was brought under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and permitted to send two representatives to the general court at Boston; thus ceasing to be a separate province in six years from its first settlement.

Sir Ferdinand Gorges, the original patentee of the greater part of New England, died in 1645, leaving his estate to his son, John Gorges. Mr. Vines was appointed governor of Maine. During his brief administration, Colonel Alexander revived a title to a large portion of the province, which had been granted by the Plymouth Company, in 1630, under the name of the "Plough Patent." After a two years' discussion of the claim, Rigby's right was recognized and Lygonia became a province, under a separate government.

The royal commissioners sent out, after the Restoration, to inspect affairs in New England, visited Maine in 1665, and declared the province to be under the protection of the king. But the government of Massachusetts had, in the meantime, extended its authority over both Maine and Lygonia, and maintained it until 1677, when the legal proprietor was restored to his rights for a short period. His title was subsequently purchased by the Massachusetts government for £1250. A dependent government was then organized in Maine, which existed until 1760, when the territory was constituted a county, with the name of Yorkshire. About one third of the present State of Maine was included in the patent of Gorges. The settlement at Pemaquid-now Bristol-was for a long time the only important post east of the Kennebec. West of that river, there was a number of thriving towns, whose population were principally engaged in the fishery and in the lumber trade.

N 1625, Roger Conant, a zealous non-conformist, formed a settlement near Cape Anne; but the settlers suffered so much from want and the severity of the climate, that they determined to return to England. They were deterred, however, by John. White, a non-conformist minister of Dorchester in England, who promised to aid them, and obtain a patent. By his exertions, a company was formed in England, which obtained from the Plymouth company an extensive tract, including all the coast between the rivers Charles and Merrimac, and across to the Pacific Ocean. They even obtained a charter under the title of the "Company of the Massachusetts Bay." Upon the delicate subject of religion, the

governor of the projected colony was empowered to give the oath of supremacy; there was no other mention of the subject.

N the 1st of May, 1629, six vessels, having on board about two hundred persons, including Skelton, Higginson and Bright, and others of note, sailed from the Isle of Wight. During the voyage, the seamen were surprised and edified by the new scene which their ships

presented prayer and exposition of the Bible two or three times a day; the Sabbath entirely spent in preaching and catechising and repeated and solemn fasts for the success of the voyage. The adventurers arrived on the 24th of June, and found only eight or ten hovels, which, with others scattered along the coast, contained about one hundred settlers. A site, already marked out, had its name changed from Nahumkeik to Salem; while a large party removed to Mishawum, which they called Charlestown.

The formation of a church was deemed the most important object by the newly-arrived colonists, and accordingly, a religious society was constituted, which enjoined the strictest observance of the commandments and teaching of the Bible, and excluded from the government all who did not subscribe to the general faith. John Endicott was chosen governor. Two brothers, named Browne, refusing to subscribe to the constitution, endeavored to establish another church similar in its forms to the Church of England. Endicott summoned them before a general assembly of the people, who, after hearing both parties, decided that the brothers were unfit to remain in the colony, and they were accordingly, banished. The Brownes went to England, complained to the company of the intolerance of the colonists, but did not succeed in producing any practical effect. HE Massachusetts Company now determined to send out large reinforcements to the colony, and in this they were aided by the persecution of Archbishop Laud, the bigoted adviser of Charles I. In the spring of 1630, an expedition, consisting of seventeen. vessels and nearly 1500 settlers, respectable for their intelligence as well as rank in society, left England for the new country. Among the emigrants was John Winthrop, who had been elected governor, and Thomas Dudley, his deputy. The charter of the company was carried with them.

The vessels arrived at Salem during June and July; but being dissatisfied with its situation, the voyagers explored the coasts in search of a better. Winthrop and a portion of the colonists established themselves on the peninsula of Trimountain, and founded Boston. Others settled at various

places in the vicinity, founding Dorchester, Roxbury, Medford, Watertown, Lynn and Cambridge. Each settlement at once assumed the authority of a town, but admitted the supremacy of Governor Winthrop and his court of assistants.

HE first court of assistants held its sessions at Charles

town. The first General Court met at Boston soon after Winthrop settled there. In consequence of the removal of the Company's charter to New England, the colony became almost an independent republic, in which the officers were elected by the whole body of the freemen.

The colonists suffered severely from the hardships incident to a new settlement in a colder climate than that to which they had been used. Before December, two hundred of their number died. Among these was the Lady Arabella Johnson, who had left the abodes of luxury and comfort in England to leave a memorial of her virtues and misfortunes in the American wilderness; her husband, one of the chief patrons of the colony, soon followed her.

As soon as the severity of winter had abated, the court met and proceeded to frame laws for the government of the domestic affairs of the colony; and in May, 1631, that body ordered that in future no person

should be admitted a freeman, or entitled to a share in the government, unless a member of some of the churches within the province. This measure has been severely censured by historians, and certainly showed that the Puritans had not learned the wisdom and justice of toleration from their own misfortunes. A fierce spirit of intolerance was, however, the religious characteristic of that age.

In 1632, the sachems of the Mohegans, Nipmucks, Narragansetts, Pequods and other tribes visited the colony, were hospitably entertained by the governor, and entered into treaties of friendship with the English During the summer of 1633, two hundred emigrants arrived from England Among the number, were Elliott, Mayhew, John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, and Dr. Increase Mather.

The small-pox had prevailed in the neighborhood of the English settlements to a considerable extent, destroying the natives and leaving their lands desolate; and as several of the vacant Indian stations were well chosen, the colonists eagerly took possession of them. This produced a greater dispersion of the population than suited the condition of an infant colony, and it led to innovation in the government, totally altering its nature and constitution. When a general court was to be held in 1634, instead of attending in person, as the charter prescribed, the freemen