USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The Berkshire jubilee > Part 9
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Hon. JOHN MILLS.
Mr. PRESIDENT - The Sons of Berkshire who hail from my native place, the town of Sandisfield, have conferred upon me the honor of saying a few words in their name on this occasion.
That town cannot boast of its fertile and extended vallies, like those through which meanders the beautiful Housatonic, nor has it any thing so grand and imposing in its scenery, as to excite the special admiration of the passing stranger. It has enough, however, of natural scenery, of mountain, stream and valley, to be kept in lively recollection by all, who in their early years " run upon its hills, or waded in its mountain streams from morning sun till dine." In reference to those now resident there, I shall suppress all feel- ings of personal friendship, and only say, that we claim for them an intelligence and moral worth equal to that which distinguishes the population of the other portions of your County. The emi- grants from that town are numerous, and are dispersed through most of the States of the Union. Most of them are engaged in agriculture - many of them have " names well known on change" as enterprising and successful merchants - a few only, are of the legal or medical profession, but a large number are clergymen - all of respectable, and some of them of high standing in their pro- fession.
We all feel, Mr. President, that " it is good for us to be here." Pleasant has been the interchange of civilities and congratulations. Pleasant the participation in the refined hospitality of the citizens of this delightful village. But a more enduring good will result from this meeting. Our good resolutions are here strengthened and confirmed, and we shall return to our respective homes and stations in society, stimulated with the firm resolve, that whatever influence we possess shall be devoted to promote and advance the best interests of the community in which we reside.
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If ever there can be a public occasion, when the undisguised language of the heart should be freely uttered and kindly receiv- ed, this surely may be regarded as such. As one of the members congregated around the family hearth, I will not fear that the indulgence I may give to my thoughts will here encounter either ridicule or frigid criticism. Electing you, sir, and this respectable audience my confessors on the occasion, I intend, therefore, in all that relates to Berkshire or Sandisfield, connected with my own feelings, to "make a clean breast of it."
We all feel love for our common country - a stronger attach- ment for our native State and County, and stronger still for the particular locality where we were born. But it is not, I believe, till life is considerably advanced, that we feel any particular soli- citude as to the place where it may terminate; and I doubt whe- ther those who have the good fortune to spend their days where they were born, are conscious of the true cause that gives the charm to that locality. If there be in this village one who was here born, and has here passed his days,- one who has survived the friends and companions of his youth, he will tell you, that the remnant of life can more happily be spent here than elsewhere, and would probably assign as the reason, that here are the graves of his fathers, and here too he desires to make his own. But re- move him permanently to some other section of the country, and he would soon be sensible of another cause for this local prefer- ence. The place to which which we may suppose him removed, might have charms, if possible, superior to your village. From his window or in his walks, the most delightful scenery should be presented to his view, and he should be able fully to appreciate its beauties; still there would be something wanting-the eye would no where rest on certain well known objects of inanimate nature, intimately entwined with his earliest impressions. " Where, (he would exclaim,) where is the great elm around whose trunk, and in the shade of whose branches I gamboled with my youthful companions sixty years ago ? Where the beautiful curve-crested mountain range in the west ? The higher elevation at the north, and those in the east ? Elevations on which I gazed with admir- · ing wonder before my tongue was able to articulate their names. Elevations, the view and contemplation of which gave the first impress of grandeur and sublimity to my imagination." Such
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would be the language of his heart, and could you place the Alps or the Pyrenees in position most favorable for effect upon his vision, they would be inadequate substitutes for those I have named, - " the form and size" of which, with their garniture of light and shade, would be blended with, and in fact constitute a part of his moral existence.
May I be indulged in bringing the subject home to myself ?
