USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Cohasset > Centennial anniversary of the town of Cohasset, May 7, 1870 > Part 4
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An hour was then happily spent in disposing of the sub- stantial and bountiful repast spread upon the tables, after which the President introduced Mr. GEORGE BEAL, Jr., of Cohasset, as the Toast-Master of the occasion, who gave the first regular toast, as follows :-
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Hon. THOMAS RUSSELL, Collector of Boston, was called upon to respond.
SPEECH OF COLLECTOR RUSSELL.
I am sure you have all heard enough of my voice to-day, and, fortunately, there is no need for any one to respond to a senti- ment in honor of the President of the United States. This rescued land responds for him. Every spear of grass that grows upon your hills, every wave that rolls upon your shores, takes to itself a tongue, and tells the praises of the loyalty and cour- age to which we owe the deliverance of our country. (Ap- plause.) If the President were here, I am sure he would turn to those volunteers who acted as our escort to-day, and say that all the wealth and all the beauty of this town and of this land, all these thriving farms, all the comfort of these homes, all the grateful feelings with which we keep this thanksgiving to-day, we owe to them, and to those who, like them, braved death at the call of patriotism for the defence of liberty. (Applause.)
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And then, perhaps, the President would add that it is the glory of America that she is known in foreign lands, not only by her great cities, New York and Washington and Boston, but in time of war they hear also of the little towns, of the Cohassets, the Hinghams, the Scituates, the Plymouths. Our glory is that our strength is not in a great city, like Paris or London, but all over America, from ocean to ocean, in these little patriotic com- munities. There is the imperishable life of the nation, which,
" Vital in every part, Cannot but by annihilation die."
One word more of the President. It is the glory of Gen, Grant, that long before the proclamation of emancipation, he announced that emancipation must come; that only by justice could we win victory. He was the author of that imperishable sentiment : "Human liberty the only foundation of human gov- ernment." That we have obtained. Now we want to go one step further. We want a fifteenth amendment of the heart; we want to see the last of that mean, lingering prejudice which denounces and despises any man because of his color. (Ap- plause.) The world does move; I thought of it when I saw that honored senator take his place in the church. Forty years ago, in a country town of Massachusetts, such was the prejudice against color, that the hotel refused to receive any colored man who happened to be travelling through the place. There was one man in the town whose doors were open to any one, and to his house every colored man was sent. That man is to-day Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Applause.) And speaking-presuming to speak, as you have called upon me to do-for the President of the United States, I give you, -The Fifteenth Amendment of the National Heart : Equality before the law, we have it; equality in social life, we must have it.
.
Music.
Second regular toast :
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS-The home of the Puritan still.
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Gov. CLAFLIN rose to respond, when three cheers were called for, and given with great heartiness and unanimity.
SPEECH OF GOV. CLAFLIN.
I am sure, Mr. President and friends, that you would all pre- fer that the gentleman who has just taken his seat should have answered for the State as well as for the President of the United States. I accept your cheers as an indication of the sentiments which you cherish towards the State of Massachu- setts, the glorious old Commonwealth.
I thank you most cordially for the opportunity you have given me to attend these ceremonies to-day, and to hear the pleasant voice of my friend, who has delineated your history so graphi- cally and clearly. I am sure that, a hundred years hence, the historian who turns back to the oration which has been deliv- ered this day will feel that, with all the advances that may have been made in that time, they cannot hope to have a better oration on the celebration of the second centenary than that to which we have listened to-day.
