DAVIS, Esq., recently deceased, and B. R. NICHOLS, Esq., "to examine the said records, files, and documents,—and to report how far, in their opinion, it may be proper to have the same deposited in the archives of the Secretary of State, for the use of legislators, historians, and antiquarians; and how far it may be useful to multiply copies of the whole." They reported, that "it would be of benefit to the present age, and still more to posterity, to cause a fair transcript to be taken, and copies to be multiplied by printing the most useful articles." The result has been, the transcription of a mass of these records, amounting to eleven folio volumes, which are now deposited, with the twenty-two volumes of original records, in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.* To have aided in such an arrangement is gratifying, as is the contemplation of the attention paid by enlightened legislatorst to preserve and diffuse an accurate knowledge of the settlement and growth of our country.

One great and important work, achieved by a distinguished and beloved member of this Society, the late Rev. Dr. HOLMES, for several years its Corresponding Secretary, must not be passed in silence. His "American Annals,' an edition of which has been published in England, will remain a highly creditable and valuable monument, not merely of accurate and laborious research, sound judgment, and inviolable fidelity, but of patriotism also and philanthropy; and while it illustrates the history of his country, from its discovery down to our times, will not fail to spread the reputation of the author, and endear his

memory.

The History of Maine,‡ by the late governor SULLIVAN, and his account of the Penobscotts, are an important

See an account of this commission, &c. in vol. ii., 3d series, Hist. Coll. p. 258, seq.

Under the authority and patronage of the legislature, a publication has recently been made, by W. BRIGHAM, Esq. of the most material parts of these documents, in a legal view. Similar publications have been in progress for several years in England, with splendid results; and France is now re-publishing her ancient original historians.

It is an interesting literary fact, that, on the completion of this work, its author disposed of the copyright for $200, which he presented to the Society. § See Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. ix.

contribution to a full knowledge of that rising and flourishing member of our Union.

The various valuable publications of the Hon. W. SULLIVAN, the late W. TUDOR, Esq., the Hon. JOSIAH, QUINCY, Mayor of Boston, and now President of the University in its neighborhood; of the Hon. Judge STORY, of Governor EVERETT, of Mr. J. E. WORCESTER, and of JARED SPARKS, Esq., who is doing so much to illustrate the name of our WASHINGTON, as well as to embalm his own-reflect honor on the Society of which they are members, and aid in accomplishing its patriotic aims.

Similar remarks might be made in reference to several other works, as of LINCOLN's History of Worcester, LEWIS's of Lynn, SHATTUCK's of Concord, FELT's of Salem, Hamilton, Ipswich, and Essex, and the entertaining History of Boston, by the late Dr. SNow, whose blameless character is cherished by the Society, and whose early death they regret. To several objects also of this Society the amiable, accomplished, and lamented BUCKMINSTER devoted no small attention.*

But neither the occasion, nor the space allotted to this "Account" will allow enlargement, however gratifying it might be to the writer to indulge the recollection of departed associates and friends, or to dwell on the worth of those who happily survive. He will close this sketch with a catalogue of members of the Society, for which he acknowledges his obligations to the well known accuracy and attention of his respected friend, the Rev. Dr. PIERCE.

Resident Members, in the order of their election.

Mr. Thomas Wallcutt,
Hon. John Davis, LL. D.
Rev. T. M. Harris, D. D.
Hon. Josiah Quincy, LL. D.
Rev. Jonathan Homer, D. D.
Hon. T. L. Winthrop, LL. D.
Hon. William Sullivan, LL. D.
Hon. John Quincy Adams, LL. D.
Rev. John Pierce, D. D.

Hon. Daniel Webster, LL. D.

Joseph Coolidge, Esq.
Joseph Tilden, Esq.
Hon. James Savage,

Hon. Charles Jackson, LL. D.
Rev. Charles Lowell, D. D.
Hon. Joseph Story, LL. D.
Hon. Leverett Saltonstall,
Ichabod Tucker, Esq.
Hon. Francis C. Gray,

Hon. John Pickering, LL. D.
Hon. Nahum Mitchell,
N. G. Snelling, Esq.
B. R. Nichols, Esq.
Hon. Nathan Hale,
Rev. Samuel Ripley,

His Exc. Edward Everett, LL. D.
Hon. J. C. Merrill,

Rev. William Jenks, D. D.

Hon. Alexander H. Everett, LL. D. Hon. H. A. S. Dearborn,

* For little more than a year was he connected with it, yet he contemplated a work, "On the Sources of American History," which, had he lived to complete it, might have been of high worth.

Rev. Henry Ware, Jr., D. D.
Hon. John Lowell, LL. D.
Samuel P. Gardner, Esq.
Gamaliel Bradford, M. D.
Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood,
Rev. John G. Palfrey, D. D.
Jared Sparks, Esq.
Benjamin Merrill, Esq.
Joseph E. Worcester, M. A.
Joseph Willard, Esq.

