USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Reminiscences of Salem, Massachusetts : embracing notices of its eminent men known to the author forty years ago > Part 7
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appropriate colors than they painted them. The story of that noble enterprise was never told in more simple, more direct language than they told it themselves. The sweet- ness of human feeling, the tenderness of personal joy and sorrow never have been written in any letters between husband and wife more exquisitely than they are written in the letters of Winthrop ; although it is perfectly true that she was his third wife, and something of that sweet- ness may have come from prolonged and reiterated prac- tice. [Laughter and applause. ]
It is the agreeable task of the Essex Institute to com- bine, in the study of nature, and in its historical research, all that is most interesting in that period of our history. We smile at the dusty traditions in the unravelling of which some of your antiquarians spend their lives. We wonder at the hopefulness that expects any good shall result from these dull details. Yet it was the influence of precisely this material and this place that added another to the world's great authors through the genius of Hawthorne. In every step you take, every point you add to the knowl- edge of external nature or of the inner domestic life of that early period, the Essex Institute may be adding to the materials which some future Hawthorne, now growing up . unknown, may yet employ. And if you could extend your investigations in Natural History far enough, and tell us what under heaven those red and yellow flowers? could have been that Francis Higginson found spread over these waters, acres at a time, in 1629, his descendants will be very grateful. I have not a doubt of his veracity, how- ever, when I consider the fact that he was the first historian
5 Mr. Higginson arrived near midsummer. At this period of the year, great numbers of jelly-fishes (the Cyanea arctica, Aurelia flaridula, and other species) are observed on the surface of the water near the coast. Possibly specimens of these animals, some having the resemblance of flowers, may have attracted the notice of the voyager and have thus been mentioned in his Journal.
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to point out the existence of lions on Cape Ann and the caution with which he did it. After enumerating a long list of animals he says, "The skins of all these animals have I seen, but the skin of the lion I have not seen." So particular was he about taking the responsibility of the Cape Ann lions upon himself !
I have sometimes thought in reading the accounts of these celebrations, that the Essex Institute had, in a man- ner, fulfilled his predictions about these animals. I am sure that so long as you have your present President and efficient committee of arrangements you will always secure a moderate supply of small lions for your platform. [Laughter and applause. ]
INTRODUCES Hon. G. Washington Warren, of Boston ; for many years President of The Bunker Hill Monument Association.
REMARKS OF MR. WARREN.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : -
I feel rather diffident in attempting to address you after the very finished production to which we have listened. I am told that Dean Stanley when here, immediately after his arrival in this country, expressed astonishment at the zeal and reverence with which you commemorate these anniversaries. I am told he said "there is nothing like it in my own home."
A period of two hundred and fifty years carries us back a long way. If you divide the Christian Era into only eight parts, the period of two hundred and fifty years is a greater period than one of those parts. And then, sir, it is a great help to us to compare these mile- stones of time. By this comparison we find how easy it is to grasp the past. Why, Mr. President, we both re- member the celebration of the two-hundredth year since
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these events occurred. I remember the year of my gradu- ation, of hearing the great and classic Everett deliver the address on the two-hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Governor Winthrop in Charlestown. Perhaps you people of Salem have not yet forgiven Winthrop for leaving Salem and going southward ; but if you had been living then he certainly would have remained here. We can imagine him in his boat, which was probably within sight of this place, navigating his way towards the mouth of the Mystic river, to find, as he says in his quaint lan- guage, "a place for sitting down." He arrived in Charles- town on the memorable seventeenth of June (O. S.), which seemed to typify the great event of the seventeenth of June (N. S.) that was to occur nearly a century and a half later. How significant are these dates ! It is my fortune to belong to the First church in Boston, which Winthrop more than any other one instituted, and to whose `covenant he was the first to put his name ; and I doubt if there is anything in this country more ancient than that same covenant, which is preserved to the present day, and recognized as binding upon the worshippers.
