American Independence." He drew a curious parallel between the Revolutionary War and the late War of the Rebellion, showing how Washington's movements in fighting on the inside of a line of defense were imitated later by General Lee in resisting, evading, and occasionally repelling the advances of the Union armies. He dwelt particularly on the defensive lines held by Washington behind or west of the ranges of Jersey hills sheltering Middlebrook, Princeton and Morristown, and insisted that in his movements behind and occasionally in front of those hills, Washington exhibited the highest generalship. In moving a vote of thanks to General Carrington for his interesting address, Judge Nixon said he had found fault some years ago with the action of Congress in retiring comparatively young army officers, but if they all made as good use of their enforced leisure as General Carrington had done, he would be in favor of retiring them still earlier.

NEW HAVEN COLONY HISTORICAL SOCIETY "Ezra Stiles and His Diary" was the subject of a paper of more than local interest read before this Society, January 18, by Professor Franklin B.. Dexter. This diary was confined to that portion of President Stiles's life which was spent in Rhode Island from 1769 to 1776, and was bequeathed at his death, with numerous other manuscripts of the same authorship, to his successors for the time being in the Presidency of Yale College. Professor Dexter's paper was prefaced with an outline sketch of President Stiles's youth, from his birth, the son of a country parson, on the outskirts

of New Haven, touching his entrance to Yale at the age of fifteen, an enthusiast in mathematics and astronomy, and his graduation, in 1746, at the age of twentynine, to become tutor till called to a New York pulpit, nine years later. It was while pastor of New York's Second Congregational Church that he developed what approached almost a mania for keeping a diary. He had always at hand a home-made note book, in which, says Professor Dexter, he noted fragments of information, extracts of conversations, or from manuscripts, on every sort of subject that came in his way, as he met citizen or stranger, at home or abroad. These valuable though miscellaneous jottings, which he called his "Itinerary," and kept up during his life, amounted finally to near 3,000 quarto pages. It was not, however, until he was in his forty-second year that he undertook the more serious work of keeping a continuous diary of public and private events suited for permanent preservation, and valuable for its historical information-diaries which have been liberally consulted by Bancroft and other seekers after trustworthy history.

elected an Honorary Member as a recognition of her valuable ethnological work among the Indians of Nebraska.

NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY-A stated meeting was held Wednesday afternoon, February 5, at the Society's house, 18 Somerset Street. In the absence of the President, Colonel Wilder, Rev. Edmund F. Slafter was chosen Secretary, pro tem. After the announcement and exhibition of several important donations, Hon. George Sheldon, of Deerfield, read a paper entitled "The Pocomtuck Indians: A Chapter from an Inchoate History of Deerfield." Midway, he said, between the plantations of Pilgrim and Puritan on the seacoast, and the Dutch settlements on the upper Hudson lay a region scarcely mentioned by the earlier writers of New England history, on which lived a people of whom the information they give is still more scanty. It is only here and It is only here and there that a glimpse appears through a narrow vista of the primeval haze; but when these are concentrated there appears standing boldly out a powerful confederation of natives, dominating the Connecticut Valley from Brattleborough to Hartford. This power may well be called the Pocomtuck Confederation. The Pocomtucks were the acknowledged head, and their chieftains the leaders of all their warlike expeditions. The allied tribes or clans often spoken of collectively as the Pocomtucks, were the Squakheags, Nannatucks, Waranokes, Agawams, Tunxis and Podunks. The Pocomtucks proper were located at Deerfield; the Squakheags at Northfield were perhaps a fragment of the Mahi

cans, driven off by the Mohawks about 1610; the other clans lay on the Connecticut River below. As the Pocom. tucks rarely appear in history except in their wars with other tribes, their relative localities were given, with a brief view of the causes which led to their

connection with the Pocomtucks either through war or in peace. The paper was particularly interesting, and at its close remarks were made on the subject by several gentlemen present and thanks

were voted to its author.

