rolled in the records of this old church?

Its romantic associations and beautiful scenery have made Bingen a famous tourist center. It produces leather, cloth and chemicals. It is and has long been the center for the sale of wines produced in the neighborhood by the terraced vineyards. But you must read elsewhere the fascinating legends of the home of your ancestors. Our immediate concern is with those who came to America. William Penn influenced most of these immigrants to come. King Charles H had granted him a large tract of land, now Pennsylvania, in payment of a debt owed Penn's father. The younger Penn had many friends among the German Mennonites, a denomination similar to the Dunkards, from whom the Quakers had borrowed many of their beliefs. A keen business man, he sent out a great number of prospectuses or advertisements describing the new country and setting forth the advantages to be enjoyed there. The land was fertile and low in price. Just laws and religious freedom were inducements to immigrants. At the time of Hans, the German farmers had enjoyed great prosperity, particularly in the Palatinate. They "worked fine farms, owned silver plate, lived in comfortable homes, had some capital and were generally admitted to be the best farmers in Europe. Some farms had been cultivated by the same family for as many as thirty generations. They were renowned for their industry, wit, independence and intelligence." Because of their satisfactory conditions at home, the Germans had felt no urge to move elsewhere, while the English and Dutch were colonizing the new world. But these happy conditions were changed by the religious struggle known as the Thirty Years War, much of which was fought in the neighborhood of Mainz. The farmers could no longer thrive on their war-torn fields. Penn's sales-literature arrived at this opportune time. The land-hungry Germans left their ruined farms and 53