USA > Wisconsin > Centennial records of the women of Wisconsin > Part 11
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practical matter of the medals which the ladies were desirous of selling for the benefit of the Centennial treasuries.
Mr. HILL then read, in a most impressive manner, OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES' grand poem descriptive of the momentous conflict of a century ago. Prof. EMERSON was next announced, and spoke for a few minutes most eloquently. He said if the lawyers had responded to the calls made upon them, we should have had the legal aspects and consequences of the revolution presented to us, and so he found it the natural thing for him to do to speak from an educational point of view. He then re- ferred to the law of our forefathers providing that when any community numbered fifty families, a teacher should be em- ployed at public expense, and to the subsequent enlarged and steadily increasing facilities provided for the education of the people. And so the nation grew to be an educated people. When the revolution came, our fathers had gone through with the nouns and adjectives of their great lessons, and took up the verb to be, to do and to suffer. We shall make no attempt to sketch the beautiful and wonderfully powerful culmination of the professor's speech. We hoped to obtain it in full, but find that it was wholly impromptu, and cannot be secured. The hall was held open during the following day and evening, and drew together quite a number to view the beautiful articles exhibited, and partake of the refreshments which were still abundant. Two valuable oil paintings, 500 years old, were brought in on the sec- ond day by Mr. WM. MCDOWALL, and attracted much attention.
The Beloit Club (ladies) will send to the Centennial a beautiful piece of work - woman's work in very truth. It represents the seal of Beloit College; is wrought in silk and chenille. The foun- dation is satin, gros-grain silk and velvet, all as white as snow. Its diameter must be at least three feet. The work is designed
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and wrought by Miss SARAH T. BODTKER, who has been since June last diligently employed upon it, and it is no more than two- thirds completed. The central figure is an open Bible, with the surmounting dove and radiating light. Blue forget-me-nots sur- round this center; and this lovely wreath is in turn surrounded by the Latin college motto, lettered in chenille; these letters be- ing in turn surrounded with the most delicate wreath of beauti- ful flowers, the sentiment of the flowers standing for the senti- ment of the motto. It is quite impossible to give an idea of the delightful perfection of silken wreaths. A bullion embroiderd band separates this circle from the next, which gives the name of the college, etc .; these letters bearing tiny flags of all nations, in-wrought in their construction. This circle is yet incomplete; and surrounding the whole is yet to be another and more elabo- rate wreath of flowers. The work, from the gilt-edged Bible and perfect colored dove to the last stitch taken, is most exqui- site. It is to be framed in a setting of black walnut, and will cost $500.
The Beloit Club has for its president, Mrs. T. L. WRIGHT, a lady of taste and culture, with able aids in the other officers, who are efficient and enthusiastic.
RECORDS OF THE CENTENNIAL CLUB OF MILTON. [OFFICIAL REPORT.]
In the early part of May, 1875, there was a small gathering at the residence of Pres. W. C. WHITFORD for the purpose of or- ganizing a club, in order that the ladies of Milton might take part in the approaching Centennial Anniversary at Philadelphia. Mrs. Pres. WHITFORD having been appointed chairman of the Centennial Committee for the town of Milton, chose for her
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officers, Mrs. B. F. COLLINS, Vice Chairman; Mrs. WALKER and Mrs. FERRIS, Secretaries; Mrs. RALPH RICHARDSON and Mrs. HALL, Treasurers. After due consultation a constitution was adopted and a club organized.
A public meeting was held May 31st in the College Chapel, Mrs. WHITFORD in the Chair. Opening prayer by Rev. Wy. WALKER. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. Music by the College Choir. Rev. W. C. WIIIT- FORD, President of Milton College, delivered an address in his clear and vigorous style, in which the past and present of our country were vividly contrasted. Elder ROGERS then followed in a few excellent remarks. A song, " The Death of WAR- REN," was sung by Prof. STILLMAN. At the close of the meet- ing names of members were solicited. From that time, regular meetings were held on the second Monday of each month, when were gathered all ages and classes -the wise and talented, the young and gay - all contributing to the entertainment and in- terest of the occasion.
The second meeting was held at the house of President WHIT- FORD; music by the Milton band. Mrs. COLLINS had prepared an excellent paper entitled, " Historic Reminiscences of the Past Century," which was listened to with marked attention. Her descriptions of the noble deeds performed by our forefathers stirred our souls and stimulated us to a holier, deeper love for our country, and with a just pride, as no country can boast a more grand and glorious history than ours. Mrs. HALL also, furnished an entertaining paper, rehearsing the heroic deeds, which have made our nation's flag "loved at home, revered abroad."