Lemuel Shattuck, Esq.
Isaac P. Davis, Esq.
Mr. Alonzo Lewis,
Rev. Joseph B. Felt,
Hon. Lemuel Shaw, LL. D.
Hon. James T. Austin,
Rev. Convers Francis, D. D.
Hon. John Welles,
Rev. Charles W. Upham,
William Lincoln, Esq.

George Ticknor, Esq.
Rev. John Codman, D. D.
Mr. George Bancroft,
Hon. Nathan Appleton,
Hon. Rufus Choate,
Hon. John G. King,
Rev. Alexander Young,
Hon. Daniel A. White, LL. D.
William Gibbs, Esq.
Josiah Bartlett, M. D.

Corresponding Members.

Rev. Alexander Spark, Quebec, Can.
Noah Webster, LL. D. New Haven, Ct.
Hon. St. George Tucker, Williamsburg, Va.
Phineas Miller, Esq. Savannah, Ga.
James Clarke, Esq. Halifax, N. S.
Rev. Asa Norton, Paris, N. Y.

M. Barbé Marbois, Paris, France,
Gregorio Tunes,
Manuel Moreno,

His Exc. Don José Maria Salazar, Colombia,
Adam Winthrop, Esq. Louisiana,

Rev. John Hutchinson, England,

Hon, Stephen Van Rensselaer, LL. D. Albany, N. Y. Hon. Theodorick Bland, Maryland,

Ephraim Ramsay, Esq. Charleston, S. C.

Henry W. Desaussure, Esq. Charleston, S. C.
Lemuel Kollock, M. D. Savannah, Ga.
John Dunn, LL. D. Killaly, Irel.
Benjamin De Witt, M. D. Albany, N. Y.
Mr. Thomas Pieronnett, Demarara,
Rev. Thomas Hall, Leghorn,

Rev. Timothy Alden, Alleghany Co. Pa.
John Newman, M. D. Salisbury, N. C.
John Vaughan, Esq. Philadelphia, Pa.
William Barton, Esq. Lancaster, Pa.
William Johnson, New York.

Charles M. Wentworth, Esq. Halifax, N. S.
Robert Anderson, M. D. Edinburgh, Scot.
Hon. Samuel Eddy, LL. D. Rhode Island,
Benjamin Silliman, LL. D. New Haven, Ct.
His Exc. W. Plumer, Epping, N. H.
Jonathan Williams, Esq. Philadelphia, Pa.
Rt. Hon. Earl of Buchan, Edinburgh, Scot.
Rev. John Basset, Albany, N. Y.
Moses Fiske, Tennessee,

Hon. Timothy Pitkin, Farmington, Ct.

Senor Manuel Lorenzo Vidaurre,

Hon. Albert Gallatin, LL. D. Pennsylvania,
Rev. Timothy Flint, Cincinnati, O.
Prof. C. C. Rafn, Copenhagen,

Chev. Pedersen, Minister from Denmark,
Thomas C. Haliburton, Esq. Nova Scotia,
Washington Irving, LL. D. New York city,
James Graham, England,

Rev. Henry Channing, New London, Ct.
Mr. John F. Watson, Philadelphia, Pa.
Mr. James H. Dean, Vermont,
Charles Fraser, Esq. Charleston, S. C.
Thomas Aspinwall, Esq. London, Eng.
Sir Francis Palgrave, London, Eng.
Hon. Lewis Cass, LL. D. Washington, D. C.
Rev. Jasper Adams, D. D. Charleston, S. C.
Hon. Roberts Vaux, Philadelphia, Pa.
Theodore Dwight, Esq. New York city,
Theodore Dwight, Jr. Esq. New York city,
James Mease, M. D. Philadelphia, Pa.
Hon. William Jay, Bedford, N. Y.
Ch. Just. Jona. Sewall, Quebec, Can.

Rev. Eliph. Nott, D. D., LL. D. Schenectady, N. Y. Sir John Caldwell, Quebec, Can.

Hon. John C. Smith, LL. D. Sharon, Ct.
John Pintard, Esq. New York, N. Y.
John W. Francis, M. D. New York, N. Y.
Rev. James Richards, D. D. Auburn, N. Y.
Hon. Charles H. Atherton, Amherst, N. H.
George Chalmers, Esq. London, Eng.
Michael Joy, Esq. London, Eng.
Samuel Bayard, Esq. New Jersey,
Baron Alexander Von Humboldt, Paris, France,
Major Hugh McCall, Savannah, Ga.
William T. Williams, Esq.

Hon. Peter S. Duponceau, LL. D. Philadelphia, Pa.
Jonathan Goodhue, Esq. New York, N. Y.
Gulian C. Verplanck, LL. D. New York, N. Y.
Robert Walsh, LL. D. Philadelphia, Pa.
J. Van Ness Yates, Esq. Albany, N. Y.
Hon. Jeremiah Mason, LL. D. Boston,
John Farmer, Esq. Concord, N. H.
William Lee, Esq.

