

required to answer for the manner in which his
duties were performed. Considering his age and
health, his Excellency ought to lose no time in
thinking seriously on this subject, and applying
for the divine mercy.

Finally, Cotton Mather declares, that no usage
shall ever induce him to lay aside the feelings of
love and kindness, which he thinks it his duty to
maintain with all mankind. He has often been
silent, when he felt strongly tempted to speak ;
he has been neglected and treated with contempt
and aversion ; those who visited him have been
insulted, though that act of attention was all their
sin ; even those who live in the same part of the
town have been proscribed for that and no other
transgression ; but he cherishes no resentment ;
he forgets and forgives all injuries, and prays that
the governor may have an old age full of good
fruits and a blessing in both worlds.

Such was the tenor of this courteous communi
cation, which had evidently been prepared for,
by a long series of mortifications ; not probably
intended on the governor's part, but still felt and
resented as if each one was aimed at the heart.

This letter was accompanied with another of
the same date, also addressed to the governor, by
Increase Mather, and written in the same tone
with that of his son. The governor answered
both at once, saying that he was not so destitute

132 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

ol the Christian temper, as not to be willing to
receive admonitions and reproofs addressed to him
in a proper spirit, but such as theirs did not
answer to that description. Their address, he
says, would have been insolent, if addressed to
the humblest man, and, when directed to the chief
magistrate of the State, was quite insufferable.
He thought, that, when admonitions were given,
the facts charged should be matters of proof, not
mere suspicion ; that the reproof should be ad
ministered with meekness, not contempt; and
given, moreover, when the adviser is in a good
temper, and not influenced by prejudice, wrath,
and ill-will.

As to their charges, they have been very cred
ulous, if they believed them ; but, if they were all
true, their spirit and manner would be quite as
unjustifiable. He does not answer their accusa
tions, which would take more time than he has
to spare ; he exhorts them not to disturb tfo
peace of the province by their seditious harangue,
but to suffer the other clergymen, m^n in every
respect as good as they, to have a share in che
government of the College. This seems to have
been the chief difficulty ; for the governor says to
them, that either that institution must be disposed
of according to their opinion, and against that of
all the rest of the clergy, or the chief magistrate
must be torn in pieces

COTTON MATHER. J33

Cotton Mather does not say a word in relation
to the College, but his father speaks of the Col
lege charter, which he says might have been
confirmed by the royal governmei-t, if Governor
Dudley had done his duty.

The breach between the governor anc Cotton
Mather was never healed ; and the latter aj. pre-
hended, that the man in office would make him
feel the effects of his displeasure. In 1709, there
are several allusions to the governor in his Diary.
On one occasion, when speaking of a day of fast
ing and prayer, he says, that he supplicated, that
he might be saved from the malice of the governor
and council, who suspected him to have been the
author of a work lately arrived from England, in
which their criminal mismanagement was exposed
to public censure. Again he says, " The other
ministers of the town are this day feasting with
our wicked governor. I have, by my provoking
plainness and freedom, in telling this Ahab of his
wickedness, procured myself to be left out of his
invitations. I rejoiced in my liberty from the
temptations, wherewith they were encumbered.
I set apart the day for fasting with prayer, and
the special intention of the day was to obtain de
liverance and protection from my enemies. I
mentioned their names unto the Lord, who has
promised to be my shield. I sang agieeable
psalms, and left my cause with the Lord."

134 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Nothing could exceed his confidence in the
immediate efficacy of such prayer for temporal
blessings. In the same year, he remarks that he
had taken a violent cold, from exposure in bad
weather, and was threatened with a fever. Instead
of resorting to the usual remedies, he says, " I
set apart the day for fasting and prayer with
abundant alms. I sang the beginning of the
forty-first psalm, and my malady vanished beyond
expectation." The consequences of neglecting
to pray were equally direct. He records, that,
about the same time, his son Nathaniel, an infant,
was sick, and he neglected to pray for him as
fervently as he ought. The consequence was,
that the child died, and the father reproached
himself, as if he was persuaded that its life might
have been easily saved, if he had attended to his
duty.

There was no case whatever, to which this
kind of supplication did not apply. In the same
year he takes notice of an incident, which he calls
a very particular effect of prayer.

" Though I am furnished with a very great
library," said he, " yet, seeing a library of a late
minister in the town was to be sold, and a certain
collection of books therein, which had in it, may
be, above six hundred single sermons, I could not
forbear wishing to be made able to compass such a
treasure. I could not forbear mentioning my

COTTON MATHER. 135

wishes in my prayers, before the Lord, that, in
case it might be of service to his interests, he
would enable me, in his good Providence, to jur-
chase the treasure now before me. But I left the
matter before him with the profoundest resignation,
willing to be without every thing, which he should
not order for me. Behold ! a gentleman, who a
year ago treated me very ill, (but I cheerfully for
gave him,) carried me home to dine with him, and,
upon an accidental mention of the library afore
said, compelled me to accept of him a sum of
money, which enabled me to come at what I had
been desirous of."

He could not have had means of his own to
spare for such a purpose ; for, at the same time, he
records, that, owing to the largeness of his family,
he was in such wants and straits, that he was, liter
ally speaking, in rags, and his children were no
better arrayed.

This special interposition, as he deemed it, some
times gave him light upon the subject of political
movements, which agitated the country. As New
England was deeply interested in the national
quarrels with France, and compelled more than
once to fight the battles of Great Britain, the pecK
pie here naturally watched the proceedings of the
two nations with an anxious interest, which was in
creased by the difficulty and delay of sending in
telligence across the sea.

136 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

He says, in 1703, "The 24th day, second
month, was a fast, in which I enjoyed considerable
assistance. In my sermon, I let fall these words.
6 I have much reason to suspect that a war is
breaking out in Europe. In the late peace of Rys-
wick, the wind came not about the right way.
There must be another storm and war, before all
clearness. If it should be so, there is reason to
suspect that the French oppressor, who wants noth
ing but New England to render him the master of
all America, and has been under provocation
enough to fall foul upon us, may, before we do so
much as hear of a war proclaimed, swallow us up.'
Three days after this, arrived very surprising intel
ligence indeed, which represented unto us all
Europe in a new flame, and the union between
France and Spain. The nations are in a most
prodigious convulsion. Great Britain, particularly,
is in extreme hazard and ferment, and the planta
tions are in a very hazardous condition."

He never was able to contemplate foreign or
domestic politics with any satisfaction, till the ac
cession of Governor Shute. Whether his partial
ity for him was personal or political, does not ap
pear, but his registry in 1717 affords a strong
contrast to his memorials of the days of Governor
Dudley. He writes, " Our excellent governor,
who has delivered the country from a flood of cor
ruptions, which was introduced by selling places,

COTTON MATHER. 137

is to be encouraged ; and a course must be taken,
that he may be vindicated from the aspersions of
a cursed crew in this place, who traduce him as
guilty of that iniquity."

But his notice of the College at the same time is
written in a different tone. " July 3d. This day.
being the Commencement as they call it, a time of
much resort into Cambridge, and sorrily enough
thrown away, I chose to remain at home, and I set
apart a good part of it unto prayer, that the College,
which is on many accounts in a very neglected
and unhappy condition, and has been betrayed by
vile practices, may be restored unto better circum
stances, and be such a nursery of piety, industry,
and all erudition, as that the churches may see
therein the compassion of the Lord Jesus unto
them." It will be seen hereafter, that the College
never rose in his esteem. At the time when he
wrote these words, it was supposed by all others
to have an uncommon measure of peace and pros
perity within its walls.

The year 1713 brought an unusual variety of
incidents to him and to his family, some of them
welcome, others severely trying. Among the lat
ter class may be set down the circumstance, that a
new church was formed, or, as he expresses it,
swarmed from his own ; a movement which became
necessary from the crowded state of the house,
but which appears to have been very unpleasant to

138 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

him. Possibly he was vexed, that any were wil
ling to leave him ; or it may have been, that some
of those, who separated, were the most valuable
members of his society. He makes constant ref
erence to this matter in his Diary, till the arrange
ments are entirely completed, and praises himself
repeatedly for the judicious, conciliating, and ex
cellent course, which he was enabled to pursue

This praise, however, was not awarded him by
all concerned. There is an interesting journal of
Mr. Barnard of Marblehead, which it is understood
will soon be published, in which he gives a full ac
count of the proceedings of Cotton Mather and
his father. Mr. Barnard says, that the new house
was intended for himself; but that Cotton Mather
addressed the members of the society privately,
and used all kinds of machinations to induce them
to pass over him, and to select another. In this
attempt he succeeded ; but, according to Mr.
Barnard, many men of influence severely con
demned his conduct on the occasion. Nor did it
pass without its retribution ; for, afterwards, the
clergyman, for whom the Mathers had interested
themselves, proved contumacious, and gave them
cause to regret his election. Then they lamented
their intrigue when too late, and wished that they
could get rid of him, and have Mr. Barnard in
his stead. It is not safe to rely wholly on the
Itatements of the most respectable witnesses, in

COTTON MATHER. 139.

cases where they are personally concerned. Cot-
con Mather does not speak of Mr. Barnard in his
Diary, and probably did not think himself presum
ing, when he gave his sentiments freely to those,
who were at the time a portion of his own people.

In the eighth month he records, that he re
ceived letters from the Secretary of the Royal
Society, who told him that his Curios a Americana
had been read before that body ; and, so well satis
fied were they with it, that they presented to him,
in acknowledgment, the thanks of the Society.
They also signified their wish and intention to
admit him a member of the Society ; and he was
assured, that at their next lawful meeting he
should be regularly admitted. This, says the
Diary, " is a marvellous favor of Heaven to me ;
a most surprising favor."

There were many in New England, who, ac
cording to his son, " were so foolish and impudent
as to doubt, nay, to deny feis right to that title."
They gave as a reason, that his name was not
included among the published members of the
Royal Society. His son explains it by saying,
that, though any of his Majesty's subjects, in any
of his dominions, might be members of that So
ciety, they could not have their names on the list,
if they were absent. Foreigners were exempted
from thi« necessity ; but it was not accorded to
English, or Americans, without their passing

140 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

through the ceremony of a formal admission.
He also says, that, whenever his father received
letters from members of that Society, they always
gave him his title as one of their number. The
subject seems to be decided by the Secretary's
words ; " As for your being chosen a member of
the Royal Society, that has been done, both by
the Council and body of that Society ; only the
ceremony of admission is wanting ; which, you
being beyond the sea, cannot be performed."

He also received the degree of Doctor oi
Divinity from the University of Glasgow, accom
panied with letters, which expressed to him the
high respect in which he was held in Great
Britain. His son establishes his right to this
honor, by quoting from the oration of the renown
ed Zanchy, who said, " Who can reject whom
God hath promoted? Who can deny the title
of doctor to him, whom God has endowed with
such excellent gifts as are worthy of a doctor
indeed?" The same, he says, "may be said
concerning Mr. Mather. When he was worthy
of the doctorate, why should he not have it ? "

He does not seem to have been insensible to
these distinctions. It is said, that some of his
friends advised him to wear his signet ring, as a
token and assertion of his being a doctor of divini
ty ; not out of any vanity of ornament, but out
01 obedience to the fifth commandment. This

COTTON MATHER. 141

commandment was never before thought broad
enough to cover such a case, but it was sufficient
to weigh with him. " The Doctor therefore
would wear this ring; and made this action, so
seemingly inconsiderable, a great engine of re
ligion." " The emblem on the Doctor's signet
is a tree, with Psalm i. 3, written under it, and
about it, Glascua rigavit. The cast of his eye
upon this, constantly provoked him to pray, ( O
God make me a very fruitful tree, and help me to
bring forth seasonable fruit continually.' '

A notice taken in his Diary of a contemplated
journey to Ipswich, while it shows, that in his day
a ride of that distance was a serious affair, mani
fests the sorrow, with which the vanity of others
sometimes filled him, and at the same time proves
in a striking manner the absence of it from his
own breast.

" I have some thoughts concerning taking a
journey to Salem and Ipswich, within a week or
two, having there a very great opportunity to
glorify my Savior, and to edify his people. I
therefore carried the whole affair before the Lord,
that all the circumstances of it may be ordered in
very faithfulness ; and particularly that the fond
expectations of the people, flocking in great multi
tudes to hear me, may not provoke the Lord any
way to leave me to confusion, as a chastisement
for their lanity. But as I observed a strange

142 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

coldness in my prayers about my journey to
Ipswich, so there fell out something next week
which prevented my going thither at all."

In the course of the next month, he accom
plished this journey, of which he speaks as a
citizen of Boston would now speak of a tour to
the Rocky Mountains. He travelled unto Salem,
and the day after unto Ipswich, preaching in both
places, and after a few days returned, rejoicing
that " the Lord had smiled on his journey, and
filled it with comfort and service."

In this year, 1713, he was called to endure
much domestic distress. His wife was taken sick
with the illness of which she died. He mentions
her in the Diary, praising her for her piety, her
amiable disposition, and the prudence with which
she conducted his affairs. The measles came
into his family and seized her and her children.
On the 8th day of the ninth month he writes ;
" When I saw my consort very easy, and the
measles appearing with favorable symptoms upo»
her, I flattered myself, that my fear was all over
But, this day, we are astonished at the surprising
symptoms of death upon her, after an extreme
want of rest by sleep for divers whole days anc?
nights together. To part with so desirable, so
agreeable a companion ! a dam from such a nest
of young ones too ! Oh, the sad cup which my
Father hath appointed me ! '* " God made her

COTTON MATHER. 143

willing to die. God extinguished in her the feai
of death. God enabled her to commit herself to
the hands of a great and good Savior ; yea, and
to cast her orphans there too. I prayed with her
many times, and left nothing undone that I could
find myself able to do for her consolation." " On
Monday my dear, dear, dear friend expired.
Whereupon with another prayer in that melan
choly chamber, I endeavored the resignation to
which I am called I cried to Heaven for the
grace that might be suitable to this calamitous
occasion, and carried my orphans to the Lord.
Oh, the prayers fcr my poor children ! oh ! the
counsels to them, now called for ! "

Eleven days after the death of his wife, he
writes ; " Little Martha died at ten o'clock in the
morning." " I am again called to the sacrifice of
my dear, dear Jerusha. Just before she died,
she asked me to pray with her ; which I did, with
a distressed, but resigning soul ; and I gave her
up unto the Lord. The minute that she died,
she said she would go to Jesus Christ. She had
lain speechless for many hours. But in her last
moments, her speech returned a little unto her.
Lord ! I am oppressed ! undertake for me ! "

144 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

CHAPTER VI.

