Catholic Authorship in the American Colonies Before 1784 By WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. Reprint from The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. Ill (1917), pp. 308-325 CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES BEFORE 1784 The present paper represents the first attempt—as far as the writer is aware—to bring together the titles of works by Catholic authors, printed within the present limits of the United States of America before the year 1784. That year has been selected as the terminus ad quem for the reason that Rev. Joseph M. Fin- otti’s standard book: Bibliographia Catholica Americana (New York, 1872) covers the period from 1784. Although that excel- lent work was never completed—only one part, that covering 1784-1820, having been published—and though bibliographers since his day have brought to light many other titles, yet the preparation of a new edition of Finotti is an independent enter- prise in itself which we hope may some day be undertaken. We have limited our field to the earlier period. The list which appears at the end of this essay includes forty- seven titles of works written by Catholic authors and printed in the American Colonies. A printing-press was set up by the Spaniards in Mexico as early as 1539, and by the French in Canada in 1764; but no printing was done west of the Mississippi River until after the close of the Revolutionary War. In other words, according to our researches, only forty-seven works of Catholic authorship were printed before 1784 on the continent of North America, between the present boundaries of Mexico and Canada. The work of only one prominent Catholic colonist appears: that of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. This fact by no means implies, however, that Catholics living in the Colonies or laboring as missionaries among the Indian tribes of North America wrote no books, for they wrote a great many. But their writings were printed abroad. The works of the first Lord Baltimore, for exam- ple, were all published in London. The narratives written by Fr. Andrew White, S.J., the “Apostle of Maryland,” so far as his writings were printed at all, appeared in London; other manu- scripts from his pen remained unprinted until recent years. The celebrated collection of the Jesuit Relations , which were written for the Superiors of the Society in Europe by the missionaries laboring among the Indians of Canada or in the Mississippi Val- 2 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. ley, were issued in Paris. The diaries, letters, and narratives of the Franciscans in California and the old Southwest were printed on the press of the Order in Mexico or were sent to Spain for publication. The historian of Catholic Colonial literature in its entirety will gather from many sources these scattered leaves which form the complete story of literary production extending from the Abenaki Mission in Maine to the adobe bell-towers of Father Junipero Serra’s Mission stations on the Pacific coast. The question may be asked : How, in an inquiry like the present one, is the Catholic authorship of a given work determined? In reply, we confess at once that the determination of this question is in many cases encompassed with uncertainty, conjecture, and grave liability to overlook titles of which one is in search. A few criteria of Catholic authorship are available for all titles: (1) an author whose name upon the title-page is followed by the initials of a religious order, e. g. 9 “S.J.” is easily identified as a Catholic; (2) prayer-books issued by the authorities of the Catholic Church or books of devotion stated to be intended for Catholic use are also clearly to be included; (3) books defending Catholic princi- ples, beliefs, or practices may be assumed to be of Catholic authorship, at least within the period we are considering. There are other titles which look Catholic and yet may not be so, and others that may be of Catholic authorship without bearing the earmarks of such authorship. Works of the last-named class must be identified individually by those who know the religion of their authors from other sources. One result of printing the pres- ent list of works will be, it is hoped, to awaken interest in the sub- ject that may call forth further contributions to the subject of Catholic bibliography of America. In the Records of the Governor and Company of the Massa- chusetts Bay in New England , edited by N. B. Shurtleff, a under date of 19 May, 1669, we read the following curious minute : “The Court, being informed that there is now in the presse, reprint- ing, a booke, tit Imitacons of Christ, or to yt purpose, written by Thomas a Kempis, a Popish minister, wherein is conteyned some things that are less safe to be infused among the people of this place, doe comend it to the licensers of the press, the more full revisall thereof, & that in the meane tjme there be no further progresse in that worke.” a Vol. iv, pt. ii, 1661-1674, p. 424. Boston, 1854. CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 3 What induced the printer, Samuel Green of Cambridge, 6 to issue such a book for the stern Puritans of the Massachusetts Colony we can only surmise; but apparently the work had not proceeded far before the magistrates were aware of it and took the action mentioned above. This order effectually quashed the publication of the Imitation of Christ [l] c at that time, for there is no further reference to the book to be found; and no edition was issued in Massachusetts until after the Revolution. The Mennonite press of Christopher Saur at Germantown, Pennsyl- vania, reprinted in 1749 a London edition of The Christian pattern, or, The imitation of Christ, being an abridgment of the works of Thomas a Kempis [7]. German translations were also issued by Saur in 1749 [8], 1750 [11], and 1773 [27]. An English edition by John Payne appeared