USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H., Volume 1852 > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
93
PROCEEDINGS.
Dr. ALBERT SMITH, of Peterborough, responded : -
Mr. President, - Having been requested to respond to the sentiment just read, you may be assured that I have undertaken it with great reluctance, from the fear of my inability to do any thing like justice to such a theme. Since he left no son, nor near kindred, who could respond this day to your kind remembrance of him, that duty has fallen on me, who can only claim a kindred profession with him, and an admiration and profound respect for the man. My acquaintance with him had been long and pleasant ; and sad is it to me, that any one but himself should now stand here to respond on this occasion. A year since, I had occa- sion, by appointment, to make a commemorative discourse on his life and character, before the New Hampshire State Medical Society, in which I could but barely do justice to him, much less in the brief moments allotted to the speakers of this day.
With what delight would he meet you this day, if his life had been spared! If it is permitted to departed spirits to know what is passing in this world, and to be near to living friends, may we not hope that he, and many other departed ones, are now hovering over these scenes, and intensely watching the proceedings of this important day ?
Would that he could stand here bodily, and, instead of my poor eulogy, address you himself! How would the broad and manly features of his face kindle, as he surveys this immense multitude, to every one of whom, great and small, his name is familiar as a household word ! His eyes, always so keen and expressive, how would they glow and twinkle, - his noble and majestic form rise in dignity before you, as he would address you in the thrilling emotion of an overflowing heart! Would he not use language something like this ? -
" My kind friends, - This is a great occasion to me. Nothing could afford me more pleasure than to be remem- bered and recognized as a son of Dublin this day. I am not an exception to the general law, that the earliest asso- ciations and impressions are the last to be effaced. Towards this, my native town, I have always entertained a strong affection, which no separation, no increasing wealth or wide- spread reputation, can estrange; and in all my active life, never have professional calls, from any quarter, however
94
PROCEEDINGS.
distant or honorable they may have been to me, been re- sponded to with more alacrity and satisfaction than to the inhabitants of these, my native hills. Night or day, in storm or sunshine, has it always been pleasant to me to serve you. I have always felt a more than paternal regard towards you ; and your confidence and reliance on me, as your medical adviser, has always been a source of sincere pleasure. You all very well know, that no storms that ever howled round this mountain in sternest winter ever pre- vented me from attending to any pressing or urgent call, when any of you or yours were in distress or danger. Such as I am, always have I been at your service.
" Could I forget Dublin ? Could I forget that here sleep the remains of all my early friends ; my father ; my mother ; yes, my mother, -that noble woman, to whom I owe so much, and to whom, under Heaven, I am indebted for all that I am ? Believe me, my friends, no stronger tie was needed to bind me to my native town, than that my mother sleeps here. Her memory, as it was the first of my impres- sions, so will it be the last. Such a mother! There may have been many as good ; sure, none better.
"Living but a short distance from Dublin, through a long life, have I watched with.much interest the progress of my native town ; and nothing has given me more plea- sure than to see the very great advancement made during the few past years. Though you may have but few sons to present this day, who have been very prominent in the many varied walks of life, yet you can offer what is of vastly more value and of greater honor, -jewels of the finest lustre from every hill and valley of this diversified and mountainous town.
" Such instances of universal mental culture, such general intellectual and moral development, as are here met with on every hand, are worth all the reputation of having a few names which stand high in the world's estimation, while the community might be correspondingly low. Go on with your good work ; be earnest, be zealous ; let no effort be spared to rear up men and women who shall be specimens of intel- ligence and integrity ; always bearing in mind that there is nothing in this world worth caring for but knowledge and virtue. You have my heartiest wishes for your prosperity. In all human probability, it will not be permitted to me to witness many future changes in the affairs of this town ; for
95
PROCEEDINGS.
old age and its infirmities must soon be creeping on, and I cannot escape its inexorable decree ; but I may be pardoned in humbly imploring, that, when I change my earthly state, I may be called with the 'harness on,' and in the full vigor of my mind."
