ay of honest salute. This law remained in
force for a hundred years, though it was practically ignored.

In this school of rigid Puritanism lived the northern family of Stevens,
of the same Spanish branch as the Virginia family. The head of the
family, having been trained by such devout men as John Robinson and
William Brewster, of course grew up in the law and customs of the
Puritans. Puritanism to-day has a semblance of fanaticism; but in the
age of pioneers, when civilization was in its infancy, the frontierman
naturally went to some extreme. Extreme Puritanism is better than the
reign of lawlessness which characterized many frontier settlements in
later years. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between fanaticism
and the keenest sagacity, and the folly of one age may become the wisdom
of a succeeding century. Fanatic as the Puritan may be called, he was
the sage of New England and gave to that land an impetus in the arts,
literature, and science, which has enabled that country to eclipse any
other part of the New World.

While New England was steadily progressing, despite changes in the home
government, Maryland was without any historical event worth mentioning,
save the trouble with Claybourne.

That portion of the United States known as New Jersey and Delaware
consisted at this time of only a few trading settlements hardly worthy
of being called colonies. Except for the Swedish and Dutch troubles and
the Indian wars mentioned, these countries were in the last decade
wholly without historical interest. After all, territory is but the body
of a nation. The people who inhabit its hills and valleys are its soul,
its spirit and its life.

All south of Virginia was a wilderness occupied by tribes of Indians
until the Spanish settlements were reached. That portion now known as
Carolinia and Georgia was claimed by Spain. In 1630, a patent for all
this territory was issued to Sir Robert Heath, and there is room to
believe that, in 1639, permanent plantations were planned and
contemplated by his assign William Howley, who appeared in Virginia as
"Governor of Carolinia." The Virginia legislature granted that it might
be colonized by one hundred persons from Virginia, "freemen, being
single and disengaged of debt." The attempts were unsuccessful, for the
patent was declared void, because the purpose for which it was granted
had never been fulfilled. Besides, more stubborn rivals were found to
have already planted th