Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The projector and compiler of this work, while examining manv years since Histories of Religions, and hearing numerous com plaints by ministers and lay members of different denominations, that such books had unjustly represented their religion, was forcibly im pressed, that a work like the one now oflered to the public, was desi rable and much needed: he then conceived the plan of obtaining the history of each denomination from the pen of some one of its most distinguished ministers or professors; thus affording each sect the opportunity of giving its own history - considering that a work thus prepared must be entirely free from the faults of misrepresentation, so generally brought against books of this character.

The projector and compiler of this work, while examining manv years since Histories of Religions, and hearing numerous com plaints by ministers and lay members of different denominations, that such books had unjustly represented their religion, was forcibly im pressed, that a work like the one now oflered to the public, was desi rable and much needed: he then conceived the plan of obtaining the history of each denomination from the pen of some one of its most distinguished ministers or professors; thus affording each sect the opportunity of giving its own history — considering that a work thus prepared must be entirely free from the faults of misrepresentation, so generally brought against books of this character.