Digital Commons Network^™

The Distressed Nun [Transcript], Isaac Crookenden

Gothic Archive Chapbooks

Luvido di Brindoli, Florentine nobleman, had two children—a son, Vincentio and a daughter, Herselia. Vincentio bitterly envied Herselia believing that his father loved her more. One night Brindoli received two guests—Count Fovolli and his handsome young son, Henri Velasquez. Herselia instantly fell in love with Henry and confided the matter in his brother who contrived a plot to ruin her happiness forever. Accordingly, he encouraged Herselia to elope with Henry the next day, and, secretly informed Brindoli about it.

The next morning, Brindoli apprehended Herselia outside the palace, and condemned her to a life in a remote convent. After weeks …

Memorandum Book #1 (January Through December 1800), John Sibley

John Sibley Papers

John Sibley Memorandum Book #1 (January through December 1800).

Tagebuch Über Rom, Friederike Brun

Prose Nonfiction

Complete English translation of this work by Richard P. Stebbins available in the supplemental files.

Missing pages can be found at https://archive.org/details/tagebuchuberrom01brun

Washington's Farewell Address: The President’S Address To The People Of The United States, Announcing His Intention Of Retiring From Public Life At The Expiration Of The Present Constitutional Term Of Presidency, George Washington

Electronic Texts in American Studies

This is a digital “facsimile” edition of a contemporary pamphlet version of President George Washington’s “Farewell Address,” first issued in the Philadelphia Daily Advertiser newspaper on September 19, 1796. Co-authored with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, it expresses Washington’s decision to decline a third term of the presidency and offers his parting advice to his “friends and fellow-citizens.”

Washington’s “farewell address” emphasizes the importance of Union, the danger of partisanship, the threat of parties allied to foreign countries or interests, the accomplishment of a national government, the precedence of national over sectional interests, the maintenance of the public credit, the …

'Farewell' Address To The People Of The United States, Announcing His Intention Of Retiring From Public Life At The Expiration Of The Present Constitutional Term Of Presidency, George Washington

Zea E-Books in American Studies

President George Washington’s farewell address “To the People of the United States” was delivered to the public through the medium of the Philadelphia Daily Advertiser newspaper and was immediately reprinted in other newspapers and in pamphlet form throughout the country, and in England, Ireland, and Scotland as well. All contemporary editions derived directly or indirectly from the Daily Advertiser newspaper source.

The composition of the address was a collaborative effort, with James Madison co-authoring with Washington an early draft that was reviewed and revised at least twice to incorporate suggestions by Alexander Hamilton. The final draft, in Washington’s handwriting, was …

Phantastes Chapter 18: Hesperus, Jean Paul

German Romantic and Other Influences

Jean Paul—Johann Paul Friedrich Richter (1763-1825)—was a German writer in the Romantic tradition, also known for his humorous writing. Hesperus (1795) includes two major ideas that MacDonald explores throughout Phantastes: the notion of dreams, and the importance of mirrors.

The Case, Trevett Against Weeden

Library Archive

Wherein the Rights of the People to Trial by Jury, &c. are dated and maintained, and the Legislative, Judiciary and Executive Powers of Government examined and denned.

An Address To The Negroes In The State Of New-York (1787), Jupiter Hammon, Paul Royster (Editor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Hammon’s Address, published in New York and Philadelphia in 1787, is a simple but eloquent set of Christian advice and reflections. To his fellow Negroes who are enslaved, Hammon advises obedience to masters, honesty and faithfulness, and the avoidance of profaneness. Among his strongest recommendations is that Negroes make every effort to learn to read and to use that knowledge to study the Bible. Hammon’s focus is on eternity, judgment, redemption, and God’s governance of the world.

Yet Hammon’s appeal is no apology for the slave system, but rather a modulated and astute assessment of the social and power relations …

The Printer's Grammar, John Smith

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Containing a Concise History of the Origin of Printing; Also an examination of the Superficies, Gradation, and Properties of the Different Sizes of Types cast by Letter Founders; Various Tables of Calculation; Models of Letter Cases; Schemes for Casting off Copy and Imposing; and many other Requisites for attaining a perfect Knowledge both in the Theory and Practice of the Art of Printing. With Directions to Authors, Compilers, &c. How to Prepare Copy, and to Correct their own Proofs. Chiefly collected from [John] Smith's Edition. To which are added Directions for Pressmen, &c. The whole calculated for the Service of …

An Address To The Negroes In The State Of New-York, Jupiter Hammon

Zea E-Books in American Studies

Hammon’s Address, published in New York and Philadelphia in 1787, is a simple but eloquent set of Christian advice and reflections. To his fellow Negroes who are enslaved, Hammon advises obedience to masters, honesty and faithfulness, and the avoidance of profaneness. Among his strongest recommendations is that Negroes make every effort learn to read and use that knowledge to study the Bible. Hammon’s focus is on eternity, judgment, redemption, and God’s governance of the world.

