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قراءة كتاب Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts

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‏اللغة: English
Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation'
From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts

Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts

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دار النشر: Project Gutenberg
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appears in different handwriting, evidently written with the book turned wrong side up.

The next is a leaf bearing the following, in the handwriting of Thomas Prince:—

Tuesday, June 4—1728

Calling at Major John Bradford's at Kingston near Plimouth, son of Major Wm. Bradford formerly Dep Gov'r of Plimouth Colony, who was eldest son of Wm. Bradford Esq their 2nd Gov'r, & author of this History; ye sd Major John Bradford gave me several manuscript octavoes wh he assured me were written with his said Grandfather Gov'r Bradford's own hand. He also gave me a little Pencil Book wrote with a Blew lead Pencil by his sd Father ye Dep Gov'r. And He also told me yt He had lent & only lent his sd Grandfather Gov'r Bradford's History of Plimouth Colony wrote by his own Hand also, to judg Sewall; and desired me to get it of Him or find it out, & take out of it what I thought proper for my New-England Chronology: wh I accordingly obtained, and This is ye sd History: wh I found wrote in ye same Handwriting as ye Octavo manuscripts above sd.

Thomas Prince.

N.B. I also mentioned to him my Desire of lodging this History in ye New England Library of Prints & manuscripts, wh I had been then collecting for 23 years, to wh He signified his willingness—only yt He might have the Perusal of it while He lived.

T. Prince.

Following this, on the same page, is Thomas Prince's printed book-mark, as follows:—

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

On the lower part of a blank space which follows the word "by" is written:—

It now belongs to the Bishop of London's Library at Fulham.

There are evidences that this leaf did not belong to the original book, but was inserted by Mr. Prince.

At the top of the first page of the next leaf, which was evidently one of the original leaves of the book, is written in Samuel Bradford's hand, "march 20 Samuel Bradford;" and just below there appears, in Thomas Prince's handwriting, the following:—

But major Bradford tells me & assures me that He only lent this Book of his Grandfather's to Mr. Sewall & that it being of his Grandfather's own hand writing He had so high a value of it that he would never Part with ye Property, but would lend it to me & desired me to get it, which I did, & write down this that sd Major Bradford and his Heirs may be known to be the right owners.

Below this, also in Thomas Prince's handwriting, appears this line:—

"Page 243 missing when ye Book came into my Hands at 1st."

Just above the inscription by Prince there is a line or two of writing, marked over in ink so carefully as to be wholly undecipherable. On the reverse page of this leaf and on the first page of the next are written Hebrew words, with definitions. These are all in Governor Bradford's handwriting. On the next page appears the following:—

Though I am  growne  aged, yet I have had a long-
ing desire, to see with  my own eyes, something of
that  most ancient language,  and  holy  tongue,
in which  the Law, and  oracles  of  God  were
write; and in which God, and angels, spake to
the holy patriarks, of old time; and what
names were  given  to things,  from the
creation. And though I cañot attaine
to much herein, yet I am refreshed,
to have seen some glimpse  here-
of; (as  Moses  saw  the Land
of canan afarr of)  my aime
and desire is, to see how
the words, and  phrases
lye in  the holy  texte;
and to dicerne some-
what of the  same
for  my  owne
contente.

———
——

J

Then begins the history proper, the first page of which is produced in facsimile in this volume, slightly reduced. The ruled margins end with page thirteen. From that page to the end of the book the writing varies considerably, sometimes being quite coarse and in other places very fine, some pages containing nearly a thousand words each. As a rule, the writing is upon one side of the sheet only, but in entering notes and subsequent thoughts the reverse is sometimes used. The last page number is 270, as appears from the facsimile reproduction in this volume of that page. Page 270 is followed by two blank leaves; then on the second page of the next leaf appears the list of names of those who came over in the "Mayflower," covering four pages and one column on the fifth page. The arrangement of this matter is shown by the facsimile reproduction in this volume of the first page of these names. Last of all there is a leaf of heavy double paper, like the one in the front of the book containing the verses on the death of Mrs. Bradford, and on this last leaf is written an index to a few portions of the history.

For copy, there was used the edition printed in 1856 by the Massachusetts Historical Society. The proof was carefully compared, word for word, with the photographic facsimile issued in 1896 in both London and Boston. The value of this comparison is evident in that a total of sixteen lines of the original, omitted in the original first copy, is supplied in this edition. As the work of the Historical Society could not be compared, easily, with the original manuscript in London, these omissions, with sundry minor errors in word and numeral, are not unreasonable. The curious will be pleased to learn that the supplied lines are from the following pages of the manuscript, viz.: page 122, eight lines; page 129, two lines; the obverse of page 201, found on the last page of Appendix A, two lines; page 219, two lines; pages 239 and 258, one line each. The pages of the manuscript are indicated in these printed pages by numerals in parentheses.

There are several errors in the paging of the original manuscript. Pages 105 and 106 are marked 145 and 146, and pages 219 and 220 are marked 119 and 120, respectively. Page 243 is missing.

Such as it is, the book is put forth that the public may know what manner of men the Pilgrims were, through what perils and vicissitudes they passed, and how much we of to-day owe to their devotion and determination.


PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
LEGISLATURE.


JOURNAL OF THE SENATE.

MONDAY, MAY 24, 1897.

The following message from His Excellency the Governor came up from the House, to wit:—

Boston, May 22, 1897.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives.

I have the honor to call to your attention the fact that Wednesday, May 26, at 11 a.m., has been fixed as the date of the formal presentation to the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Bradford Manuscript History, recently ordered by decree of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of London to be returned to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the hands of the Honorable Thomas F. Bayard, lately Ambassador at the Court of St. James; and to suggest for the favorable consideration of your honorable bodies that the exercises of presentation be held

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