Hon. Frederick Adelung, Berlin, Prussia,
Adm. Sir Isaac Coffin, London, Eng.
Samuel Williams, Esq. London, Eng.
M. Julius de Wallenstein,

Sharon Turner, Esq. Eng.

Francis B. Winthrop, Esq. New Haven, Ct.
Duc de Montmorenci, Paris, France,
M. César Moreau, Paris, France,
J. Smyth Rogers, Hartford, Ct.
Erastus Smith, Esq. New Haven, Ct.
William Schlegel, Copenhagen,
Finn Magnusson, Copenhagen,
Col. Juan Galindo, Copenhagen,
Judge Henry A. Bullard, Louisiana,
Hon. Richard Biddle, Pittsburgh, Pa.
J. K. Paulding, Esq. New York city,
Hon. Henry Clay, LL. D. Lexington, Ky.
Rev. W. Allen, D. D. Pres. Bowdoin College,
Hon. Levi Woodbury, LL. D. Washington, D. C.
Rev. Benjamin Tappan, D. D. Augusta, Me.
J. Francis Fisher, Esq. Philadelphia, Pa.
T. A. Moerenbout, Tahiti, Soc. Isl.
Usher Parsons, M. D. Providence, R. I.
W. D. Williamson, Esq. Bangor, Me.
George Folsom, Esq. New York City,
Peter G. Stuyvesant, Esq. New York city,
Rev. Luther Halsey, D. D. Auburn, N. Y.

“A WORD TO BOSTON,"

BY GOVERNOR WILLIAM BRADFORD.

[In the IIId volume of the Collections, first series, was published "a descriptive and Historical account of New England, in verse," by Gov. Bradford, of which Dr. Belknap remarks, "if it be not graced with the charms of poetry, yet it is a just and affecting narrative, intermixed with pious and useful reflections." Of a like strain are the lines that follow, and as, from the reference to them in the Governor's Will, of which we subjoin an extract, they were by him commended to preservation, we rescue them from the original manuscript where for more than one hundred and sixty years they have remained in obscurity.

"I commend unto your wisdom and discretion, some small bookes written by my own hand, to be improved as you shall see meet. In special I commend to you a little booke with a blacke cover, wherein there is a word to Plymouth, a word to Boston, and a word to New England; with sundry useful verses." [The Will was witnessed by Thomas Cushman, Thomas Southworth, and Nathaniel Morton.]

Of Boston in New England.

O Boston, though thou now art grown
To be a great and wealthy town,
Yet I have seen thee a void place,
Shrubs and bushes covering thy face;
And house then in thee none were there,
Nor such as gold and silk did weare;
No drunkenness were then in thee,
Nor such excesse as now we see.
We then drunke freely of thy spring
Without paying of any thing;
We lodged freely where we would,
All things were free and nothing sold.
And they that did thee first begin
Had hearts as free and as willing
Their poor friends for to entertaine,

And never looked at sordid gaine.

Some thou hast had whome I did know,
That spent theirselves to make thee grow,
And thy foundations they did lay

Which doe remaine unto this day.

When thou wast weak they did thee nurse,
Or else with thee it had been worse;

They left thee not, but did defend

And succour thee unto their end.

Thou now hast growne in wealth and store,

Doe not forget that thou wast poore,

And lift not up thyselfe in pride,
From truth and justice turne not aside.
Remember thou a Cotton had,

Which made the hearts of many glad;
What he thee taught bear thou in minde,
It's hard another such to finde.

A Winthrop once in thee was knowne
Who unto thee was as a crowne.
Such ornaments are very rare
Yet thou enjoyed this blessed pair.
But these are gone, their work is done,
Their day is past, set is their sun:
Yet faithful Wilson still remains,
And learned Norton doth take pains.
Live ye in peace. I could say more.
Oppress ye not the weake and poore.
The trade is all in your own hand,
Take heed ye doe not wrong the land,
Lest he that hath lift you on high,
When, as the poore to him doe cry
Doe throw you downe from your high state,
And make you low and desolate.

A word to New England.

O New England, thou canst not boast;
Thy former glory thou hast lost.
When Hooker, Winthrop, Cotton died,
And many precious ones beside,
Thy beauty then it did decay,

And still doth languish more away;
Love, truth, good-men, mercy and grace,

And wealth and the world take their place.
Thy open sins none car them hide,
Fraud, drunkenness, whoredom and pride.
The great oppressors slay the poore,
But whimsie errors they kill more.

Yet some thou hast who mourne and weep,
And their garments they unspotted keep;

Who seek God's honour to maintaine

That true Religion may remaine.

These doe invite and sweetly call

Each to other, and say to all,

Repent, amend, and turn to God
That we may prevent his sharp rod,
Time yet thou hast, improve it well,

That God's presence may with you dwell.