ork, owned by Richard Mather, and probably brought over with
him, in his perilous voyage, in 1635. It was, successively, in the
libraries of his son, Increase, and his grandson, Cotton Mather. At a
corner of one of the blank leaves, it is noted, apparently in the hand
of Increase Mather: "began Mar. 1, finished April 30, 1676." According
to the popular tradition, Cotton would have read it, in a day or two. It
contains interesting items of all sorts--personal anecdotes, critical
comments, and striking passages of the lives and writings of more than
one hundred and fifty distinguished men, such as Erasmus, Fabricius,
Faustus, Cranmer, Tremellius, Peter Martyr, Beza, and John Knox. Whether
Mather had access to either of the above-named works, except the last,
is uncertain; but, as his library was very extensive, he sparing no
pains nor expense in furnishing it, and these books were severally then
in print and precisely of the kind to attract him and suit his fancy, it
is not unlikely that he had them all. They would have placed in easy
reach, much of the mass of amazing erudition with which he "entertained"
his readers and hearers.

Cotton Mather died on the thirteenth of February, 1728, at the close of
his sixty-fifth year.

Thirty-six years had elapsed since the fatal imbroglio of Salem
witchcraft. He had probably long been convinced that it was vain to
attempt to shake the general conviction, expressed by Calef, that he had
been "the most active and forward of any Minister in the country in
those matters," and acquiesced in the general disposition to let that
matter rest. It must be pleasing to all, to think that his very last
years were freed from the influences that had destroyed the peace of his
life and left such a shade over his name. Having met with nothing but
disaster from attempting to manage the visible as well as the invisible
world, he probably left them both in the hands of Providence; and
experienced, as he had never done, a brief period of tranquillity,
before finally leaving the scene. His aspiration to control the Province
had ceased. The object of his life-long pursuit, the Presidency of the
College, was forever baffled. Nothing but mischief and misery to himself
and others had followed his attempt to lead the great combat against the
Devil and his hosts. It had fired his early zeal and ambition; but that
fire was extinguished. The two ties, which more than all others, had
bound him, by his good affec