It is now more than thirty years since I left my native town. Driven out - mercifully driven out by "poverty like a strong man armed," to seek my fortunes elsewhere. Of my sojourn, it is sufficient for my present purpose to say, that for the last eight years my home has been in a pleasant town on the banks of the Connecticut. If during the first twenty-five years of the period named, it had at any time been proposed that I should return to Sandisfield, and there spend the residue of my days, the pro- position would have been extremely repugnant to my inclination. But recently a change in that respect has " come over the spirit of my dream." Now it is, that when I go upon the elevations east of our village, and stop to admire, as I always do, the beau- tiful panorama spread before me, embracing the Connecticut and the valley of the Agawam also, and my imagination aiding my natural vision, gives me a view of the towns, and villages, and cities on either side that river, from its source to its mouth, I can- not but feel grateful and happy that my lot is cast in that delight- ful valley. And yet sir, I never leave the spot without turning my eyes to the mountain range constituting the boundary between Berkshire and Hampden, and reflecting with no ordinary emotion, that further to the west, on the same mountain range, is the place of my nativity. It may appear strange, that one thus situated, who, as his wants are few and limited, has nothing to desire but that the residue of his days may be as happy as those that are past, should be willing to make his home in a place where winter never fails to " linger in the lap of spring." But, sir, it is in the season when " winter holds her undisputed reign," that the feel- ings I am endeavoring to describe, return upon me most forcibly. I have no difficulty, Mr. President, in accounting for that strong attachment which the Laplander is said to manifest for his coun- try, although it has apparently nothing to recommend it but its fields of ice and mountains of snow. For who that was born and
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bred upon the mountains, can efface from his memory, or would do so were it possible, the impressions of awe and sublimity produced by witnessing the progress or listening to the raving snow storms of winter ? Hence it is, that in a winter's night, when the tempest which sweeps with wild fury over the western mountains, descends upon our valley with mitigated violence, my thoughts wander up those mountains "to the scenes and the home of my childhood." Then follow the reminiscences of the first twenty years of my existence, with the vivid impressions of " time, place and circumstance." These, clustering thick and fast upon the memory, invariably excite the desire, that as life there commenced, there too should be the scene of its termination.
But I will pursue this train of thought no further, as it may not meet the slightest response from any other heart. Yet I fancy, that when my younger friends, now eager in the pursuit of the glittering objects before them, shall in a few years more relinquish the chase as hopeless or vain, or having grasped the objects de- sired, find them but ashes or bubbles, and when their thoughts shall be turned into the channel of retrospection, they may then find, springing up in their own bosoms, feelings similar to those I have attempted to delineate.
In conclusion, may I venture to give a word of advice to our friends who are permanent residents in the County?
My friends, be happy and contented where you are, and not se- ver the connection with your native or adopted County, without strong and imperative necessity for the act. Dream not of remov- ing to the west, or to any other point of the compass, nor listen for a moment to those occasional whisperings of avarice, that by disposing of your possessions here, and purchasing lands in the new states or territories, you will promote the interests of your children.
In regard to the great responsibilities resting upon you, as per- manent citizens of the County, nothing need be said, as the present and the past give reasonable assurance for the future. The moral influence of your example we doubt not will so tell upon the pre- sent, and indirectly upon succeeding generations, that when our descendants, soon to be scattered over this vast country, shall here- after visit these pleasant vallies, and the no less delightful hills and monntains of Berkshire, they may be welcomed then, as we are now, by an intelligent, moral and happy community.
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Sentiment by C. B. GOLD, of Buffalo-
A kind remembrance of the Sons and Daughters of Berkshire, providentially detained from our Jubilee.
Sentiment by REUEL SMITH, of New-York-
OLD BERKSHIRE-With her green hills and smiling vallies- Distinguished alike for her free and liberal institutions, her intel- ligent, free and independent citizens-Her Pilgrim Sons have abundant cause to rise up and call her blessed.
THEODORE SEDGWICK, Esq., of New-York, was called on by the President, and rose in his place, but numerous and urgent calls brought him to the table in the centre.