The next gathering was at the house of Rev. WILLIAM WAL- KER. Some eighty or one hundred members were present.
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Mrs. HALL continued the history of the Revolutionary Struggle. Her essay was very interesting and profitable to all. Miss MIN- TIE HOWARD and Miss MARY FERRIS sang several patriotic songs and the Milton band furnished fine music in the oak grove be- neath the moon-lit sky.
The home of Mr. BURDICK was filled to overflowing on the occasion of the fourth reunion. Tableaux, music and patriotic songs made the evening pass agreeably.
We met next at Mr. R. GREENMAN'S and Mr. RALPH RICH- ARDSON'S, where we were reminded of olden times by appropri- ate addresses, patriotic songs, and the costumes of by-gone days, when other generations filled our places.
A public meeting was held in the College Chapel, when Hon. PLINY NORCROSS of Janesville, delivered a lecture upon "The Relations of France with the American People in the Revolu- tionary Struggle." He eloquently protrayed the character of La Fayette and other noble Frenchmen, whose devotion to our country in her hour of need has been the admiration of the civ- ilized world. The lecture was listened to with intense interest.
The eighth session was held at Mr. DENNIS BURDICK'S. A paper was presented on " The Illustrious Women of the Amer- ican Revolution," reminding us that the women of those days were brave, noble and true, and did their part for the freedom of their country with wonderful self-sacrifice and a heroism that has not been surpassed in the history of any people.
On the occasion of the next reunion, Mrs. COLLINS' residence was a scene of beauty and elegance; music by Miss HAVENS, and patriotic songs by Miss HOWARD in quaint costume; select reading by Prof. SAUNDERS, and an essay by Miss MARY BAI- LEY, entitled, "The Eminent Women of the Revolution."
The tenth meeting of the Club was held at Mr. EZRA CRAN-
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DALL's, and was very enthusiastic and enjoyable. The tableaux and costumes of olden times, together with the colloquies were fine, and these pleasant social gatherings will long have a place in our memories.
The closing session, the last and best of all, convened on the evening of April 10, 1876. The College Chapel was filled with an enthusiastic and delighted audience. The officers of the Club appeared in the costume of one hundred years ago, and the members in the quaint and simple garb of the Quakers.
We had a Quaker meeting, a Quaker dialogue and a Quaker marriage. The reports of the Secretary and Treasurer were of interest, and the Valedictory of the President was beautiful and impressive.
The minutes of each meeting are thus briefly outlined. In conclusion, we congratulate ourselves upon the success of our organization. We began with doubt and hesitation, but all of us, officers and members, feel amply repaid for all our efforts.
Mrs. C. H. WALKER, Secretary Milton Centennial Club.
CENTENNIAL REUNION ON FOREFATHERS' DAY, AT THE CAPITOL,
Dec. 22, 1875.
In accordance with a suggestion made by the women compos- ing the State Centennial Committee, the 255th aniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock was duly cele- brated in Madison on the evening of the 22d. The Assembly Chamber was chosen as the place for the entertainment, and it was tastily fitted up for this occasion. The Speaker's desk was decorated with beautiful plants and flowers. Behind it was
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gracefully draped the flag of the Union, as also on the gallery directly opposite. The chandelier in the centre of the room was also hung with the Union colors. The central part of the floor was canvassed for dancing, and seats were circled round for the accommodation of guests during the literary part of the exercises.
ANNIVERSARY.
At S o'clock, FAUST's Band performed a beautiful piece of music; at the conclusion of which, Mr. ATwood, President of the New England Society, called the audience to order, and re- marked that this meeting was for a double or treble purpose; and for whichever purpose persons had come to aid, he was grat- ified, and would extend to all a cordial welcome. As a true New Englander, he had reverence for the Puritan Forefathers. As was well known, he had taken considerable interest in the Centennial Exhibition, to take place next year, and he was grat- ified in meeting such as had met in aid of that enterprise.
The Choir, consisting of Mrs. DEMOE, Mrs. TRYON, Mrs. B. M. WORTHINGTON, Miss JENNIE MILLS; Miss MOODY, and Messrs. RICHARDS, BROSS, HURD, KARICHI and ATWOOD, who had kindly volunteered for this special occasion - Mr. ATWOOD "pitching the tune," with a fork, in old style-then sung a portion of Mrs. HEMAN'S beautiful New England Hymn, commencing -
"The breaking waves dash'd high,
On a stern and rock-bound coast."
TIIE DAY.
The President then announced the first sentiment as follows: " THE DAY WE CELEBRATE. - A memorial of Heroism and of Faith."