in 1783 [46]. The name of Pere La Chaise, the confessor of Louis XIV, King of France, figures in the title of a book printed in 1688 at Phila- delphia, entitled : A letter from Father La Chaise, confessor to the French King, to Father Peters, confessor to the King of England, in which is contained the project and design of that faction to introduce the Prince of Wales. But the work is a fabrication, according to Evans, and was issued by Penn’s enemies in support of the charge that Penn was a Catholic. Letter from James II, King of Eng- land, to the Pope (Boston, 1696) [2], requesting the latter’s aid in putting down the rebellion, was printed doubtless for political effect. It is accompanied by “animadversions on the same.” There were but few Catholics in New England at this time. A French refugee, who was in Boston in 1687, writes as follows: “As for Papists, I have discovered since being here eight or ten, three of whom are French and came to our church, and the others are Irish; with the exception of the surgeon, who has a family, the others are here only in passage. ” d The next Catholic publication is interesting as being the first argument to be issued from the press of New England in support of Catholic claims. It is entitled : A Letter from a Romish priest in Canada to one [Mrs. Christina Baker] who was taken captive in 6 Evans, American Bibliography, Vol. i, No. 114. c Numbers refer to the List of Works to be found at the end of this article. d Fisher: Report of a French Protestant refugee (Brooklyn, 1868); quoted in Shea, Cath. Church in Colonial Days, p. 397. 4 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. her infancy and instructed in the Romish faith, but some time ago returned to this her native country. With an answer thereto by a person to whom it was communicated [Governor William Burnett, of Massachusetts]. (Boston, 1729) [3]. The author of the letter which forms a part of this publication was Fr. Frangois Seguenot, a Sulpician priest of Montreal. The incident alluded to is thus related by Dr. Shea : “During the border wars with Canada, New England prisoners taken to Canada in some cases became Catholics and not infrequently remained there. Those who returned to New England, however, al- most always relapsed. Such was the case of Christine Otis, who was brought up as a Catholic in Canada by her convert mother and mar- ried there. Left a widow, she was won by Captain Thomas Baker of Massachusetts, a commissioner sent to obtain a release of prisoners in that colony. Returning with him she became his wife, leaving her mother and a daughter in Canada. The Rev. Francis Seguenot, one of the Sulpitian priests at Montreal, hearing that she had renounced the faith, addressed a long letter to her in June, 1727, urging her to re- pent and return. This letter seems to have attracted no little atten- tion, as a translation was printed in Boston in 1729, with a reply which is ascribed to Governor Burnett. Seguenot’s argument was undoubt- edly the first argument on the Catholic side which had ever issued from the press of New England.”* We come now to several publications written by Fenelon, the illustrious Archbishop of Cambrai. His Dissertation on pure love was printed at Philadelphia in 1738, being a reprint of the London edition [4] ; and another issue of the book was printed at Saur’s press in Germantown in 1750 [10]. Fenelon’s Uncertainty of a deathbed repentance was printed by the same press in 1760 [18] and again in 1766 [22]. The reason for the publication by Protestants of these books written by a Catholic prelate is doubt- less to be sought for in Fenelon’s reputation among Protestants as being a defender of the doctrines of Madame Guyon, whose ideas had spread beyond the confines of France, especially after her death, and were long in favor among certain Protestant bodies in Germany, Switzerland, England and America/ The Papist's curses, or, A vindication of the Roman Catholicks, etc. (Philadelphia, 1743) may have been written by a Catholic, to judge from the phraseology of the title [5]. As the middle of the *Shea, Cath. Church in Colonial. Days, pp. 397-398. f Cath. Encycl., Vol. vii, p. 9L CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 5 eighteenth century was not a time when writers prided them- selves—as occasionally happens now—upon their freedom from bigotry, a “vindication 5 5 of Catholics by any one not of that faith seems improbable. The next year St. Bernard’s Hymn to Jesus was printed at Boston [6]. A severe earthquake occurred at Lima, Peru, in 1746, an ac- count of which was drawn up and printed in Spanish by order of the Viceroy. An English translation of this narrative was printed by Benjamin Franklin at his press in Philadelphia in 1749 entitled: A true and particular relation of the dreadful earthquake which happened at Lima . . . in 1746 [9]. The author was Father Pedro Lozano, a Jesuit, long resident in South America. Another edi- tion of the Relation of the dreadful earthquake was printed at Bos- ton in 1750 [13]. In 1751 Pope Benedict XIV renewed the prohibitions of Cle- ment XII against the Freemasons. In the same year there ap- peared at New York: A true translation of the Spanish bulls [14]. One may not say for sure, without seeing the book, whether the “bulls” mentioned in this title are those issued against Free- masonry; but the coincidence of date is significant. Extracts of several treatises against stage plays written by Armand de Bour- bon, Prince de Conti, was printed in Philadelphia in 1754 [15]. Puritan condemnation of the drama in any form would suffice to insure considerable sale for such a book in parts of New Eng- land, if not in the other colonies. The fact that the author was a French nobleman and presumably a Catholic would be over- looked or ignored in a work appealing to popular prejudice in a practical matter such as this was at that time. The subject