Yet Hammon’s appeal is no apology for the slave system, but rather a modulated and astute assessment of the social and power relations between blacks …

The Discovery, Settlement And Present State Of Kentucke, John Filson

Zea E-Books in American Studies

This is an open-access electronic text edition of Filson’s seminal work on the early history of Kentucky, including the first published account of the life and adventures of Daniel Boone. Filson’s work was an unabashedly optimistic account of the western territory, where Filson had acquired large land claims, whose value he sought to enhance by the publication of this advertisement and incitement for further settlement. Scarcely two years after the violent and tragic British and Indian invasion of 1782, Filson portrayed Kentucky as a natural paradise, where peace, plenty, and security reigned. Of some significance is Filson’s recognition that the …

The United States Elevated To Glory And Honor (1783), Ezra Stiles D.D., Reiner Smolinski , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Stiles' best-known work is this 1783 election sermon, which was delivered at Hartford, Connecticut, at the annual election of the governor, state representatives, and senators. True to the spirit of his Puritan ancestors, Stiles sounds a number of time-honored American themes newly adapted to the rising prospects of the young United States of America. What was once a tribal Errand into the Wilderness of New England Stiles now translates into God’s federal covenant with all citizens of the United States—no matter what their parochial creed or particular denomination: “The political welfare of God’s American Israel” is “allusively prophetic of the …

The Plain Path To Christian Perfection, Shewing That We Are To Seek For Reconciliation And Union With God, Solely By Renouncing Ourselves, Denying The World, And Following Our Blessed Savior, In The Regeneration, Anthony Benezet

Historical Quaker Books

Translated by Anthony Benezet.
"The treatise of which the following is an extract, was written in the German language about two hundred and fifty years ago, and since translated into the French." -Preface

The Life And Spiritual Sufferings Of That Faithful Servant Of Christ Jane Hoskens, A Public Preacher Among The People Called Quakers, Jane Fenn Hoskens

Zea E-Books in American Studies

In 1712, nineteen-year-old Jane Fenn left her home, family, and friends in London to obey an inner voice that said ——“Go to Pennsylvania! ” Arrived in Philadelphia, she was soon cast into debtors’ prison for refusing to sign an indenture dictated by the man who had arranged her passage. Redeemed by a group of Quakers from Plymouth County who wished to employ her as a schoolteacher, she spent three years in their community and began to absorb their teachings and their ways.

Her narrative chronicles her inward struggles with her own sense of unworthiness, the temptations of Satan, her distaste …

The Life And Spiritual Sufferings Of That Faithful Servant Of Christ Jane Hoskens, A Public Preacher Among The People Called Quakers, Jane Fenn Hoskens, Paul Royster Editor

Historical Quaker Books

In 1712, nineteen-year-old Jane Fenn left her home, family, and friends in London to obey an inner voice that said ——“Go to Pennsylvania! ” Arrived in Philadelphia, she was soon cast into debtors’ prison for refusing to sign an indenture dictated by the man who had arranged her passage. Redeemed by a group of Quakers from Plymouth County who wished to employ her as a schoolteacher, she spent three years in their community and began to absorb their teachings and their ways.

Her narrative chronicles her inward struggles with her own sense of unworthiness, the temptations of Satan, her distaste …

The Life And Spiritual Sufferings Of That Faithful Servant Of Christ Jane Hoskens, A Public Preacher Among The People Called Quakers (1771), Jane Fenn Hoskens, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

In 1712, nineteen-year-old Jane Fenn left her home, family, and friends in London to obey an inner voice that said ——“Go to Pennsylvania! ” Arrived in Philadelphia, she was soon cast into debtors’ prison for refusing to sign an indenture dictated by the man who had arranged her passage. Redeemed by a group of Quakers from Plymouth County who wished to employ her as a schoolteacher, she spent three years in their community and began to absorb their teachings and their ways.

Her narrative chronicles her inward struggles with her own sense of unworthiness, the temptations of Satan, her distaste …

Memoir Of The Indian Wars, John Stuart

Primary Sources

No abstract provided.