I am called upon to say a word in behalf of the Common- wealth. Looking back for a moment to the period to which our thoughts naturally turn to-day, looking back to the year 1770, what was our number? Including the State of Maine, , we then had 250,000, possibly 275,000 inhabitants. To-day we have almost six times that number in our own Commonwealth, of about one-third the territory then embraced within the limits of the colony. While the population has increased in this great ratio, the wealth of the State has increased in much greater proportion. To one coming from a distant State to visit us, the question might occur, " What has brought all this to pass ? How comes it that this State, with its unfavorable soil, with its cold and cheerless climate, should have been so success- ful?" Now, I am not one of those who believe that Massachu- setts is without great natural advantages. I believe that God has given us a very favorable location on the earth's surface. Our immense sea-coast, our fine and beautiful harbors, afford advantages which, in the hands of an enterprising and energetic people, enable them to make good their position. True, we
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have not the mines nor the fertile soils which abound in other States, but we have these other facilities ; and, above all, in the providence of God, he ordered to these shores that bold Puri- tan band who laid the foundations of the State in righteousness, and left us a richer legacy than mines or soils. They left to us a system of public schools and a love of industry and integrity, which have borne their fruits in enriching our State, in giving us a world-wide fame, and in giving us men who shall make the State forever glorious. And to-day, as we look back to the year 1770, and see that Massachusetts then took a high place in the counsels of the nation, how can we say that, with all the advancement of other parts of the land, we have fallen back ? We stand to-day with two members of the cabinet -- noble, trusted; faithful, true men, who in all parts of the land are honored for their intelligence and their true principles, repre- senting the State of Massachusetts. Then, when we look at the Senate, in what period of the history of Massachusetts do we find her better represented than she is to-day ? I like to look forward to the future. Some people fear that Massachu- setts is not to grow ; that she is not to progress in all that makes a State great and glorious. But I have no fears; I believe that she is greater to-day in her power and in her opportunities for improvement than ever before. The great improvements of Massachusetts have been made principally in the last fifty years. All her material interests have been improved in that time ; her school system has been brought to its present degree of perfec- tion, and it is bearing its fruits. Her population has increased more rapidly in the last ten years than at any previous period in her history, and so, as it seems to me, she is to go on in the future; and at the end of another hundred years, this State, though small in territory, will have two or three times the pop- ulation she numbers to-day. Nothing can take from us the advantageous position we hold upon the earth's surface, and nothing, I believe, will take from us the resolution to improve all the opportunities we have, whether material, moral or intel- lectual.
I thank you, gentlemen, for the opportunity you have given me to be with you and enjoy this pleasant occasion. I will not trespass further upon your time, for I see all around me men
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who are familiar with your history, who rejoice with you more than I can express, who feel that they are a part with you, and are ready to express their feelings.
Music.
Third regular toast :
Welcome, sons and daughters of Cohasset; welcome adopted sons and daughters ; welcome all to the family table to-day.
SPEECH OF LORING LOTHROP.
Mr. Chairman,-It has been said of language, that it was given us to conceal our thoughts. It is indeed true that speech does partially conceal or misrepresent many of the thoughts we desire and strive to utter. But there can be no obscurity as to the sentiments of this hour. Uttered or unexpressed, they are simple and eloquent. The girls and boys of this fair town, in returning, on this festal day, to the home of their earliest years, do so with a clear conception of its significance. The lapse of time changes not our sympathies. The warm pulses of youth, of love and beauty, of confident hope and innocent joy, are cherished still. The heart is freed from perverting influences. The sensibilities are tender and open to impressions, and the as- sociations of the hour warm and enliven them. We think of matters in which the affections are concerned. Precious, in- deed precious, the remembrance of our youthful home. Pre- cious the remembrance of meetings at the domestic fireside, seasons of warm-hearted fellowship. We cherish these memo- ries with affectionate and unfailing regard. And so, Mr. Chair- man, we are happy to be with you to-day, and give and receive the warin hand of fellowship, and go up together to a higher standpoint, from which to look out upon the past, view the present, and prepare for the future. Thus we mark our progress in life.
It is, however, with mingled emotions that I respond to your call. Returning to the scenes of our brightest and happiest days, we feel deeply the changes of the past. Even the face of nature wears a different aspect. The hills are not so green, the rocks are not so rough and huge, and
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Town of Cohasset.
" The schoolboy spot We ne'er forget, though there we are forgot,"
appears less cheerful now.