I have thus very imperfectly represented what I suppose Dr. Twitchell might have said, could he stand here and address you on this occasion. I need hardly say to you, that it is no easy matter for any one to imagine what such a man would say, and, much more, attempt to make a poor imita- tion of his thoughts and speech.
Well did a kind Providence accord to the oft-expressed wish of our excellent friend : he was called home in his full mental vigor, before hebetude or mental decay had touched him, before he had lost one jot or tittle of his ability or skill. Blessed memory of the great and good physician ! ten times more blessed in our affections than to our ambition to call him great !
In the language of the sentiment, well may this town be proud of such a son as Dr. Twitchell : such descendants always bring honor to the domestic hearth, and no less to the place of their birth. Never was there a better specimen of our race physically, - his exterior large, stately, command- ing ; his head massive, with a high intellectual forehead ; piercing eyes, that looked keenly enough on some occasions ; a countenance strongly exhibiting confidence and self-reli- ance, - enough truly in physical conformation to make a man in the truest sense of the word. And such he was ; and he was no less superior and commanding intellectually than he was physically. He possessed a strongly-developed intellect of the first order, together with a wondrous and peculiar vein of wit, humor, sarcasm, and fun, that led his biographer to term some of his mirthful effusions as Twitch- ellian. There was something in his personal appearance alone, without a particle of haughtiness or pride, which were entirely foreign to his nature, that forcibly impressed stran- gers with the idea that he was no common man. And how strongly would this opinion be confirmed, if he opened his mouth ! for truly such originality, such power and force of thought, such funds of humor and anecdote, would appear, as no man could utter who was not among the gifted of his race. What Dr. Johnson said of Burke applies to him with equal force : " If," says he, " a man were to go by chance at
96
PROCEEDINGS.
the same time with Burke under a shed to shun a shower, he would say, 'This is an extraordinary man.' If Burke should go into a stable to see his horse dressed, the ostler would say, 'We have an extraordinary man here.'" We can say, with great truth, that Dr. Twitchell was an extraor- dinary man, a superior man, a great man. He was great in all his purposes, great in his life, determined in his will, and possessed of that indomitable perseverance that is ever con- nected with the highest success of human life. He was never daunted ; he met every case with skill, self-possession, perseverance, and unwearied effort, as long as there was any hope. He discarded from his vocabulary altogether the word fail; and consequently he often succeeded when the chance seemed hopeless.
Dr. Twitchell was an extraordinary man in his natural endowments ; and, wherever he might have been placed, and in whatever sphere, he was destined to excel. But he did not owe all his superiority to nature and genius alone, great as it was : it was only attained by long and hard study, -by careful observation and experience, by constant training and application to the last day of his life. He was not what might be called a learned man, a man of books and book- knowledge ; his active and laborious life forbade it; yet few men had more reliable knowledge at their command, know- ledge that was always just ready when it was wanted; and few men were better " posted up" in all the improvements, new remedies, or important discoveries, in his profession. He always had knowledge for every case; and he had, above other men, a kind of intuition, by which he arrived at conclusions in the investigation of diseases in a moment of time, while other minds were slowly going through all the processes of a careful examination to arrive at the same result. However rapidly he might have reached his conclu- sions, it was not safe to hold the opposite opinion, if one were solicitous to be in the right.
This wonderful faculty of his, called in medicine Diagnosis, often unsealed the dark recesses of disease ; often rendered that which before seemed unintelligible, plain and clear, and brought in light where only darkness had prevailed before. So rapid were his investigations, and so easily did he appear to reach his conclusions, that many who saw him could think it only a superior kind of guessing. Yet no man had better reasons for his opinions ; and he could make
97
PROCEEDINGS.