The Journal Of Major George Washington (1754), George Washington, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The Journal of Major George Washington, Sent by the Hon. Robert Dinwiddie, Esq; His Majesty’s Lieutenant-Governor, and Commander In Chief Of Virginia, to the Commandant of the French Forces on Ohio. To Which Are Added, the Governor’s Letter, and a Translation of the French Officer’s Answer.

In October of 1753, George Washington, a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, volunteered to carry a letter from the governor of Virginia to the French commander of the forts recently built on the headwaters of the Ohio River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The French had recently expanded their military operations from the Great Lakes …

The Journal Of Major George Washington, George Washington

Zea E-Books in American Studies

In October of 1753, George Washington, a 21-year-old major in the Virginia militia, volunteered to carry a letter from the governor of Virginia to the French commander of the forts recently built on the headwaters of the Ohio River in northwestern Pennsylvania. The French had recently expanded their military operations from the Great Lakes into the Ohio country, and had spent the summer of 1753 building forts and roads along the Allegheny River, with the design of linking their trade routes and sphere of influence down the Ohio to the Mississippi. Virginia governor Robert Dinwiddie believed them to be in …

A Narrative Of The Captivity Of Nehemiah How In 1745-1747, Nehemiah How, Victor Hugo Paltsits

Electronic Texts in American Studies

Nehemiah How was captured by a raiding party of Abenaki Indians October 11, 1745, outside the fort at Great Meadow (now Vermont). He was taken to Quebec and held captive until his death from "fever" on May 27, 1747. He was among several hundred English colonists taken prisoner during the war. His account recalls his treatment and records the comings and fates of dozens of other prisoners held at Quebec during what was known as King George's War, part of the global War of Austrian Succession.

A Brief History Of The Pequot War (1736), John Mason, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

John Mason’s posthumously published account is the most complete contemporary history of the Pequot War of 1636–1637. Written around 1670, and published in part in 1677 (although misattributed by Increase Mather to John Allyn), the complete text was issued by Thomas Prince in 1736. That text is reproduced here in a corrected and annotated edition that includes Prince’s biographical sketch of Mason and various dedicatory and explanatory documents.

John Mason (c.1600–1672) commanded the Connecticut forces in the expedition that wiped out the Pequot fort and village at Mystic and in two subsequent operations that effectively eliminated the Pequots as a …

The Constitutions Of The Free-Masons, James Anderson, Benjamin Franklin

Zea E-Books in American Studies

This is an online electronic edition of the the first Masonic book printed in America, which was produced in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by James Anderson (who is identified as the author in an appendix) printed in London in 1723. This is the seminal work of American Masonry, edited and published by one of the founding fathers, and of great importance to the development of colonial society and the formation of the Republic. The work contains a 40-page history of Masonry: from Adam to the reign of King George I, including, …

The Threefold Paradise Of Cotton Mather: An Edition Of "Triparadisus", Reiner Smolinski

Electronic Texts in American Studies

No other American Puritan has fueled both the popular and academic imagination as has Cotton Mather (1663-1728). Colonial America's foremost theologian and historian, Mather was also one of its most powerful voices advocating millennialism. His lifelong preoccupation with this subject culminated in his definitive treatise, "Triparadisus" (1726/1727), left unpublished at his death. In it, Mather justified his ideological revisionism; his response to the philological, historical, and scientific challenges of the Bible as text by English and continental deists; and his hermeneutical break from the orthodox exegeses of his father, Increase Mather, and Joseph Mede. In his critical introduction to this …

The Negro Christianized. An Essay To Excite And Assist That Good Work, The Instruction Of Negro-Servants In Christianity (1706), Cotton Mather, Paul Royster , Editor

Electronic Texts in American Studies

There were Africans in New England before there were Puritans there, and by 1700 they numbered about 1,000 out of a total population of 90,000. Roughly half of them lived in Massachusetts, and were concentrated in Boston and the coastal towns. Puritans actively participated in the trafficking of enslaved persons, importing Africans from the West Indies and sometimes selling native American prisoners overseas.

