Excerpt from The Puritan Age and Rule in the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1629-1685 The Preface of a book is usually that part of it which is the last to be written, and the first to be read. The author makes use of it to supply any possible oversight in his pages in the statement of his purpose, or to anticipate any misapprehension of it. The reader turns to it with a view to find in it a brief and comprehensive exposition of the design of the book, and the reason why it has been written and put forth. A few words here may answer both these intents. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.