e Lord," saying that the design of
this man was to hurt his "precious opportunities of glorifying" his
"glorious Lord Jesus Christ." He earnestly besought that those
opportunities might not be "damnified" by Calef's book. And he finished
by imploring deliverance from his calumnies. So "I put over my
calumnious adversary into the hands of the righteous God."

On the fifth of November, Calef's book having been received in Boston,
Mather again made it the occasion of Fasting and Praying. His friends
also spent a day of prayer, as he expresses it, "to complain unto God,"
against Calef, he, Mather, meeting with them. On the twenty-fifth of
November, he writes thus, in his Diary: "The Lord hath permitted Satan
to raise an extraordinary Storm upon my father and myself. All the rage
of Satan, against the holy churches of the Lord, falls upon us. First
Calf's and then Colman's, do set the people into a mighty ferment."

The entries in his Diary, at this time, show that he was exasperated, to
the highest degree, against Calef, to whom he applies such terms as, "a
liar," "vile," "infamous," imputing to him diabolical wickedness. He
speaks of him as "a weaver;" and, in a pointed manner calls him _Calf_,
a mode of spelling his name sometimes practised, but then generally
going out of use. The probability is that the vowel _a_, formerly, as in
most words, had its broad sound, so that the pronunciation was scarcely
perceptibly different, when used as a dissyllable or monosyllable. As
the broad sound became disused, to a great extent, about this time, the
name was spoken, as well as spelled, as a dissyllable, the vowel having
its long sound. It was written, _Calef_, and thus printed, in the
title-page of his book; so that Mather's variation of it was
unjustifiable, and an unworthy taunt.

It is unnecessary to say that a fling at a person's previous occupation,
or that of his parents--an attempt to discredit him, in consequence of
his having, at some period of his life, been a mechanic or
manufacturer--or dropping, or altering a letter in his name, does not
amount to much, as an impeachment of his character and credibility, as a
man or an author. Hard words, too, in a heated controversy, are of no
account whatever. In this case, particularly, it was a vain and empty
charge, for Mather to call Calef _a liar_. In the matter of the account,
the latter drew up, of what took place in the chamber of Margaret Rule:
as he sent it to Mather fo