Boston is to have its anniversary on the seventeenth of . September next. Because there was an insufficiency of water, Winthrop went over the river and there had another "sitting down." And now in the Old South, on the sev- enteenth of September next, is to be commemorated the anniversary of this event,-the Old South which is erected on land which belonged to Winthrop. How significant ! It is a great good fortune that we have preserved that historic building, not only for the connection it has with the revolution, not only for the great speeches made within its walls by the heroes and fathers of the republic, but because it marks the spot where the first governor of the commonwealth resided. And, friends, let us re-
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member that it is to the exertions of the patriotic women of Massachusetts that the preservation of this historic landmark is due. [Applause ].
I think, Mr. President, that it is a matter of congratu- lation that the attention of our people and of the rising generation is being more and more devoted to the colonial history of the land rather than to the revolutionary period. In my boyhood the principal reading-books were made up of the language and the eloquence of the revolutionary times ; of opposition to authority, engendering habits and feelings uncongenial to the best growth of the intellect. Fortunately, we can go back more than a century beyond and dwell upon that life and those times with profit ; back to the time when Winthrop came with christian honor and founded this great commonwealth. And as long as Massachusetts shall be remembered in the world as the mother of Presidents and of Vice-Presidents, of heroes, and martyrs, and statesmen, so long will the memory of Winthrop be cherished as its christian founder.
INTRODUCES Hon. George B. Loring, of Salem, .Rep- resentative in U. S. Congress from this District.
REMARKS OF MR. LORING.
Mr. President and fellow-citizens : -
I am very happy to learn from your chairman what I represent. It seems that after dealing with the historic governors, and calling upon the representatives of the present race of governors, we are now to turn our atten- tion for a short time to that valuable institution known in this country as the General Government.
But without entering into any dissertation upon the gov- ernment under which we live, I desire to call your atten- tion to the inheritance which you can justly.call your own.
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The eloquent and admirable oration to which we have just listened has brought vividly before us the first steps that were taken towards the establishment of a great republic on these shores, a republic based on the fundamental principles of popular freedom and popular sovereignty. I have never been surprised at the remark of Dean Stanley that the celebration of American anniversaries greatly astonished and interested him. Well he might be aston- ished, for there are none like them anywhere else on the face of the globe. Can you, sir, mention a popular English anniversary ? England can turn to her decisive battles, to the beheading of a king, to the futile attempt to organize a republic to end in the reestablishment of a monarchy ; but she cannot call upon her people to celebrate such events. Do you, sir, know of an event in the history of France or Germany, or Italy, or Russia, calling for a public anni- versary upon which the masses of the people can gather together at the close of every hundred years, and con- gratulate themselves ? We have a strong popular sentiment and principle which we can call our own, and which is the stamp of our nationality. Nowhere on the face of the earth is there a popular, public anniversary except upon Ameri- can soil,- so far as the representative of the General Government has been able to discover.
Now, sir, that is our inheritance. I have always thought it a great thing to have an ancestry. [Laughter]. An ancestry, not a pedigree ; and I have been greatly im- pressed to-day, while listening to the able historical dis- quisition of our eminent townsman, and to the beautiful word-picture drawn by a descendant of one of the founders of this commonwealth,- with the courage, the heroism of those early times, and with the wisdom and devotion which guided that ancient people in the foundation of the institutions which they have transmitted to us. Seated
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here on this hard barren spot of land (my friend, Col. Higginson, wishes he had inherited it; but, if he had had my experience in farming, he might think himself fortunate that the inheritance did not come to him), I have admired more and more the inheritance of this people, fastened on this barren soil. What is this rich possession ? It is an inheritance unheard of before upon the face of the earth. Our fathers made us heirs of the most important movement towards self-government known in the history of the world. They gave us that marvellous decade in which, on the shores of Massachusetts, popular government was established. It is not easy to say, nor is it, perhaps, important to know, who was the first Gov- ernor of Massachusetts. It is enough for us to know that between 1620 and 1630 Roger Conant, with his little band of wayfarers, planted his feet upon these shores, and left the impress of his religious fervor; that, following him, came John Endicott, he of the mailed hand and the the- ological heart (is that a good expression, sir?) ; that after him came John Winthrop, graceful and scholarly, the grand heroic figure of these early colonial days. And shall I forget John Carver, the admirable, the honest, the ' pure, the godly, the self-sacrificing pilgrim? These are . the four Governors who made these ten years memorable, immortal ; who instituted the first popular government in the world. Roger Conant, John Endicott, John Winthrop, John Carver,-these are your ancestors. Plymouth, Trimountain, Naumkeag, Cape Ann,-these are your in- heritance. What a story do they tell for the foundation of government on those principles which to-day make our republic strong among the nations of the world ! You can turn to no other spot, no other decade, no other cen- tury for this glorious consummation.