Philanthropic Undertakings. — He Attempts to,
Christianize the Negroes. — Manner in which
he employed his Time. — Habits of Industry.
— First Introduction of Inoculation into Ameri
ca. — It is boldly and firmly sustained by Cotton
Mather against a violent Opposition. — Much
Praise due for the Part he acted. — Early
and successful Labors of Dr. Boylston in this
Cause. — Warm Controversy on the Subject.

IT is a little remarkable, that a man, so much
engaged in his studies as Cotton Mather, should
have been so constantly suggesting philanthropic
undertakings ; and while his infirmities are re
membered, these bright points in his character
ought in justice to be brought out in bold relief.
One of the subjects, which troubled him most,
was the prevailing intemperance of the day. He
wrote and published much on the subject. Being
himself habitually temperate, he recommended his
own experience to others ; and, though no general
reform was produced by his exertions, he succeed
ed in awakening some to a sense of the danger to
which the country, as well as individuals, was ex
posed by the alarming prevalence of the sin. He

COTTON MATHER. 145

records in his Diary ; " About this time a name
less and unknown gentleman sent me his desire,
with what was needful for defraying the expense,
that a paragraph in my Theopolis Americana,
relating to the abuse and excess of rum, should
be printed by itself, and sent unto every part of
the country."

One of the subjects mentioned in Cotton
Mather's Diary is slavery, which, even as mat
ter of history, is so completely forgotten in New
England, that when he speaks of buying slaves,
as he does more than once, he seems like an in
habitant of another country. He says, that, in the
year 1706, he received a singular blessing. Some
gentleman of his society, having heard accidentally
that he was much in want of a good servant, had
the generosity to purchase for him " a very likely
slave," at an expense of forty or fifty pounds.
He describes him as a negro of promising aspect
and temper, and says, that such a present was
" a mighty smile of Heaven upon his family."
He gave him the name of Onesimus, and resolved
to use his best endeavors to instruct him in useful
knowledge, and all that related to the religious
improvement of his soul.

One act is very honorable to his philanthropy
and kindness of heart. Perceiving that the ne
groes, though kindly treated, had not those advan
tages of instruction, which were necessary to make

XL— 10

146 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

them familiar with the religion which he wished
to have them embrace, he established a school,
in which they were taught to read. And he him
self bore the whole expense of it, paying the
instructress for her services at the close of every
week. There are many, who point out to others
the way of duty and benevolent exertion; but
this was better ; it showed that he was willing to
make sacrifices as well as to enjoin them on
others ; indeed, that he would sometimes impose
on himself, what he would not ask others to do.

But common as this traffic then was, his atten
tion was earnestly devoted to the subject of Chris
tianizing this portion of our race ; and the zeal,
which he manifested, considering that it was not
caught by sympathy, but originated in his own
breast, was such as did honor to his feelings. In
the beginning of June, 1706, he writes ; " I did,
with the help of Heaven, despatch a work, which
my heart was greatly set upon, a work which may
prove of everlasting benefit to many of the elect
of God, a work which is calculated for the honor
and interest of a glorious Christ, a work which
will enrage the devil at such a rate, that I must
expect he will fall upon me with a storm of more
than ordinary temptations. I must immediately
he buffeted in some singular manner by that re-
rengeful adversary. I wrote as well-contrived an
essay as I could, for the animating and facilitating

COTTON MATHER. 147

that work, the Christianizing of the negroes
And my design is, not only to lodge one in ever}
family in New England, that has a negro in it,
but also to send numbers of them unto the Indies."
This looking for consequences to follow from
every act of virtue attended him through life
After every act of kindness, he waited for some
sign of approbation from above, and some visita
tion of anger from below. Considering the variety
of accidents in life, not many days could pass
without something, which he could ascribe to ono
source or the other. And so on this occasion.
A trouble, which had followed him for a long
time, became, as it would seem, in consequence
of this publication, severer and more fatal than
ever. For, immediately after, he rf>cords ; " Amom>
the many trials and humiliationsv which the Hoi}'
One has appointed for me, not the least has been
the affliction of having some very wirked relations.
Especially, I have two brothers-in-law, who can
hardly be matched in New England Tor theii
wickedness. I have never done these creatures
any harm in my life. I have essayed numberless
ways to do them good ; but Satan inspire-0 them
even to a degree of sensible possession. A Satanic
rage against me possesses their hearts and tongues.
The first of these prodigies, namely, T. O., mar
ried my lovely sister, Hannah, a most ingenious
and sweet-natured and good-carriaged child, and

148 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

that would have been a wife to make any gentle*
man happy ; but married unto a raving brute
The fellow, whom they called her husband, per
fectly murdered her by his base and abusive way
of treating her; and he chose to employ in a
special manner the ebullitions of his venom against
me, to worry her out of her life, who loved me
dearly. At last, on the first day of the tenth
month, the pangs of death came upon her ; her
death was long and hard, and has awakened me
more than ever to pray for an easy death. She
kept, in her dying distresses, calling on me, her
brother, her brother ! "

If we may credit his own statement, these trials
had no unfavorable effect upon his disposition.
He was constant in his self-examination ; but he
does not seem to have been fully aware, that the
feelings, which are uppermost in the repose of the
study, may differ from those, which are called up
in the excitement of the world. Nor does he
seem to have known, that feelings are little to be
trusted, never to be trusted without the evidence
of deeds ; and that we need that evidence, to con
vince ourselves, as well as others, that we possess
the feelings, from which alone they can flow.
There is no doubt that he believed himself what
he professes to have been. That he was really
as self-forgetful as he imagined, is not so sure
In the same year he writes ; " My love to nrr

COTTON MATHER. 149

neighbor improves to a very sweet serenity. 1
take an unspeakable pleasure in all manner of
beneficence. If I can see an opportunity to do
good, I want no arguments to move me to it. I
do it naturally, delightfully, with rapture. There
is this enjoyment added unto the rest ; as I am
nothing before God, so I am willing to be rothing
among men. I have no fondness at all for ap
plause and honor in the world. It is with a sort
of horror, if I perceive myself applauded. I have
a dread of being honored. I am got above anger
at those, who think or speak meanly of me."

It may not be uninteresting to read an account
of the manner, in which his days were generally
spent. The reader will observe, that the expres
sions are his own, though it cannot easily be given
in the form of quotation. He complained, that
for a great part of his time he was dead. Too
much of his precious time was consumed in sleep.
Through his feebleness, or, as he said, his slothful-
ness, he sweated away the morning in rest, and
did not rise till seven. As soon as he left his
bed, he sang a hymn, to show forth the loving
kindness of God in the morning, and then wrote
down remarks on some subject, which had en
gaged his thoughts the night before ; after which
he proceeded to add to his BibKa Americana.
Then he offered his morning prayers in his study,
in which, besides his usual supplications, he fetched

150 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

new matters of petition from what he had just
oeen writing.

It was not till after these private devotions, that
h'-; went down to his family. With them he read
a portion of the Scriptures, with remarks suggest
ed by the words, and then joined with them
in prayer ; after which he retired to his study
where he employed himself without permitting
any interruption through the remainder of the
forenoon.

At dinner, he made it his regular business to
converse on some subject, from which his family
could derive instruction and improvement ; as soon
as it was over, he returned to his study and re
commenced his labors with a prayer.

His afternoons were generally spent in his
study, with the exception of one, or at most two,
in the week, which were devoted to pastoral
visits. As soon as the evening began to fall, he
assembled his family, and read to them a psalm,
with remarks upon it as he read. Then they
sang the psalm, and he closed with his evening
family prayer.

The evening was generally spent In his study,
though :ie sometimes indulged himself in a visit
to a neighbor. At ten o'clock he came to his
light supper, and spent some time in conversation
with his family. He then returned to his study,
and after meditating on what he had done, and

COTTON MATHER. 151

what he had neglected to do in the past day, he
humbled himself on his knees before the Lord.
When he retired to rest, he carried some book
with him and read till he fell asleep.

The proceedings, which took place when the
attempt was first made to introduce the practice
of inoculating with the small-pox, afford a curious
example of the resolute ignorance, with which
improvement is always resisted ; and they also
exhibit the subject of this memoir in a very
advantageous point of light ; showing, that, in all
caces not within the province of superstition, he
had sagacity to discern the truth, and that he had
moral courage to assert his convictions, at a time
when he felt that he was unpopular, and that his
support of the new doctrine would add to the
general aversion.

It has been said, and possibly it is true, that
inoculation prevailed in Wales and in the High
lands long before it was introduced into medical
practice. But, however this may have been, it
never was extensively known, and was at last
introduced to the notice of the English by the
letters of two Italian physicians, Pilarini and Si-
moni, who became acquainted with it in Turkey.
Simoni, or Simonius, as he is learnedly called,
was a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1713, he
wrote from Constantinople, that this practice had
been brought into that city from the Georgians

152 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

and Circassians, about forty years before. At
first, the people were cautious and afraid ; but
their fears were removed by the uniform success
of the experiment, and it came into general favor.

This account was fully confirmed by Pilarini,
Venetian consul at Smyrna, who did not seem to
have known what was written by the former.
He says, that it was in use among the poorer sort
of the Greeks long before it was adopted by phy
sicians. A noble Greek, who was anxious for his
children, consulted him respecting them. While
they were conversing on the subject, a Greek
woman, who was an inoculatrix by profession,
came in, and such were her statements and proofs,
that they determined to submit the children to the
operation. They did it accordingly, and they all
recovered. The news of this success spread
abroad at once, and inoculation was soon estab
lished in the general favor.

It appeared from the testimony of the Negroes,
that a similar practice had long been known in
Africa, where the small-pox was common and fa
tal. Such was the weight of testimony in its favor,
that, in 1717, the celebrated Lady Mary Wortley
Montague, wife of the English ambassador in
Constantinople, had a child inoculated there ac
cording to the custom of the country. She after
wards had another child inoculated in England,
and her example produced an effect upon the

COTTON MATHER. 153

mgher orders, who followed the dictates of fashion,
when they would have laughed at science and
skill.

As soon as Cotton Mather saw the letters
above mentioned, he was struck with the advan
tages of the practice, and his zeal was quickened
by the alarm, which the coming of the small-pox
had spread throughout the town. In May, 1721,
he records in his Diary ; " The grievous calamity
of the small-pox has entered the town. The
practice of conveying and suffering the small-pox
by inoculation has never yet been used in Ameri
ca, nor indeed in any nation ; but how many
lives might be saved by it, if it were practised !
I will procure a consult of physicians, and lay the
matter before them."

There are several memoranda about the same
time, which show how much he was troubled.
" I have two children, that are taken with this
distemper, and I am at a loss about their flying
and keeping out of town. My African servant
stands candidate for baptism, and is afraid how the
small-pox, if it spread, may handle him." He
endeavored, as he proposed, to submit the matter
to the physicians ; but he was received by them
with less cordiality than might have been ex
pected. Perhaps they considered him an intruder
upon the ground of their profession.

There is something curious enough in the sort

154 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of arguments employed by the two parties, which
immediately prepared for war. The clergy, who
were generally in favor of inoculation, supported
it by arguments drawn from medical science ;
while the physicians, who were as much united
against it, opposed it with arguments which were
chiefly theological, alleging that it was presump
tuous in man to inflict disease on man, that being
the prerogative of the Most High.

Not one of the faculty would listen to Cotton
Mather, except Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, one of
those strong-hearted men, who deserve to be most
honorably remembered, for the services to their
fellow-men rendered against their will. Cotton
Mather first applied to Dr. Douglas, a physician
of Scotch descent, and educated abroad, who
treated the suggestion with contempt, and after
wards opposed it by all the means in his power.
But, when he applied to Dr. Boylston, a man of
higher order, he was at once struck with the in
telligence, and welcomed it as a signal blessing to
the world In 1721, he inoculated two hundred
and seven .y-one patients, of whom very few died ;
and being thoroughly convinced of its advantages,
he continued the practice through such a storm of
abuse as reformers are apt to encounter.

Through the whole, he was manfully sustained
by the clergy. The Boston Association used all
possible exertions to enlighten the minds of the

COTTON MATHER. 155

people ; but the people thought them wandering
oeyond the sphere of their professional duty, and
were less likely to know the truth on the subject
than the physicians. They were hardly listened
to with patience on the Sabbath, and for a time,
it seemed as if the existing religious institutions
would be overthrown.

Cotton Mather records his indignation and sor
row in sufficiently expressive words. " The
cursed clamor of a people," said he, " strangely
and fixedly possessed of the devil, will probably
prevent my saving the lives of my two children."
He is full of distress about Sammy. The poor
child begged that he might receive the disorder
by inoculation, instead of being left to the hazards
of the common way, and his father desired to
gratify so reasonable a request ; but, on the other
hand, he saw the people so possessed with fury,
that he apprehended serious consequences, if he
took the course which he thought the best. It
must be recorded to his honor, that he acted ac
cording to his conscience, and determined to brave
the consequences, whatever they might be.

Dr. Boylston was soon attacked in such a
manner, as compelled him to appear in his own
defence ; which he did in a spirited manner, and
such as implied that he wrote, less to remove
aspersions from himself, than from the new dis
covery, which was destined to take away the

156 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

terrors of one of the worst diseases, that afflicted
the world. His " Account of what is said of
inoculating or transplanting the Small Pox," was
published in 1721. After describing the accounts
of the Eastern physicians, which he was obliged
to do at second hand, since the only person who
had the book refused to lend it, he says, that it
would be easy for him, if it were necessary, to
answer the attacks which had been made upon
him ; but he thinks, that a considerate man ought
rather to decline foolish contentions. He shall
therefore take not the least notice of them, hoping
that his character and conduct will vindicate them
selves with all reflecting men.

It is not often, that one so situated has the
good sense to keep steadily to his purpose, with
out resenting insults and injuries, particularly when
they are sustained and echoed by the public voice.
In this pamphlet he says, that, considering the
general excitement, he is afraid to say on what
numbers he has performed the operation ; but he
assures his readers, that, though he considered
himself yet a learner, his success had been com
plete.

