The two selections which follow pertain to Governor Winthrop. The first
is part of Cotton Mather’s biographical sketch of the governor. It comes
from Mather’s _Magnalia Christi Americana_ (1702), which means the
“American Annals of Christ.” Cotton Mather himself was a famous Puritan
minister, the grandson of one of the early settlers and a historian of
the colony. The other selection consists of two of John Winthrop’s
letters to his wife, who remained in England until after the colony was
established. These are touching letters that show the wise governor as a
loving husband and a devout Christian.