THE BANGOR HISTORICAL SOCIETYThe following officers were elected at its recent annual meeting: President, Hon. Hannibal Hamlin ; Vice-President, Geo. A. Thatcher; Corresponding Secretary, Prof. John S. Sewall, D.D.; Recording Secretary, E. F. Duren; Treasurer, T. U. Coe, M.D.; Librarian, N. S. Harlow; F. H. Clergue, O. H. Ingalls, H. N. Fairbanks, Rev. A. Battles, E. B. Nealley, Executive Committee.

THE WEBSTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY celebrated, January 19, the birthday of the great statesman, with an annual meeting held in the old South Meeting-house, Boston, Massachusetts, and a banquet at the Revere. In the absence of the president, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder presided. The officers selected for the ensuing year were: President, Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain; Vice-Presidents, Hon. James G. Blaine, Austin F. Pike, George 'F. Edmunds, Alexander H. Rice, Henry Howard, Rev. Noah Porter, William M. Evarts, Thomas F. Bayard, J Henry Stickney, J. C. Mellig, D. W. Manchester, John Wentworth, Lucius F. Hubbard;

Executive Committee, Hon. Stephen M. Allen, Edward F. Thayer, N. W. Ladd, Edmund H. Bennett, Hon. Albert Palmer; Finance Committee, Hon. Henry L. Pierce, Hon. Nathaniel F. Safford, Wm. B. Hood, H. P. Kidder, E. F. Thayer; historiographers, Rev. Wm. C. Winslow, Rev. Edward J. Young, Rev. T. A. Hyde; Committee on Future Work, Hon. N. F. Safford, Hon. E. S. Tobey, Hon. Stillman B. Allen, Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, Thomas H. Cummings; Treasurer, Thomas H. Cummings; Recording Secretary, Nathaniel W. Ladd; Corresponding Secretary, Arthur Warren.

Rev. Thomas A. Hyde, of Cambridge, delivered an excellent address entitled, "National Standards; their origin, history and symbolization." At the banquet there were numerous speeches of much interest.

THE NEWPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY held a meeting at the Society's Rooms, on Monday afternoon, January 26, Hon. Francis Brinley presiding. The committee on the change of by-laws reported through Mr. Harris, who read the proposed new laws. The various sections were taken up and discussed at length, Drs. Turner and Storer and Messrs. Sheffield, Southwick, Mason and Harris participating. Several amendments were made to the committee's report, and the new by-laws were finally adopted.

By these new rules the annual fee of membership is placed at $2; the annual meeting is fixed for March 18; stated business meetings will be held on the third Tuesday in May, August, November and February; the old board of

trustees is abolished and the management of the affairs of the Society is placed in the hands of a board of directors composed of the regular officers; meetings for the reading of papers will be held on the second Tuesday evening of each month; the treasurer is authorized to issue certificates of membership upon the payment of dues; auditing and entertainment committees are to be regularly elected; and that persons who contribute the sum of $50 be life members.

RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY -The Sixty-third Annual Meeting was held at the Cabinet Building. January 13. The officers elected for the ensuing year were: President, William Gammell; Vice-Presidents, Hon. Francis Brinley, Dr. Charles W. Parsons; Secretary, Amos Perry; Treasurer, Richmond P. Everett. After the transaction of the business of the meeting, President Gammell presented his annual address-a most able and interesting paper. On the 24th of January Professor Albert Harkness read a paper before this Society on "Athens in the Age of Pericles." It was a masterly production, and from beginning to end was received with the most cordial expressions of approbation. At the conclusion of the reading the Rev. W. F. B. Jackson moved the usual vote of thanks and expressed his high appreciation of the lecture. Mr. Amos Perry seconded the motion and expressed gratitude to the learned professor for this opportunity of reviewing scenes visited many years ago. After remarks by ex-Gov. Hoppin and the Rev. Dr. Stockbridge, the meeting adjourned.