One of the most dispassionate reasoners on the
other side, in a " Letter addressed to a Gentleman
in the Country," attempted to show, that the
whole question turned on two points. " First ;
When God sends judgments, such as wasting dis-

COTTON MATHER. 157

tempers on men, what are the means of preserva
tion, which men may lawfully employ ? The
second ; Is inoculation a lawful means, and capable
of affording relief? " In respect to the first, he
maintains that God, for wise and unknown reasons,
sends those judgments, and that men must bear
them with patient submission, or resort to the only
appointed means of relief, which are humiliation
and prayer. We are nowhere permitted to use
human means to anticipate and prevent them ;
and, if we make the attempt, it will only make
the visitation severer when it comes.

If the originator of this choice argument was a
physician, his principle, carried out, would have
interfered to some extent with his practice ; since,
according to him, we must wait for the disease to
come, in other words, to see whether the patient
will die, before any means are used to restore him.
But, having some consciousness of the difficulty,
to which his argument would reduce him, the
writer was constrained to allow, that, in ordinary
cases, diseases might be resisted ; but, in the case
of epidemics, to maintain that they might be pre
vented was blasphemy, and to make the attempt
was sin. With the same force the writer argues,
that the success of inoculation is far from being
evidence in its favor ; since unjustifiable attempts
ot*en succeed and prosper in this wicked world.

In treating of the second point, the writer takes

158 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

his stand upon the strong ground of the sixth com
mandment. That commandment forbids our dome

O

any thing, which has a tendency to endanger the
lives of our neighbors. He says, there is no doubt
that inoculation has this tendency, both to destroy
the inoculated person, and those around him.
This seems a little like begging the question ; ut
the writer takes this matter to be too clear for
discussion, and declares, that, unless men are eaten
up with prejudice, they must be awake to its
iniquities and dangers. On the whole, he de
clares, that it so openly opposes the principles of
the Gospel, and is so manifest a resistance to
divine Providence, that every conscientious per
son must give it up as scandalous to religion and
dangerous to the world.

One of the best publications of the time was
written by Dr. Colman, minister of the Brattle-
Street Church. He recommends it, without argu
ments drawn from theology or medicine, simply
on the ground of its success ; which was evidently
the thing most important to ascertain ; and, if that
was once made certain, the controversy was at an
end. He brings forward his own experience and
observation, to show that this disorder, once so
dreadful, has been tamed down, by this practice,
to a harmless indisposition ; and his desire is, that
no prejudice may prevent men from enjoying its
benefits and blessings.

COTTON MATHER. 159

It is quite refreshing to read the remarks made
by a man of sense at such times, who, instead of
arguing for his own side, takes a larger view of
the subject, and pleads for the interests of his
race. In the close of his pamphlet Dr. Colman
says, that he does not consider himself as having
overstepped the line of his profession ; for to save
life and give comfort becomes him and every one
else. He says, that, if he has betrayed any ignor
ance of medical science, it is of no importance ;
he shall at least be conscious, that he has written
for the good of his people.

Next came " Several Arguments, proving that
Inoculating the Small-pox is not contained in the
Law of Physic, either Natural or Divine, and
therefore Unlawful." It is a striking contrast to
Dr. Colman's plain and manly statement. The
writer dedicates it to the Selectmen of Boston.
After acknowledging himself unequal to his under
taking, he remarks to those men of authority ;
" Say not who hath written, but consider what is
written, and I pray God to give you understand
ing." The syllogisms of this writer are irresistible.
He says, " If inoculation is not contained in the
rules of natural physic, it is unlawful ; the rules
of natural physic are sympathy and antipathy ,
now inoculation is neither a sympathy nor antipa
thy ; therefore it is not lawful." Probably there
never was a process of argument conducted with
greater ease and success.

160 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Next he considers it with respect to divinity ,
saying, that if there is no rule in the word of God
to found inoculation upon ; if it perverts the rights
of the fatherless and the widow ; if it is doing
violence to nature, it is certainly unholy. Now
inoculation, says Mr. John Williams, is clearly
liable to all these objections, and therefore is
unholy.

In an equally summary manner, he disposes of
the clergy, thinking that a minister cannot under
stand any thing beyond the limits of his profession ;
a doctrine, which is not without acceptance in
modern times, though it does not appear, by what
peculiar disability a clergyman should be incapa
ble of that, which is easy to all the rest of the
world. He makes one suggestion, that must have
been truly alarming. He advises people to in
quire, whether, when they think they are trans
ferring only the small-pox, they may not at the
same time transfer to a healthy subject all the
ailments of the individual from whom the matter
is taken, such as the gout, the rheumatism, or the
stone. This writer, though sufficiently disposed
to be severe upon the clergy, is mild and moder
ate compared to another, who wrote concerning
" Inoculation as practised in Boston."

The author disclaims any purpose of bringing
contempt upon the clergy ; but he thinks, that the
six " inoculating ministers," as he calls them,

COTTON MATHER. 161

ought to be exposed to public displeasure. He
states, that the practice was introduced by Cotton
Mather, who, being a man of credulity and whim,
and having accidentally seen the Transactions of
the Royal Society, tried to induce the physicians
to make the experiment, but without success, till
he found one, more bold than wise, who did as
he was desired, but so rashly and unfortunately,
that he was publicly exposed. Upon this he
applied to his ministers to save his reputation ;
and thereupon they, with four more, testified to his
reputation and success. Having once taken their
ground, these clergymen chose rather to hazard
the lives of all the community, than to retract
what they had once asserted. Such is the man
ner in which, when controversy rages, characters
are trifled with and facts distorted.

This pamphlet, which appeared without a name,
and is particularly severe upon Cotton Mather,
was answered in a " Friendly Debate " by Aca-
demicus, who appears to take it for granted, that
Douglas was the author, from his making one of
the parties to the debate a Scotchman, and allud
ing to Douglas in terms that could not be mis
taken. The object of the " Friendly Debate " was
to defend the clergy, and particularly the Mathers,
from Douglas's charges ; and the whole is written
with a coarse freedom, which does not give a very
pleasant impression.

XI.— 11

162 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

It seems that Douglas was the person, who
had in his possession the only copy of the Philo
sophical Transactions. So great a regard did he
profess for the health of the community, that he
would not lend the book even to the governor,
who applied for permission to read it. He ap
pears to have been a man of some ability, but of
a temper so assuming and disputatious, that he
was soon engaged in a general warfare. Afte.
doing all in his power, which was considerable, to
resist the improvement, and to injure those who
abetted it, he was obliged at last to subscribe tc
the opinions of " the bold and ignorant quack," as
he courteously termed Dr. Boylston.

The result of the investigation held by the town
authorities, assisted in their deliberation by the
physicians, was the publication of certain resolu
tions, which were produced with great solemnity
on the 21st of July, 1721. They say, that it
appears by numerous • instances, that inoculation
has proved the death of many persons, soon after
the operation, and has brought distempers on many
others, which were fatal to them at last ; also, tnat
" the natural tendency of infusing such malignant
filth into the mass of blood is to corrupt and putrefy
it," and, if there is not a sufficient discharge of thai
malignity, it lays the foundation of many danger
ous diseases ; also, that the operation tends to
spread and continue the disease in a place longer

COTTON MATHER. 163

than it might otherwise be. The conclusion of
the whole matter was, that, "to continue the
operation was likely to prove of the most danger
ous consequence."

At the same time this venerable body came out
with a statement concerning the small-pox, as it
had prevailed up to that time from May to July,
in which they would persuade the public, that
notwithstanding the terror and mortality, which it
had occasioned, it was in fact a light visitation.
But even the authority of the fathers of the town
gave way before the force of truth. Their coun
sels could not induce people to die without an
effort to preserve themselves, when a chance o(
escape was opened. But, while many of these
who were in danger resorted to the proposed re
lief, the general voice cried out against it. It
was the prevailing wish, that a law should be
passed for the special benefit of Dr. Boylston;
providing, that every physician, on whose hands
an inoculated patient might die, should be cor-
demned and executed for murder.

While this tempest was raging, Cotton Mather
persevered in his spirited and manly course, with
out yielding in the least to the abuse and menaces
that were showered upon him. One is tempted
to wonder, that he was not overcome with tbat
assertion of his opponents, which ascribed inocu
lation to the powers of darkness, a point on which

164 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

nis fears were so easily excited. But his good
sense seemed to have been uppermost from the
beginning, and, being firmly persuaded of the
correctness of his course, he never for a moment
filtered.

One example is enough to show how far the
age of his adversaries was carried. His nephew,
ivlr. Walter, the clergyman of Roxbury, was in
oculated in his house. The operation was pri
vately performed, but the circumstance was known
to a few, and information was soon given to those,
who were active against inoculation. The same
night, at day-break, a hand-grenade was thrown
into the window of the chamber where Dr. Mather
generally slept, which was then occupied by Mr.
Walter. Fortunately, as it passed through the
window, the fusee was beaten off, and the medi
tated destruction prevented. A paper was found
attached to it, which contained coarse abuse of
Cotton Mather, and a threatening to inoculate
him in such a rnanoer, that he would not soon
recover. The author of this attempt was never
detected.

So great was the popular excitement, that the
General Court were required by the public opin
ion to take up the subject, and devise some way
to protect the community from those innovators,
who so wantonly trifle with human lives. A bill
was prepared, making it a crime to inoculate for

COTTON MATHER. 165

the small-pox within the bounds of Massachusetts,
and was carried through the House without much
opposition. The Council, however, were not so
directly influenced by popular feeling, and they
certainly took the most effectual way to put the
matter at rest. Instead of contending with the
common prejudice, they passed silently over it,
and the result was, that nothing more was ever
heard of the bill. It was fortunate, that the statute-
book was not defiled with this provision, which
could only have served to show how communities
often stand in their own light, and resist the means
which Providence has appointed for their good.

If any one considers the extreme difficulty of
forming a judgment in opposition to universal
prejudice, and the courage it requires to avow it,
when the avowal exposes one to injury and dan
ger, he will not withhold from Cotton Mather the
praise due to his sagacity, good sense, and forti
tude, on this occasion. It was the more difficult
to maintain his ground, because the matter seemed
to belong to the jurisdiction of another profession,
the members of which, with one exception, were
united against him.

It must not be said, that he had great authority
abroad to which he could appeal ; for the fact was,
that Lady Mary Wortley Montague did not inocu
late her child in England, till the same month
in which Cotton Mather did the same in Boston

166 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

This is a case in which his merit was great and
unquestionable. Dr. Boylston also deserves to be
honored for his moral courage. In fact he was
honored abroad, though reviled in his own coun
try. When he visited England, where his char
acter and services were well known, he received
great attention. Among other proofs of considera
tion he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society,
and was thus compensated by foreign liberality
for the abuse, which he received from his brethren
at home. The best reward, which they received,
was the sight of their own success. Prejudice
gradually subsided, and men honored those, who
had resisted the general delusion.

It appears from the best accounts, that the
number of those, who had the small-pox in 1721 ,
was five thousand five hundred and eighty-nine,
Of these, two hundred and forty-seven were inocu
lated. The deaths among the inoculated were in
the proportion of one to forty-two, while among
those, who received the disease by contagion, the
deaths were one to seven. Such facts could not
be resisted for ever, and in some later visitations
of the disease, the town became, as it was said,
" inoculation-mad." The admission of fresh air
to the patients was another innovation of that time,
which saved many from the grave.

COTTON MATHER. 167

CHAPTER VII.

Case of Self-delusion. — Harvard College. —
Curious Record from the Diary of Cotton
Mather describing the State of his own Mind.
— His last Sickness and Death. — Remarks
on his Character and Writings.

ONE of the most remarkable instances of self-
delusion recorded in personal history, is found in
Cotton Mather's description of his feelings, when
the office of President of Harvard College became
vacant by the death of President Leverett, who
had filled the office with usefulness and honor for
many years. He writes in his Diary, May 7th,
1724 ; " The sudden death of the unhappy man,
who sustained the office of President of the Col
lege, will open a door for my being of singular
service to the best of interests. Indeed, his being
within a year of the same age with myself loudly
calls upon me to live in daily expectation of my
own call from hence. I do not know that the
3are of the College will now be cast upon me,
though I am told it is what is most generally
wished for. If it should, I shall be in abundance
of distress about it ; but if it should not, I may-
do many things for the good of the College more
quietly and more hopefully than formerly."

168 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Notwithstanding this apprehension of distress,
his thoughts, it seems, were often turned toward
this subject. " Why may I not write unto the
tutors of the College, and solicit for such things as
these ; viz. that, under a deep sense of their great
opportunities to do inexpressible good unto the
College, and more than all, to the country, and
what both God and man expect from them, they
would come unto a combination," &c. After this
he seems to grow less confident, as to the prospect
of his election as successor to Judge Leverett ; for,
on the 1st of July, he writes ; " This day being
our insipid, ill-contrived anniversary, which we call
the Commencement, I chose to spend it at home,
in supplications, partly on the behalf of the Col-
ege, that it may not be foolishly thrown away, but
that God may bestow such a president upon it, as
may prove a rich blessing unto it and unto all our
churches."

He ascribed his loss of this appointment, on the
former vacancy, to the enmity of Governor Dud
ley ; and now he seems to believe, that his ene
mies are at work to excite prejudices against him.
The true reason he never suspected ; which was,
that the public had no confidence in his judgment,
while they admired his literary ability ; and they
determined wisely, that such a defect in his per
sonal character entirely disqualified him for the
station.

COTTON MATHER. 169

In order to keep his name before the public, in
connexion with the office to which he believed
himself entitled, he addressed the convention upon
the subject of the College, and its bearing on the
interests of religion, endeavoring to impress upon
them, as he says, that " a well-principled gover
nor of that society would be of mighty conse
quence to all." But his exhortations did not pro
duce the effect desired. With the exception of a
few of his admirers, the people generally felt the
necessity of looking elsewhere for a president, and
Dr. Sewall was accordingly chosen. The effect is
thus recorded in the Diary.

" I am informed that yesterday, the six men,
who call themselves the Corporation of the Col
lege met, and, contrary to the epidemical expecta
tion of the country, chose a modest young man,
Sewall, of whose piety (and little else) every
one gives a laudable character."

" I always foretold these two things of the Cor
poration ; first, that, if it were possible for them to
steer clear of me, they will do so. Secondly, that,
if it were possible for them to act foolishly, they
wil do so. The perpetual envy, with which my
essays to serve the kingdom of God are treated
among them, and the dread that Satan has of my
beating up his quarters at the College, led me into
the former sentiment ; the marvellous indiscretion,
with which the affairs of the College are man
aged, led me into the latter."