Everything relating to man in this world is stamped with change. This we recognize; this we experience. Still we can- not think of the companions of our youth, who have left their native land, the land of their fathers; who have forgotten us, or themselves lie forgotten in the grave; of the house which sheltered us; of the parents who cared for us, and the spot where we knelt down to say our simple prayer; of the father whose hand was laid upon the head of his boy as he went forth to meet the duties and perils and struggles of life ; and, above all, of her whose smile was the dearest enjoyment of our young life, without feeling in the soul a void which naught can fill. All, all, is changed. A century is past,
" And all its aching joys are now no more, And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur. Other gifts Have followed for such loss; I would believe, Abundant recompense."
Mr. Chairman, I loved, when a boy, to stand on the summit of the great rock a little south of the house in which I was born, just as the sun's golden rim touched the horizon, and linger there till the village beneath was hushed, and, their evening song ended, the birds had gone to their leafy homes, and the harvest moon, pale and silvery, came forth undimmed by the brightness of her effulgent brother. Many years since then have passed away. The green leaves have withered and dropped and perished ; the trees have bent under the winter's snows, and again have put forth their buds and blossoms, and their thick foliage has cast in summer its broad shadow on the earth. Suc- cessively have they been changed by decay's effacing fingers, to again live in beauty and joy. It was an inviting spot. That rocky hillside is even now more grateful to my view than almost any other place.
"Oh, there are green spots on the path of time!"
So, my friends, as we return each to his once cherished spot and linger there, the freshness of young life returns. Our past
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lives in the present, and the scenes of childhood are not loved in vain.
But touching memories are now awakened.
" It was a night of summer, and the sea Slept like a child in mute tranquillity,"
and from the heights of that granite hill I looked out upon the broad ocean, and watched the white sail far distant down the bay, and fancied the joy of the mariner as he saw his native land once more.
It was a winter's night, and I watched the white-winged ves- sels as they went out from the land, and saw the storm-cloud gather round some frail bark.
" In her was many a mother's joy, And love of many a weeping fair ; For her was wafted in its sigh
. The lonely heart's unceasing prayer ! And oh! the thousand hopes untold Of ardent youth, that vessel bore. Say, were they quenched in waters cold? For she was never heard of more.
These pensive utterances are natural, and it seems to me in harmony with the spirit of this anniversary day. But I must end them now, to say a word in regard to a matter of local in- terest. Cohasset is a fair town, as well as a land of mighty rocks. Your common looks fresh and cheerful. The old church, ยท which has witnessed scenes which none of us can recall, still stands. I have heard it said that some persons desire to remove it, and place it on the west side of the street. Why, my friends, the plain was large enough forty-five years ago, when Col. New- comb Bates commanded the regiment, and Job Bates and Eliot Stoddard were the drummers of the Cohasset company, and Mr. John Wilcutt was fifer. The brigade mustered at that time at Cohasset, and the town has not seen such a day since, nor wit- nessed such exploits as were then accomplished by the Hingham Rifle Company, when, in sham fight, they vanquished their foes, and drove them, in the confusion of utter defeat, from the field of battle. You will never see a day like that. (Laughter.) The town had room enough then. Don't remove the old church.
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Should you ever do it, be sure and put up on the spot where it stood a notice of the fact in large letters, assuring all interested that this is Cohasset still.
Indulge me now, Mr. Chairman, in a few brief reminiscences. Soon after I began the study of Latin, I was told that the goose was placed by the Romans high among the sacred birds, because the cackling of geese preserved the Roman State from the in- cursions of the Gauls, who were about to render themselves masters of the capital; and I soon learned that they had not failed to still be the most vigilant sentinels that could be placed to warn parents when their boys or girls returned a little late at night, and wanted to get into the house and up to bed in the most quiet way possible. I remember well two companies of them, belonging to the neighbors, which used to station them- selves on the hillside just opposite my father's house. Do my best, I never could escape their vigilance. The slightest noise was sufficient to awaken them, and then they sent forth reiter- ated cries, not unlike the hissing of a serpent ; and though I used now and then "to put in a stone by way of punctuation," it seemed only to stir the whole multitude to join in a loud chorus. Then ensued the silence and sullenness of defeat. Let me ask if any of you suffered thus? If you did, I am glad of it. You can well remember what measures of satisfaction you devised but never executed. Have you not despised a goose ever since ? I have, exceedingly.