all these so clear and plain, that even those unacquainted with the human form could readily apprehend, from his forcible and peculiar representations, what part of the system was diseased, how much danger it portended, and on what principle the cure should be attempted. It was now made so plain, that the wonder was, that all this was not seen before. Against the opathics and isms of the day, he was accustomed to utter no measured invectives and cutting sar- casms. "That men and women uneducated in the healing art should have the presumption to descant upon the prin- ciples of homeopathy or hydropathy, or any other of the new-fangled systems of empiricism, as though they could understand their vast superiority over the long-established system of medicine, and be ready to utter invectives and anathemas with all that confidence which ignorance usually inspires, was to him a monstrous absurdity. It may be well imagined, that he met all such cases with the most stinging sarcasm. He would have considered it a prostitution of reason to have called in its aid to weed out what had its only foundation in self-interest or caprice." He abhorred quackery of all the hateful things in the world, not less in medicine than in religion or any thing else.
He was by many supposed to be a skeptic, because he could not endure cant and hypocrisy, - because he scorned pretension where there was no heart. We have every reason to believe, that he possessed an unqualified belief in God and Immortality. He always reverenced the true manifestations of piety, wherever exhibited. When a female acquaintance (says his biographer), while under high religious excitement, with the kindest intentions and the utmost sin- cerity, called to converse with him, saying that God had sent her to speak boldly to him on the state of his soul, and urging him through religion and the church to prepare for death that might happen to him at any moment, -he heard her with gentleness, and thanked her for her kind thoughts, and concluded by saying, "But, my friend, you are mis- taken. God never told you to call on me. He knows my heart better than any one else, and I know he never sent you. Our prayers," he said, "should arise in every action of our lives ; and we should be continually prepared for death, by always living rightly." Noble thought, kindly expressed by a true heart !
The time and occasion will not permit me to speak of his
13
98
PROCEEDINGS.
professional qualifications. I need only say, that such was his reputation as a surgeon and physician, that he was univer- sally acknowledged to rank among the most eminent of New England. Indeed, his bold and successful operations carried his fame to every part of our country ; nor was his name unknown to the profession in the old world.
But, alas ! as has been beautifully said, " His life died with him." So few and meagre are the writings he has left, and these so unworthy of his great fame, that it must be said that he now only lives in tradition and in the transi- tory memories of the living.
Fame thus transmitted, how uncertain and short-lived ! Such great beacon-lights of their age should rear to them- selves, in their lives, some permanent work, that may be a durable monument to their fame.
In the death of such a man, how much do we regret that such stores of experience, of knowledge, of tact and skill, should all perish at once ? But this is the unalterable decree of our nature : our light, however bright, - however wide it may throw its beams, and however much illumine the dark places and dark scenes of earth, - must go out. This excel- lent man bowed to the common lot of all; and, while we ought to rejoice that he was spared in his usefulness and prime to the allotted period of human life, threescore years and ten, nevertheless we cannot but follow his departure with sincere sorow, because -
" He was a man, take him for all in all, We shall not look upon his like again."
How worthy of commemoration is such a man on an occasion like this ! How many pleasant memories cluster round his name, as we here utter it on the first Centennial of Dublin! May distant posterity learn his character and fame ; and may his life of good deeds, benevolent acts, and untiring devotion to the good of his fellow-man, be so deeply im- pressed upon the history of our times, that future aspirants for fame may learn that it is only to be attained through excellence, goodness, and usefulness.
I close with the following sentiment, suggested by these remarks : -
" GREATNESS AND GOODNESS, - Though not now always associated. May the time soon be hastened, when to be great is to be good."
99
PROCEEDINGS.
14. Thirteenth sentiment : ---
"OUR DEPARTED FRIENDS. -
" Friend after friend departs. Who has not lost a friend? " Nay, "Not lost, but gone before."
MUSIC- "STRIKE THE HARP GENTLY," &C.
15. Fourteenth sentiment : -
"OUR FEMALE FRIENDS, - Forming the mind and character of youth, smooth- ing the asperity of manhood, and soothing the infirmity of age. Their intellectual and moral culture is the best guarantee for the welfare and happiness of those who come after us."
