460 NATURAL AND CIVIL 



eed in the colonics as early as it was in Great 

 Britain. Dr. Cotton Mather, of Boston, had 

 observed in the philosophical transactions, an 

 account of the manner in which inoculation for 

 the small pox was practised in the Turkish do- 

 minions. At his recommendation, Dr. Boylston, 

 one of the physicians at Boston, introduced it at 

 that place, in the year 1721. It met with suc- 

 cess ; and with the opposition, which is always 

 to be expected, when a new method of practice 

 is introduced. But although it exposed the first 

 promoters of it to a considerable share of pro- 

 fessional and popular resentment, it vv^as eventu- 

 ally attended with much success, and almost 

 universally adopted. 



There was an accuracy and a minuteness in 

 the historical productions of the country, which 

 marked the feelings, pursuits and views of the 

 colonics with much precision ; but the transac- 

 tions of which they treated, appeared too local 

 and too small, to engage the attention of the 

 world. Hubbard wrote a very accurate and 

 useful histor)^ of the Indian Wars in New Eng- 

 land. Moretun MTOte a Pvlemorial, which was 

 of use to preserve the memory of the first set- 

 tlers and their proceedings. But the most that 

 was done this way, was by Di\ Cotton Mather^ 

 of Boston. With a singular genius, with much 

 of the Hebrew literature, and a warm imagina- 

 tion, in a book to which he gave the title of 

 Magnalia Christi Americana, he wrote minute 

 and lengthy accounts of all the ecclesiastical, 

 historical and literary proceedings of tlie country 

 till the year 1692. Penhallow, at Portsmouth, 

 gave an account of the Indian Wars ; and Doug- 