This, for a free country, (said he,) is what I call rather despotic, not only to insist that a man shall talk, but to assign even the place which he shall occupy. I had really hoped, where there are so many refulgent luminaries, to be permitted to twinkle in ob- scurity; but although I had not very well considered the subject, a man must have in his bosom, not a heart, but an iceberg, if he finds nothing to utter on an occasion like this. This seems very much more than a Berkshire Jubilee - great as it would be in that respect. This body of men are but a delegation of that vast fami- ly which New England has sent forth to people the west, em- blematic of that more than royal progress which the sons of New England are making now towards the Pacific. These representa- tives here of other lands, of other portions of our country - we might call on them to tell how they have fulfilled the trust re- posed in them - whether they have preserved those great princi- ples of order, law, and civilization which came in the sacred cas- ket of the May Flower. Mr. President, you no doubt are as firm a foe to any hereditary privileges, as I can be. You, no doubt, agree with the poet, when he says,
" Trust me, Clara Vere de Vere, From yon blue heaven above us bent, The gardener Adam, and his wife, Smile at the claims of long descent."
But, no doubt, you are enough of a farmer to believe in the value of stock -in the value of breed, and you are no true son of
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Massachusetts, if you do not prize as you ought the breed to which you belong. I am not a son of this County. Dear as my attach- ment to it is, happy and proud as I am always among those who are so well called " The mountain men of Berkshire," by what Lord Thurlow calls " the accident of an accident," I was born among the Knickerbockers - at that great city rising with so much rapidity at the mouth of the Hudson. I hope then to be allowed, (and under these circumstances I hope to have the credit of im- partiality,) to say a very few words concerning what this Country owes to Massachusetts, and to her Capital. Here, standing upon this soil, among a people happy, more happy perchance than them- selves are aware, in that blessed equality upon which all our insti- tutions rest - here, the idea of a Republic is safe, guarded by re- ligion, by law, and by that same equality. While, sir, the people of New England remain, while their institutions last, our liberty and our Union are as firm as Saddle Mountain. And how much do we all owe to that great Capital at the end of the State, which seems in some extraordinary manner to have preserved the purity of country morals; whose merchants, far above the merchant prin- ces, not only support their own institutions with unrivalled mag- nificence, but lend their money with a gallantry belonging to ano- ther profession, to other enterprises. This rail-road, of which you have just heard the whistle, and which, in the vastness of the na- tural impediments surmounted, is superior to any of the similar works of New England - this rail-road, owes its existence to the gallant liberality of the merchants of Boston. That little city, third or fourth in size, possesses institutions which stand with- out a rival in the country. After a further reference to the enterprise, and to the intellectual and moral advancement of the citizens of Boston, Mr. Sedgwick remarked, that he was aware he had spoken of New England in somewhat a peculiar position, he knew he was before the eyes, almost under the eye, he might say, of one of the most intelligent sons of Old England, (Mr. Macready.) He had also in his eye a formidable Dutchman, (Mr. Colden,) in whose bosom he somewhat feared there might be some rankling at the praises he had attempted to bestow upon New England. He was aware that he had been so inadequate in the treatment of his theme, that his audience would need to excuse him, and he therefore gave:
V
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THE STOCK OF NEW ENGLAND-It is the stock of Old England, their virtue, their intelligence, with equality added.
The President remarked that as this family intended fair play, and as the gentleman who had last spoken had alluded to the gen- tleman from Old England, (Mr. Macready,) they would be glad to hear from him in his own defence.
Mr. MACREADY then came forward and took his place upon the stand, and spoke as follows:
Mr. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN - I could almost say brothers, though not of Berkshire-for I can assure you the heart of an Eng- lishman - of those who carry with them intelligence and proper feelings, beats as warmly towards their kindred, towards this coun- try, and towards its institutions, as the best American could possi- bly desire. I am taken wholly unawares. The delight I have felt in all I have seen in making, I may say, the circuit of your beautiful and great country, has brought me here to see at a social meeting, that spirit carried out which I have viewed through your institutions, forensic and commercial. I really cannot pretend to make a speech to you. I will only in reference to the feelings of brotherhood, which, believe me, exist in the bosoms of English- men, (and I would that I had the power of eloquence to dispos- sess from those minds who doubt it, the idea of anything hostile existing in England towards the prosperity and growth of this coun- try,) if you will allow me, recite in place of the few unconnect- ed, and perhaps almost unintelligible words I might utter, a very short poem which will express to you what I myself feel in com- mon with so many of my own countrymen. It is a little fable, and though of Eastern, of Arabian origin, it speaks to the hearts of many - I hope of all-
Abon Bed Adhem, (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, An Angel writing in a book of gold. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the presence in the room he said, " What writest thou ?" The vision raised his head,
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And in a voice made all of sweet accord,
Answered, " The names of those who love the Lord!"