To this, Mrs. J. K. SMITH responded as follows : -
If the sentiment just read was intended by the committee, or is considered by others, as a compliment to the ladies, I reply that it is but simple justice. If it was meant as flattery, I take them at their word because it is true. By taking this position, I claim for my sex nothing beyond or above what is clearly indicated by the allotment of Providence. The traits of character here enumerated are those in which wo- man is peculiarly qualified to excel, - those in which it would be unfeminine not to excel, -those in which it was clearly designed by our Maker that she should excel. The possession of these qualities, therefore, implies no peculiar merit ; but the absence of them in a female indicates a great deficiency in the true female character. The sexes have dif- ferent offices to perform in the economy of social life, and admirably are they fitted by nature for the places assigned them. The one is qualified to make up the deficiencies of the other, that united they may make as perfect a home as is consistent with the imperfections of mortality. As has been said or sung, -
" Man is the rugged, lofty pine; Woman, the soft and flexile vine, Whose clasping tendrils round it twine, And deck its rough bark sweetly o'er."
But although, as I said, the possession of these qualifica- tions implies no merit, it does imply a great, a fearful responsibility. The character of the young, the comfort and welfare of all, is in some measure put into our hands ; and woe be to us if we pervert or misapply our power. Who can take the infant, and unfold the budding beauties
100
PROCEEDINGS.
of his mind like the mother ?- who, like her, draw forth his affections, and develop the moral nature implanted in his soul ? Who, like her, can lead the child along the rough pathway of life, and make it a "path of pleasantness and peace," because the path of virtue ? The latent powers of his mind, the blushing flowrets of his soul, come forth at her bidding, or they remain in their dark recesses for ever.
And man, too, in his highest estate, how much of his comfort and happiness depends on the character of his wife ? It has been said, that the greatest man must "ask leave " of his wife to prosper, or to be happy. And there is very much of truth in the remark.
In sickness or sorrow, or old age, whose hands can bring alleviation, whose words cheer and bless, whose sympathy and affection bring all our better feelings into action, like the kind ministrations of the wife or mother or daughter ?
Standing thus at the very fountain of social and domestic life, on her it greatly depends whether the streams issuing therefrom shall be sweet or bitter. Ministering at the altar of connubial intercourse, the happiness or misery of her household is in her keeping. Happy would it be for many a family, if the female head duly appreciated her position, and cheerfully and conscientiously performed all the duties it imposes.
In the performance of these duties, the females of the present day may well take lessons from the generations. that have preceded them here. The trials and hardships of the mothers of the town drew out many admirable traits in their character. Patience under privation, fortitude in suffering, firmness in danger, and skill in all domestic accomplish- ments, qualified them for their position as the pioneers of civilization ; and, at the same time, the circumstances in which they were placed served to develop these very qualities they so much needed. If the present generation is largely indebted, for the character they sustain, to the worthy females of the past century, ought not we to see to it that the generations of the next century are under equal obligations to us? If we duly appreciate the importance of the position we occupy, and conscientiously discharge the momentous trusts committed to us, then indeed will the "welfare and happiness of those who come after us " be comparatively secure, and the blessings accruing to the present generation greatly enhanced.
101
PROCEEDINGS,
16. Fifteenth sentiment :
"THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF DUBLIN TO THE POPULATION OF OUR LARGE CITIES. - Among them are men whose untiring business-habits have enabled them to amass much wealth; but their gold has not encrusted their hearts. We trust their liberality and benevolence will continue to increase in a ratio proportionate to their additional means."
SOLOMON PIPER, Esq., of Boston, spoke as follows : -
Mr. President, - I have been called upon to respond to a very flattering sentiment. I only regret it is not better deserved. I am unaccustomed to public speaking, and shall not attempt to make a speech. In the few remarks I propose to offer, I trust I shall be pardoned if I follow my own inclination, rather than the suggestions of the sentiment, and speak of my native town and its interests.
Public speaking was not among the branches taught in the schools of my day. The condition of the schools in Dublin at that day would compare very unfavorably with those of the present time. Our schools were then kept but a small portion of the year. The school-houses were small, incon- venient, and uncomfortable. Old hats were the common substitute for broken panes of glass ; and it was not unusual, on a cold morning, for a detachment of the larger boys to be sent into the adjacent fields to collect decayed stumps to replenish the fire ; and a large portion of the time of the scholars was spent in vain attempts to keep themselves comfortable.
