COLONIZATION OF AMERICA, NEW ENGLAND.

AMONG the many great events of Elizabeth's reign, not the least is the beginning of the colonization of America. The first English settlement was Virginia, where the gifted Sir Walter Raleigh sought to build up a new state in a land which nature had most bountifully dowered. But in spite of the genius and energy of the founder, the colony was twice planted in vain; even the fate of those who formed the second was never known. Several years later, when James I. was king, and Raleigh was immured in the Tower, another attempt to settle Virginia resulted in success; and the Anglo-Saxon race was firmly established there after many hardships and sufferings had been undergone.

It was in the same reign that the memorable enterprise of the Pilgrim Fathers was carried out. Soon after James's accession, a little company of Puritansfor the sake of enjoying their religion in peace-had emigrated to Holland, where the form of Protestantism professed was much like their own. But they could not bear to live in exile, and turned their eyes towards that mighty Western World which was waiting to be . peopled.

With brave but sorrowful farewells they parted from their brethren at Leyden. They were obliged to put in at an English port; and finally, in September, 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth with 100 souls on board, including men, women, and children. A weak and helpless band they seemed who thus went forth to a wild and unknown land; but these lonely pilgrims really believed the promises of God, and were not afraid to trust to Him.

After a rough voyage of nine weeks they sighted land,

"The breaking waves dashed high

On a stern and rock-bound coast;

And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches tossed;
And the heavy night hung dark,

The hills and waters o'er,

When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore."

A little party soon set sail in the shallop to seek a place for a settlement. They met with perils on every side, by land and by sea, from Indians and from wild beasts; and from what was worse than all the rest, the wintry weather. They were exposed to storms of rain and snow; the salt water sometimes freezing on them until their clothes were stiff "like coats of mail."

A dark tempestuous night was drawing on, and they were in fear of being cast away, when they were guided to soft sandy ground where the shallop was secure. On this small island they watched all night in the rain; and when they had explored it by daylight, they found that it was "a goodly land," and fit for a settlement. At this day there are wharves and warehouses, and the sound of many feet coming and going over that rock which is consecrated as the spot where the Pilgrim Fathers first set foot.

They named their town New Plymouth, in memory of the last English place which they had visited; and there-strong only in their sublime faith-they laid the foundation of a mighty State. The rough severe weather greatly delayed their building labours and affected the health of many, so that their ranks thinned fast, and at one time there were only seven persons able to help the others. They worked on as best they could, but half of them had found graves in the wilderness before the pleasant spring breezes brought healing on their wings.

Their sufferings did not end with the winter. Their provisions often fell short, and when some of their friends from England joined them, the scarcity was increased. For three or four months they had no corn at all, and men were faint and weak for lack of food.

But their hearts did not fail them. Robinson, their minister, wrote to them from Leyden: "In a battle it is not looked for but that divers should die;" and these men, who had given up home and country for conscience' sake, felt that theirs was a cause worth dying for.

Their prospects brightened after a time,-the land supplied most of their needs, and the Indians were disposed to be friendly. Before the arrival of the pilgrims, a pestilence had desolated the country around, so that no natives lived near to them. One day, an Indian walked into the settlement, exclaiming: "Welcome Englishmen !" Then in the name of his people he told them to take the land which had no other owners. With this tribe they entered into a treaty, which for more than fifty years was never broken.

New Plymouth was long afterwards absorbed in the larger colony of Massachusetts. We will not think so meanly as to undervalue good and great deeds because we may not agree with all the views of those who do them. The story of the Pilgrim Fathers remains a precious heritage to mankind. It is a noble record, unmarred by the common defects of the Puritan creed, and radiant with that unwavering faith which was its glory.

In 1628, another band of Puritans founded Massachusetts, on the principle "that no wrong or injury be offered to the natives." Next year a larger party sailed to join them; and as they lost sight of the country of their birth, their pastor exclaimed: "Farewell, dear England! Farewell, the Church of God in England, and all Christian friends there!" So with blessings on the land that cast them out, these true-hearted men steered for the New World, where at first they had much to endure.

They established a government on a broad basis of civil freedom, but difference in religion they unhappily would not tolerate. Yet among them was a young minister, Roger Williams, who thought otherwise. With him it was no question of this or that form of Chris

tianity, nor even of Christianity at all; for he felt that a man's religious belief lies between his conscience and his God. He was considered a heretic, and at length fled to avoid arrest. It was January, and for fourteen weeks he was a homeless wanderer, often without fire, food, or friends.

At last, with five companions in a slight canoe he went forth to seek a settlement; and landing on a spot in Rhode Island, he called it Providence; for he said: “I desired it might be a shelter for persons distressed for conscience." Respecting the rights of the red man as of the white, he would not take possession of the territory; but the Indians, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship, bestowed it on him as a free gift; and he gave it all away to those who joined him, in the first state ever founded on the principle of absolute liberty of conscience.

There was that in Roger Williams which appealed irresistibly to what was best in other men; and in Massachusetts "many pious hearts were touched with relenting" towards him. He seems never to have entertained a single revengeful feeling, but even honoured those who had misjudged him in their ignorance, and did them good service when he could. He died at Providence, in 1683, aged eighty-five. He is said to have held some peculiar theological views; but these were but as dust in the balance when weighed against his Christian life, and that conscientious reverence for other men's consciences which reflects imperishable glory on his memory.

We have not space to follow further the history of New England. It is reckoned that the number of Puritans who emigrated thither was not very much over 20,000 souls; but the different colonies which they established prospered exceedingly. In Massachusetts and elsewhere their early annals were stained with religious persecution—the common evil of their times; and they did not leave bigotry and fanaticism behind them.

I

But the general character of their legislation was marked by a spirit of justice and humanity worthy of a Christian people; and they bore a large and honoured share in founding the empire of the United States,

QUESTIONS.-When and by whom was Virginia settled? Who were the Pilgrim Fathers? Give a brief account of them. Who was Roger Williams? Say all you can about him.

UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.

Or the very early history of Caledonia there is but little recorded, and probably there was but little to tell. We know that the Romans for a time gave up the attempt to penetrate its forests and scale its mountains which rendered the country almost inaccessible to strangers, though by degrees they extended their rule as far as the Grampians. When they quitted South Britain, it suffered more than ever from the tribes in the northern part, the Picts and Scots. The latter had emigrated from Ireland, and from them we get the name of Scotland.

When the Saxons came, they included the southern portion of Caledonia in their dominions; and so far peopled it, that hundreds of years later the Celtic race inhabiting the Highlands spoke a different language from those in the Lowlands, and called the latter Saxons, not owning them as brethren.

In the ninth century, the Norwegians laid hands on the Orkneys and other Scottish islands, and for some years kept possession of a large district on the mainland also. But the accounts of this period are very obscure; only one fact may be safely taken for granted,—that everybody was fighting with somebody else.

Towards the end of the eleventh century there was a