Cotton Mather’s household contained enslaved Negro servants, and his congregation at the Second (or North) Church included both merchants of slavery and persons of African descent. The pamphlet reprinted here appeared in 1706 without his name, but …

The Negro Christianized. An Essay To Excite And Assist That Good Work, The Instruction Of Negro- Servants In Christianity, Cotton Mather

Zea E-Books in American Studies

There were enslaved Negroes in New England before there were Puritans there, and by 1700 they numbered about 1,000 out of a total population of 90,000. Roughly half of them lived in Massachusetts, and were concentrated in Boston and the coastal towns. Puritans actively participated in the colonial slave trade, importing them from the West Indies and sometimes selling Indian prisoners into overseas slavery.

Cotton Mather was a slave-owner, and his congregation at the Second (or North) Church included both slave merchants and Negroes. The pamphlet reprinted here appeared in 1706 without his name, but his authorship of it was …

Massachusetts: Or The First Planters Of New-England, The End And Manner Of Their Coming Thither, And Abode There: In Several Epistles (1696), John Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, John Allin, Thomas Shepard, John Cotton, Joshua Scottow, Paul Royster, Editor Of The Online Electronic Edition

Joshua Scottow Papers

In 1696 there appeared in Boston an anonymous 16mo volume of 56 pages containing four “epistles,” written from 66 to 50 years earlier, illustrating the early history of the colony of Massachusetts Bay.

The four “epistles” compiled in Massachusetts, or The First Planters were all originally addressed to English or European audiences:

1. The Humble Request of His Majesties Loyal Subjects (1630), sent from aboard the Arbella and usually attributed to John Winthrop, defended the emigrants’ physical separation from England and reaffirmed their loyalty to the Crown and Church of England.

2. Thomas Dudley’s letter “To the Right Honourable, My …

New Yorke Considered And Improved A.D. 1695, John Miller, Victor Hugo Paltsits, Paul Royster (Depositor)

Electronic Texts in American Studies

The following work is essentially a line-for-line facsimile of Victor Hugo Paltsits’ edition of John Miller’s New Yorke Considered and Improved A.D. 1695. Miller’s work was written during his tenure as chaplain to the British soldiers stationed in New York from June 1692 until July 1695. His first draft was thrown overboard to avoid its falling into the hands of the French privateers who captured the ship in which he was returning to England. Miller re-wrote his work while imprisoned in France, finished it after his return to England in 1696, and presented it as a report to his …

A Narrative Of The Planting Of The Massachusets Colony Anno 1628. With The Lords Signal Presence The First Thirty Years. Also A Caution From New-Englands Apostle, The Great Cotton, How To Escape The Calamity, Which Might Befall Them Or Their Posterity. And Confirmed By The Evangelist Norton With Prognosticks From The Famous Dr. Owen. Concerning The Fate Of These Churches, And Animadversions Upon The Anger Of God, In Sending Of Evil Angels Among Us. Published By Old Planters, The Authors Of The Old Mens Tears., Joshua Scottow, Paul Royster (Transcribed & Edited By)

Joshua Scottow Papers

This edition of A Narrative of the Planting of the Massachusets Colony Anno 1628 is based on the first edition published in Boston in 1694. The spelling, orthography, punctuation, and capitalization of the original have been retained; only obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Scottow's Narrative is the sequel to Old Mens Tears for their Own Declensions, published three years earlier. It is an expansion of the argument that God and history are being unkind to New England because its churches have strayed from the strict practice of the unanimously-minded early founders of the Congregational Way. Scottow treats of …

Old Mens Tears For Their Own Declensions, Mixed With Fears Of Their And Posterities Further Falling Off From New-England’S Primitive Constitution., Joshua Scottow, Paul Royster , Editor

Joshua Scottow Papers

This is an online edition of Scottow’s popular tract, published in Boston in 1691, based on the first edition. Later editions were published in Boston in 1715, 1733, and 1749, and in New London in 1769. It is a searchable PDF document. The characteristics of Scottow’s original text (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc.) have been retained. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, and a list of emendations is included at the end. Its typographic design is based on that of the original.

The work decries the falling off of New England from the purity and purpose of its original founding, …

Old Mens Tears For Their Own Declensions, Mixed With Fears Of Their And Posterities Further Falling Off From New-England’S Primitive Constitution, Joshua Scottow

Zea E-Books in American Studies

This is an online edition of Scottow’s popular tract, published in Boston in 1691, based on the first edition. Later editions were published in Boston in 1715, 1733, and 1749, and in New London in 1769. It is a searchable PDF document. The characteristics of Scottow’s original text (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, italics, etc.) have been retained. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, and a list of emendations is included at the end. Its typographic design is based on that of the original. The work decries the falling off of New England from the purity and purpose of its original founding, …