These ancestors of ours who gave us these ten immortal
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years came from great associations to perform without ostentation their great deeds. They were familiar with Milton, and had, perhaps, read with him his great protests and his divine song. They had seen Shakespeare, and, I doubt not, those who dared go to the theatre had heard his inspired words spoken by his own lips. They had admired the scientific wisdom and the political liberality of Lord Bacon, whose star had set just before they left their native shores. They had taken part in the great events out of which came Cromwell and his Common- wealth. Hampden and Pym were their friends and com- panions. No wonder they came here inspired with the highest political purpose, filled with the sublimest religious faith, confident and trusting-as they confided and trusted in God,-in the power of a cultivated christian people to govern themselves by institutions of their own creating. And they had a vision, not of an English Commonwealth, but of a new destiny, of an American republic, a vision that has ripened into reality in that General Government which I have the honor now to represent. They gave us, in the first place, the ownership of this soil we are so proud to call our own. They gave us the institutions under which we live. They gave us a land-tenure pro- nounced by an illustrious son of an illustrious Salem father,-the younger Nathaniel Bowditch,-to be the most perfect system of popular conveyancing on earth. It was not at Jamestown among that adventurous and chivalrous band who followed the fortunes of John Smith ; it was not among the Dutch colonies at the mouth of the Hudson ; it was not among those who enjoyed the pro- found constitutional prerogatives laid down by the great John Locke in the far away Carolinas,-but here on the Higginson farm, here on the rocky shores of Plymouth where the land was valueless, was laid the foundation
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of our republic. The very barrenness of this land made us a commercial, and an inventive people, and laid the foundations of that financial prosperity which we en- joy.' It was here the freedom of religious sentiment was planted and proclaimed, which gave John Endicott a perfect right to drive the Browns home because they could not agree with him, and which drove Roger Williams to seek for freedom where he did not find it. Here the suffrage of the world was established ; here that decree was first proclaimed which makes it possible to take from the ranks of the people mayors of cities, representatives to state and national legislatures, delegates to national conventions who nominate successful candidates for the presidency, governors and chief magistrates in all our civil spheres and organizations,-an universal suffrage which I firmly believe will one day enable woman also to exercise her choice in the selection of those who are to make laws for the government of herself and those whom , she loves. [Applause. ]
These are the rights and privileges which were estab- lished here on this hard inhospitable shore, and which were proclaimed in that immortal decade,-immortal in all that makes men great and good,-great in spirit, great in toil, great in enthusiasm, great in determination, great in hope. This is the inheritance those great leaders have transmitted to us, and which we must transmit, unim- paired, to those who come after us. [Applause. ]
I have endeavored to perform the duties assigned me in one branch of the general government, and I have wit- nessed with more and more astonishment the beneficial work born of the bitter and violent contests there. The skies may be darkened by heavy clouds, the country may seem to be threatened with sudden and sweeping disaster and ruin, but always the break has come and the blue sky
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shining through the rift has given us assurance that God is with us still. And when I say this I know that above all strife, above all antagonisms, above all party dissensions, above all laws and resolves of general courts, above and beyond all the disappointments that fall upon those who march along the path of political glory in this land, there is still a public conscience, there is still strong common sense, there is still an iron will. It was this "voice of the people" that gave us the victory in our great war for freedom. It was this that, when the appalling de- struction of civil war burst upon us, confounding the wis- dom and trying the hearts of men, brought us national redemption and increased national power. It was this that gave us the power to preserve the financial honor of the land. It was this that gave us the power to pro- claim the law laid down here by the pilgrims and which has become the law of the whole people. Under the care of the good God, false counsels never have prevailed, and never will prevail in this land while this inheritance remains within us. The great doctrines of fathers are preserved to us, and to us are given in full measure the fruits of their labors. How can a government founded by them fail? How can institutions blessed by their prayers be destroyed ?