170 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

But while he betrays this vexation at the loss of
an appointment, which he considered his own by
right, and withheld from him only from the im
pulse of personal dislike, he endeavors to persuade
himself, that he had no desire of the station, ex
cept for the advantage which it would give him for
doing extensive good. And before he is censured
as hypocritical, it must be remembered, that very
possibly he may have dreaded the labor of the
office, while he wished for the honor of the elec
tion ; and, in the midst of his disappointment at
losing the one, he may, at the age of sixty-two,
have felt relieved at escaping the burden of the
other. He writes ; " It proves accordingly now,
through the senseless management of these men
themselves, little short of a dissolution of the Col
lege ; yet I have personally unspeakable cause to
admire the compassion of Heaven to me, on this
occasion. Though I have been a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief, yet none of the least
exercises that I have had withal was the dread of
what the generality of sober men expected I de
sired, the care of the College to be committed
unto me. I had a dismal apprehension of the
distresses, which a call at Cambridge would bring
upon me."

He had at this time domestic distresses, which
were enough to weigh him down ; and they prob
ably were the chief cause of that severity ol

COTTON MATHER. 171

feeling, which grew upon him in later years. His
third wife, to whom he often alludes in his Diary,
generally writing those passages in Latin, was a
woman either diseased in mind, or most unfortu
nate in her temper. From the terms he employs
in describing her conduct, it cannot be easily de
termined whether he considered her insane or
responsible for her actions. Sometimes she was
very affectionate and devoted to him ; then, with
out any visible cause, she would break forth into
explosions of passion, which destroyed all the
peace of his life. Without entering much into this
subject, one passage from his Diary will be suffi
cient to show what kind of trouble it brought up
on him. In 1724, he writes ; " My dear, dear
Nancy, a child of so many afflictions all her days !
The unreasonable and implacable aversion of her
mother-in-law, augmented no doubt by the wick
ed kinswoman of my wife, who sojourns with me,
and otherwise adds to her uneasiness, and compels
me to seek some other place where I may board
her. I must contrive all the ways imaginable to
comfort the child, and to make her sorrows pro
fitable to her."

But the most oppressive of all his domestic sor
rows was the conduct of his son Increase, a young
man of uncommon ability, but unfortunately led
away by bad associates, so far as to be a burden to
his friends. In 1721, he writes in his Diary, "My

172 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

miserable son ! I must cast him and chase him out
of my sight, forbid him to see me, until there
appear some marks of repentance upon him "
Again ; " Now, now, I have a dreadful opportu
nity to try how far I may find a glorious Christ, a
comforter that shall relieve my soul. What shaL
I find in store to comfort me under the horrible
distresses, which the conduct of my wicked son
Increase has brought upon me ? " Again ; " 1
must write a tremendous letter to my wicked son ;
and, after I have set his conduct in order before
his eyes, I will tell him that I will never own him,
or do for him, or look on him, till the characters
of repentance are very conspicuous in him. God
prosper it ! Though I am but a dog, yet cast out
the devil that has possession of that child ! "

This young man was lost from on board a vessel
at sea. He seems to have been regarded with
anxious affection by his father, and there is reason
to believe, that his early promise was such as to
justify ambitious hopes. But the notices of his
conduct and character in the Diary grow more
and more discouraging, till the last trace of him
that we find recorded, is in the affecting words,
which have no other explanation than that which
they carry with them. " My son Increase ! my
son ! my son ! "

The Diary of Cotton Mather for the year 1724,
when he was sixty-two years of age, gives the im-

COTTON MATHER. 173

pression that his mind was diseased almost to the
verge of insanity. Whether it was that his disap
pointed ambition had made him look on every
thing in its most unfavorable light, or whether he
had really met with more ingratitude than usual,
cannot now be ascertained ; but it seems certain,
that he was in that state of mind in which he
could not see things as they are ; a state of mind,
which, if permanent, becomes insanity.

He entitles this record, " Dark dispensations,
but light arising in darkness." The dispensations,
as he describes them, are dark enough ; what light
there was among them, as they presented them
selves to his mind, it is not easy to discover. He
gives fourteen instances to show how his attempts
to do good in the world had been requited ; ap
parently without the remotest suspicion, that some
part of the fault may have been his own.

In the first place, he mentions his exertions in
behalf of seamen ; he really desired to do good to
that class of men, in the same way as philanthro
pists have labored in modern times to serve them,
But he had no aptness in recommending himself
to them. Traditional respect for his office was not
enough to secure a hearing from them ; and he
found, that he himself could not accomplish the
good, which it was evident might easily be done.
He says, that the recompense of his efforts has

V
174 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

been, that " there is not a man in the world, so
reviled, so slandered, so cursed among sailors."

A second of these dispensations has followed nis
efforts in behalf of the negroes. At a tirue when
they were hardly thought of as subjects of sym
pathy and compassion, and when the idea of
making them Christians would have been deemed
a vision, he appeared as their advocate, pleading
for their instruction, comfort, and salvation. And
yet, he says, many, on purpose to affront him,
affix his name, Cotton Mather, to the young ne
groes, so that if any mischief is done by them, the
credit of it comes upon him.

The third instance of this retribution appears in
the result of his services to the female sex. No
man had done so much to elevate them in the
respect of the community, or to hold up the lives
of excellent and distinguished women, as an ex
ample to others. " Yet," says he, " where is the
man, whom the female sex have spit more of their
venom at? I have cause to question whether
there are twice ten in the town, who have not at
some time or other, spoken basely of me."

In the fourth place, he has labored to be a bles
sing to all connected with him. He has even kept
a catalogue of his relations, ana never suffered a
week to pass without some act of kindness to earb
one. Yet, so far from enjoying the comfort in their
society, to which he was well entitled, there was

COTTON MATHER.

175

not a man on earth, who had been tormented with
" such monstrous relatives " ; with the exception,
perhaps of Job, who said, " I am a brother to
dragons."

In the fifth place, the conduct of the Scotch
toward him has been singularly ungrateful. He
has labored unceasingly to vindicate the reputation
and honor of the Scotch nation ; yet no English
man was ever so much reviled and libelled by
Scotchmen as he. In this, probably, he refers to
the treatment, which he had received from Doug
las, who had just before poured out upon him the
effervescence of a temper, never very sweet, and
at the time particularly excited by the subject of
inoculation.

The sixth example is found in the result of his
efforts to do good to the country. He has labored
incessantly to secure its best interests, both by
public and private exertions, and has filled it with
publications tending to promote its happiness and
virtue ; and yet, he says, there is no man, in any
part of the country, who is so loaded with disre
spect, calumny, and all manner of expressions of
aversion.

The seventh is found in his efforts 10 uphold
and strengthen the government, and to maintain it,
when it was shaken, in the reverence and affection
of the people. And yet nothing could excel the
discountenance, which he had always received

176 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

from the government. No man, of whatever
station, had ever received from a government so
many injuries, indecencies, and indignities as he,

The eighth, and probably the most bitter cf
these dispensations, was that connected with the
College, an institution which, he says, he has done
much to serve and adorn, so that it might be known
as the intellectual birth-place of " such as are
somewhat known in the world, and have read and
wrote as much as many have done in other places."
And yet the College has always treated him with
every possible mark of disesteom. If he were the
greatest blemish that ever came upon it, or the
greatest blockhead that ever came out from it, its
managers could not treat him with more contempt
than they do.

In the ninth place, he speaks of his general
efforts to raise the standard of conversation. He
has never gone into company for nearly fifty years
without direct contrivance to say something, which
should make those who heard it either wiser or
better. And nevertheless, his company is as little
sought for, and there are as few resort to him, as
to any minister in all his acquaintance.

The tenth example is that of good offices,
which he has invariably made it a point to do
whenever and wherever an opportunity could be
found. Such opportunities he has ever welcomed
with alacrity, when they offered themselves, and

COTTON MATHER. 177

nas sought for when he found them not. He has
even offered pecuniary rewards to those, who
would give him information where his services
could be applied. And yet he cannot see a man
living, for whom others are so unwilling to do
good offices, as for him. He cannot say, that he
is entirely destitute of friends, but he has how
few! He has often said to himself, "What
would I give, if I could find any one, who is wil
ling to do for me, what I am willing to do for all
the world ! "

In the eleventh place, he has served the cause
of literature and religion, by constant exertions in
writing books of piety, and such as might advance
the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. Their
number exceeds three hundred. And yet, he has
had more books written against him, more pam
phlets to traduce, reproach, and belie him, than
any man that he knows in all the world.

The twelfth of these dispensations relates to the
variety of services, which he had been enabled to
perform. For lustres of years, not a single day
has passed without constant effort on his part, to
be serviceable to his friends, his country, and to
men. And yet, he adds, " My sufferings ! Every
body points at me and speaks of rne, as by far the
most afflicted minister in all New England." And
many look upon him as the greatest sinner, be
cause he is the greatest sufferer, and are pretty

si.— 12

178 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

arbitrary in conjecturing what sins he is suffering
for.

From these dispensations, it would seem that he
was suffering not so much from the infliction of
Heaven, nor from the coldness and contempt of
men ; but rather from a depression, which had
been gathering upon him for many years. Some
of these dispensations, arising from his domestic
trials, are not so proper for the public eye ; but
the truth is, that he had anxieties and trials, which
were enough to irritate the best temper in the
world.

When it is remembered, that, in addition to this,
he saw various prizes, which he considered his
own, passing away to other hands, and found that
he could never inherit the political influence, the
.iterary honors, nor even the general confidence,
which his father enjoyed, it is not surprising, that
he should have felt as if his services were under
estimated, and rewards withheld from him for
personal reasons, which would have been readily
given to any other man.

There is in his Diary the air and manner of one,
who is conscious of having done much that is
wrong ; but nothing can be inferred from this to
his disadvantage. Boswell, finding such intima
tions in Johnson's Diary, supposed, from the depth
of his self-abasement, that he must have been
guilty of some great crimes. But in his case, and

COTTON MATHER.

probably in that of Cotton Mather, such language
was only an exaggerated expression of the remorse,
which they felt for that waste of life, and that
indifference to the purposes of existence, of which
so many are guilty, but for which few men have a
conscience faithful enough to upbraid them.

Nothing is known of the closing years of Cot
ton Mather, till he was seized in December, 1727,
with the disease of which he died. His son in ac
cordance with the principle on which his " Life "
is written, to withhold all such information as
might interest the reader, does not say what the
disorder was. But, whatever it may have been,
Dr. Mather had a strong conviction, that he should
not recover. In writing a note to his physician,
he made use of these words ; " My last enemy is
come ; I would say, my best friend."

He died on the 13th of February, 1728, when
he had just completed his sixty-fifth year. In the
interval, while he was gradually drawing near to
the grave, he exerted himself to make useful and
lasting impressions on those around him. One of
his church asked him if he was desirous to die
He replied, " I dare not say that I am, nor yet
that I am not ; I would be entirely resigned unto
God." When the physicians believed it their
duty to tell him, that he could not recover, he
lifted up his hands, and said, " Thy will be done
on earth, as it is in Heaven." A. few hours before

180 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

his death, he said, " Now I have nothing more to
do here ; my will is entirely swallowed L,}. in the
will of God." When it came to the last, he said,
" Is this dying ? Is this all ? Is this all that I fear
ed, when I prayed against a hard death ? Oil
can bear this ! I can bear it 1 I can bear it ! "
When his wife wiped his disordered eye, he said,
" I am going where all tears will be wiped from
my eyes."

Indeed, the whole of his closing scene was calm
and collected. " He died as every man should
die." His self-delusion, and all the peculiar in
firmities of his character, seemed to leave him as
he drew near the grave. To his nephew, after
urging him to be earnest, zealous, and unwearied
in doing good, he said, " My dear son, I do, with
all possible affection, recommend you to the bless
ing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Take my hands
and my heart full of blessings." He had passages
read to him, from his book called Restitutus, say
ing that they exactly expressed his feelings. One
of them was this. " It shall come to pass, that at
evening time it shall be light. O, the light, which
a glorious Christ, present with us, will give us
in the evening, when we apprehend ourselves in
all the darkness which we should else have to
terrify us, when the curtains of the death-bed are
drawn about us. The light of a soul passing into
the inheritance of the saints in light ! The light

COTTON MATHER. 181

of an open and abundant entrance into tho para
dise of God ! "

He was followed to the grave by an immense
procession, including all the high officers of the
province. It was the general sentiment, that a
great man had fallen. Though some had been at
enmity with him, and many had disliked him, over
his grave they seemed with one consent to re
gard him as a man of great powers and sincere
piety ; who, though sometimes misled by prejudice
and passion, had endeavored to do good.

Several of the funeral sermons preached on that
occasion were published ; and, as some of them
were not formal exercises, but unsolicited expres
sions of the feelings of the writers, they are not
probably exaggerated in their praise. Dr. Col-
man particularly, a man of deliberation, in the
Thursday Lecture after his death, described him
as " the first minister in the town ; the first in age,
in gifts, in grace ; the first in all the provinces
of New England for universal literature and ex
tensive services." Mr. Prince, of the Old South
Church, gave the same testimony to the public
loss, beginning his allusion to the departed, by
saying, " The infirmities of the fathers should
be reverently covered."

The general impression of his character was
faithfully expressed in the language of his col
league, Mr. Gee ; " The capacity of his mind, the

182 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

readiness of his wit, the vastness of his reading;
the strength of his memory, the variety and trea
sures of his learning, in printed works, and in
manuscript; which contained a much greater share,
the splendor of virtue, which, through the abund
ant grace of God, shone out in the tenor of a most
entertaining and profitable conversation ; his un
common activity, his unwearied application, his
extensive zeal, and numberless projects of doing
good ; these things, as they were united in him,
proclaimed him to be a truly extraordinary per
son." It is true, that funeral eulogies are not the
best sources in general, from which to derive in
formation with respect to character ; but, in this
case, there is no reason to distrust them ; and, con
sidering the relation in which the subject of this
memoir stood to many of his contemporaries, he
was more likely to have full justice done to him
after his death, than while living.

