IN the general sequence of my volumes on American history, the present work comes next after The Beginnings of New England, which in turn comes next after Old Virginia and Her Neighbours. It will be observed that these books leave the history of New England at the overthrow of James II., while they carry that of the southern and middle colonies, with some diminution of de tails, into the reigns of the first two Georges. It is my purpose, in my next book, to deal with the rise and fall of New France, and the development of the English colonies as in?uenced by the pro longed struggle with that troublesome and danger ous neighbour. With this end in view, the history of New England must be taken up where the earlier book dropped it, and the history of New York resumed at about the same time, while by degrees we shall find the histories of Pennsylvania and the colonies to the south of it swept into the main stream of Continental history. That book will come down to the year 1765, which witnessed the ringing out of the old and the ringing in ofthe new, the one with Pontiac's War the other with the Stamp Act. I hope to have it ready in about two years from now.