And the heavy night hung dark,

The hills and waters o'er,

When a band of exiles moor'd their bark

On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes

They the true-hearted came;

Not with the roll of the stirring drums,
And the trumpet that speaks of fame;

Not as the flying come,

In silence and in fear;

They shook the depths of the desert gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,

And the stars heard and the sea,

And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang

To the anthem of the free!

The ocean eagle soar'd

From his nest by the white wave's foam; And the rocking pines of the forest roar'd-This was their welcome home!

What sought they thus afar?

Bright jewels of the mine?

The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?-
They sought a faith's pure shrine!

Aye, call it holy ground,

The soil where first they trod.

They have left unstained what there they found -Freedom to worship God.

1. From Massachusetts colonies went forth to settle other parts of New England.

2. In 1633, Windsor, the first village in Connecticut, was planted. In 1636, Thomas Hooker, an English minister, with one hundred of his flock, set out for the rich and beautiful valley of the Connecticut. River," the pleasant country," as it was called by the Indian sachem who invited the English thither.

3. The little band travelled on foot over the one hundred miles which lay between the Bay Colonies and their new strange home. They lived chiefly on the milk of the herds and flocks, which they drove before them. Their hearts were uplifted by the cheerful faith and courage of their excellent pastor.

4. By Hooker's company, Hartford and Weathersfield were settled in Connecticut, and Springfield in Massachusetts.

5. In 1638 New Haven was founded, and became the parent of many a pleasant village along the Sound, and on the opposite shores of Long Island.

6. The same year in which Hooker's little band migrated to Connecticut, Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams. He was a young minister of Salem, whose opinions about toleration in matters of religion made him many enemies. He talked so boldly against what he looked upon as the unjust and hard laws of the Puritan colonies, that the magistrates sentenced him to be banished.

7. Officers were sent to seize him; they found he had fled from Salem. For fourteen weeks he was a wanderer in the wilderness "sorely tossed in a bitter season, not knowing what bread or bed did mean.' He found kind friends in the Indians, whose language

he had learned, and to whom he was ever a patient missionary. The Narragansetts received him as their guest; "thus," he says, "the ravens fed me in the wilderness."

8. The spot on which he finally landed he named Providence, in grateful acknowledgment of the hand which had guided his wanderings.

9. The rest of New England, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, hardly existed as separate colonies until after the Revolution. The two former had settlements made upon their soil at a very early date. Before 1630, the fishing stations of the Maine coast had grown into prosperous villages. The earliest town founded in New Hampshire was Dover, in 1623.

Questions.

1. For what purpose did colonies go from Massachusetts?

2. Give the name and date of first settlement in Connecticut. Who led a colony in 1636? How many people went with him? Whither did they direct their course? What did an Indian call this valley?

3. What was the distance to be travelled? Upon what did they live? What cheered their hearts?

4. What towns did Hooker's company settle?

5. When was New Haven founded? Of what did this town become the parent?

6. When and by whom was Rhode Island founded? Who was Roger Williams? What did he talk against? What was the consequence? 7. Why was he not seized? How long did he wander in the forests? What hardships did he endure? In whom did he find friends? guest was he? What did he say of them?

8. What did he name his settlement? Why did he so name it?

Whose

9. What is said of the rest of New England? What of settlements in Maine and New Hampshire? When was the first town founded in New Hampshire? What is the name of it?

Story.

1. Children of the present day know little of the toil and trouble it cost our fathers and mothers to settle these States. Now, we can look abroad and see large cities, handsome villages, fine fields, and rich gardens. We see good, smooth roads, strong bridges, and well finished houses.

2. It was not so once. When these States began to be settled, the country was all a wilderness. For hundreds of miles it was one unbroken forest. Not a city, not a town, was to be seen; not a village, not a house, excepting here and there a few Indian wigwams.

3. Even the frame of the first house built in Connecticut was made at Plymouth, in Massachusetts. It was made by John Holmes. When finished, he put it on board a small vessel, and set sail for Connecticut River.

4. Sailing up that river, he at length came where Hartford now stands. Just in that spot, he was much surprised to see a kind of fort standing near the banks of the river.