his theological studies; and then, in the spring of 1709, he commenced his foreign travels. The voyage he took was from Boston to Barbadoes and thence to London, where he arrived in November 1709. After some four months delay, the ship sailed to Madeira, thence to Barbadoes, and back to London, where he arrived in October 1710.

In London, he found relatives, especially in the family of his grand uncle Francis Prince, a merchant of that city; and for the next six years and a half he remained in England, spending much of his time at Coombs in Suffolk, where ne was duly settled as minister. His congregation seems to have been greatly attached to him; so much, indeed, that several families accompanied him on his return to New England: "but no importunity could overcome his longing desire after his native country and father's house." The churches at Battesford and Coombs, and a larger society which met alternately at Winden and Clavering, on the borders of Cambridgeshire and Essex, solicited him to stay; but after one preparation, which was stopped by sickness, Prince finally embarked for Boston on the 15th May, 1717.

After a prosperous voyage of two months, he arrived at home, and was warmly received by the people of Boston, who had, apparently, conceived high expectations of his abilities.

In September, he preached a thanksgiving sermon at the Thursday Lecture, "in the hearing of a multitudinous auditory, many belonging

to the adjacent towns being present"; and several churches strove to secure him as pastor. The church at Hingham gave him a call; and at the same time he received one from the South Church in Boston. The latter he accepted; and was ordained to that charge October 1st, 1718; a connection which was terminated only by his death, October 22d, 1758.

During the forty years of his ministry, Prince fulfilled most acceptably the duties of his position. His published discourses number at least thirty-three, and many of them were called forth by important public occasions. If, indeed, the record were closed here, it would be sufficiently honorable to satisfy an ordinary ambition; but still greater claims remain to be urged upon the admiration of succeeding generations.

As a historian and as a collector of books and manuscripts, Thomas Prince stands almost at the head of our roll of New England's worthies. From an early age, he had been an antiquary in his tastes and habits, and at home and abroad had sought information concerning the early history of his native country. His position as a clergyman gave him great advantages in studying the history of a colony so long under ecclesiastical control; and, soon after the death of the Rev. Cotton Mather, in 1728, he began to perceive the necessity of promptly commencing his duties as historian. For seven years, he devoted such time as he could to the preparation of his Chronological History of New England; and the first volume, of 254 pages, was

issued in January 1737. The enterprise proved unsuccessful, and but three parts of the second volume were published; still it remains as a standard authority, and can never be superseded.

Though this was the chief of Prince's historical compositions, he wrote many shorter essays and biographies worth remembering. His funeral sermons contain much interesting information; and the newspapers of the day were enriched by him with obituaries of many of his distinguished contemporaries. He also acted as editor of the "Christian History" for 1743 and 1744.

As a collector of books and manuscripts, Prince had but two rivals in the Colonial period. Cotton Mather, or perhaps more truly the Mather family, had made great accumulations of material for the history of New England, and Thomas Hutchinson later evinced his industry in the same pursuit. The fate of both collections, however, was lamentable: Hutchinson's scattered by the fury of a brutal mob, and Mather's wasted piecemeal as it passed from neglect to utter dispersion.

Prince's Library, originally, perhaps, the most important of the three, has been preserved for our use, though not entire, yet invaluable. It was deposited in the steeple chamber of the Old South Church, and, by Prince's will, was given as a trust to that Society. After escaping the perils to which the library was subjected during the British occupation of Boston, these volumes

remained in comparative obscurity for many years; they have now, for the first time, been placed in a position to fulfil the desires of the collector. We have not space to speak fully of its contents; but we would here call attention to the fact, that Prince "made the collection from a public view and desire that the memory of many important transactions might be preserved," and urge the propriety of making every exertion to give value to this great public benefaction.

For many years,* Prince collected “books, pamphlets, maps, papers in print and manuscript, either published in New England or pertaining to its history and public affairs." In 1728, he advertised that "intending to dispose of his library, he desired those who had borrowed books of him to return them quickly." It is probable that this idea was not carried into effect; and yet, as many of his books are now in other libraries, it is more charitable to assume a sale of some portion than to suspect that these are all waifs from the "New England Library."

We will close our brief memoir with one or two matters of his family history. The wife of the Rev. Thomas Prince was Deborah Denny, one of his former parishioners at Coombs, whom he married in Boston, October 30th, 1719, and

*The following fac-simile of his book-plate shows that he assigned an early date to the foundation of his library: This Book belongs to

The New-England-Library,

Begun to be collected by Thomas Prince, upon his entring Harvard-College, July 6. 1703; and was given by faid Prince, to remain therein for ever.

who survived him eight years. By her, he had a son, Thomas, a young man of great promise, who died at the age of twenty-six, during his father's lifetime, and four daughters. Of these, but one survived, Sarah, the wife of Moses Gill, afterwards lieutenant - governor of the State; and she died, childless, 5 August, 1771.

As but a small number of Prince's publications remain in his library, and are named in the catalogue, we have endeavored to prepare a list of all the books issued by him. We have been materially aided by the list printed by S G. Drake, Esq., in the Memoir of Prince already cited. We have confined the catalogue to distinct publications, omitting prefaces and portions of books. The Artillery Election Sermon in 1721, by Prince, is not mentioned by Whitman as having been printed, nor have we seen a copy. So also, the citation by Drake, of “ Ordination of three Missionaries, 1733," has not been verified. Possibly both of these titles are recoverable.

LIST OF SERMONS AND OTHER BOOKS PUBLISHED FOR THOMAS PRINCE.

A

1. God brings to the Desired Haven. Thanksgiving Sermon, deliver'd at the Lecture in Boston, N. E., on Thursday, September 5, 1717. Upon Occasion of the Author's safe Arrival thro' many great Hazards & Deliverances, especially on the Seas, in above eight years absence from his Dear & Native Country. By Thomas Prince, M. A. With a Prefatory Epistle to the Reader, by Increase Mather, D. D. Psal. 22, 2225. Boston: Printed by B. Green, for Thomas Fleet, and sold at his Shop in Newbury Street at