48     THE STORY OF NEW NETHERLAND

preach and pray. Here were sung the uplifting
Hebrew psalms, done into mother-speech and set
to the tones of the long-drawn Gregorian chant,
as in dear Patria. Here were read the grand sen¬
tences, with their rich cadences of Calvin's " Form
for the Administration of the Lord's Supper," the
heart of which beats in the words, " We seek our
life out of ourselves in God."

All important is the history of " the Reformed
Church in America," because the highest Dutch
social life was closely associated with the Church,
and was from the first found in its largest and
fullest form in the congregations. The Church
nourished a spirit of democracy, besides maintain¬
ing the schools and culture after the English con¬
quered New Netherland and the royal governors
abolished the public schools. Then the^^Church,
from its pastors, precentors, and educated men,
had to furnish and support teachers for the girls
and boys. The Reformed Dutch Church was the
seedbed for the sprouting of American and Conti¬
nental, as opposed to aristocratic British notions.
The language, customs, traditions, and best inher¬
itances of Patria lingered longest, and are to-day
found most notably in the Reformed churches in
the East and West of our country. When New
Netherland ceased to be, the Dutch Church and
people still remained a potent element in the mak¬
ing of the American man and the world's grandest
political structure.