HISTORY OF THE ANDOVER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. By the Rev. LEONARD WOODS, D.D. First Abbot Professor of Christian Theology. 8vo, pp. 638. Boston James R. Osgood & Co., 1885.

The recent agitation in connection with the questioned orthodoxy of theological instruction at Andover, invests this elaborate volume with

special value. It is edited, with painstaking care, by the Rev. George S. Baker, grandson of the venerable author, of St. Luke's Hospital, New York. More than thirty years have passed away since its composition. Age removes it from all suspicion of partisanship, and makes it a competent witness to the truth of history.

As an exposition of the state of theological education and theological opinion in New England, previous to the founding of the seminary at Andover, it is invaluable. The author speaks with the authority of personal knowledge. Ministers then received their preparation for pulpit and pastoral duties under the guidance of prominent and active clergymen, such as the Rev. Doctors Bellamy, Smalley, Hopkins, Dwight, Barton, Emmons, Charles, Backus, Spring, Lathrop, and Hooker. Individuality and thoroughness in particular departments were among the necessary results of this imperfect but practical system. Theological opinions and parties were diversified, positive and aggressive. Edwards, Emmons, Hopkins, and others had their respective followers, and each cherished some speculations, and used some forms of expression that varied from the Westminster formula and from those of prior Calvinistic writers. Still, all were Calvinistic at the core.

Love of the truth, desire for uniformity, and intention to secure the highest possible efficiency of the ministry, actuated Samuel Abbot, of Andover, and the other founders of the Theological Seminary to attempt its establishment. Doctor Woods describes all the steps that led to success. Independent thinkers were induced to inquire for points of agreement rather than of difference, and to unite their energies in the construction of a theological platform on which all might conscientiously stand. That platform is found in the First Article of the Additional Statutes, 'which contains the common and permanent Creed agreed upon."

Subscription by the professors to the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, and to the Associate Creed is required by the wish and will of the founders. Declaration of faith in the doctrines contained in the Catechism is to be repeated every five years. In spirit, intent, and constitution the Andover Theological Seminary is decidedly, thoroughly, and unalterably Calvinistic. Old faiths may be set in new lights, but the

faiths themselves must be of the precise, rigid, unyielding character of those of the founders.

Whatever may be thought of the creed of the seminary, it must be conceded that it has sent out a noble army of ministers and missionaries, as well qualified to rescue from sin and error, and to build up in truth and righteousness, as an equal number from any other institution. The first five professors-Doctors Pearson, Griffin, Stuart, Porter, and Woods, were men of mark, The Education Society, the piety, and power. American Tract Society, and the American Temperance Society grew mainly out of the Andover Theological Seminary. In the work of foreign missions it holds honorable pre-eminence; nor is it less distinguished in the work of Home Missions.

THE HISTORY OF

DETROIT AND MICHIGAN ; or, The Metropolis Illustrated. A Chronological Cyclopedia of the Past and Present. By SILAS FARMER. 8vo, pp. 1024. Detroit, 1884: Silas Farmer & Co. The history of a city two hundred years old, or nearly, that has twice been besieged by savages, once captured in war, once destroyed by fire, whose allegiance has been claimed by three different sovereignties, and whose flag has changed five times, cannot otherwise than possess a charmed interest for the American people. Farmer's work seems to have been undertaken in the true historical spirit, and executed with painstaking and conscientious care. The author tells us, in his preface, that he found it impossible to carry along in one narrative all the various themes pertaining to the history of the City of Detroit and its surrounding territory, therefore he classified the different branches of the subject and treated each in a special manner by itself. This method, with its many objections, has a decided advant

Mr.

age in respect to the result as a work of reference, as some matters are amplified which could not otherwise have been done with propriety. One notable chapter of some thirty pages is devoted to the British and Indian wars, the French and Spanish intrigues, and the war of the Revolution. Another chapter treats of the Indian wars from 1790 to 1812; and two chapters (XLI. and XLII.) contain the history of the war of 1812. Mr. Farmer has written this portion of the work admirably, bringing forward fresh information of priceless value.