As the representative of the general government, I con- gratulate you and myself that this work of celebrating these memorial days has fallen into hands so patient and watchful as those of the Essex Institute. I did not come to-day expecting to speak, but to listen to those words of wisdom which I always hear when the Institute meets at a Field Meeting, and your dignified and venerable leader, who believes in the greatness of our institutions, and would piously preserve the memory of those who founded them, proclaims what shall be said on such occasions. [Applause.]
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INTRODUCES Gen. Henry K. Oliver, Mayor of Salem. REMARKS OF MR. OLIVER.
MAYOR OLIVER said that after the excellent perform- ances of the afternoon, he would not, at this late hour, trespass further upon the time of the meeting, but in a word he would express his pleasure, in behalf of the city, at this commemoration.
INTRODUCES Seth Low, Esq., of New York. A son of an honored son of Salem who was educated at our schools, and now one of the most distinguished merchants in the commercial emporium of America. Mr. Low, though un- expectedly called upon, has consented to say a few words.
REMARKS OF SETH LOW, ESQ.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :-
I appear in response to your call only as the voice of a son of Salem, who would be glad to be here but that he is on the other side of the ocean. The voice speaks, you know, in response to the promptings of the heart.
I have been told by a friend that there are no gentlemen present, except myself, under seventy years of age. Let . me add that I also understand all the ladies are under twenty-five. It follows, of course, from my age, as the ladies will understand, that I have no special recollection of the landing of Winthrop, and I must lead your thoughts into some new channel.
As I stood in your Essex Institute a few hours ago, a complete set of the directories of the City of Buffalo was shown to me, and by a glance one could see the constantly increasing growth of the city. Yes, I said, this shows the growth of the city, but not its history. And so it is
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with Salem. I think it must always be your pride and glory that much of your city's history must be sought outside of herself. Wherever your children have gone (and where have they not gone?), there you have a right to trace the influences, and, by consequence, the history of Salem.
As I come here, almost a stranger, I feel as though I was carried back to the days of your commercial pros- perity. My father's carcer has been in commerce, as has been mine since leaving college, and as I looked at your warehouses I thought of the sadness that must come over the hearts of those who knew Salem in the days of her commercial glory, and who now look upon the changed scene.
I do not advert to this in order to fill your minds with sad thoughts, but with this encouraging one,-that change does not necessarily imply decay. As I walked through your streets almost for the first time, I was struck by the strange intermingling of the old and the new; and I felt that here was growing up a new life. .
So long as your city has a hold on the future, as well as on the past, there is no cause for regret. Her future will be. all the fuller because of the rich memories which cluster about her earlier life. I congratulate you that here in Salem, while there certainly is change, I do not see decay. The time will come, indeed I think it has already come, when the sons of Salem, and her sons' sons, returning to the old city from whatever distant spot, in the language of one of your own Massachusetts poets, can gather here
"from the pavement's crevice As a floweret of the soil,
The nobility of labor The long pedigree of toil."
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE FOLLOWING EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS RECEIVED WERE READ BY REV. E. S. ATWOOD, OF SALEM.
DANVERS, 6th mo., 19, 1880.
ROBERT S. RANTOUL, EsQ.,
My dear friend : 1 .
I see by the call of the Essex Institute that some proba- bility is suggested that I may furnish a poem for the oc- casion of its meeting at "The Willows" on the 22d. I would be glad to make the implied probability a fact, but I find it difficult to put my thoughts into metrical form, and there will be little need of it, as I understand a lady of Essex county, who adds to her modern culture and rare poetical gifts the best spirit of her Puritan ancestry, has lent the interest of her verse to the occasion.
