stronger became his conviction that through them he was accomplishing a great world-work, one that the Lord had designed he should perform. He was assiduous in distributing his own books, and artful in securing the aid of others to print or distribute them. These tracts possessed in his eyes a great efficacy in advancing the cause of religion, in soothing distress, and even in quieting bodily pain. As the record of a most active writer for the press the Diary possesses value in bibliographical study. A much larger number of these issues than Mather would have deemed possible have entirely disappeared; many exist in a single known copy; others are not rare. The greatest contribution of value that came from his pen was the Magnalia, a work that is still a storehouse of ill-compiled and ill-digested matter, not without real historical importance. Moreover, it stands as the one contribution from New England of value to history in the period from 1650 to 1780. It is, perhaps, fortunate that his greater compilation, the Biblia Americana, never saw the light.

The text of the Diary is as Mather wrote it, some changes in punctuation and capitalizing only having been made. The notes have been confined to such matters as seemed to require explanation, and are not intended to elucidate every point of the text in a biographical spirit. Such a task would have led to encumbering the volumes with notes equal in length to the text; and, as the Diary is not complete, the notes would have shared in this defect. On the side of bibliography the notes are brief, as a full bibliography of the Mathers is being compiled by competent hands. Some letters, hitherto unpublished, have been added to their respective years.

Acknowledgment is made to Rev. William H. Cobb of the Congregational Library for the privilege of using the record for 1716. Also to the Second Church, which through Dr. Francis Henry Brown placed its manuscript volumes of

records at the disposal of the Society. As the records of the Church over which Mather presided have never been printed, the essential entries have been included as notes. They develop the church discipline of the time as enforced by Mather, and in his very words.

A portrait of Cotton Mather is in the American Antiquarian Society; but its artistic value is slight and, as a representation of the man, indifferent. The mezzotint by Peter Pelham, from a portrait painted by him in 1728, is of a higher order of workmanship, and is reproduced on a reduced scale from a fine impression of the original, courteously loaned by Mr. Henry W. Cunningham, of Boston.

Mather's script is not difficult to read after certain peculiarities have been mastered; but the condition of some of the papers, blotted by erasures, spotted or faded by exposure, and frayed and torn at the edges from use, made the reading at times difficult and doubtful. The manuscript was transcribed by Miss ANNA M. GALVIN, and with an accuracy leaving little to be desired. The Latin sentences have had the scholarly supervision of our colleague, Prof. HENRY W. HAYNES. The proofs have also been read by Mr. JULIUS H. TUTTLE, whose knowledge of Mather imprints has proved serviceable.

BOSTON, MASS., April, 1911.

WORTHINGTON CHAUNCEY FORD.