I should like, Mr. Chairman, to review the past, and speak of some of the men who in my boyhood seemed to wear a myste- rious being; but I must content myself with alluding to one only, who lived in the south part of the town, and who spent much time in fishing and gunning. Some of his adventures and stories were wonderful. He had an old English gun, which he said would carry about a pint and a half of shot. One day he was on the beach, where was a multitude of peeps. He said the beach was literally covered. So he raised his gun, and, just as he pulled the trigger, he gave her a good shake, so as to scatter the shot well; bnt, strange to tell, he did not get a single peep, though he picked up a bushel and a half of legs. I knew him well, as in summer I passed his house daily, and he had a won-
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derful influence upon my youthful fancy. I would not have said anything but " Yes, sir " and " No, sir" to him, for the world.
Some of you recollect when old Father Little carried the mail and two passengers beside himself in a square-top chaise to Bos- ton, and when he came to a decent sort of a hill he used to push behind and help his jaded animals all he could. One morning the town was surprised at the appearance of a stage coach, drawn by two horses, one very large and one very small. It took some weeks of observation and reflection to settle in my mind why he selected horses so differing in size, one so large and one so small ; and the conclusion at last was, that he did it on true philosophical principles-in perfect harmony with the oper- ation of the laws of the mind. The large horse was an indica- tion of strength and power and of high aspirations ; the small one of weakness and humility; so that, as he looked upon them, Father Little was sure to preserve the medium of thought and feeling, and keep on in the even tenor of his way, neither elated by success nor depressed by difficulties and doubts. I have no doubt his horses knew just how many steps they took from Co- hasset to Boston. But who shall describe the scene when a coach drawn by four horses left the tavern, then kept by our fellow-citizen, Thomas Smith !
Did time permit, I should like to give myself up to the many and various associations which now cluster around the memory. This I should like to do, in view of my personal union with my fellow-men, and in view of the union of man with man, and in illustration of the sure results of such union. I know you will yet indulge me in one or two reminiscences. First, of old Dea- con Kent, who used to sit under the pulpit in yonder venerable church during the Sabbath service. He seemed to me the old- est man that ever lived. He sat nearly in front, though below the preacher, exposed, as it often seemed to me, to great peril. Parson Flint used to place his sermon on a large open Bible, and when filled with the spirit of his discourse would courtesy and gesticulate with energy. I expected to see the large book fall on Deacon Kent's devoted head. Imagine the suffering of a little fellow, six years of age, looking, during the delivery of one of Parson Flint's sermons, for such a catastrophe ! Deacon Kent wore a cocked-up hat and large knee and shoe buckles,
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which made a deep impression upon my youthful imagination. It seemed to me that he was a being from another world, and that impression has not left me yet. More than anything else does the recollection of him, unless it be that of my old grand- mother, whom I see as a little old woman, connect me with the men and things of other days, and perhaps of sterner virtues. I could speak with reverence and affection of Parson Flint, whose voice I hear, and whose venerable form I see still. So I might notice Deacon Beals, Deacon Bourne, Hon. Elisha Doane, the Lincolns, the Towers, and many others whose names and in- fluence live and still will live. It would be most interesting to more fully review the past, and mention the men of other days, and trace their influence in the light of their deeds. Many of them were men of power. Strong in the truth, they were found setting it ever before them as a vitalizing principle. They were ready for their day and their day's demand upon them. Such men were Col. Thomas Lothrop, and the early ministers of the town, and many others within my own recollection, who pass by us still in their written or unwritten history. So, too, I might speak of the Rev. Mr. Phipps, David B. Tower and Dr. Joshua R. Lothrop, and those of later times, whose scholarship and patriotism and religion will live in their power and influence down through the ages :
" Those that we loved so much and see no more,
Loved and still love ; not dead, but gone before."
.