of the next book to come to our notice may need a work of introduction: Daily conversation with God exemplify' d in the holy life of Armelle Nicolas . . . by Jeanne de la Na- tivite, published at Germantown, 1754 [16]. The Catholic Encyclopedia , in an article upon Armella Nicolas, signed by Rev. Edward F. Garesche, S.J., of St. Louis University, gives the following account of her. “‘La bonne Armelle,’ a saintly French serving-maid held in high veneration among the people, though never canonized by the Church, b. at Campeneac in Brittany, 9 September, 1606, of poor peasants, George Nicolas and Francisca Neant; d. 24 October, 1671. Her early 6 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. years were spent in the pious, simple life of the hard-working country folk. When she was twenty-two years of age her parents wished her to marry, but she chose rather to enter service in the neighboring town of Ploermel, where she found more opportunity for her pious works and for satisfying her spiritual needs. After a few years she went to the larger town of Vannes, where she served in several families, and for a year and a half was portress at the Ursuline monastery. She here formed a special friendship with a certain sister, Jeanne de la Nativite, to whom she told from time to time many details of her spiritual life, and who noted down these communications and afterwards wrote the life of Armella, who could herself neither read nor write. Even the lowly work at the convent did not satisfy her craving for toil and humilia- tion, and she returned to one of her former employers, where she remained to the end of her life. To her severe trials and temptations she added many works of penance and was rewarded by the growth of her inner life and her intimate union with God. . . . Many recommended themselves to her prayers and her deathbed was surrounded by a great number of persons who held her in special veneration. Her heart was preserved in the Jesuit Church and her body was buried in the church of the Ursulines. Near her grave was erected a tablet to La bonne Armelle. Her tomb is a place of pilgrimage. Armella has been claimed, but without good grounds, as an exponent of Quietism. If some of her expressions seem tinged with Quietist thought, it is because the con- troversy which cleared and defined many notions concerning Quietism had not yet arisen. On the other hand, her simple, laborious life and practical piety make any such aberrations very unlikely.” So we have in this work another supposed contribution to Quietism, which seems to have been quite popular in the Colonies at this time. Another edition was published at Wilmington, 1762 [21]; and again at Philadelphia in 1767 [23]. The blessed effects of a holy life and daily conversation with God , by Jeanne, was issued at Philadelphia in 1780 [41]. The Lady's preceptor , adapted from a French work by Abbe d’Ancourt, bears the imprint New York, 1759 [17]; the next year Pope’s Essay on man was printed for the first time in the Col- onies, at Philadelphia [19]. Twenty years elapsed, however, before another edition was called for, when An essay on man , in four epistles: together with the notes appeared at Newbury, 1780 [42] and the same at Providence in the same year [43]. Racine seems not to have been much admired in the Colonies, only one edition of one of his dramas being printed in the period before *Cath. Encycl., Vol. xi, p. 67. CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 7 1784; namely: The distrest mother, a tragedy (New York, 1761) [20]. A curious work, printed in Philadelphia in 1767, is the following: A translation of a passage from the letters of Julius, an ancient Italian missionary residing in China, of the manner there of draining and flooding their rice and grass lands along the sides of tide rivers . [24] In 1769, we find what is presumably the first American refer- ence to the Irish as a race. In that year Mr. Thomas Randall printed at New York a broadside beginning: Whereas a report prevails . . . that Mr. Thomas Smith . . . did reflect on the Irish people . . .[25]. Whether the author was a Catholic or not is uncertain; but inasmuch as the religion of the Irish has always furnished a favorite means of slandering them, it is possible that this challenge is a rebuttal of some anti-Catholic attack, and is for that reason to be deemed of Catholic authorship. Another broadside headed, The Irishmen's petition, written by Lawrence Sweeney, was printed at New York in 1769 [26]. For similar reasons as above, we have ventured to assign Catholic author- ship to this work also. The first proposal to publish a book in this country intended obviously and unquestionably for Catholic readers is contained in a circular issued in 1774 by Robert Bell, a publisher of Phila- delphia, calling for subscriptions to Bishop Challoner’s The Catholic Christian instructed in the Sacraments . 11 The proposal apparently met with poor response, for we find no further allu- sion to the book. But in the same year Bishop Challoner’s Garden of the soul, reprinted from the seventh London edition, was issued by Joseph Crukshank, a Quaker publisher of Phila- delphia [29]. This was the first Catholic prayer-book issued in the United States unless A Manual of Catholic prayers [28] preceded it in the same year. This is an interesting question which can be settled perhaps by an examination of the files of contemporary numbers of the Pennsylvania Gazette, to which the writer has not access at present. Another edition of the Manual appeared in 1778 [35]. The Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick printed, presumably for the use of their own members, The fundamental laws, statutes and constitutions of the ancient and benevolent order of the Friendly h Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. v. No. 1314-2. 