" And is mine one ?" said Ben Adhem. "Nay, not so," Replied the Angel. Abon spoke more low, But cheerly still; "I pray thee, then, Write me as one who loves his fellow men."
The Angel rose and vanished. The next night
He came again, with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest; And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest !*
Mr. COLDEN, of New-York, being next called upon by the Pre- sident, expressed the happiness with which he should respond to the appeal that had been made by his friend, (Mr. Sedgwick,) but asked to be excused on account of a hoarseness, which he said rendered it impossible to do justice to his own feelings, or to the occasion. If, however, he might be permitted to express one sen- timent before he sat down, it would be: The patrimony which you are now in possession of, is one which I, as a descendant of the Dutch, believe I have a rightful claim to. I hope and I trust, from what I have for these two days seen, from what I have seen before, and from what I feel, from what my friend on my right has felt, and from what every witness of this brilliant, this soul- cheering spectacle must feel - that it is impossible that the patri- mony of the Dutch can degenerate in the hands of the Berkshire breed.
Without attempting any farther expression of my feelings, I give you the toast which I received this morning from a gentle- man in Stockbridge, and which I was deputed to deliver to this meeting ---
The banks and braes and bonny Briggs of Berkshire.
· The Committee have received divers hints and criticisms as to the Theology of this beautiful piece of poetry, as well as a multitude of good advice in relation to what should or should not be inserted in this book. As to the objection-that this fable makes the love of men of as much value as love to the Supreme God, -we feel its full force; and while we would not, of course, send men to Leigh Hunt to study Theology, yet surely we may admire what is beautiful, and not contraet Berkshire hospitality by exeluding that which made a real and an admired part of the occasion. Then as to the matter inserted or excluded from this work, few can have any idea of the difficulties attending the compilation. They have only to say, that all things con- sidered, they have done the best they could, and if their readers do not admire their judgment, it is hoped they will their decision.
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Sentiment by Dr. GOODRICH, of Brooklyn, N. Y .-
OLD BERKSHIRE-Our honored Mother; while she welcomes us, we will embrace her; while she cherishes, we will love her; and this day's welcome and this day's joyousness, shall but rivet the chain that binds us to her forever.
Sentiment by President HUMPHREY, of Amherst College-
BERKSHIRE-A good County to go from; but a better one to return to.
Sentiment by JOSIAH QUINCY, Esq., of New Hampshire-
THE CHILDREN OF BERKSHIRE RESIDENT IN THE GRANITE STATE, TO THE HOME AND FRIENDS OF THEIR EARLY DAYS-From the stern- ness and sublimity of their mountain fastnesses, they turn with new delight to the softer scenery and more fertile vallies of their birth place, thank God for its faithful hearts, and pray that its household fires may burn on brightly forever.
DAVID D. FIELD, Esq., of New-York, was called upon and addressed the meeting.
