give any Uneasiness, unto our sweet spirited Governour and provoke his Return, that we may be unhappy in an unknown successor. As His Excellency's Interest at home is not easily to be abated, so it will grow among our selves. And they that shall be thought his Enemies will mightily hurt themselves. I much desire, that your valuable Accomplishments, may be ever improved for the Benefit of your Countrey.

Secondly, I entreat you, to keep your Stops, in your Opposition, to what may be the prevailing Inclination for Mr. D-r. I take not Mr. D-r, to be a personal Friend of mine; He has given me cause enough to reckon him very much otherwise. It is very seldome that he has written to me of late years; and when he has done it, I think it has alwayes been with an Acrimony, that I take little pleasure in. But I cannot imagine, an outrage upon him just done to be seasonable. You sufficiently discharge your Conscience in a moderate Manifestation of your Judgment; and so leaving of it. If the Wrath go on, you sacrifice to his numerous Friends, what your usual purdence in other Cases, would not so liberally throw away.

Sic causeo.

You will give my service, to my vertuous, and highly esteemed, Mr. A. Stoddard, and lett him see all that now comes to you from Sir, Your most sincere Friend and Serv't.

SIR,

Your honourable Kinsman returning for London, gives me an agreeable Opportunity, of congratulating the Satisfaction, which you cannot but enjoy, in having a Kinsman so worthy of your best Regards.

He has not only been so much my particular Friend, but the public has also been so obliged and gratified, in his candid, generous, uncorrupt Administration, while he possessed the chief Seat of our Government that I owe him all the Expression of a friendly Respect, that I can give him.

I am very much a Stranger to the clashing of particular Interests, and I have none of them to serve; but, I think, I may, without Prejudice to anybody, say, that it is a rare thing for a Person to recede from a Post of public service, more generally esteemed for a gentlemanly Behaviour in it, than Col. Tailer.

The End of my writing this, is purely to add a Grain or two, unto the Pleasure, which the first Interview of such Relatives, after

long Distance, is to be fill'd withal: And therewith to pray your Acceptance of two or three small American Productions, which only for the sake of a Countrey, which has not lost your affectionate Remembrance of it, may hope for your favourable Eye upon them.

Which I do, with hearty Prayers to our glorious God and Saviour for His Blessings to be multiplied on your Person and Family. And with many Thanks to Heaven for the excellent Governour, whom you have lately sent over to us. And subscribe, Sir, Your most hearty servt.

TO SIR WILLIAM ASHURST ?

A.A.S.

SIR, Having a few Dayes ago, written to your Honour, by Clolonel] Tailer, I have nothing to add, but a short Report of what occurr'd in our G[eneral] A[ssembly] about the Time of his going off; because it will be an Article of your more particular Sollicitude and Satisfaction.

Three or four of the Representatives, (those particularly that act for the city of Boston,) have been extremely disaffected unto our Agent Mr. D—r and better affected than they should have been unto one whom he had made his Enemy by his doing for us the greatest of Services. These Gentlemen being sufficiently noisy and subtil and Master of all the Arts which were necessary on such an Occasion, caused much Distemper in the G. A. at their first coming together. About nineteen or twenty principal Members of the House, together did me the Honour of a Visit, before three Dayes of their Session had passed over.

At what time, I had an agreeable Opportunity, first of all, to expatiate on the excellent Character of our Governour, and our vast Obligations unto you particularly, for the share you had in obtaining so rich a Blessing for us. And then, I sett before them, in as engaging a manner as I could, what Reasons there were for our publick Respects to be still continued unto Mr. D-r. How amply and fully he had been vindicated from Aspersions; and how copiously he had been recomended unto us, by our best Friends, with you, for his Fidelity and Assiduity, in our Service.

The Effect of this Conference, was beyond what I could have had the Vanity to have look'd for;

A conspicuous Change in the Tempers and Measures of the House Ensued. And the House quickly came to very much of what was desired from them. If they do not in the present Session come up to all that should be done, it is expected that the men who have been

so troublesome, will be dropt in the next Election, and then the Spirit of the People, which appears full of zeal for our Governour, and for our Agent, will doubtless more fully exert itself.

BOSTON, N. E. 20 d. IX m. [November.] 1716.

SIR, - It is, I suppose, hardly a month ago, that I gave myself the Satisfaction of writing to you; and you may be sure, tis a Satisfaction, which I shall on all Opportunities be grasping at.

The only subject of this Letter, will be a Matter somewhat foreign from what I usually treat you withal: but not altogether Foreign to the Friendship, wherewith our whole Conversation is to be maintained.

I grow somewhat sensible, that the Trade between Holland and New England, is on the growing hand, and that on both sides it proves pretty much to the Mind of those concerned in it.

You are now addressed by a young gentleman, Mr Samuel Sewal, with Tenders of his best Services to you, if you see cause to favour him with any of your Consignments. Perhaps, by giving you some Account of him, I may do something to introduce him into the way of being serviceable to you, if you may judge it proper that he should be so.

