The Author published The First History in 1848, after gathering all the information then in his power. Soon after its appearance a large amount of extra information was placed at his disposal, and many corrections kindly sent to him. He determined at once to commence a revision of it, and had been so doing up to the day of his death, 29 years in all. He had re-written more than two-thirds of the original book, adding thereto many very valuable old documents and bringing the work down to that time. All that I have had to do was to finish up little unimportant points, and conduct it through the press.

If I were to assert that there were no errors I should be presenting to the public what no other man has ever done, a perfect book. There must be errors, but they are unimportant. No serious error, I believe, will be found.

There never was a more careful complier of History than my late brother. He always asked for proof, and then well weighed it. His book mil be his monument ; he wore himself out in its completion. And I regret that he does not live to give the whys and the wherefores that thousands of its readers will propound.

The Rev. Robert Bolton, the Author of this History was born in Bath in the county of Somerset England, on the 17th of April 181 4, and was baptized by his grand-father, the Rev. William Jay, in Argyle chapel. Bath. (His father, the Rev. Robert Bolton, was born in Savanah, in the State of Georgia, but married in England and resided there for several years.) He was the oldest of thirteen children, and came to this country with his father on his return in 1836. He first studied medicine in