Mr. PRESIDENT AND FRIENDS-I did not come here, I assure you, expecting to be called upon to make a speech, and I am not prepared to make a speech. I can only say to you a few words from the fulness of my heart. When we came here this morning -- indeed when we arrived yesterday, I believe all felt that if it rained it would be a great misfortune-that a cloudy day would not do for the Berkshire Jubilee. Well, it came with clouds, but there was not a cloud upon our hearts: it has all been sunshine there. We have been into it, and now that you have been greeted by Berkshire, the sky has cleared away, and the sun has come out upon the old hills as bright as you ever saw it in your boyhood. Can you ask for more ? Why should we be afraid of clouds ? Do we not know -those of us who were edu- cated here, how often we have trudged to school and from school through storm, and wind, and sleet, and snow. Well, we went on, and did not regard it; we got home, and found a cheerful fire- side; we found the next day bright, and went on our way rejoic-
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ing. So it has been with us here, and so, I trust, it will always be. ¡ Those clouds have gone; those of you who are from a dis- tance, and who have not yet seen your old County, will see it soon in its freshest and most gorgeous beauties. The clouds are rising from the valley, and before the morrow they will pass from the mountain, and you will see those mountain tops in all their old beauty, as they greeted you in your early days. My friends, look about you, see what you have-what you have come to enjoy. How much is there changed! The great features of nature are here so much more enduring than any thing man can make, that notwithstanding man has been at work here for a hundred years, - nature remains the same, and the great features of the County are not changed. If the old missionary who came first into this val- ley, one hundred and seventeen years ago, could now look into it, he would know the spot from the old landmarks which nature has made, and which man cannot obliterate.
As I have before remarked, I desire to present you with a sen- timent, and a sentiment to which I beg leave to make a few pre- paratory remarks. I have often thought it was a peculiar privi- lege of those who had gone from Berkshire, to have gone young men. It has so happened- happened from the features of the County, from our own position, that most of us who emigrated from this County, went away in early manhood. This I conceive to have been a great advantage. I conceive it gives us not only familiarity with this most excellent scenery, but it gives us the impression which we could not have got in many other parts of the country, of the sort of society which is peculiarly the product of American institutions. If I were to point out to a foreigner any where in this country, an example of a community whose so- cial law and beauty were what I should say should be the produc- tion of American institutions, I should point out the County of Berkshire. It is around us -it is at our feet -it is the spectacle of that social equality without rudeness, accompanied by refinement such as I apprehend few parts of this country can show.
Fellow-citizens-young men living in such a community, with such influences of scenery and of social law-can it be otherwise than that all of us should have gone away, deeply impressed with the scenes which we have left, and that we should carry them with us as long as our hearts continue to beat? Yes, you may
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take the prattling boy in the earliest years of his life-take him from your mountains and send him where you please, send him to the sunny south, send him to the farthest mountain, to the circle of civilization, plant him in the most remote island, and I will undertake to say, that ever, so long as he lives, will he cherish among the first recollections of his heart, what he remembers of his natal soil, and the circumstances of his boyhood. Yes : and if nature retains her own, he will totter to his grave with the recol- lection fastened upon him of what he has seen and known here- and if ever there come more serious moments over him, he will recollect
66 - the old mansion, and the accustomed hall, And the remembered chambers, and the place, The day, the hour, the sunshine, and the shade, All things pertaining to that place, and hour,"
and he will go down to the grave with little upon his heart so deeply engraved as the recollection of his early life in the valley of the Housatonic.
My friends, I have said already more than I intended, and there- fore I will sit down with offering you my sentiment, only observ- ing that we come back-those of us who have gone out in exile, to look upon that which our eyes behold, and which many of us thought we should never behold again -we come back with feel- ings partly of joy, and partly of sorrow, for there are sad recol- lections as well as joyous ones. The air, methinks, whispers the voice of our kindred, and their spirit seems to beam upon us in the holy light of these hills. My friends, I offer you this senti- ment-
THE CHILDREN OF BERKSHIRE-They have only to be steadfast in the principles into which they were born. (Cheers.)
PROFESSOR DEWEY, of Rochester, N. Y.
I rise, Mr. President, as a son of Berkshire, a descendant of the earliest settlers of the County. I have been imbued from my ear- liest days with the principles of our Puritan ancestors. I was taught to honor by my works, our lineage. When the children of the family, with which it is my honor to have become connected, heard the call for the Sons and Daughters of Berkshire, to return
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