8 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. Brothers of St. Patrick (Boston, 1774) [30]. An Appendix to this work was printed in Boston in 1775 [32]. The story of Abelard, whether on account of his romantic relations to Heloise or his constant and varied conflict with ecclesiastical authority, has not failed to interest every age since his own, and an edition of The letters of Abelard and Heloise was likely to secure readers, of whatever religious convictions. We are not surprised to find, therefore, published at Philadelphia in 1775: Letters of Abelard and Heloise. To which is prefixed a particular account of their lives , amours and misfortunes. By the late John Hughes , Esq. To which is now first added the poem of Eloisa to Abelard by Mr. [Alexander] Pope [31]. No further edition is recorded. Maxims and moral reflections. By the Duke de La Rochefou- cault, according to the new edition revised and improved at London in 1775, was printed at Philadelphia in 1778 [34]. In 1775, M. Gerard was sent by Louis XVI as Minister Pleni- potentiary of France to the United States. In June of that year the French fleet arrived off the coast of Virginia, bringing much-needed aid to the struggling Colonies. Interest in things French must have been greatly stimulated by the new French alliance. The credentials of the French minister were printed at Lancaster in 1778 [33] and again in 1779 [39]. The French commander, Count D’Estaing, issued in 1779 a Declaration addressed in the name of the King to all Frenchmen already settled in North America [38]; the chaplain of Minister Gerard, Fr. Seraphin Bandot, a Recollect, delivered a Fourth of July address in the Catholic Church (St. Mary’s) in Philadelphia [36], The presence at mass of French officers of the Forces gave, no doubt, to Catholicity in the Colony a prestige that it had not previously possessed. In 1780, a printed invitation was issued in French by the French Minister to assist at a solemn Te Deum to be chanted on the Fourth of July at high noon in the new Catholic chapel in Philadelphia [40]. Patriotism was thus dignified and consecrated by Catholic ceremonial. A printing press had been brought over on board the French fleet, which lay in the harbor of Newport, Rhode Island, from July, 1780, till March, 1781; it was used for printing notices and orders. According to a contemporary account, this press was CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 9 set up on shore at 641 Water Street, and other printed matter was issuedthere.* * A work entitled Voyage de Newport a Phila~ delphia , Albany , &c. by the Marquis de Chastellux was printed on board the French fleet, but the author was a disciple of Voltaire/ Another product of this naval printing press was: Calendrier frangais pour Vannee commune 1781 [44]. This was the first Catholic Almanac printed in the United States. It contains astronomical facts, a list of the officers of the fleet and of the army under the Count de Rochambeau, and events of the Revolution. The first publication of Charles Carroll, the foremost Catholic of Colonial days, to be printed in America was: A letter from Charles Carroll , senior , to the reader. With his petition to the General Assembly of Maryland; his speech in support of it; and the resolution of the House of Delegates thereon [37]. (Annapolis, 1779.) James Ryan’s A Pedantic Pedagogue was printed at Baltimore in 1779; but we cannot infer from the name that the author was a Catholic, although he may have been. The select colloquies of Erasmus , with an English translation as literal as possible , by John Clarke, appeared at Philadelphia, 1782 [45]. The book is designed for the use of beginners in the Latin tongue, as we are told on the title page, and is the eighteenth edition; but the previous editions were not printed in the Colonies. Erasmus probably had the reputation at that time of being a Reformer, in spite of his criticisms of Luther; but the religious faith of the author was of less importance in this connection than the suit- ability of his “colloquies” for use by the student of Latin. One of the chaplains of the French army operating in America at this time was the Abbe Claude C. Robin. Apparently he saw considerable of the country; for, in 1783, appeared New travels through North America: In a series of letters. . . Translated from the original of the Abb 6 Robin.” Philadelphia, 1783 [47]. The translation, made by Philip Freneau, was reprinted at Boston, 1784, and was also issued serially in The Time-piece and Literary Companion for 1797.* This closes the series of Colonial im- *Chapin, H. M. Calendrier frangais pour Vannie 1781 and the printing press of the French fleet in American waters during the Revolutionary war. (Providence, 1914.) •Tarousse : Grand diet., Vol. 3, p. 1063. *Evans, op. cit., No. 18167. 10 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. prints of books written by Catholic authors, as far as we have been able to trace them. The sources of information upon our field are only general. No writer apparently has treated ex professo of works of Catholic authorship printed in the American Colonies. Father Finotti, in the introduction to his Bibliographia Catholica Americana alludes cursorily to the writings of the Colonial period. The general sources are bibliographical and historical: bibliographies of books printed in the Colonies; histories of the Catholic Church and of Catholics in America before the recognition of the United States of America. The monumental work of Charles Evans: American Bibliography . A chronological dictionary of all books , pamphlets and periodical publications printed in the United States of Americafrom . . . 1639 down to . . . 