He is an acute and polite Merchant; one of distinguished Ingenuity, and of a very worthy Family: But what is best of all, he is a person of unspotted Probity, and excellent Piety; nor do I know a young Gentleman, whom I could with more assurance recommend for his Capacity and Fidelity.

And I beleeve it will be no Prejudice unto the Recommendation which I have given of him, when I add this Article to it; That before this comes to your hands, he hopes to be a Son-in-Law to your American Friend, who now mentions him.

I will confess to you, that I also hope for one Advantage to myself, if ever the Correspondence now proposed, should be produced, which is, that I have a mighty Thirst after the Sight of Books, now and then published in Holland: which may upon sending you the Titles be transmitted with the Goods that you may send hither, and I pay here the Price at which you charge them. In this literatory Trade, our candid and precious Friend Mr. Loftus, may be of use, to procure, what I may write for. And the Truth is, I will now already begin the Trade; with a Request upon it.

There is one Thomas Crenius, who had published above a dozen little Duodecimo Volumes, of Collections of small Treatises, full of Erudition, which have been heretofore exhibited in Separate and scattered Editions. Our dear Mr. Loftus, will explain what they are; and will direct how to come at them. If you thought fit to procure these for me, and send them, in what way you please, I should immediately pay to your order here, the Price at which they may be charged. What remains is, to repeat my Supplications to the Glorious God our Saviour, that He would multiply His Blessings on your Person and Family, and subscribe, Sir, Your most affectionate Friend and Serv't.

FROM SAMUEL PENHALLOW.

A.A.S.

2

PORTSMOUTH, Decbr. 27th, 1716.

REVD. AND DEAR DOCTOR, I need not I presume tell you that our friend Capt. Wentworth is in Nomination att home for being Lt. Governour of this Province, but the King's absence did put a stop unto the Methods then used to effect it; and it being hoped that he is now returned; and for as much as interest with some great person is needfull to obtaine such an End; I would pray the favour of you to write a letter on his behalf with Sir Wm. Ashurst, with whom I well know you Entertain a constant correspondence. I need not tell you that he is a deserved member of our councill, and a gentleman every way qualified as to Estate, vertue, and loyalty, who studies the interest of the Country, and an upholder of the constitution of our churches; a true friend to the present Governour, and universally beloved among us; whereas our present Lt. Gov'r is on the reverse, of which I have writt att large unto your honoured father. Mr. Dummer I am well assured will Second every thing that you write on this head.

4

And whereas we have a ship hence bound for England in a few days, would pray you to send over the letters unto Sir Wm, or any else you are interested in, that I may send accordingly. Your favour herein, will be of greatest interest unto our poor Province, and a particular interest unto Revd Sir, Your truly affect. and most obliged servt.

SAMLL. PENHALLOW.

1 His real name was Crusius (1648-1728). His Historical and Critical Dissertations, in ten volumes, appeared in 1691.

2 John Wentworth.

* Shute.

See Belknap, History of New Hampshire, 1. 187.
* George Vaughan.

SIR, — When you (and the Brethren with you) arrived here, we did with unspeakable Pleasure, lay hold on the Opportunity, to express our Communion with the dear Church of Scotland, and the precious Sons of Zion therein, whom we valued as our most United Brethren.

Accordingly we have all along treated you, with all the Civilities imaginable, as we have alwayes done other Ministers of your Nation, upon their Arrival among us.

You are the first, that ever we have known to decline and renounce Communion with the Churches of God in this Countrey. Albeit, I am very certain, that for you to have held an occasional Communion with them, would have been very grateful to your excellent Mother, the Church of Scotland: the Elect Lady, I am very certain, would have been pleased with it; And your treating of it, in such a manner as you have done, has much reproached her.

You must not wonder, if Declarations that it would be a Wrong unto Conscience, to hold Communion with our Churches; and Insinuations thrown among the people, that our Ministers can admitt you no otherwise than as Lay-men; and that our Baptism is little. better than none at all; should be Things, at which we are dissatisfied. Nor can it, without a Folly equal unto the rest, be called, a Persecution for Righteousness Sake, if in our Discourse with you will tell you so.

This does not hinder me from telling you, that I am afraid your hasty Leaving of the hospitable and religious Family, where you have alwayes been honourably treated, may expose you to some Inconveniencies.

Wherefore I do in the most brotherly Manner, invite you to my own Habitation; where your Diet and Lodging shall cost you nothing, while you stay in the Countrey, if you see Cause to accept thereof; or are not provided more to your Satisfaction. Your Accommodations here, will be Inferiour to few in the Town; and, in respect of the Library superiour to any. To which this easy Circumstance will be added; that all the while you stay, you shall not hear those Things, which we take to be your Weaknesses, uneasily insisted on. Do what you please, I shall alwayes endeavour to approve myself, your Friend and Servant.

C. M.