It was a happy thought of the Institute to select for its first meeting of the season, the day and the place of the landing of the great and good Governor, and permit me to say, as thy father's old friend, that its choice for orator, of the son of him whose genius, statesmanship and elo- quence honored the place of his birth, has been equally happy. As I look over the list of the excellent worthies of the first emigrations, I find no one who, in all respects, occupies a nobler place in the carly colonial history of Massachusetts than John Winthrop. Like Vane and Milton he was a gentleman as well as a Puritan, a cul-
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tured and enlightened statesman as well as a God-fearing Christian. It was not under his long and wise Chief Magistracy that religious bigotry and intolerance hung and tortured their victims, and the terrible delusion of witchcraft darkened the sun at noonday over Essex. If he had not quite reached the point where, to use the words of Sir Thomas Moore, he could "hear heresies talked and yet let the heretics alone," he was in charity and forbear- ance far in advance of his generation.
I am sorry that I must miss an occasion of so much interest. I hope you will not lack the presence of the distinguished citizen who inherits the best qualities of his honored ancestor, 'and who, as a statesman, scholar, and patriot, has added new lustre to the name of Winthrop.
With sincere regard, thy friend, JOHN G. WHITTIER.
BROOKLINE, MASS., 12th June, 1880.
My Dear Sir :
I see no prospect of my being able to be with you, except in spirit, on the 22d instant, and thus, though I . united with the Institute to commemorate Endicott's land- ing, I must leave it to others to celebrate the advent of my own ancestor, with the company and the charter. This note requires no answer. I write mainly to renew my regrets that I am constrained to be absent from the commemoration of an event, which, wholly apart from any personal considerations, is the most noteworthy event in the early history of Massachusetts, New England, and, indeed, of our whole country. The transfer of the charter and "Chief Government" from London to New England, and the arrival of the governor and company of the
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Massachusetts Bay, can hardly be counted second to any event in American annals, after America was discovered and began to be colonized.
Yours very truly, ROBERT C. WINTHROP.
Dr. H. Wheatland,
President Essex Institute.
CAMBRIDGE, June 12, 1880.
My Dear Sir :
' I am very, sorry that I cannot accept, your invitation for the 22d inst. That is the day of the annual meeting of the Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy, a board of which I am President, and must therefore attend the meeting.
With hearty thanks for the courtesy and kindness of the invitation,
Very truly yours, A. P. PEABODY.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Department. BOSTON, June 14, 1880.
Dr. Henry Wheatland,
Salem, Mass. :
I thank you for your invitation for the 22d, and regret very much that I cannot attend an anniversary so inter- esting in itself, and which promises so much in view of the distinguished gentlemen who will take part in the exercises. I shall not be able, however, to attend as I am engaged the same day at Wellesley College. With
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thanks for your courtesy and best wishes for the success of the occasion,
I am yours, very truly, JOHN D. LONG.
NEW YORK, 15 June, 1880. My Dear Sir :
I am greatly disappointed that continued absence from home obliges me to decline your invitation to attend the Field Meeting of the Essex Institute at Salem Neck on the 22d inst.
These commemorative occasions in the history of Salem have an especial interest to me, and no one of them cer- tainly could come nearer my heart than the 250th anni- versary of the landing of those great and good men, Saltonstall and Winthrop, who left luxurious homes to . help lay the foundations of this great Christian Republic.
How much I should enjoy listening to the eloquent address and melodious words of orator and poct, while sitting on the very shore where these men from the "Arbella" and their tender children first landed after their long and weary voyage !
I wish you success in your "Field meeting" and thank you for so kindly remembering me.
Very faithfully yours, LEVERETT SALTONSTALL.
Dr. Henry Wheatland,
Pres. Essex Institute.
BOSTON, June 16, 1880.
Dear sir :
I regret extremely that my absence in the West, at the time of the meeting of the Essex Institute, will debar me 4
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