s and preparedness of the possessor. A fragment
of it was discovered in a Halifax grocery, and published by the
Massachusetts Historical Society. Six of these letters found were
written by Bradford alone, and three jointly. They were mostly official.
Appended to this correspondence file was the Governor's interesting
description and short historical review of New England, written in metre
and rhyme.

Though we who speak of William Bradford as our Forefather should not be
moved by pride, as no man is responsible for his own birth, it causes in
us profound gratitude that we can affirm our relationship to one who has
been called the first great American. Men of renown before his day, a
few of them, had a touch with this country, as the very conspicuous
connections of famous discoverers; but the epithet applies to him as a
continuous resident of the land. His life and labors were permanently
given to it as his adopted abode, for he never left it from the day of
his coming in the prime of his manhood. In what, let us ask, did his
greatness consist? Others shared in heroic faithfulness, to the limit of
their powers or opportunities. His was the magnitude of an immovable
fidelity joined with marked ability, though, as with Washington, his
mental genius was not the most brilliant. But he carried well and long
exceedingly weighty responsibilities.

When has a combination of so many most critical problems confronted a
magistrate? Weakened by disease which threatened utter extermination,
the Colony encountered a tedious period of famine; it was menaced by
hostile savage tribes stronger than the friendly natives; the
malevolence of foreign persecution plotted the overthrow of its chosen
religious order; treason sprang up in its midst; a staggering weight of
financial obligations, made heavier by accidents and outrageous
injustice, lay upon them for a quarter of a century; and the seventh
problem, which stayed by the Governor till his final release, was that
presented by the frequent loss of citizens attracted by new settlements,
a circumstance so serious that the question of moving the whole Colony
was raised as late as 1644. In all the arduous activities occasioned by
these facts, he possessed the quality of steady endurance. His soul was
reposeful in energy, while his underlying faith made him an optimist but
not a visionary, and lent both basis and balance in his working.

To Bradford also belongs the singular honor of being t