Cotton Mather was not a man of original genius,
though his mind was active and strong. He was
inclined to read rather than to think ; and it was
by familiarity with the works of others, and the
trains of thought which they awakened, that he
was able to send out so many works of his own.
Dr. Chauncy testifies of him, that he was the
greatest redeemer of time he ever knew ; that there
were hardly any books in existence, with which
Cotton Mather was not acquainted. As this was

COTTON MATHEB 183

his passion, to devour all the literature of ancient
and present times, it led him into habits of thought
and writing, in which it is not easy to judge what
his native talent, if differently cultivated, might
have been.

The writings of Cotton Mather afford striking
remarks, and passages of occasional eloquence ;
but they are not sustained. Such was the irregu
lar habit of association, which prevailed in his
mind, that some illustrations, from the vasty heaps
of his learning, were perpetually starting up, and
diverting his attention from the subject. Sometimes
these illustrations were appropriate and happy ;
sometimes they seemed to be introduced only to
display his attainments. They remind the reader
constantly of the works of Jeremy Taylor, not so
much by their richness, though in this they are
not deficient, as by this oddness of illustration,
which makes us wonder by what sort of intellec
tual process they could have connected it with the
subject in hand. In both cases, we are surprised
at the capacity of a memory, which could retain
so much that was recommended, not by its useful
ness, not by its value, but simply by the circum
stance that it was little known to other men.

Whatever may be thought of Cotton Mather's
natural ability, which was certainly great, no one
can help admiring his industry and application ;
qualities hardly to be expected in a man of quick

184 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

parts, who was ready, brilliant, and entertaining in
conversation ; and who, as his company was in
universal request, might easily have been tempted
to content himself with the display of that power.
The spirit, which induced him to pass so much
time in his study, and to set up over the door a-n
intimation to his visiters in the words, " Be short,"
was honorable to him, since it appears to have
been the result of a sense of duty.

It is impossible to give any account, within
these limits, of his printed works, which amounted
to three hundred and eighty-two. The great pro
portion are light tracts, such as occasional ser
mons ; many of them are pamphlets on subjects
which happened to interest the public at the
moment ; and which, having answered their pur
pose, would have been forgotten, but for the name
of the writer. One of the best of his large works
is his Christian Philosopher, a popular work
on natural theology, in which he assembles the
information, which naturalists had given, and pre
sents it in such a manner as to afford a strong im
pression of divine goodness and power.

Another is a version of the Psalms, in which he
made it his object " to give in metre an exact and
literal translation of the Hebrew text, without any
jingle of words at the end." His son extols the
plan of this work, mentioning among it* other
advantages, that he *ds not tempted iu
improper words for the sake of a rhyme.

COTTON MATHER. 185

His greatest undertaking was a work to be
called Elustrations of the Sacred Scriptures.
He commenced it in his thirty-first year, and
labored daily upon it, till, twenty years after, it was
sufficiently advanced to send out proposals for its
publication. From that time to his death he was
continually adding to it. This prodigious manu
script is deposited in the Library of the Massachu
setts Historical Society, where it remains a monu
ment of the matchless industry of the writer.
The sort of learning, which he brings to bear upon
the subject, is better calculated to show the extent
of his own attainments, than to illustrate the mean
ing of the sacred writers, exposition not being a
work in which he was qualified to excel.

It is very difficult to form a satisfactory esti
mate of a character like Cotton Mather's, which
abounds in contradictions ; to tell the precise
amount of blame due to his faults, which were
many, and how heavily they should weigh against
the credit due to his virtues. It is impossible to
hold him up as an illustrious example of excel
lence ; but, while the testimony of his friends can
not be safely received, there is danger, lest, hi our
disgust at his fanaticism and occasional folly, we
should deny him the credit which he actually
deserves. There are some points in his conduct,
which are open to severe reproach ; but, taken in
connexion with other points, it seems easier to

ISO AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

account for them in some other way, than to as
cribe them to a calculating and unscrupulous am
bition, which was ready to sacrifice every principle
to self-aggrandizement and love of applause.

It has been remarked already, that his course
on the subject of witchcraft was the most discred
itable part of his history. His agency in it cannot
be doubted, nor can it be explained by saying
that he sincerely believed in the existence of the
crime. But the thing, which exposes him to the
charge of hypocrisy, is, that after the frenzy was
over, he endeavored to persuade others, that, so
far from encouraging the proceedings, he had
labored to recommend forbearance and caution,
when it is so plain, that his influence and exertions
were one of the chief causes of their being carried
to such excess.

This, however, seems more like a case of self-
delusion. It is not uncommon for men, when
they are compelled to see their conduct in a new
light, to persuade themselves, and with success,
that they never felt as their actions seemed to
imply. And, with his remarkable powers of self-
blindness, it was easy for him to convince himself,
that he was always in favor of deliberation.
Those cautions, which, when he wrote them, were
simply formal, afterwards appeared to him like his
real convictions at the time. At any rate it seems
more consistent with what we know of him, to

COTTON MATHER. 187

believe that he deceived himself than that he
should attempt and hope, while his opinions were
on record, to deceive the world.

It is not a little singular, that one so excitable,
and withal so firm and zealous in his religious
opinions, should not have been as forward to per
secute heretics as witches ; and yet he was more
liberal on this subject, than his father, and indeed
than most men of his age. Not that he was able
to comprehend the principle and duty of tolera
tion, as it is now understood ; not that he could
tread in the footprints of William Penn. But,
comparing him with those about him, he was dis
tinguished by his religious liberality. This is one
of the inconsistencies refeired to ; that he should
have raised his voice Against inflicting penalties on
men for religious errors, while he thought, that
the dealers with the powers of darkness deserved
to die. For fanaticism generally enters on one
pursuit as warmly as on the other. But he shows
a generous exultation in the absence of such a
spirit from his own community. In one of his
sermons, he says ; " In this capital city of Boston,
there are ten assemblies of Christians of different
persuasions, who live so lovingly and peaceably
together, doing all the offices of friendship for ona
another in so neighborly a manner, as may give a
sensible rebuke to all the bigots of uniformity ;
and show them how consistent a variety of rites ill

188 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

religion may be with the tranquillity of human
society ; and may demonstrate to the world, that
persecution for conscientious dissent in religion is
an abomination of desolation ; a thing whereof all
wise and just men will say, e Cursed be its anger.' "

With respect to the disposition and temj Jer ol
Cotton Mather, we know nothing except what we
learn from his son. He assures us, and there is
no reason to doubt his testimony, that in his fami
ly, he was systematical, but by no means severe.
On the contrary, he employed gentleness and per
suasion in dealing with his children, far more than
was common in that day. We learn, that his
conversation in social life was remarkably agreea
ble, and his company sought for on account of his
cheerful and entertaining powers.

It is certain, that he was strongly disliked by
many, and believed by them to be unscrupulous,
restless, and intriguing. Whether this was only
the aversion, which is always provoked by a man
of his temperament in some of those whom he
deals with, or whether there was just reason for
their charges, it is not easy to determine with the
small means of information, which we now pos
sess. In the latter part of his life, his expressions
in his Diary indicate a settled jealousy and distrust
of others, owing doubtless to his disappointments,
and the mortification, which he naturally felt, to

COTTON MATHER. 189

see that all the winds, which in early life had filled
his sails, had completely died away.

His expressions in controversy are bitter enough ;
but we find language quite as strong in the writ-
ng3 of hxS father, who never was accused of
malignity. The friends of his reputation cannot
say, that his sentiments were elevated or habitu
ally generous ; nor can its enemies, who are still
many, bring more proofs of bad feelings and pas
sions, than can be found in the lives of most ardent
and active men.

Cotton Mather died but little more than a cen
tury ago. No name in our history is more familiar
to readers of every description. He was the kind
of man, whose peculiarities were most likely to be
remembered ; and yet the amount of information,
which can be gained concerning him, is exceed-
ngly small, as this memoir will show. The writer
nas made all possible exertion, and gone to every
source where information may be looked for ; but,
with the exception of his Diary, the remnants of
which are scattered in various hands, and a few
occasional references to him in the history of
the times, nothing is known of the personal his-
*ory of Cotton Mather. His works are of a kind,
which were attractive and interesting in their day,
but now sleep in repose, where even the anti
quary seldom disturbs them He will be remem

190 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

bered, however, as the author of the MAGNALIA;
a work, which, with all its faults, will always find
interested readers ; as a man, too, of unexampled
industry, and unrivalled attainments in curious
rather than useful learning.

LIFE

OF

RICHARD MONTGOMERY

BY

JOHN ARMSTRONG

RICHARD MONTGOMERY.

THE subject of this notice was born on the
2nd of December, 1736, at Convoy House, the
name given to his father's seat near the town of
Raphoe, in the north of Ireland. His parentage
and connexions were highly respectable,* and
such as secured to him an early and liberal edu
cation at the College of Dublin. At the age of
eighteen, in conformity to his own taste and his
father's wishes, a commission in the British army
was obtained for him. Of his attention to the
duties, or proficiency in the study, of this new

* Thomas Montgomery, of Convoy House, had three
sons, Alexander, John, and Richard, and one daughter.
Alexander commanded a grenadier company in Wolfe's
army, and was present at the capture of Quebec. On
the death of his father, he withdrew to his estate, and
for many years in succession represented the county of
Donnegal, in the Irish Parliament John lived and died
in Portugal ; and the daughter married Lord Ranelagh,
and was the mother of two sons, Charles and Thomaa,
who have since succeeded to the title.
XL— 13

194 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

vocation, we know nothing with certainty ; but
judging from the habits and character of his fu
ture life, remarkable alike for industry, sobriety,
and a scrupulous discharge of engagements, pub
lic and private, it may be safely inferred, that his
youth, like his manhood, escaped that idleness and
vice, which so strongly marked and so greatly
degraded the manners, as well professional as
national, of that period.

It was the fortune of this young soldier to
begin his career of field service in America, where,
in another war, it was destined to end. In 1757,
the regiment to which he belonged was de
spatched to Halifax ; and, in 1758, made part of
the army assembled at that place for the reduc
tion of Louisburg, a French fortress, on which
much time, money, and science had been ex
pended, and to which, from a confidence in its
strength, had been vauntingly given the name of
the American Gibraltar.

It may readily be supposed, that a place thus
characterized, and believed by both belligerents to
be the key, which opened or shut the great com
mercial avenue between Europe and Canada,*
could not long escape the notice of the elder Pitt ;
who, to efface the disgrace and retrieve the disas-

* The site of Louisburg is the promontory, at which
the waters of the St. Lawrence and the Atlantic meet

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 195

ters of three preceding campaigns,* had oeen re
cently called to the direction of the national arms.
We accordingly find, that on the 28th of May a
naval and military force, commanded by Major-
General Amherst and Admiral Boscawen, began
its voyage from Halifax to Cape Breton ; and on
the 2nd of June arrived in Cabarras bay. It was
not, however, until the 8th, that the wind and surf
had so far abated, as to render a descent on the
island practicable. On this day, the reconnoi
trings of the coast and the covering positions
given to the ships, with other preliminary arrange
ments, being completed, the troops were embarked
on board of boats in three divisions, two of which,
commanded by Generals Wetmore and Law-
rence,f the better to keep the enemy in a state

* We allude to the loss of Calcutta in Asia, and of Mi
norca in Europe ; and on this continent, to the defeat of
Braddock, the capture of Fort Oswego and garrison
(sixteen hundred men); and of Fort William Henry and
garrison (twenty-five hundred men); to which may be
added the abortive campaign of 1757, made with twelve
thousand troops and sixteen ships of the line, under the
direction of Lord Loudoun and Admiral Hopson.

f While commanding in the trenches before Louis
burg, a bomb thrown from the fort knocked off the hal
and grazed the skull of this officer, but without seriously
injuring him ; a circumstance, which gave occasion for
a sarcastic remark made by our General, Charles Lee,
then a captain in the British army.— "I'll resign

196 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

of separation, menaced points not intended for
attack ; while the third, composed of the elite of
the army and led by General Wolfe, pressed
strenuously forward to a head-land near Fresh
water Cove, and, in despite of a heavy and well
directed fire from the French, and a surf uncom
monly high and exceedingly perilous, gained the
bank, routed the enemy, and seized a position,
which covered at once the farther debarkation
of the troops and the necessary communications
with the fleet.* It was in this movement, equally
difficult and dangerous, that Montgomery fur
nished the first decisive evidence of those high
military qualities, which so distinctly marked every
step of his subsequent conduct ; and which drew

to-morrow," exclaimed Lee. " Why so ? " asked the
person to whom he spoke. "Because," said the wit,
'' none but a fool will remain in a service, in which the
generals' heads are bomb-proof."

* Sir Jeffery Amherst, in his journal of the siege,
describes this first step as follows ; — " The enemy acted
wisely ; did not throw away a shot till the boats were
near the shore, and then directed the whole fire of their
cannon and musketry upon them. But, notwithstanding
the fire of the enemy, and the violence of the surf, Brig
adier Wolfe pursued his point and landed at the left of
the Cove, took post, attacked the enemy, and forced them
to retreat. Many of our boats overset, several broke
to pieces, and all the men jumped into the water to get
on shore.*-

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 197

from his commanding officer, himself a model of
heroism, such commendation as procured for Lira
an immediate promotion to a lieutenancy.

It would be wide of our purpose to go into a
detail of the investment and siege which followed,
or of Montgomery's connexion with either. On
these points it may be sufficient to remark, that
the former terminated on the 27th of July in the
surrender of the fortress, the destruction of seve
ral French ships of the line, and the capture of a
garrison of five thousand men ; and that the latter
was such, as confirmed the favorable impressions
already made of our aspirant's aptitude for mili
tary service.