1820 (Chicago, 1903- ), of which eight volumes have already appeared, covering the period 1639 to 1792, is the exhaustive and definitive bibliography of early American books. No one, save booksellers and bibliophiles in search of the rarissima of their trade, need go beyond Evans. For the purpose of our research his work has been not only indis- pensable but sufficient and unique; every one of the 18,317 titles of books printed in America before 1784 has been scanned for possible Catholic authorship. If titles have been overlooked which should appear in our list, the fault lies in the difficulty of always recognizing Catholic authorship, not in omissions by Evans. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge here the great obligation which I owe to Mr. Evans for the loan of his valuable work during the progress of my research and for per- sonal aid in solving points of difficulty. One historical source that has proven of much assistance has been Dr. John Gilmary Shea: The Catholic Church in Colonial Days (New York, 1886). Other historical works have been examined, such as: Dr. Justin Winsor: Narrative and Critical History of America (Boston and New York, 1884-89, 8 v.), espe- cially the volumes dealing with Colonial discovery and settle- ment; Rev. Zepherin Engelhardt, O.S.F., Missions and Mission- aries of California (San Francisco, 1908-15, 4 v.) ; and Hubert H. Bancroft’s works, especially the volumes dealing with California, Arizona, New Mexico, and the Northwest. Many historical works dealing with the Colonial period yield nothing pertinent CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 11 for the purpose of our inquiry, for the reason that the books mentioned were not 'printed in America. Authority for the Catholicity of authors has been, in nearly every case. The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York, 1907-14), to which we are also in- debted for additional information of the highest importance. Without the aid of Evans’ American Bibliography and the Ca- tholic Encyclopedia the preparation of the present paper would have been, if not impossible, extremely arduous, and the results would have been meagre. The omission of the name of a prom- inent man from the pages of the Encyclopedia has been taken as evidence that he was not a Catholic. Instances are the Marquis de Chastellux and the Marquis de Lafayette. The writer presents this tentative and pioneer essay with many misgivings. In examining many thousand titles without opportunity of examining all the books mentioned, and without undertaking, for obvious reasons, to test in every case the pos- sibility of unknown authors being Catholics, there is manifold liability for omission of names which should appear in the list. But possibly the publication of this preliminary record may be the means of bringing to light other names. LIST OF WORKS BY CATHOLIC AUTHORS PRINTED IN AMERICA BEFORE 1784. 1. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471, The imitation of Christ. Cambridge: Printed by Samuel Green, 1669. The Record of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, under date of 19 May, 1669, has the following minute: “The Court, being informed that there is now in the presse, reprinting, a booke, tit Imitacons of Christ, or to yt purpose, written by Thomas a Kempis, a Popish min- ister, wherein is conteyned some things that are less safe to be infused among the people of this place, doe comend it to the licensers of the press, the more full revisall thereof, & that in the meane tjme there be no further progresse in that worke.” Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Yol. i. No. 114. Evans enters this title under the year 1667; but the Court record is dated 1669. 2. James II, King of England, 1633-1701. Letter to the Pope [requesting assistance in putting down the Revolu- tion]. With animadversions on the same . . . Boston: Printed by Bartholomew Green and John Allen, 1696. Pp. 15. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog . , Yol. i. No. 742. 12 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. 3. Seguenot, Fr. Francois. A letter from a Romish priest in Canada, to one [Mrs. Christina Baker], who was taken captive in her infancy and instructed in the Romish faith, but some time ago returned to this her native country. With an answ er thereto, by a person to whom it was communicated [Governor William Burnett, of Massachusetts]. Boston: Printed for D. Henchman, 1729. Pp. (2), ii, 26. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. i, No. 3216. Dr. Shea gives an account of this incident and states that the author was a Sulpician priest at Montreal. Shea, Cath. Church in Colonial Days , Vol. 1, pp. 397-398. Copies are in the British Museum Library and in the Massachusetts Historical Society Library. 4. F£nelon, Franqois de Salignac de La Mothe, 1651-1715. The Archbishop of Cambray’s Dissertation on pure love, with an account of the life and writings of the lady for whose sake the arch- bishop was banished from court. And the grievous persecutions she suffer’d in France for her religion. Also two letters in French and English, written by one of the lady’s maids, during her confinement in the castle of Vicennes, where she was a prisoner eight years: one of the letters was writ with a bit of stick instead of a pen, and soot instead of ink, to her brother; the other to a clergyman. Together with an apologetic preface containing divers letters of the Archbishop of Cam- bray . . . also divers letters of the lady . . . London: Printed, and reprinted by Andrew Bradford at the Sign of the Bible, in Front Street, Philadelphia, 1738. Pp. xcvi, 142+ . 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog. , Vol. ii, No. 4246. The “Lady” referred to is, of course, Mme. Guyon, the Quietist. 5. Papist’s curses. The Papist’s curses, or, A vindication of the Roman Catholicks, etc. [Philadelphia? Sold by Andrew Farrel.] 1743. Evans, Amer. Bibliog . , Vol. ii. No. 5266. Written by a Catholic? 6. Bernard de Clairvaux, 1091—1153. Hymn to Jesus. Boston: 1744. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. ii, No. 5335. Copy in the Boston Athenaeum Library. 7. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471. The Christian pattern, or, The imitation of Jesus Christ, being an abridgment of the works of Thomas a Kempis. By a female hand. London, printed 1744. Germantown: Reprinted by Christopher Sowr. 1749. Pp. (2), 278. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. ii. No. 6342. Copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library. 8. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471. Vier Bucher von der Nachfolge Christi. Germantown: Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur. 1749. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. ii. No. 6343. Copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library. 9. Lozano, Fr. Pedro, S.J., 1697-1759. A true and particular relation of the dreadful earthquake, which hap- pen’d at Lima, the capital of Peru, and the neighbouring port of Callao, CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 13 on the 28th of October, 1746. With an account likewise of everything material that passed there afterwards to the end of November follow- ing. Published at Lima by command of the Viceroy, and translated from the original Spanish by a gentleman who resided many years in those countries. London printed. Philadelphia: Reprinted and sold by B. Franklin and D. Hall at the New Printing-Office near the Market, 1749. Pp. 52. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. ii. No. 6348. Copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library. 10. F£nelon, Feanqois de Salignac de La Mothe, 1651-1715. The Archbishop of Cambray’s Dissertation on pure love . . . London : Printed, and re-printed by Christophor Sowr at Germantown, 1750. Pp. xcvii, 120. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog.. Vol. ii, No. 6498. Another edition of No. 4. Copies in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Li- brary and New York Public Library. 11. Thomas A Kempis, 1380—1471. Der kleine Kempis, oder, Kurtze SprUche und Gebatlein, aus denen meistens unbekannten Wercklein des Thomae a Kempis zusammen getragen zur Erbauung der kleinen. Vierte und vermehrte Edition. Germantown: Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur. 1750. Pp. 162. 1 pi. 24mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. ii, No. 6523. 12. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471. Der kleine Kempis. . . . Vierte und vermehrte Auflage. German- town: Gedruckt bey Christoph Saur, 1750. Pp. 162. 1 pi. 24mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii, No. 6698. Identical with No. 11 save for the word “Auflage” instead of “Edition.” The discrepancy is re- produced by the entries in Hildeburn: Press in Penn. (Phila., 1885) I, p. 255, and in Seidensticker : German 'printing in Amer. (Phila., 1893), p. 36. Copies in Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, Philadel- phia, and New York Public Library. 13. Lozano, Fr. Pedro, S.J., 1697-1759. A true and particular relation of the dreadful earthquake which hap- pen’d at Lima . . . Boston: Printed and sold by D. Fowle in Queen Street, [1750.] Pp. 8. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. ii, No. 6531. For full title, see No. 9. 14. Catholic Church. Pope. A true translation of the Spanish bulls, or, A form of the Pope’s absolution. Translated by Garrat Noel. New York: Printed by James Parker: Sold at the house of Benjamin Leigh, school-master, near the Long-Bridge, and at the house of Capt. George Edmonds, the sign of the Bunch of Grapes near the Widow Rutgers, 1751. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iii. No. 6775. 15. Conti, Armand de Bourbon, Prince de, 1629-1666. Extracts of several treatises wrote by the Prince of Conti, with the sentiments of the Fathers and some of the decrees of the councils con- cerning stage plays. . . . Philadelphia: Printed by William Bradford, at the sign of the Bible in Second Street. 1754. Pp. 47, (i). 8vo. 14 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii, No. 7175. Copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 16. Jeanne de la Nativity. Daily conversation with God exemplify’d in the holy life of Armelle Nicolas, a poor ignorant country maid in France; commonly known by the name of the good Armelle, deceas’d at Bretaigne in the year 1671. Done out of French. . . . Germantown: Printed by Christopher Sower Junior, 1754. Pp. 16. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iii, No. 7218. 17. Ancourt, d ’, abbS. The lady’s preceptor. Or, A letter to a young lady of distinction upon politeness. Taken from the French of the Abbe d’Ancourt and adapted to the religion, custom and manners of the English nation. By a gentleman of Cambridge. Five lines from Milton. New-York: Printed and sold by Samuel Parker at the New-Printing-Office in Beaver- Street, 1759. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii, No. 8296. 18. Fenelon, Franqois de Salignac de La Mothe, 1651-1715. The uncertainty of a deathbed repentance, illustrated under the character of Penitens. [Germantown: Printed by Christopher Sower, 1760.] Pp. 16. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii, No. 8597. Copy in the Library Company of Philadelphia Library. 19. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744. An essay on man. Enlarged and improved by the author. With notes by William Warberton, M.A. London printed. Philadelphia: Re-printed and sold by W. Dunlap, at the Newest-Printing-Office, in Market-Street, 1760. Pp. 68, 1 pi. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iii, No. 8718. 20. Racine, Jean, 1639-1699. The distrest mother: A tragedy. Translated by A. Philips from the Andromaque of Racine. New-York: Printed by Hugh Game, 1761. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii, No. 8986. 