an ambitious politician, anxious to have the support of all parties at the same time,' - Mr. Upham remarks; 'From this latter passage it is clear that Dr. Mather contemplated the witchcraft delusion as having been the instrument in promoting a revival of religion, and was inclined to boast of the success with which it had been attended as such. 'I cannot, indeed, resist the conviction, that, notwithstanding all his attempts to appear dissatisfied, after they had become unpopular, with the occurrences in the Salem trials, he looked upon them with secret pleasure, and would have been glad to have had them repeated again in Boston. 'How blind is man to the future! The state of things which Cotton Mather labored to bring about, in order that he might increase his own influence over an infatuated people, by being regarded by them as mighty to cast out and vanquish evil spirits, and as able to hold Satan himself in chains by his prayers and his piety, brought him at length into such disgrace, that his power was broken down, and he became the object of public ridicule and open insult.' - pp. 113, 114. Now to those of the present generation, who have heard of Cotton Mather only as a learned and reverend divine, the author of innumerable works, and a shining light of New England, it would be difficult to believe, that, for any cause or at any time, he was the object to his cotemporaries of open ridicule or dislike. And were it a question merely of his personal merits, unconnected with the history of the times, we should be in no wise solicitous to show it. But from his private journal, to which we have adverted, we must infer either that this was indeed the fact, and that he was well aware of the disesteem he had incurred, or else that a suspicious spirit, quickened by some inward consciousness of wrong, but strangely combined with the vanity that was also among his infirmities, led him to see things very differently from what they were. We e may premise, that this private journal, for the use of which we are indebted to the courtesy of the gentleman in whose possession it is, has hitherto existed only in manuscript, and being wholly unknown to the author of these Lectures at the time of their publication, must be considered as an additional testimony, and independent of that on which he grounded his conclusions. These passages, the reader will observe, are extracted from the manscript diary of Dr. Mather, for the year 1724; at which period he was sixty-two years of age. prefaced : They are thus . 'Dark dispensations, but light arising in darkness.' 'It may be of some use to me to observe some very dark dispensations, wherein the recompense of my poor essays at welldoing in this life seem to look a little discouraging; and then to express the triumph of my faith over such and all discouragements. "Of the things that look dark, I may touch of twice seven in stances A part of these, on account of their too personal or domestic nature, we omit. '1. What has a gracious Lord helped me to do for the seafaring tribe, in prayers for them, in sermons to them, in books bestowed upon them, and in various projections and endeavours to render the sailors a happy generation? And yet, there is nót a man in the world, so reviled, so slandered, so cursed among sailors. 2. What has a gracious Lord helped me to do for the instruction and salvation and comfort of the poor Negroes? And yet, some on purpose to affront me call their Negroes by the name of COTTON MATHER, that so they may, with some shadow of truth, assert crimes as committed by one of that name, which the hearers take to be Me. '3. What has a gracious Lord given me to do for the profit and honor of the Female Sex? especially in publishing the virtuous and laudable characters of holy women. And yet, 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, but what have at some time or other, spoken basely of me. '4. What has a gracious Lord given me to do, that I may be a blessing to my relatives? I keep a catalogue of them, and not a week passes me without some good devised for some or other of them, till I have taken all of them under my cognizance. And yet, where is the man, who has been so tormented with such monstrous relatives? Job said, "I am a brother to dragons." 5. What has a gracious Lord given me to do for the vindication and reputation of the Scottish nation? And yet, no Englishman has been so vilified by the tongues and pens of Scotts as I have been. 6. What has a gracious Lord given me to do for the good of the country? in applications without number for it in all its interests, besides publications of things useful to it and for it. And yet, there is no man whom the country so loads with dis respect, and calumnies, and manifold expressions of aversion. 7. What has a gracious Lord given me to do for the upholding of the Government and the strengthening of it, and the bespeaking of regards unto it? And yet, the discountenance I' have almost perpetually received from the government! Yea, the indecencies and indignities, which it has multiplied upon me, are such as no other man has been treated with. '8. What has a gracious Lord given me to do, that the COLLEGE may be owned for the bringing forth 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 for ever puts all possible marks of disesteem upon me. If I were the greatest blockhead that ever came from it, or the greatest blemish that ever came to it, they could not easily show me more contempt than they do. '9. What has a gracious Lord given me to do for the study of a profitable conversation? For nearly fifty years together, I have hardly ever gone into any company, or had any coming to me, without some explicit contrivance to speak something or other, that they might be the wiser or the better for. And yet, my company is as little sought for, and there is as little resort unto it, as any minister that I am acquainted with. 10. What has a gracious Lord given me to do in good offices, wherever I could find opportunities for the doing of them? I for ever entertain them with alacrity. I have offered pecuniary recompenses to such as would advise me of them. And yet, I see no man for whom all are so loth to do good offices. Indeed I find some cordial friends, but how few! Often have I said, What would I give if there were any one man in the world to do for me what I am willing to do for every man in the world! '11. What has a gracious Lord given me to do in the writing of many books for the advancing of piety and the promoting of his kingdom! There are, I suppose, more than 300 of them. And yet, I have had more books written against me; more pamphlets to traduce and reproach me, and bely me, than any man I know in the world. 