Nations lately become Literary. S37 



derably increased, and the prospects of the Insti- 

 tution are becoming much more favourable. 



Neither in New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylva- 

 nia, Delaware, nor Maryland, had any thing taken 

 place, in favour of literature, worthy of notice, prior 

 to the eighteenth century. The inhabitants of these 

 colonies, struggling with the difficulties of new set- 

 tlements, not always in a state of perfect harmony 

 among themselves, and, of course, too frequently 

 encumbered with other engagements, did little to 

 advance the interests of knowledge. A few schools 

 were established, but they were on a small scale, 

 were but indifferently conducted, and attracted but 

 few pupils. The more wealthy class in these middle 

 colonies, like their southern brethren, were, at 

 this time, in the habit of sending their sons to Eu- 

 rope for their education; a practice which, though 

 it caused a small portion of the youth in the middle 

 and southern States to be more thoroughly edu- 

 cated than was common in New-England, yet 

 rendered education a much more rare attainment 

 among the former than the latter, and, on the 

 whole, exceedingly retarded the progress of litera- 

 ture in the colonies. 



It is to be observed, also, that the advancement 

 of literature in the American colonies, during the 

 seventeenth century, was not only retarded by the 

 general poverty of the colonists, and by the numerous 

 difficulties with which they had to struggle while 

 surrounded with tribes of savages, and an unculti- 

 vated desert; but also by the erroneous opinions at 

 that time prevailing concerning the liberty of the 

 press. The business of printing was laid under 

 very inconvenient and discouraging restrictions, 

 during a part of this period, in Massachusetts." In 



n Tn 1662, twenty-four years after a printing press had been established 

 at Cambridge, the General Court of Massachusetts appointed two person? 

 VOL. II. »X 