While the British were thus triumphant at
Louisburg, they at another and important point
were fated to sustain a heavy loss, as well in rep
utation as in numerical force. It will be seen,
that in this remark we allude to Abercromby's
defeat before Ticonderoga ; on the first notice of
which, Amherst hastened to conduct six regiments
of his army to the aid of the discomfited General
and among these was the seventeenth, to which
Montgomery belonged, an arrangement, which,
besides its useful effect at the time, fortunately
made him acquainted with a champ de bataille,
on which, in 1775, he was destined to lead an
army against the troops of his former sovereign.
At this point (Lake Cham plain) he remained

198 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

until 1760 ; when, by the concentration of three
armies on Montreal (Amherst's from Oswego,
Murray's from Quebec, and Haviland's from
Crown Point), Vaudreuil, the French Governor-
General, was compelled to surrender his garrison,
his post, and his province.*

The large military force now in British Ameri
ca having no longer any professional occupation
there, detachments were made from it against
the French and Spanish West India Islands. Of
these expeditions the principal objects were the
reduction of St. Pierre and Fort Royal, in the
Island of Martinico, and of Havana in that of
Cuba. The two campaigns employed in the
prosecution of this policy were rendered peculiar
ly laborious and perilous, by the climate and sea
son,! by tf16 many extraordinary means of de
fence furnished by nature, and by others not less
formidable supplied by art. In each of these,

* Mante's History of the War of 1754 in America,
p. 134.

f In a siege of two months and eight days, the loss
sustained by the British army in Cuba amounted to
twenty-eight thousand men ; besides which, more than
one half of the troops sent back to New York ^ Burton's
brigade), either died on the passage, or after their arrival.
Of the garrison left at Havana under General Keppel,
but seven hundred men were found fit for duty at the
peace. — Mante's History.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 199

Montgomery had a full share, as well of the toil
and danger, as of the commendation * bestowed
upon efforts, which ultimately triumphed over
every kind and degree of resistance. Martinico
surrendered to Moncton and Rodney on the 13th
of February, 1762; and a portion of Cuba, in
cluding Havana and the Moro Castle, to Albe
marie and Pococke, on the 12th of August follow
ing ; two events greatly tending to hasten the
treaty of Versailles, which put an end to the war
on the 10th of February, 1763.

Soon after the official annunciation of peace,
Montgomery, who with the seventeenth regiment
had returned to New York, sought and obtained
permission to revisit Europe ; where he remained
nntil the close of the year 1772. Of his occupa
tions during these nine years the details we pos
sess are very imperfect ; a circumstance the more
to be regretted, as it may be presumed, that what
remained of his life took much of its color and
character from occurrences, happening during this
period. Such were the origin and progress of the
controversy between Great Britain and her Amer
ican Colonies ; the intimacy formed between him
self and those members of the English Parlia
ment (Fox, Burke, and Barre), who most favored

* His conduct on this expedition procured for him the
command of a company.

200 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

the pretensions of the latter ; his abandonment of
the King's service in 1772 ; and lastly, his deter
mination to seek in America a future and perma
nent home.

On these points nothing written by himself has
been found among the few papers, which have
come down to us ; nor have we any better author
ity tnan tradition for stating, that finding himself
twice circumvented in the purchase of a majority,
and being satisfied that there was a government
agency in both cases, he promptly determined to
quit, at once, the service and the country, and re
tire to America. He accordingly, in 1772, sold
the commission he held, and in January of the
year following arrived in New York. Having
soon after purchased a farm in its neighborhood,
and either revived an old or formed a new ac
quaintance with the Clermont branch of the Liv
ingston family, he in the July following married
the eldest daughter of Robert R. Livingston, then
one of the Judges of the Superior Court of the
province. Removing soon after to Dutchess Coun
ty, he became a resident of Rhinebeck, where he
began and prosecuted his new career of agricul
ture, with that combination of diligence and dis
cretion, which directed all his movements.

It will not be thought extraordinary, that in the
exigencies of the time and the country, a man like
Montgomery, though comparatively a stranger

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 201

should not be long permitted to remain in the ob
scurity of his own domicile. We accordingly find
that, in April 1775, he was elected a member of
the delegation from the county of Dutchess to
the first Provincial Convention held in New York.
Of his labors in that body, we have his own esti
mate, which may be usefully offered as an exam
ple of unaffected modesty, and an admonition to
the unfledged statesmen of the present day. In
a letter to his father-in-law, he says ; " For all the
good I can do here, I might as well and much
better have been left at home, to direct the labors
of my people. On the simple question between
us and England, I am I hope sufficiently instruct
ed, and will not go wrong ; but how many may be
the views growing out of that and subordinate to
it, of which, in the present state of my knowledge,
I may not be able to judge correctly ? Inquiry
and reflection may, in the long run, supply this
defect ; but the long run requires time, and time
stops for no man. It is but justice to the Conven
tion to say, that it has in it both talents and knowl
edge sufficient for its purposes ; and, on the whole,
no unwillingness to do business, which, notwith
standing; is a good deal obstructed by long, useless
speeches, an opinion, which after all may be
mere prejudice, arising from my own taciturn

202 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

At the period to which we have brought our
story, the injustice of England had taken a chai-
acter of decided hostility, and made necessary, oa
the part of the united Colonies, an immediate re
sort to arms. In this state of things, the national
Congress employed itself in June, 1775, in or
ganizing an army ; and, among other acts hav
ing this object, appointed a commander-in-chief,
four major-generals, and eight brigadiers. Of the
latter description Montgomery was one. This
unequivocal mark of distinction, conferred by the
highest acknowledged authority of the country,
without solicitation or privity on his part, was re
ceived by him with a homage mingled with re
gret, apparently foreboding the catastrophe, which
was soon to follow. In a letter to a friend he says ;
" The Congress having done me the honor of elect
ing me a brigadier-general in their service, is an
event which must put an end for a while, perhaps
for ever, to the quiet scheme of life I had pre
scribed for myself; for, though entirely unexpected
and undesired by me, the will of an oppressed
people, compelled to choose between liberty and
slavery, must be obeyed." Under these noble
and self-sacrificing views and feelings, Montgom
ery accepted the commission tendered to him ; and
from that hour to the moment of his death, the
whole force of his mind and Lody was devoted to
the honor and interest of his adopted country.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 203

The contiguity of Canada to the northern sec
tion of the union, the military character of its
French population, as displayed in the war of
1754, the strong posts held by the British garrisoni
in its neighborhood, their control over Indian
feelings and movements, and the means taken to
give to some of these circumstances a new and
increased activity in the approaching struggle,*
could not escape the notice of the sages, who
composed the Congress of that day. To neutral
ize powers, so extended and menacing, became a
matter of early and serious consideration with that
body ; the result of which was the adoption of a
plan for invading Canada by twro routes, the one
by the Sorel, the other by the Kennebec ; and
that for these ends, an army of three thousand
men should be raised and organized to act on
the former against Forts St. John, Chamblee, and
Montreal ; while a second corps of one thousand
men should be detached from Cambridge by the
latter, to enter Canada at or near Quebec con
temporaneously with the other, and effect a junc
tion, if practicable, with Major-General Schuyler,
who should command in chief.

To the first of these armaments Montgomery
was assigned, as the elder of the two brigadiers ; f

• The Quebec Act

f General Wooster was tne otner.

204 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHF.

and in this capacity he repaired on the 15th of
July to Albany, whence, on the 17th of August,
he was fortunately transferred to Ticonderoga, the
point selected for the principal rendezvous and
outfit of the projected invasions.* On arriving at
this post, his first object was to acquire a correct
knowledge of the enemy's force, position, and pro
jects ; and on this last head, being informed that
Genera] Carleton, now at Montreal, was prepar
ing and had nearly ready a considerable naval
force intended to act on Lake Champlain, he saw
at once the effect of the plan, if permitted to go
into execution, and the necessity for immediately
taking post at the Isle-aux-Noix ; as the measure,
by which it could be most promptly and surely
defeated. In a letter to General Schuyler an
nouncing this intention, he says, " Moving without
your orders, I do not like ; but, on the other hand,
the prevention of the enemy is of the utmost con
sequence ; for if he gets his vessels into the Lake,
it is over with us for the present summer. Let me
entreat you to follow in a whale-boat, leaving some
one to bring on the troops and artillery. It will
give the men great confidence in your spirit and

* Congress was anticipated in its policy with regard
to Ticonderoga, by Allen and Arnold, who, on the sug
gestion of a few thinking men in Connecticut, surprised
the garrison and took possession of the post and its mu
nitions on the 10th of May, 1775.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 205

activity ; and how necessary to a general this con
fidence is, I need not tell you. I most earnestly
wish, that this [suggestion] may meet your appro
bation ; and be assured that [in making it] I have
your honor and reputation much at heart. All
my ambition is to do my duty in a subordinate
capacity, without the least ungenerous intention of
lessening that merit, which is justly your due."
After giving this exemplary proof of personal
friendship for his chief, and of professional duty to
the public, he hastened to place himself at the
head of a small corps, not exceeding one thousand
combatants, sustained by two pieces of light artil
lery, with which, on the 26th of August, he began
his movement down the Lake. Being, however,
much retarded by continued and violent head
winds, it was not till the 5th of September, that
he was able to reach the position he had selected
for himself. Major-General Schuyler having ar
rived on this day, it was thought that a nearer
approach to the enemy might be useful ; not only
from the means it would afford of better recon
noitring his position, but from the favorable im
pression it might make on the Canadian popula
tion. The movement was accordingly ordered,
and a landing effected without obstruction, about
a mile and a half from St. John's. After a short
march in a direction of the fort, and while en
gaged in fording a creek somewhat difficult of

206 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

passage, the left of the line was vigorously at
tacked and much disordered by an Indian ambus
cade ; but being speedily supported by Montgom
ery, with the centre and right, the combat was
soon terminated, and with considerable disadvan
tage to the assailants.

During the night, General Schuyler was vis
ited by a person giving the following information ;
" that the twenty-sixth was the only regular British
corps in Canada ; that with the exception of fifty
men, retained by General Carleton at Montreal, the
whole of this was in garrison at St. John's and
Chamblee ; thai these two forts were strongly
fortified and abundantly supplied ; that one hun
dred Indians were at the former, and a large body
collected [at some other point] under Colonel
Johnson ; that the vessel intended for the Lake
would be ready to sail in three or four days, and
would carry sixteen guns ; that no Canadian would
join the American army, the wish and policy of
the people being neutrality, provided their persona
and property were respected and the articles fur
nished by, or taken from them, paid for in gold or
silver; that, under present circumstances, an at
tack upon St. John's would be imprudent ; and,
lastly, that a return to the Isle-aux-Noix would
be proper ; as from this point, an intercourse with
the inhabitants of Laprairie, might be usefully

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 207

opened." * A council of war, to whom this in
formation was submitted, participating with tht
commanding general in the preceding opinion
the troops were on the 7th reconducted to theii
former position on the island. In reporting these
transactions to Congress, General Schuyler says ;
" T cannot estimate the obligations I lie under to
General Montgomery, for the many important ser
vices he has done, and daily does, and in which he
has had little assistance from me ; as I have not
enjoyed a moment's health since I left Fort
George ; and am now so low, as not to be able to
hold the pen. Should we not be able to do any
thing decisively in Canada, I shall judge it best
to move from this place, which is a very wet
and unhealthy part of the country, unless I re
ceive your orders to the contrary." With this
manifest foreboding of eventual disappointment,
the commanding general left the camp and return
ed to Ticonderoga ; where, and at Albany, he
was actively and usefully employed, during the
remainder of the campaign, in forwarding supplies
to the army.

* Whether this information was given by friend or
enemy, it was essentially incorrect ; the seventh as well
as the twenty-sixth regiment was then serving in Canada.
No great Indian force had anywhere been assembled,
and many Canadians were disposed to join, and did actu
ally join, the American army.

208 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Montgomery, being now left to the choice and
direction of his own measures, and being strongly
impressed with the necessity of doing quickly,
what it would be possible to do at all, availed him
self of the arrival of a reinforcement of men and
a small train of artillery to resume his position
before St. John's, where he began his intended
experiments of investment and siege.

With a view to the first of these objects, he 011
the 18th led a corps of five hundred men to the
north side of the fort ; where, falling in with a
detachment from the garrison, which had just re
pulsed an American party under Major Brown, a
rencounter took place, of which he gives the fol
lowing brief description. " After an ill-directed
fire for some minutes, the enemy retired with pre
cipitation ; luckily for them they did so ; for had
we sooner known their situation, which a thick
wood prevented, not a man of them would have
escaped." With the conduct of his own troops
on this occasion, he was little satisfied. " For as
soon," he adds, " as we saw the enemy, the old
story of treachery spread among the men ; and
the cry was, we are trepanned and drawn under
the guns of the fort. The woodsmen were less
expert in forming than I had expected, and
too many of them hung back. Had we kept
more silence, we should have taken a field-piece

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 209

Being now left to pursue his object without fur
ther obstruction, he proceeded to the junction of
the two roads, the one leading to Montreal, the
other to Chamblee ; where he established an in
trenched camp of three hundred men. Having
thus done what was practicable to interrupt the
communication between St. John's and its sustain
ing posts, he hastened back to his camp to try the
effects of his artillery on the strength of the walls,
and the temper of the garrison. In this labor,
from causes, neither soon nor easily removed, his
progress was not flattering ; the cannon given him
were found to be too light ; the mortars defective ;
the artillerists unpractised ; the ammunition scan
ty, and the person assigned to him as an engineer,
utterly ignorant of the first principles of the art
he professed.* To this list of untoward circum
stances may be added the character of the ground
he occupied ; which, being wet and even swampy,
was productive of many and serious diseases ;
which, besides hourly diminishing his strength,
greatly retarded his operations.

To lessen the number and pressure of these
embarrassments, Montgomery decided on chang
ing his position and removing to the northwestern
side of the fort ; which, as he was informed, would
Burnish ground of greater elevation and dryer sur-

XI.— 14

* Captain Mott.

210 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

face, with a sufficient supply of wholesome water
With this intention, a road was opened and fascines
were collected on the site chosen for the new bat
teries ; when, more to his mortification than sur
prise, he discovered, that to persist in the measure
would give occasion to evils of greater malignity,
than either or all of those, which it was proposed
to remedy by it ; in a word, that a general mutiny
of the army would be the consequence. Abhor
rent as any kind or degree of condescension to an
insubordinate soldiery must have been to a man of
Montgomery's habits and principles, still he could
not conceal from himself, that the evil, which now
beset him, grew in a great measure out of the spirit
of the times, and was perhaps inseparable from
revolutionary movements ; that, at any rate, he
possessed no power of punishing or even controll
ing it, and that any course, which should precipi
tate the army into an act of open mutiny, would
be a signal for its dissolution, and an end of all pub
lic views and hopes founded on the expedition. la
this view of the subject, personal feelings and
professional scruples were made to yield ; and in
stead of a peremptory order to execute the pro
ject, he prudently submitted it to the decision of a
council of war, who, as was expected, refused to
give it their approbation.*

* At a later period, the General's plan was adopted and
a new position taken on the northwest side of the fort.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 211

White this inauspicious occurrence took place
in the camp, another of the General's plans, from
misconduct in the leader, terminated unfavorably.
To quiet the restless activity of Ethan Allen,
who, without commission or command, had at
tached himself to the army as a volunteer, Mont
gomery sent him to Laprairie, with an escort of
thirty men, and orders " to mingle freely with the
inhabitants and so to treat them, as would best
conciliate their friendship and induce them to join
the American standard." In the outset of this
business, Allen was not unsuccessful, and soon ac
quired an addition to his corps of fifty Canadians ;
when, either deceived in regard to the enemy's
strength, or indifferent to its magnitude, and with
out direction or privity on the part of the General,
he determined to risk an attack on Montreal. He
accordingly crossed the river in the night of the
24th of September, and was met in the morning
by a British party, who, after a short and slight con
flict, captured him and thirty-eight of his followers.