21. Jeanne de la Nativity. Daily conversation with God, exemplify’d in the holy life of Armelle Nicholas, a poor ignorant country maid in France, commonly known by the name of Good Armelle; who departed this life, at Bretaigne, in the year 1671. Translated from the French. . . . Wilmington: Printed by James Adams, in Market-Street, 1762. Pp. 16. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iii. No. 9149. Copy in Historical Society of Penn- sylvania Library, Philadelphia. 22. Fenelon, Franqois de Salignac de la Mothe, 1651-1715. The uncertainty of a death-bed repentance, illustrated under the character of Penitens. Germantown: Printed by Christoph Saur, 1766. Pp. 16. 8vo. Evans: Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iv, No. 10296. 23. Jeanne de la Nativite. Daily conversation with God, exemplified in the holy life of Armelle Nicholas, a poor ignorant country maid in France, commonly known by the name of the Good Armelle, deceas’d in Bretaigne in the year CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 15 1671. Done out of French. . . . London printed. Philadelphia: Re- printed by Henry Miller, in Second-Street, 1767. Pp. 16. 16mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. iv, No. 10659. Copy in New York Public Library. 24. Julius. A translation of a passage from the letters of Julius, an antient Italian missionary, residing in China, of the manner there of draining and flooding their rice and grass lands along the sides of tide rivers. Philadelphia: Printed by William Goddard, 1767. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iv. No. 10660. 25 . Randall, Thomas. Whereas a report prevails in this city, that Mr. Thomas Smith, during the last election, did reflect on the Irish people, by saying that they came into this conntry [ ! ] floating upon straws. . . . [Signed] Thomas Randall, William Browne. New-York, January 23, 1769. [New York: 1769.] Broadside. 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog. , Vol. iv, No. 11433. Copy in Library Company of Philadelphia Library. 26. Sweeney, Lawrence. The Irishmen’s petition, to the honourable C-MM-SSI-N-RS of Excise &C. . . . [Signed] Patrick O’Conner, Blaney O’Bryan, Carney Macguire, Lawrence Sweeney. [Printed by desire. New York: 1769.] Broadside. 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iv. No. 11485. Copy in the Library of Congress. 27. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471. Der kleine Kempis; oder, Kurze Spruche und Gebatlein, aus denen meistens unbekannten Werklein des Thomas a Kempis zusammen getragen zur Erbauung der Kleinen. Fiinfte und vermehrte Auflage. Germantown, gedruckt u. zu finden bey Christoph Saur, 1773. Pp. (10), 155. Plate. 16mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. iv. No. 12824. Copy in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia. 28. Catholic Church. A manual of Catholic prayers. [Three lines.] Philadelphia: Printed for the Subscribers, by Robert Bell, Bookseller in Third-Street, 1774. Pp. 272+. Plate. 12mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. 5, No. 13588. Copy in Library of Georgetown University, D. C. 29. Challoner, Richard, bp., 1691-1781. The garden of the soul; or, A manual of spiritual exercises and in- structions for Christians, who (living in the world) aspire to devotion. The seventh edition, corrected. London, printed. Philadelphia: Re- printed, by Joseph Crukshank, in Market-Street, between Second and Third Streets, [1774.] Pp. 364. 24mo. The first Catholic prayer-book printed in English in America, unless No. 28 preceded it in the same year. Evans, Amer. Bibliog.y Vol. v. No. 13188. Finotti: Bibliog. Cath. Amer.y pp. 15-16. 30. Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick. The fundamental laws, statutes, and constitutions of the ancient 16 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. and most benevolent order of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick. [Nine lines of Latin from] Cicero. Boston: Printed by William M’Al- pine, in Marlborough-Street, 1774. Pp. 48. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. v, No. 13284. Copy in the American Antiquarian Society Library, Worcester, Mass. 31. Abailard, Pierre, 1079—1142. Letters of Abelard and Heloise. To which is prefix’d a particular account of their lives, amours and misfortunes. By the late John Hughes, Esq. To which is now first added the poem of Eloisa to Abelard. By Mr. Pope. Philadelphia: Printed for Samuel Delap, 1775. Pp. 124. Plate. 12mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. v, No. 13787. Copy in the American Antiquarian Society Library, Worcester, Mass. 32. Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick. An appendix to the fundamental laws, statutes, and constitutions, of the ancient and most benevolent order of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick. Boston: In New-England, Printed in the year 1775. Pp. 47. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. v, No. 14048. Copy in the American Antiquarian Society Library, Worcester, Mass. 33. Louis XVI, King of France, 1754-1793. Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to all who shall see these presents, greeting. Credentials of C. A. Gerard, as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. Lancaster: Printed by Francis Bailey, 1778. Pp. (2). 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog. , Vol. v, No. 15798. Copy in Library Company of Philadelphia. 34. La Rochefoucauld, Francois, duc de, Prince de Marsillac,1613-1680. Maxims and moral reflections. By the Duke de la Rochefoucault. Printed according to the new edition, revised and improved at London, in 1775. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Robert Bell, next door to St. Paul’s Church, in Third-Street, 1778. Pp. 142 (2). 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. v, No. 15864. Copy in Historical Society of Penn- sylvania Library. 35. Catholic Church. A manual of Catholic prayers, and other Christian devotions for the use of those Roman Catholics who ardently aspire after salvation. Philadelphia: Printed by Robert Bell, 1778. Evans, Amer. Bibliog Vol. v. No. 16058. 