Just forty-two years ago, at the age of nearly twenty-one, I shouldered my bundle, containing all my worldly effects, and started for Boston on foot, in pursuit of employment. I soon engaged in a business which I have ever since prose- cuted on the same spot. During that comparatively long period of man's life, there has been no very striking change in the physical appearance of my native town. The same mountains and hills appear in the distance ; the same streams trickle down their sides ; and generally the same houses and fields and orchards are still in view. But, Mr. President, the occupants of those houses, the cultivators of those fields, where are they ? Alas ! where are they ? A generation has passed away ; and their faces, once so familiar, with few exceptions, are seen no more. At that time, I could call by name nearly every man and woman in the town. Now I feel almost among strangers ..
102
PROCEEDINGS.
But the moral and intellectual change has been most gratifying. For many years after I left the town, I was rather ashamed to acknowledge the place of my nativity. If I said I came from Dublin, the first remark was, "That is the town where Parson Sprague lives, is it not ?" and then would follow some half a dozen of the stale jokes attributed to that old gentleman. But latterly a great change has been wrought in the public mind, and Dublin is no longer a by- word. Her praises are abroad, and her sons are no longer ashamed of their parentage. Now it is said that Dublin is the residence of Dr. Leonard, - Father Leonard, as some familiarly call him. They go on to say, that Dr. Leonard has done more to improve the moral and intellectual condition of those under his influence than any other clergyman within our knowledge. He has the best Sunday-school in the coun- try. The common-schools and school-houses are a model for all others. The children of both sexes are well behaved and respectful, to a degree that attracts the notice and appro- bation of the passing stranger ; and, of the numerous young men who, from time to time, have gone out into the world, hardly one is known not to have done credit to his native town.
These are some of the blessed fruits of the well-directed efforts of a devoted minister, seconded, as they certainly have been, by the co-operation of many excellent men and women. It is true that a little excitement occasionally arises among the inhabitants about the location of a school-house, a road, or a meeting-house, or perhaps about the music in the church ; but these soon subside, and things move on harmo- niously as before.
Allusion has been made to the late Parson Sprague ; and I cannot forbear to add one word. Mr. Sprague was a very peculiar man ; and I cannot say he was instrumental in do- ing much good in his lifetime. But the noble bequests he made in the disposition of his property conferred a lasting blessing upon the town, and should be held in grateful re- membrance.
Mr. President, I love my native town. Every thing con- nected with it has a peculiar interest. The very mountains and hills, the rocks and the streams, are endeared to me by my earliest associations. Here were the scenes of my youth- ful sports. It was here that the foundation of my future life and character was laid. It is here that my dearest relatives
103
PROCEEDINGS.
and friends have ever lived ; and it is in yonder graveyard, between the mountain and that beautiful lake, that the ashes of my beloved parents and brothers and sisters repose. Nothing that relates to Dublin escapes my notice, or is with- out an interest ; and I trust, that, as long as consciousness remains, the same feeling will reside in my breast.
Mr. President, I rejoice to see this day, and be able to participate in the festivities of the occasion. It is good for us to assemble on this anniversary, and look back to the day of small things, and survey the distance we have travelled ; to erect a landmark for future generations to refer to. It is good for us, who have strayed from the land of our fathers, once more to return, and greet each other and those we have left behind at the old homestead ; and I thank God we this day have the opportunity.
Dublin has a hard, stubborn soil, but, like the other parts of the Granite State, from which we are proud to hail, produces strong men and women. Mr. President, in conclu- sion, I would say to my brethren and friends, Go on and persevere in the good works you have so well begun. Con- tinue to cherish and support your churches and schools ; and let no root of bitterness spring up to retard or mar your progress.
Mr. President, I will conclude by offering the following sentiment : -
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.