Another affair, more prudently managed and
having a favorable influence on the operations of
the campaign, occurred soon after. Mr. James
Livingston, a native of New York, who had some
time before established himself in Canada, had for
tunately gained a good deal of popularity with
its inhabitants ; which, at the instance of Mont
gomery, be employed in raising among them an

212 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

armed corps, under the promise of eventual pro
tection, made and promulgated by the order of
Congress. With three hundred of these recruits
and a small detachment from the army, Majors
Brown and Livingston obtained possession of Fort
Chamblee, capturing the whole of the garrison,
and a large quantity of military stores, among
which were one hundred and twenty-six barrels of
gunpowder. This acquisition having greatly invig
orated the siege, and rendered probable a speedy
reduction of St. John's, General Carleton found
himself compelled to quit his insular position at
Montreal, and risk a field movement in defence of
his fortress. The force at his disposal for this pur
pose was not formidable from numbers or from
character, and was rendered less so by the divis
ion of its parts. Its amount in combatants of all
arms did not much exceed twelve hundred men ;
the bulk of whom was made up of Canadian
militia serving with reluctance, and Scotch emi
grants recently engaged, and little if at all ac
quainted with military duty. Of these, nearly one
thousand had been retained at Montreal by Carle-
ton, and the remainder stationed with McClean at
the mouth of the Sorel. Under these circum
stances and with Carleton's present views, a con
centration of the two corps became indispensable ;
and accordingly, on the 31st of October, that offi
cer began his movement across the St. Lawrence

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 213

to Longueil, whence he purposed marching to
McClean's camp, and thence to the attack of the
besieging army.

The probability of a movement of this kind
and with these objects did not escape the foresight
of Montgomery ; who, soon after the capture of
Chamblee, withdrew \\arner and two regiments
from the investing position they had hitherto occu
pied to the Longueil road, with orders " to patrol
that route carefully and frequently, as far as the
St. Lawrence ; to report daily to the commanding
general such information as he might be able
to obtain ; and lastly, to attack any party of the
enemy indicating an intention of moving in the
direction of the American camp, or in that of the
Scotch emigrants." In execution of these orders,
Warner arrived at Longueil early in the morning
of the 31st, and making no display of his force
until the leading boats of the British column had
nearly reached the southern bank of the river, he
then opened upon them a fire of musketry and
artillery, which in a few minutes completely dis
abled them and put to rout what remained of the
armament. About the same time, and with orders
of a similar character, Easton, Brown, and Liv
ingston approached McClean, who, losing all hope
of support from Carleton, hastily withdrew to his
boats and descended the St. Lawrence.

214 AMERICAN

This new and favorable state of things was
promptly communicated to Montgomery, who
hastened to turn it to its proper account, the sur
render of the fort, the occupation of Montreal,
and the capture of Carleton. The first of these
objects was accomplished by a written statement
of the preceding events, made to the command
ant ; the consequent hopelessness of succor to
the garrison ; and the useless effusion of blood,
which would necessarily follow any attempt to
prolong the defence. The second object was less
easily attained, not from any obstruction given by
the enemy, but from the disinclination of his own
troops to remain longer in the field ; nor could this
be overcome, but by a promise on the part of the
general, that, " Montreal in his possession, no fur
ther service would be exacted from them." Un
der this arrangement, he was enabled to display a
force in front of the town, which, on the 12th of
November, secured to him a full and peaceable
possession of it, and of the armed vessels left by
the enemy.* With regard to his third and great
object, he was wholly unsuccessful. Some days
before the last-mentioned event, the British gen
eral not reposing firmly in Canadian fidelity, and

* Eleven sail of vessels with General Prescott, and
one hundred and twenty regular troops of the seventh
and twenty-sixth regiments.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 215

fearing much from the enterprise and vigor of his
antagonist, quitted Montreal and took refuge on
board of the fleet, with which he hoped to be able
to make good his retreat ; but finding on experi
ment, that this project was impracticable, and per
ceiving the imminent danger to which the capital
of the province was exposed, as well by his ab
sence from it, as by the presence of a new and
unexpected enemy at its gates, he promptly and
prudently put himself on board of a small beat
with muffled oars, and, trusting to his personal for
tunes and a dark night, was able to pass the Amer
ican batteries and armed vessels, without notice or
annoyance of any kind.*

Though now master of a great part of Canada,
Montgomery's labors, far from becoming lighter
or fewer, were much augmented in both number
and character. A pursuit of Carleton, a junction
with Arnold, and an experiment on the strength of
Quebec, were objects sufficiently indicated by his
own judgment, the policy of Congress, and the
hopes of the nation. But to prosecute these
promptly and successfully required means, in
which he was obviously and greatly deficient.
His situation in this respect, given in a letter to a
member of the Committee of Congress sent to

* The position at the mouth of the Sorel was held
by Cohnel Easton of the Massachusetts militia.

216 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

confer with bin. on the subject of his campaign^
will not be deemed uninteresting.

"For the good fortune," he says, "which lias
hitherto attended us, I am, I hope, sufficiently
thankful ; but this very fortune, good as it hs.s beon,
will become a serious and insurmountable evil,
should it lead Congress either to overrate onr means,
or to underrate the difficulties we have yet to con
tend with. I need not tell you, that, till Quebec is
taken, Canada is unconquered ; and that, to accom
plish this, we must resort to siege, investment, or
storm. The first of these is out of the question,
from the difficulty of making trenches in a Canadian
winter, and the greater difficulty of living in them, if
we could make them ; secondly, from the nature of
the soil, which, as I am at present instructed, ren
ders mining impracticable, and, were this otherwise,
from the want of an engineer having sufficient skil!
to direct the process ; and thirdly, from the few
ness and lightness of our artillery, which is quit?
unfit to break walls like those of Quebec. Invest
ment has fewer objections, and might be sufficient,
wTere we able to shut out entirely from the garri
son and town the necessary supplies of food and
fuel, during the winter ; but to do this well (the
enemy's works being very extensive and offering
many avenues to the neighboring settlements) will
require a large army, and from present appear
ances mine will not, when brought together, much

RICHARD MONTGOMERY.

217

if at all exceed eight hundred combatants. Of
Canadians I might be able to get a considerable
number, provided I had hard money, with which to
clothe, feed, and pay their wages ; but this is want
ing. Unless, therefore, I am soon and amply rein
forced, investment, like siege, must be given up.

" To the storming plan, there are fewer objec
tions ; and to this we must come at last. If my
force be small, Carleton's is not great. The ex-
tensiveness of his works, which, in case of invest
ment, would favor him, will in the other case
favor us. Masters of our secret, we may select a
particular time and place for attack, and to repel
this the garrison must be prepared at all times
and places; a circumstance, which will impose
upon it incessant watching and labor by day and
by night ; which, in its undisciplined state, must
breed discontents that may compel Carleton to
capitulate, or perhaps to make an attempt to drive
us off. In this last idea, there is a glimmering of
hope. Wolfe's success was a lucky hit, or rather
a series of such hits. All sober and scientific cal
culation was against him, until Montcalm, permit
ting his courage to get the better of his discretion,
gave up the advantages of his fortress and came
out to try his strength on the plain.* Carleton,
who was Wolfe's quartermaster-general, under-

* See the Note at the end of this Memoir,

218 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY

stands this well ; and, it is to be feared, will not
follow the Frenchman's example. In all these
views, you will discover much uncertainty ; but
of one thing you may be sure, that, unless we do
something before the middle of April, the game
will be up ; because by that time the river may
open and let in supplies and reinforcements to the
garrison in spite of any thing we can do to prevent
it ; and again, because my troops are not engaged
beyond that term, and will not be prevailed upon
to stay a day longer. In reviewing what I have
said, you will find that my list of wants is a long
one ; men, money, artillery, and clothing accom
modated to the climate. Of ammunition Carleton
took care to leave little behind him at this place.
What I wish and expect is, that all this be made
known to Congress, with a full assurance, that, if
I fail to execute their wishes or commands, it shall
not be from any negligence of duty or infirmity of
purpose on my part. Vale, cave ne mandata
frangas" *

Assured, on the 17th of November, of Arnold's
arrival at Point Levi, and on the 19th, of his hav
ing crossed the St. Lawrence in safety, Mont
gomery hastened to effect a junction with him ,
and having, on the 4th of December, accomplished

* Letter to R. R. Livingston, Member of Congress,

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 219

th's object, he immediately proceeded to take a
position before Quebec.

Great care was now employed in acquiring a
knowledge of the extent and structure of the
enemy's works ; the force and composition of his
garrison ; * the disposition of the inhabitants of
the town and neighboring country, and the means
possessed by the latter to supply the wants of the
former. The result of the information received
on these points was such, as confirmed the Gen
eral in the opinion expressed in the preceding
letter ; that siege and investment were forbidden
by the paucity of his numbers, not much ex
ceeding eight hundred combatants ; by a want of
artillery of sufficient calibre, and by the inclem
ency of the season ; and again, that, of the differ
ent modes of attack, that of escalade was, under
all circumstances, the most advisable.

But that no means of attaining the proposed
object might be neglected, this opinion, though
decidedly formed, was not permitted to super
sede the use of other and preliminary expedients.
A summons of surrender in the customary form,
a cannonade of the fort from a battery >f five

* Seamen and marines, four hundred and fifty ; pri
vates of the seventh regiment, fifty ; McClean's corps,
one hundred and fifty ; Canadian militia, two hundred
jd fifty.

220 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

guns and one howitzer ; a display of the Amen
can force in full view of the British garrison,
made in the hope that its feebleness would induce,
or its defiance provoke, the enemy to forego the
advantage of his fortress and risk a contest in the
field, were successively tried, but without pro
ducing any useful effect. A partial investment,
confined to points which most favored an inter
course between the town and the country, was
also resorted to ; and would have been longer
continued, had it not been found that its effect
on the Canadian population was unfriendly, from
the interruption it gave to their ordinary com
merce without furnishing an equivalent market
as a substitute ; and again, from a belief generally
entertained, that a proceeding of this kind indi
cated a want of strength in the American army.
A discovery of these facts could not fail to make
an impression as well on the troops as on the
general, and besides inducing an abandonment of
the investing plan, hastened in both a desire to
try the effect of a coup de main. Two attacks
of this character were accordingly projected ; the
one on the lower town, from the suburbs of
St. Roque ; the other on the upper, at the Cape
Diamond Bastion, " to be executed in the night
and when the weather should be favorable." But
before the last of these conditions was fulfilled,
a circumstance took place, that menaced the
project with both defeat and disgrace.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 221

Three companies of Arnold's detachment (whose
term of service was on the point of expiring)
having, from some cause not well explained,*
taken umbrage at the conduct of their command
ing officer, seized the present occasion to make
known their intention of quitting the army, un
less, in the approaching movement they were
permitted to attach themselves to some other
corps. Under circumstances differing from those
which belonged to the case, a transfer, such as
they desired, would not have been refused ; but
as, on investigating the facts, Montgomery found
the complainants wholly in the wrong, he prompt
ly determined, as well in punishment of them as
in justice to Arnold, to reject their proposal. Still,
believing that under all circumstances it would be
prudent, before officially announcing this decision,
to try the effects of a free and friendly expostu
lation with the malcontents, he fortunately recurred
to that process, and was promptly enabled to bring
them back to a sense of good order and obedience,
without the actual employment or menace of any
coercive means, f

* Montgomery, in his last letter to Schuyler, speaks
of this occurrence, thinks his friend Major Brown at the
bottom of it, and promises in his next a full explanation
of it.

f Mr. Marshall ascribes the return to duty, on the part
of the malcontents, to the influence of arguments ad-

222 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Though now satisfied that the flame of the late
controversy was extinguished, yet suspecting that
the embers might still be alive, and knowing thai
means would not be wanting to re-excite them,
Montgomery hastened to avail himself of this nepv
and last favor of fortune. A council of war wa*v
accordingly convened, and to this the General
submitted two questions ; — " Shall we attempt the
reduction of Quebec by a night attack ; And if
so, shall the lower town be the point attacked ? " *
Both questions having been affirmatively decided,
the troops were ordered to parade in three divis
ions at two o'clock in the morning of the 31st
of December ; the New York regiments and part
of Easton's Massachusetts militia, at Holland
House ; the Cambridge detachments and Lamb's
company of artillerists, with one field-piece, at
Captain Morgan's quarters ; and the two small
corps of Livingston and Brown, at their respec
tive grounds of parade. To the first and second
of these divisions were assigned the two assaults,
to be made on opposite sides of the lower town ;

dressed to their love of plunder, by Captain Morgan.
We have adopted in substance the statement given by
Colonel J. Livingston, which is, we think, more credible,
and certainly more creditable.

* The first or main question was carried by a single
vote.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 223

and to the third, a series of demonstrations or
feigned attacks on different parts of the upper
Under these orders the movement began between
three and four o'clock in the morning, from the
Heights of Abraham Montgomery advancing at
the head of the first division by the river road,
round the foot of Cape Diamond to Aunce au
Mere ; and Arnold, at the head of the second,
through the suburbs of St. Roque, to the Saut de
Matelots. Both columns found the roads much
obstructed by snow, but to this obstacle on the
route taken by Montgomery were added huge
masses of ice, thrown up from the river and so
narrowing the passage round the foot of the prom
ontory, as greatly to retard the progress and dis
turb the order of the march. These difficulties
being at last surmounted, the first barrier was
approached, vigorously attacked, and rapidly car
ried. A moment, and but a moment, was now
employed to re-excite the ardor of the troops,
which the fatigue of the march and the severity
of the weather had somewhat abated. % Men
of New York," exclaimed Montgomery, " you
will not fear to follow where your general leads, —
march on ; " * then placing himself again in the

* When Bonaparte assumed the offensive in the battle
of Marengo, he hurried through the ranks exclaiming
" Comrades, you know it is my practice to sleep on thf
field of battle."