12. What has a gracious Lord given me to do in a variety of services? For many lustres of years not a day has passed me, without some devices, even written devices, to be serviceable. And yet, my sufferings! They seem to be (as in reason they should be) more than my services. Every body points at me, and speak of me as by far the most afflicted minister in all New England. And many look on me as the greatest sinner, because the greatest sufferer; and are pretty arbitrary in their conjectures upon my punished miscarriages.' In addition to this, and easily connected with other traits of character already developed, we may observe the Doctor's chagrin and mortified ambition in the manner in which he notes in his diary the death of President Leverett, and his own expectations, so bitterly disappointed, of being chosen his successor. Our readers need not be informed, that Judge Leverett was one of the most able and acceptable Presidents, that Harvard College ever possessed. 'He maintained all his posts,' say Eliot in his Biography, with dignity, integrity, and the applause of the people.' Yet Mather thus writes; Diary, May 7, 1724. The sudden death of the unhappy man, who sustained the place of President in our college, will open a door for my doing singular services in the best of interests. I do not know, that the care of the College will now be cast upon me; though I am told that it is what is most generally wished for. If it should be, I shall be in abundance of distress about it; but if it should not, yet I may do many things for the good of the college more quietly and more hopefully than formerly. June 5. The college is in great hazard of dissipation and grievous destruction and confusion. My advice to some that have some influence on the public, may be seasonable. July 1, 1724. 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 College, 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.' Now, from this strange document, two things may be inferred. Either Dr. Mather had real cause for his griefs, and notwithstanding all the virtues and services he so vainly estimates, an estimate probably much beyond the impartial judgment of others, he was, in fact, as we are told, 'the object of ridicule and insult.' Or else, we repeat, we have before us in his own diary, an example of a miserable vanity coupled with jealousy, thinking most extravagantly of self, and not less mean and unreasonable in distrusting others. In the former case, we are left to wonder at the self-deception which prevented his seeing, in the odium to which his conduct had subjected him, only a just retribution and a call to humiliation; and in the other, supposing his disgrace to have been VOL. XI. -N. S. VOL. VI. NO. II. 33 merely imaginary, the creation of his own jealousy, here is a melancholy instance, not however uncommon, of a man in the actual possession of a good reputation, and on the whole not without his claims to enjoy it, rendering himself wretched by the diseased workings of his pride and suspicion. We believe, that of these alternatives the former is to be taken; and that this journal is a satisfactory evidence, that the artful, ambitious course pursued by Dr. Mather was understood by the public, and had actually brought upon him the odium he deserved, precisely as Mr. Upham has described. But even all this might have been overcome and forgotten, had he not afterwards persisted in his selfish, crooked policy; or had he discovered, as did others, any sincerity of sorrow for the evils, to which his influence had so essentially contributed. We turn with eagerness from this unpleasant topic to another, far more satisfactory, and which is in truth almost the only point in this sad history, on which it is not painful to dwell. We have already adverted to the deep regrets and anxious desires to repair, as far as possible, the wrongs which were generally felt to have been done, after the delusion had passed away. It was indeed a fearful retrospection. Irreparable mischiefs had been committed. Innocent lives had been sacrificed; the fairest reputations had been assailed; and, in multiplied instances, there had been a total wreck of domestic and social peace. The remembrance was hardly less dreadful than the calamity itself. For, in the words of the poet, 'When passion's gone, and reason's on her throne, So, when the storm is o'er, and winds are laid, The calm sea wonders at the wreck it made.' 6 But human virtue,' as our author finely expresses it,' nev-. er shines with more lustre, than when it rises amidst the imperfections, or from the ruins of our nature, arrays itself in the robes of penitence, and goes forth with earnest and humble sincerity to the work of reformation and restitution. Such virtue did our pious ancestors exhibit, when the spell that had bound and perverted them was broken.' And as our Saviour promised concerning his affectionate disciple, it shall be told for a memorial of this people, that they did what they could.' It seems,' says Mr. Upham, that the community could not recover from a sense of the injury it had inflicted upon |