the republicans of Holland, who had long before started on the journey. But we should remember that men must first get liberty for themselves before they think of it for others. The homeless man has little scope for || hospitality. Broad conceptions of liberty come very slowly to maturity. These settlers sprang from a race which for generations had lived under the despotism of the Tudors and the Stuarts. Their first idea was to build a home for their own shelter, and to secure the rights whose value they had only begun to realize. While this work was going on there would naturally, save in rare and exceptional natures, be but little thought of others; but when self-protection was assured, when his own home was finished, the Puritan never sat down to selfish ease, regardless of the hungry and the houseless.

This work I have intended mainly as an introduction to American history, although it may also serve in some measure as an introduction to modern English history, in which Puritanism has played a leading part. My principal design has been to show the nature of the influences which shaped the character of the people of Holland and England when the early settlers of America left their homes, to trace the origin of the ideas and institutions which these settlers brought with them across the ocean, and to explain the mode in which they have worked into our present constitutional sys

tem.

In following out this scheme, an introductory chapter points out the present differences between England and the United States-differences of the most marked char

acter, extending to almost every subject except that of language. The subsequent chapters relate to the history of Holland and England, their comparative civilization when America was settled, the institutions which each country had developed, the growth of their Puritanism, and the influence exerted upon England and America by the Dutch Republic. In the chapters relating to England an attempt is also made, while tracing the development of Puritanism in that country, to show the origin of its peculiarities which have excited so much adverse criticism. These peculiarities are shown, in the light of modern research, to be due simply to the conditions under which it was developed among the English people. In the discussion of this subject, as I can foresee, the inherited illusions of some of my readers may be unpleasantly disturbed, although it is difficult for me personally to understand a reluctance to knowing the truth about one's ancestors. This perhaps arises from the fact that, while some of mine were among the Pilgrim Fathers, others came from a race the recent savagery of which is admitted with perfect frankness by all English writers. But New-Englanders, like Scotchmen, and like their English brethren, may take such pride in what their countrymen have accomplished since the days of the Stuarts that they can afford to do away with fiction. Knowing the truth, one can judge whether the world has retrograded or advanced with the development of liberal institutions, and perhaps can draw some useful lessons for the future.

It does not fall within the scope of the present work to follow the settlers of America into their new home,

except so far as to describe some of their leading institutions, and to show how the much-criticised treatment of the Baptists, the Quakers, and the witches by the Puritans of New England compared with that to which the same classes were subjected in the mother country. Hereafter, if the patience of the public be not exhausted, I may attempt to show what was accomplished directly for America by the men from republican Holland who settled the colony of New York.

In now closing this somewhat extended preface, a few words must be added in acknowledgment of the assistance which has been rendered me by others.

In the first place, to my many friends of the Century Club of New York, where a considerable part of my investigations have been carried on, my thanks are due for suggestions, references to books, and information on special subjects, which have all been of the greatest value. Apart from these general contributions, I am in this country chiefly indebted to the Rev. Dr. Charles A. Briggs, of the Union Theological Seminary, New York; Prof. C. C. Langdell, of the Harvard Law School; Prof. A. M. Wheeler, of Yale College; Mr. and Mrs. William C. Brownell, of New York- all of whom have read parts of my manuscript - and to the Rev. Henry U. Swinnerton, of Cherry Valley, who has read the whole; the latter four making many valuable suggestions. None of these scholars are responsible for the defects of my book or for any of my conclusions; but for their scholarly offices so generously extended I desire to express my grateful acknowledgments.

In another quarter my obligations are of a different

character. Since illness has interrupted my personal investigations in Holland, I have been compelled to do this work from across an ocean, relying entirely on foreign aid. This, however, has been so lavishly extended that probably I should have accomplished nothing more, perhaps even less, in attempting to carry on my further researches in person, unless I had settled down in the country for a residence of years. For this aid my thanks are in the first place due to my old classmate of thirty-one years ago at Union College, the Hon. Samuel R. Thayer, now the United States Minister at The Hague. Not only have he and his efficient private secretaries furnished me with copies of many valuable documents from the archives of the Netherlands which I felt confident existed there, and which never before had been given to the American public, but he has enlisted in my behalf some of the most distinguished scholars of the country.

These scholars, who have a microscopic acquaintance with the history of their own land which every student may well envy, have rendered me invaluable assistance in the solution of problems connected with their ancient republican institutions, some of which have disappeared in modern days. How much I am indebted to them only the historical investigator can appreciate who knows what it is to hunt for days or weeks through musty records or worm-eaten volumes often for a single fact. The kindness extended to me has not been exceptional, for the scholars of the Netherlands are worldfamous for the liberality with which they impart their knowledge-a liberality of which every American who

has ever applied to them has had ample proof. Still, I appreciate it none the less. When I owe a debt to so many, it may perhaps seem invidious to make any distinction; yet it is but fair to say that my chief acknowledgments are due to the late Dr. M. F. A. G. Campbell, Librarian of the Royal Library at The Hague; Dr. P. J. Blok, Professor of History at the University of Groningen; and Dr. F. G. Slothouwer, Professor of History at the Latin School of Leeuwarden, in Friesland.

January, 1892.

NOTE TO SECOND EDITION.

A new edition of this work having been called for, the author has made a few small changes in the original text, which have been kindly suggested by Mr. Justus Winsor, Librarian of Harvard University; Mr. Andrew S. Draper, late Superintendent of Public Instruction in New York; Mr. S. R. Van Campen, an American scholar, resident in London, engaged in Dutch researches; and Mr. Burton N. Harrison, of New York.

CHERRY VALLEY, N. Y., August, 1892.