224 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHT.

front, he pressed eagerly forward to the second
barrier, and when but a few paces from the mouths
of the British cannon, received three wounds
which instantly terminated his life and his labors
Thus fell, in the first month of his fortieth year,
Major-General Richard Montgomery.

The fortune of the day being now decided, the
corpse of the fallen general was eagerly sought
for and soon found. The stern character of
Carleton's habitual temper softened at the sight ;
recollections of other times crowded fast upon
him ; the personal and professional merits of the
dead could neither be forgotten nor dissembled,
and the British general granted the request of
Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe to have the body
decently interred within the walls of the city.*

In this brief story of a short and useful life,
we find all the elements which enter into the
composition of a great man and distinguished
soldier ; " a happy physical organization, com-

* It does not fall within our proper limits, to exhibit
in detail the future fortunes of the assailing army. It
may therefore be sufficient to say, that, in losing their
commander, all hope of eventual success was lost.
The column of the right, under the direction of its new
leader, made a hasty and disorderly retreat to the Heights
•f Abraham ; while that of the left, first under Arnold
and again under Morgan, gave evidence only of a high
and persevering, but fruitless gallantry.

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 225

bining strength and activity, and enabling its pos
sessor to encounter laborious days and sleepless
nights, hunger and thirst, all changes of weather,
and every variation of climate." To these corpo
real advantages was added a mind, cool, dis
criminating, energetic, and fearless ; thoroughly
acquainted with mankind, not uninstructed in the
literature and sciences of the day, and habitually
directed by a high and unchangeable moral sense.
That a man so constituted, should have won " the
golden opinions " of friends and foes, is not extra
ordinary. The most eloquent men of the British
Senate became his panegyrists ; and the American
Congress hastened to testify for him, " their
grateful remembrance, profound respect, and high
veneration." A monument to his memory was
accordingly erected, on which might justly be
inscribed the impressive lines of the poet ;

"Brief, brave, and glorious was his young career;
His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes ;
And fitly may the stranger, lingering here,
Pray for his gallant spirit's bright repose ;
For he was Freedom's champion, one of those,
The few in number, who had not o'erstept
The charter to chastise, which she bestows
On such as wield her weapons ; he had kept

The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept.

NOTE.

(See page 217.)

As nothing will better illustrate Montgomery's
freedom from prejudice, and correctness of milita
ry judgment, than this opinion, respecting Wolfe's
success at Quebec, we may be permitted to give
a brief view of the grounds on which it rested.

It will be remembered, that, in the campaign ot
1759, General Wolfe was placed at the head of
an army of eight thousand combatants, sustained
by a fleet of twenty-two ships of the line, as many
frigates, and several smaller vessels, with orders to
reduce Quebec, a fortress, strongly fortified by na
ture and art, defended by ten thousand effective
men and commanded by an officer, distinguished
alike by capacity and experience. The promon
tory on which this fortress stood, presented to the
south a naked rock, rising from the St. Lawrence
several hundred feet in height ; to the north and
east, a declivity less elevated and abrupt than the
former, but such as everywhere forbade an as
cent, but by a narrow and winding foot-path, se
cured at different points by strong palisades ; and
on the west or land side, a line of bastions, brist-

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 227

.ing with cannon and extending from one height to
another ; thus forming the base of the angle and
completing the outline of the work ; while within
its area rose the citadel of St. Louis, overlooking
and commanding the whole. It is not therefore
to be wondered at, if, after reconnoitring the place
and its defences, the General should have discov
ered "obstacles greater than had been foreseen,"
or that he should have come to the conclusion,
" that to reduce the place by a direct attack, was
impracticable," and that the only expedient left,
for giving him even a chance of accomplishing the
plans of the government and the hopes of the na
tion, was a constant and unrelaxing endeavor to
decoy into detachments, or to provoke to a gener
al battle, his old and wary antagonist, who seemed
to understand too well the value of his fastnesses,
to be easily seduced from them.

With these vague and hopeless prospects, the
north bank of the St. Lawrence above the town
was carefully reconnoitred, but without discovering
a place, at which the detachment, that should be
first landed, would not be liable to be cut to pie
ces before another could be brought to support it
Still, as something must be hazarded, the General
fixed on St. Michael's, three miles from Quebec,
for making the experiment ; when he discovered,
that the enemy had penetrated his design and was
preparing to defeat it

228 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Giving up therefore this side of the town as
unfavorable to his project, he now returned to
an examination of that lying between the rivers
St. Charles and Montmorency ; and, though every
accessible part of the shore was found to be " in
trenched and redoubted," and protected besides
by " a gr^at breadth of shoal water and a muddy
bottom, scooped into holes and intersected by gul
lies," be, notwithstanding, decided on making his
descent there, because " it possessed advantages,
not to be found at any other place," namely, room
for the developement of his whole force, and, if
necessary, " a safe retreat at low-water." The
attempt was accordingly made, but ended in new
disappointment and increased vexation, for the
enemy refusing to quit his intrenchments, neither
advanced in mass, nor in detachment, to attack
him, while his own troops showed " a great want
of both order and discipline."

This failure no doubt increased, if it did not
create, an indisposition, which caused a temporary
suspension of the general's activity ; during which
he submitted to the consideration of the briga
diers serving under him, the general question of
future operations and the direction to be given to
these ; subjoining at the same time statements and
opinions, which sufficiently indicated the leaning
of his own judgment, in favor of a renewed at
tack on the French positions at Beauport, either

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 229

*' by turning their left flank and assailing their
rear, or by a direct approach in front, on the side
of the St. Lawrence." The answer to this com
munication, was precisely what it ought to ii»*-e
been ; respectful to the general, but adverse to
both the courses suggested by him. It may oe
paraphrased as follows ; " On either project, the
risk is certain, and the advantage to be gained
unimportant. If we adopt the first, a march of
nine miles, through woods intersected by creeks,
swamps, and defiles, becomes unavoidable, every
step of which must be known to the enemy and
liable to obstruction from his numerous bodies of
Indians and light troops. A new repulse, at this
time, would be very unfavorable, and a defeat,
probably fatal to the army ; while its most com
plete success would have the effect only of com
pelling the enemy to change his front, and take
the new and more formidable position behind the
St. Charles. The second proposition is liable to
similar objections ; since our whole movement
must be made in the view, and exposed to the
fire of the batteries and intrenchments of the
enemy ; a circumstance, which our recent expe
rience shows cannot be encountered, without con
siderable loss, and with the hazard, in case of
disaster, of having our retreat entirely cut orF,
as it is only in a particular state of the tide, that
a retreat will be at all practicable.

230 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

" On the other hand, taking for granted that
British courage will triumph over many difficulties
and that the enemy will be driven from Beau-
port and its dependencies, what advantage wrill the
acquisition of these places give to us, or what
injury will the loss of them produce to the ene
my ? The effect to either party will be unim-
portant, since the place itself has no possible
influence on the fate of the capital, neither cov
ering nor exposing its supplies, neither strength
ening nor weakening its defences ; in a wTord, 't is
but an outpost, which Mr. Montcalm may abandon
without loss, and which he artfully presents to us,
in the hope that we will knock our heads against
it. The movement, which in our opinion should
be substituted for these, is, that the army assem
ble and embark at Point Levyi, and ascend the
St. Lawrence above the town, and there seek for
a place at which they may debark and gain the
bank. If they fail in accomplishing this, they
run no risk of any serious loss, since the attempt
will not be made but under the guns of the ship
ping. If, on the other hand, we succeed in gain
ing the bank and in taking a position which shall
place us between the enemy and the interior of
the province, we may hope to draw him from his
walls and to the risk of a battle ; — but, whether
this last purpose be effected or not, we shall be
precisely in the situation the best adapted to a

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 231

cooperation with General Amherst's army, which,
agreeably to the general plan of campaign, must
now be on its march to join us."

This reasoning silenced, if it did not satisfy, the
objections of Wolfe. He adopted the plan with
the frankness and good faith with which it was
offered, and, being now reinstated in health, lost
no time in giving it execution. The troops, to
the amount of four thousand effectives, were em
barked as proposed on board of a division of the
fleet, which ascended the St. Lawrence, while
another division of it, the better to mask the real
attack, continued to menace a descent at Beau-
port. This was the moment that fortune began
to show her partiality for the British arms. Be
lieving the movement to be only a feint, Mont-
calm steadily adhered to his field position on the
eastern side of the town, and contented himself
with detaching Bougainville at the head of twen
ty-five hundred men to the western side, with
orders to keep pace with the ascending division
of the British fleet, watch its operations, and repel
all attempts at landing.

This officer had accordingly lined the bank with
sentinels, established small posts on the few paths
which admitted an ascent of the bank, and taken
post himself about six leagues west of Quebec
and directly opposite to the ships of war. Til]
now, the vigilance of this corps had been irre-

232 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

proachable, and had even merged and received
the praises of an enemy ; but on the night of the
12th of September it slept, and so profoundly,
that the British fleet and army were enabled to
execute their whole purpose, without notice or
discovery. The latter, being embarked on board
of the boats, fell down the stream to the point
agreed upon for the descent, followed and protect
ed by the former, and at one o'clock in the morn
ing, effected their landing, mounted the precipice,
drove in the sentries and seized a battery, before
even the common signals of alarm were given
When the day dawned, the British line found
itself on the Heights of Abraham, and, in a few
minutes, perceived the French army approaching
by the bridge of St. Charles.

What a moment of anxiety for Wolfe ! Was
it Montcalm's intention to shut himself up m
Quebec, and leave to the British army the doubt
ful and dangerous experiments of investment or
siege ? Or was he in motion to stake on the
chances of a battle the fate of himself, of his
army, of the capital, and of the province ? Is it
probable, that he, who has hitherto acted so wa
rily, will be less circumspect in proportion as his
fortunes become more critical ? Is it reasonable to
hope, that a general, who has till now so distinctly
seen the advantages of his position, will at once
cease to avail himself of what art and nature

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 233

nave united to do for him ? Should he lose the
power of making new combinations, will he lose
his memory also, and, forgetting alike the maxims
of war and the dictates of duty, hazard a post
with the defence of which he is specially charged,
or give battle on the invitation of an enemy, who
has no hope but in the chance of his doing so ?

A few minutes solved these momentous ques
tions. As soon as the heads of the French col
uinns, preceded by their skirmishers, were seen to
issue from the gates of the town and advance
towards their enemy, there could be no longer a
doubt of the intentions of the French comman
der. At this moment, the British army had not
yet taken an order of battle ; but the simple for
mation of a single line a little bent on its left, and
reinforced on its right, by one regiment in open
order, was soon executed. Neither army could
claim much support from artillery ; the British
not having been able to bring up more than one
piece, while the French, who could have strength
ened their line with a battery of fifty pieces, either
neglected or despised the advantage, and brought
with them only two nine-pounders. The battle
which followed was decided by musketry, and
was unmarked by any extraordinary or well ap
plied evolution of any kind. The fall of Mont-
calm hastened, if it did not occasion, the flight of
the French, who left fifteen hundred men on the

234 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

field of battle. In this moment of route on the
one side, and of triumph on the other, the head
of Bougainville's corps marching from La Foix,
showed itself on the rear of the British line.,
But, the fortunes of the day being apparently
decided, he retired perhaps prudently, to concert
measures with the commander of the fort, to keep
up his communications with it, to check the ene
my's attempts at investment, or, if the measure
oecame necessary, to join in the direct defence
of the place. On the part of the British nothing
could be considered as done, while Quebec re
mained to be taken ; and for its security, there
was still left a sufficient garrison and abundant
supplies, with an exterior force already formidable
and hourly increasing. Time, on the other hand,
which was thus strengthening them, was sensibly
weakening their enemy.

The British effective force, originally eight thou
sand combatants, was now, including the corps at
Point Levi and the Isle of Orleans, reduced to
four thousand men ; the weather had already
become wet and cold ; the sick list was rapidly
•ncreasing ; and but thirty days remained for field
operations, while those of the water might proba-
oly be limited to even a shorter period. Much
Tiust be done before a siege could be commenced,
ind an investment, from the nature of the ground,
and the deficient number of the troops, was quite

RICHARD MONTGOMERY. 235

impracticable. Under this aspect of things, the
chances were yet against the invaders ; and it re
quired only a vigorous resistance on the part of
the garrison, to have saved both the fortress and
the province. But " fear betrays like treason."
M. de Ramsay saw in some demonstrations, made
by the British fleet and army as trials of his tem
per, a serious intention to attack him by land and
water ; when, to escape this, he opened a negotia
tion for the surrender of the fort at the very mo
ment when a reinforcement of eight hundred men,
with an additional supply of provisions, was ready
to enter it. Tovvnshend, who, after the fall of
Wolfe, commanded the British army, was both a
politician and a soldier, and readily subscribed to
any terms, the basis of which was the surrender
of the capital.

Such is the chapter o accidents by which Que
bee was taken in 1759. Had not Wolfe become
seriously ill, there would have been no opinion re
quired from Monckton, Tovvnshend, and Murray,
and the army would have continued to waste its
strength in new attacks on the French positions at
Beau port, in conformity to Wolfe's opinion.

Had not Wolfe, in despite of this opinion, fol-
.owed the advice of his brigadiers and carried his
operations from the eastern to the western side of
the town, the same consequences would have fol
lowed .

236 AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY.

Had the French guards done their duty on the
night of the 12th of September, the British would
have failed in making good their landing and as
cent to the Heights of Abraham.

Had Montcalm refused the battle offered to him
on the 13th, or had he reinforced his centre and
flanks by competent divisions of artillery, or had
he delayed coming to blows for a single hour, or
had Bougainville arrived in the rear of the British
line, before the battle was lost, in either of these
cases, the fortune of the day would have been dif
ferent from what it was.

And lastly, had M. de Ramsay, instead of sur
rendering, defended his post, the expedition must
have failed ; since, circumstanced as the British
were, they had no sufficient means for reducing
the place by storm, siepe, or investment.

THE END

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