5. _It is desired that the Accounts, thus taken of these Remarkables, may be sent in unto the_ President,[65] _or the Fellows of the Colledge, by whome they shall be carefully reserved for such a use to be made of them, as may by some fit Assembly of Ministers be Judged most conducing to the Glory of God, and the Service of his People._ 6. _Tho' we doubt not, that love to the Name of God will be motive enough unto all good Men, to Contribute what Assistance they can unto this Undertaking; yet for further Incouragement, some singular Marks of Respects shall be studied for such good Men, as will actually assist it, by taking pains to Communicate any Important Passages proper to be inserted in this Collection._ _Increase Mather_, President. _James Allen_, } _Char. Morton_, } _Sam. Willard_, } _Cotton Mather_, } Fellows. _John Leverett_, } _Will. Brattle_, } _Neh. Walter_, } Cambr. March 5, 169¾ Here being an Encouragement to all good Men, to send in such remarkables as are therein expressed, I have sent the following, not that I think them a more sensible demonstration of the being of a future State (with Rewards and Punishments) or of Angels good and bad, _&c._ than the Scriptures of truth hold forth, _&c._ Or than any of those other demonstrations God hath given us; for this were Treacherously and Perfidiously to quit the Post to the Enemy, the _Sadducee, Deist,_ and _Atheist_ would hereby be put in a condition so Triumphantly to deny the Existence and Agency thereof. As that a few Stories told (which at best must be owned to be fallible and liable to misrepresentations) could not be thought Infallibly sufficient to demonstrate the truth against them. I have heard that in Logick a false Argument is reckon'd much worse than none: Yet supposing that a Collection of Instances may be many ways useful, not only to the present but succeeding Ages, I have sent you the following remarkables, which have lately occurred, the certainty of which, if any scruple it, will be found no hard matter to get satisfaction therein: But here, not to insist on those less occurrents, as the sudden Death of one of our late Justices,[66] and a like Mortallity that fell upon the two Sons of another of them, with the Fall of a Man that was making provision to raise the New Northern Bell, which, when it was up, the first person, whose death it was to signifie, was said to be a Child of him, who by Printing and speaking, had had as great hand in procur[41]ing the late Actions as any, if not the greatest; and the Splitting the Gun at _Salem_, where that furious Marshal, and his Father, _&c._ was rent to pieces,[67] _&c._ As to all these it must be owned, that no man knows love or hatred by all that is before him, much less can they be more sensible demonstrations of the Existence or Agency of the _Invisible World_, than the scriptures of Truth afford, _&c._ tho' the Rich Man in the Parable might think otherwise, _&c._ who was seeking to send