The "Conspiracy of Pontiac," and the "Biography of Cadillac," also form chapters of peculiar attractions. The Founding and Growth of Detroit,' with its manners and customs from time to time, are given much less space in the volume than the accounts of sieges, battles and wars. One third of the work is occupied with matters appertaining to Michigan in general, owing to the close relation of the city to the territorial government. A novel feature of this history is nearly one hundred pages of continuous city-the homes of the citizens of Detroit -illustrated. There are not less than one hun dred and seventy houses thus pictorially presented in well-executed engravings. Following these, the chapters of ecclesiastical history are also illustrated with seventy or more churches. The great blemish of the book is in its unnecessary display of business blocks and warehouses, as illustrations, giving to the really valuable record the general effect of an advertising medium. There are hundreds of these, together with pictures of factories, hotels, railroad stations, etc., quite overtopping the more quaint and interesting maps and relics of various kinds.

The preparation of the work has involved more than ten years of persistent and faithful labor, and it is one of those productions which no library in the country can afford to miss from its shelves. It is printed on extra fine paper, and elegantly bound in genuine Turkey morocco with cloth sides.

By

THE LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. ISAAC N. ARNOLD, Late President of the Chicago Historical Society. 8vo, pp. 462. Chicago, 1885 Jansen, McClurg & Company. "Few had known Mr. Lincoln better than Mr. Arnold, and no man was more familiar with the life of the greatest personage of our times, or had studied more profoundly his personal and political character or his public career." Thus writes the Hon. E. B. Washburne in a brief introduction to this excellent work, which was completed only a few days before the death of its distinguished author. Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Arnold had been personal friends for a quarter of a century. They were much together in the

courts and often associated in the trial of causes, and had also been opposing counsel in important litigation. No one better understood Mr. Lincoln's thoughts, sentiments, and intentions, or enjoyed his confidence to a higher degree than Mr. Arnold. No one was better able to furnish the complete story of a career that was so eventful and important, or to present with greater clearness the historical relation of Mr. Lincoln to the momentous events of his administrationthe emancipation of the slaves and the restoration of the Union.

The book is particularly rich in incidents con nected with the early career of Mr. Lincoln; and it is without exception the most satisfactory and well-informed record of his life that has yet been written. Readers will also find that, in its entirety, it is a work of absorbing and enduring interest, that will enchain the attention more effectually than any novel. The lighter portions will attract less attention than Mr. Lincoln's historical situation before the world, which Mr. Arnold has sketched so truthfully and forcibly; but in the matter of illustrating character these side-lights are of exceptional value. "When a member of Congress," writes Mr. Arnold, Mr. Lincoln made a very amusing campaign speech, in which, alluding to the custom of exaggerating the military services of candidates, and ridiculing the extravagant claims to heroism set up for General Lewis Cass, then a candidate for the Presidency against General Zachary Taylor, he referred with great good humor to his own services in the Black Hawk war as follows:

"By the way, Mr. Speaker, do you know I am a military hero? Yes, in the days of the Black Hawk war I fought, bled, and came away. Speaking of General Cass's career reminds me of my own. I was not at Stillman's defeat, but I was about as near it as Cass was to Hull's surrender; and, like him, I saw the place very soon afterwards. It is quite certain I did not break my sword, for I had none to break; but bent my musket pretty badly on one occasion. If Cass broke his sword, the idea is he broke it in desperation. I bent my musket by accident. If General Cass went in advance of me in picking whortleberries, I guess I surpassed him in charges upon the wild onions. If he saw any live fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes, and, although I never fainted from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry. Mr. Speaker, if I should ever

conclude to doff whatever our Democratic friends may suppose there is of black-cockade Federalism about me, and thereupon they shall take me up as their candidate for the Presidency, I protest they shall not make fun of me, as they have of General Cass, by attempting to write me into a military hero.'