We are glad to note the appearance of the Puritan,
a new sixpenny magazine, published by James Bowden, which begins with the issue for February. The Puritan very properly insists upon a view repeatedly upheld by the Spectator, that the Puritans were not the harsh, dull bigots they are so often, but so mistakenly, represented. The most typical Puritans knew how to combine a deep and fervent religion with a great deal of sweetness and light. Remember it was Charles II. who wanted to sell the cartoons of Raphael. It was Cromwell who previously insisted on keeping them for the nation. To represent men like Milton and Colonel Hutchinson as enemies of culture, or of sport and recreation, is utterly preposterous. If the Puritan can bring this true view home to its readers it will do a good work. It mast remember, however, that Puritanism is the inheritance of the whole nation, and not of any section. Again, we trust that it will not forget that in politics the Puritans were never Little Englanders and always Unionists. The higher Imperial patriotism was, indeed, the outcome of Puritanism. It was Cromwell of whom Dryden truly sang : "He did not keep us prisoners to our isle." It was Cromwell who wished the name of the Englishman to be like that of the Roman, and who gave us sea power. Cromwell, too, was the first and greatest of Unionists, and hated with all his soul the idea of separation and disintegration.
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