the hand of fate into the noblest bay along the Atlantic1571—1630. Kepler, German astronomer.
1993—1683. Isaac Walton.
1619. Harvey discovers circulation of the blood.
1598—1688. John Bunyan.
1629—1640. No Parliament.
1630. Boston settled.
1631—1700. John Dryden.
1646—1680. The Commonwealth.
1665. Plague in London.
1666. Great London Fire.
1675—1676. King Philipp's War.coast, to a land of wonderful beauty and fruitfulness, at a time when all nature was robed in the freshness and beauty of the early springtime. What a contrast with the Pilgrims, who fourteen years later, wearied by persecution, exiled from their native land, without money or means to return across the sea, even had they desired to do so, were landed on the savage coast of Massachusetts, at the very beginning of a cruel, northern winter. The Virginians had all been men, many of them inured to hardships like war and to lives of adventure, but here were women and little children,—whole families. Many were sick. For months it was a battle with cold, hunger, disease, hostile Indians, wild beasts; a battle for mere existence. Never was there a more unpromising venture as viewed from a practical standpoint; never was there a more discouraging outlook than from the huts of Plymouth during that memorable winter; yet never has there been a venture that has yielded grander results. Dec. 20, 1620, is the most significant date in our history.
Required Reading — Mrs. Hemans' "Landing of the Pilgrims;" Longfellow's "Courtship of Miles Standish." See also Mrs. Child's Hobomok; Mrs. Stowe's The Mayflower, Mrs. Austen's The Standish of Standish, Betty Aiden, Dr. LeBaron and his Daughters, and A Nameless Nobleman
