“Look now abroad！Another race has filledThese populous borderswide the world recedes，And towns shoot up，and fertile realms are tilled；The land is full of harvests and green meads.”
Bryant.
THE breaking waves dashed high，
On a stern and rockbound coast，
And the woods against a stormy sky Their giant branches tossed；And the heavy night hung dark The hills aud waters o’er，When a band of exiles moored their bark On the wild New England shore.
Not as the conqueror comes，
They，the truehearted，came，
①Felicia Dorothea Hemans was an English lady who died in 1835.Some of her poems are very beautiful.
Not with the roll of the stirring drums，And the trumpet that sings 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 file stars heard and the sea；
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free！
LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS，1620
The first English settlers north of Virginia were the “Pilgrims”people who left their native land in order to secure liberty of religion.They landed on the coast of Massachusetts in December，1620.Their settlement they called “Plymouth”，from the port of that name in England from which they had sailed.
The ocean eagle soared
From his nest by the white wave‘s foam，And the rocking pines of the forest roaredThis was their welcome home！
There were men with hoary hair，
Amidst that pilgrimband；
Why had they come to wither there Away from their childhood’s land？
There was woman‘s fearless eye，Lit by her deep love’s truth；There was manhood‘s brow serenely high，And the fiery heart of youth.
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！
Ay，call it holy ground，
The soil where first they trod！
They have left unstained what there they found？Freedom to worship God！
8.Why the Colonies United.When the colonies began to oppose the acts of the British government，they had to unite.In 1765a colonial congress met at New York to discuss a British law for taxing the colonies.The colonists had had no share in making this law，and therefore they thought it unjust.This congress consisted of a few delegates from each of nine coloniesfour of the thirteen sent no delegatesand simply adopted resolutions expressing their reasons for opposing the law.In a short time the British government repealed the law.
9.A few years later another attempt was made to tax the colonists without their consent.This attempt was resisted as vigorously aswas the first，and in 1774a second congress of the colonies met at Philadelphia to talk the matter over.They adopted strong resolutions against the tax laws，commended the resistance of the people to the collection of the taxes，and finally，before going home，called a third congress to meet in the following spring.Twelve of the coloniesall but Georgiahad delegates in this second congress.
10.The third congress of the colonies met at Philadelphia in May，1775，and found that war had already begun between the colonies and the British government.All the thirteen were now represented by their delegates.This congress was a sort of common government for the united colonies.Of course each colony kept its own government besides，but the congress managed the most important things in the war.It was this congress which made the Declaration of Independence，w h i c h c h o s e G e o r g e Wa s h i n g t o n commander of the armies，and which finally made peace with Great Britain.Since then we have always called our national legislature “congress.”
11.How the West Was Settled.After the revolution many people thoughtthey could do better by going farther west to live，in the wilderness which had not yet been cleared.So they went across the Alleghany Mountains and made their homes on both sides of the Ohio River.They had the same hard life as the first colonists on the Atlantic coast，living in log cabins，raising cornTHE PURITAN COLONISTMany of the early settlers in New England came to the new world for religious liberty.They disapproved many practices of the Church of England，which they wished to “purify.”Hence they were called Puritans.The picture is from Ward‘s statue in Central Park，New York.
THE MAYFLOWER，1620.
THE AMERICAN LINER STLOUIS，1897.