36. Bandot, Seraphin. Discours prononce le 4 Juillet, jour de l’anniversaire de Independ- ence, dans l’Eglise Catholique, par le Reverend Pere Seraphin Bandot, Recollet, aum6nier de son Excellence Mr. Gerard, ministre Plenipoten- tiare de France aupres des Etats Unis de l’Amerique Septentrionale. A Philadelphie, de lTmprimerie de Steiner & Cist, [1779.] Broadside fol. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16198. 37. Carroll, Charles, 1702-1782. A letter from Charles Carroll, senior, to the reader. With his peti- tion to the General Assembly of Maryland; his speech in support of it; CATHOLIC AUTHORSHIP IN AMERICA 17 and the resolution of the House of Delegates thereon. [Seven lines of quotations.] Annapolis: Printed by Frederick Green, 1779. Pp. (16). 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16216. Copy in the Library of Congress. 38. Estaing, Charles Hector Theodat, Comte d’, 1729-1794. Declaration addressee au nom du roi a tous les anciens Francois de l’Amerique Septentrionale. [Colophon :] A Philadelphie, de l’lmprimerie de Frangois Bailey, Rue du Marche, [1779.] Pp. 3, (1). fol. Evans, Amer. Bibliog ., Vol. vi, No. 16265. Copy in Library Company of Phila- delphia Library. 39. Louis XVI, King of France, 1754-1793. Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to all who shall see these presents, greetings. [Credentials of C. A. Gerard, as Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States. Lancaster: Printed by Francis Bailey, 1779.] Pp. (2). 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16279. Copy in Library Company of Philadelphia Library. 40. Philadelphia. Catholic Chapel. Vous etes prie de la part du Ministre Plenipotentiare de France d’assister au Te Deum, qu’il sera chanter Dimanche 4 de ce mois, a midi dans la Chapelle Catholique neuve pour celebrer l’anniversaire de l’in- dependance. . . . [Colophon:] A Philadelphia, de 1’imprimerie de Frangois Bailey, Rue du Marche, [1779.] Broadside. 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16475. Copy in Library Company of Philadelphia. 41. Jeanne de la Nativite. The blessed effects of a holy life and daily conversation with God, exemplified in a short extract of the life of Armelle Nicolas, a poor igno- rant country maid. [Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph Crukshank, 1780.] Pp. 12. 12mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16811. 42. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744. An essay on man, in four epistles: Together with the notes. . . . New- bury: Printed by John Mycall, for N. Coverly of Boston, 1780. Pp. 55. 4to. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 16955. Copy in the Library of Congress. 43. Pope, Alexander, 1688-1744. An essay on man, in four epistles. Together with the notes. Providence: Printed by Bennett Wheeler, 1780. Evans, Amer. Bibliog , Vol. vi, No. 16956. 44. CALENDRIER FRANgAIS. Calendrier frangais pour 1’annee commune, 1781. Contenant: Le calcul ordinaire du lever & du coucher du soleil, de la lune & leur declinaison. Un etat des officiers de l’escadre, & des principaux de l’armee aux ordres de M. le Comte de Rochambeau. Les epoques les plus interessantes de la guerre presente, avec les routes du continent, a Newport, de lTmprimerie royale de l’escadre, pres le Parc de la marine. 125 x 81 mm. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 17110. Chapin, Howard Millar, Calendrier frangais. . . . (Providence, 1914). The first 18 WILLIAM STETSON MERRILL, A.B. Catholic almanac printed in the United States. Copy in the Rhode Island Historical Society Library, Providence. 45. Erasmus, Desiderius, 1465—1536. Erasmi Colloquia selecta; or. The select Colloquies of Erasmus. With an English translation, as literal as possible. Designed for the use of beginners in the Latin tongue. The eighteenth edition, by John Clarke, author of the Essays upon Education and Study. Philadelphia : Printed and sold by Joseph Crukshank, in Market-Street, between Second and Third-Streets, 1782. Pp. v, 222. 12mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi. No. 17529. 46. Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471. Of the imitation of Christ: In three books. Translated from the Latin of Thomas a Kempis. By John Payne. London, printed. Phila- delphia: Re-printed and sold by Joseph Crukshank, in Market-Street, between Second and Third-Streets, 1783. Pp. 44, 211. 12mo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi, No. 17992. Copy in the American Antiquarian Society Library, Worcester, and in the Historical Society of Pennsyl- vania Library, Philadelphia. 47. Robin, Claude C., L’Abbe. New travels through North-America: In a series of letters; exhibiting: The history of the victorious campaign of the allied armies, under his excellency General Washington, and the Count de Rochambeau, in the year 1781. Interspersed with political, and philosophical observations, upon the genius, temper, and customs of the Americans; also, narrations of the capture of General Burgoyne and Lord Cornwallis, with their armies; and a variety of interesting particulars, which occurred in the course of the war in America. Translated from the original of the Abbe Robin, one of the chaplains to the French army in America. [Six lines from] Busiris, by Young. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by Robert Bell, in Third-Street, 1783. Price two-thirds of a dollar. Pp. 112. 8vo. Evans, Amer. Bibliog., Vol. vi. No. 18167. Copy in Historical Society of Pennsylvania Library, Library of Congress, New York His- torical Society Library, and John Carter Brown Library, Providence. Philip Freneau’s translation was reprinted in Boston in 1784; and also issued serially in The Time-piece and Literary Companion for 1797. William Stetson Merrill, A.B. (Harvard), The Newberry Library , Chicago.