But I must forbear. A century is gone. It has bestowed upon us a rich inheritance. I am happy, therefore, to mingle my thoughts and feelings in communion with my fellow-citizens on this anniversary,-this festive occasion,-and to rejoice with them in its scenes and associations. A century has passed, and has borne with it a changeless record. We cannot call it back ; we cannot erase from the pages of its history one thought, word or deed. It is well thus to think of it; to have it unfold its history ; to have it come in the deep feeling of the present hour, and admonish, if it must, and cheer, if it may. And cheer I . know it does, for it brings to us voices soft and soothing, full of pleasant memories, assuring us that we have
" Deposited on the silent shores Of Memory, images and precious thoughts That cannot die and cannot be effaced."
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My friends, I will detain you no longer. The remarks which I have offered, however loose or desultory their character, I hope will meet your indulgence as my small tribute of respect. I close with the sentiment :
That, while Cohasset is grateful for the character and influ- ence of generations passed away, may we, her sons and daugh- ters, active in the duties of the present, ever remember that we carry about with us the most noble thing God has created-an intelligent spirit. Let it find in enterprises of good citizenship a field of action, and we may be sure it will find a field of use- fulness. So shall we cherish the spirit and emulate the virtues of our forefathers.
Music-" HOME, SWEET HOME."
Fourth regular toast :
HINGHAM,-Commenced business in 1635,-Copartnership dissolved in 1770.
RESPONSE OF SOLOMON LINCOLN.
Mr. President, -- I perform a grateful service, in behalf of the inhabitants of Hingham, in expressing to you and to this large company their thanks for the cordial manner in which a senti- ment referring to the connection between Hingham and Co- ' hasset has been received.
For one hundred and thirty-five years, the inhabitants of both towns lived under one town government. The early planters
. of both bore the same names and sprang from the same stock. The Orator of the Day has, with great felicity, gleaned from their common history many striking facts which show that they lived in harmony and friendship. When the Second Precinct of Hingham was established, November 21, 1717, comprising the territory of Cohasset, the same names were common to both parishes. When your first pastor was ordained, December 13, 1721, there were gathered around him those bearing the names of Cushing, Lincoln, Tower, James, Stodder, Bates, Beal and Nichols, all of which are recognized as among those of the old planters of Hingham. The pastor, Rev. Nehemiah Hobart, was a grandson and a worthy representative of Rev. Peter
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Hobart, the first pastor of Hingham. One hundred years ago, the Second Precinct became a town. Until that period your history is our history, and it is one upon which we can look back with the deepest reverence for the character of the actors in those scenes. Thence you became our neighbors, and always our friends.
Cohasset is a fair specimen of a New England town. Its fertile soil, its beautiful scenery, the industry, enterprise, may I not add the intelligence and public spirit, of its inhabitants, their steady maintenance of the institutions of learning and religion, all make it an attractive place.
I do not forget what this town has done for the country, nor the distinguished men whom it has produced. Some of them have been spoken of by the Orator of the Day in terms of elo- quent eulogy. I will mention three natives of this place, all educated at Harvard, who nobly represented the three professions of Law, Divinity and Medicine.
BENJAMIN PRATT, of the class of 1737, rose in provincial times to be the leader of the Suffolk Bar, and was afterwards made Chief Justice of New York. He was a man of splendid abilities, a fine poet, an accomplished scholar and a profound jurist.
JOSHUA BATES, who was graduated in 1800, with the highest honors of his class, which contained Buckminster and Allston and Chief Justice Shaw, was President of Middlebury College for a quarter of a century. He was a learned and eminent divine.
ISAAC LINCOLN, of the same class, was for more than half a century an ornament of the medical profession. Residing at Brunswick, Maine, he was for sixty-three years an efficient Overseer of Bowdoin College. Ilis reputation was extensive throughout the State. He was eminently distinguished for public spirit and good works as a true man, to the very close of his patriarchal life.
I cannot omit to allude to the brilliant career of another son of Cohasset, who is now in the service of his country. Leaving West Point bearing the highest honors of his class, he entered at once upon official duty as an officer of the Engineers, and through the Mexican war, in all the battles from Vera Cruz to
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