PREFACE. THE Publishing Committee here with presents to the Society the second volume of the Diary of Samuel Sewall, printed from the Manuscript in its Cabinet. The text of the volume includes the period from January 14, 1699-1700, to April 14, 1714. Another volume in print will complete the publication of the manuscript Diary. The Judge's Letter-Book will furnish che materials for a fourth volume. The Committee has continued the same system of annotating the text which was adopted in the first volume. Resisting the prompting or opportunity to explain or illustrate the many interesting references which the Judge makes to matters of historical importance, to an extent which would expand the notes beyond the text, the method pursued, as the reader will observe, has been restricted to occasional comments, and to genealogical and local particulars and references, without quoting authorities easily accessible to the students of our history. The connection between Judge Sewall's family and that of Governor Dudley evidently embarrassed the former, alike in his official position as a magistrate, and in making entries in his diary concerning matters in which they were occasionally at variance. That Sewall should also have drawn upon himself the hostility of Cotton Mather, who, with his father, the President of the College, was in violent feud with Dudley, may help to show the perplexities of the Judge's position and course even when he seems to have tried to act as a moderator or an umpire. The Committee has therefore thought it advisable to reprint three very rare pamphlets which, as fully presenting matters of bitter strife in relation to the parties just named, will make annotation upon it unnecessary. A few fragmentary and miscellaneous papers in Sewall's hand precede these Tracts. As the indices of names at the close of the volumes are necessarily so crowded, tables of the notes in both of them are here given for convenience of reference. EDS. 83778 ᄂ PAGE M38 TABLE OF CONTENTS OF NOTES. 70. King James II. proclaimed. 72. Sewall's walk around Beacon " 86. Veal and Graham, the pirates. |