Rev. C. H. RICHARDS happily responded. He prefaced his
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remarks by promising if " brevity was the soul of wit " to make a very witty speech, and telling a story of a Scoteh preacher whose example he did not propose to follow, who told a friend it would have done his heart good to see how tired he had made his congregation by preaching three hours on a stretch, and re- ferring to evidence he had seen on the part of some young folks of a desire to exercise their heels and toes, and then said in sub- stance:
"I am glad to say a word in favor of the Pilgrim Fathers. They are admired by those who understand them. They have been caricatured by others, till it is hard for those who hear them misrepresented to understand why it is worth while to be enthusiastic over our Forefathers. They picture the old Pilgrim as an aus- tere, hard man, with his hair banged square across his forehead and hanging straight in orthodox stiffness down his back, with sharp elbows sticking into every body, in quaint, coarse dress, with hard, twanging voice, showing much of the white of his eyes as he praises God, but having little genuine sympathy with mankind. They read of the sternness with which they held their community to their ideas of right, and the soberness and strictness with which life was ordered among them. This does not seem to be the ideal life, and thinking this was all there was in the Pilgrim character, they refuse to admire it. But there are some things transient and ephemeral, and other things permanent. Fashions change, but some things never go out of fashion. Styles of dress come and go with the seasons, but dress itself is a fashion that never goes out. Forms of words grow obsolete and pass out of use, but language itself can never pass away. So there may be faulty and transient elements of character clustering about grand and permanent traits of manhood, and the first may or ought to grow obsolete and be dismissed, while the second shall be clung to and revered while the world lasts. Now the heroes of the Mayflower had their faults; faults peculiar to their age, and growing out of their reaction from the corrupt and frivolous life they were opposing. But the spots on the sun are not the main characteristic of that lumi- nary. Whatever of undue austerity, lack of beauty, angularity of dress or de- meanor, harsh twang in voice or social life, we find in the Puritan, we may dis- miss without applause. It is only the rough wrapping of the diamond that hides its heart of fire. But the qualities that made them Pilgrims, and gave them a staunch, progressive manhood, worthy the admiration of all ages, were: their courage; their heroic devotion to principle; their dauntless love of liberty; their
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loyalty to spiritual ideas, and their fidelity to God. These are traits that can never go out of fashion, elements of manhood that the world will revere and applaud as long as the sun shines. It was these characteristics that made then fellow-Puritans who remained in England the grandest men of their time. What are the greatest names of that age in English history? Not those of BUCKINGHAM, the elegant courtier, and CHARLES, the king; but the names of JOHN HAMPDEN, JOHN MILTON, the poet and politician, and OLIVER CROM- WALL, the man of iron. Puritan heroes are the lustrous cnes of that generation. And they were men of kindred principle. piety and heroism with the worthies of Plymouth Rock, whom we commemorate to-night; such men as Elder BREWS- TER, GOV. BRADFORD, JOHN CARVER. If they were with us now, we should not see them as represented in tableaux, in old-style costume, with old-time ways, nor holding timidly on to outgrown fashions of thought or action. These men were not only abreast of their age-they were ahead of it, far in advance of the thought of their time; ahead of the most liberal leaders of England. If JOHN CARVER were living now, he would not be clad in antique garb, like a fossil; he would be, not in the sand hills of Cape Cod, but here in Wisconsin, perhaps editing a newspaper, Mr. President, seeking to carry forward his state, lifting his voice for reform, working for larger intelligence and sounder morals, saying. in the midst of corruption and wrong, "let no guilty man escape: " seeking to pro- mote the truth, to lead the race up to noble manhood. He was ahead of his own age; he would be ahead of ours. We revere and praise, then, no ill-balanced and one-sided characters; no narrow minded and unprogressive fanatics; no big- ots proud of being a century behind their age. The Puritans were the most pro- gressive men of their times. They set the fashion of freedom in thought, wor- ship and action for centuries to come. Such integrity, spiritual fervor, independ- ent thought, loyalty to God, are the noble qualities of life, and we hope it may always be the fashion to admire them."
THE PILGRIM SHIP.
President ATWOOD announced the next toast:
"THE MAYFLOWER - wafted across the Atlantic to blossom on the shore of Massachusetts Bay, that it might seed a continent with the germs of liberty, piety and civilization."
Prof. J. D. BUTLER most happily responded as follows:
"The Mayflower was a miracle. A Mayflower in midwinter must be a mir-
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acle -like snow at midsummer. It was a miracle that a vessel so unseaworthy brought over so many pilgrims, and all as safely as a Cunarder could. It is called a still greater miracle that the Mayflower carried none of the pilgrims back with ber -' not one man -not one woman.' But it is no miracle that the Mayflower sailed home empty. It would have been a greater miracle if any pilgrim had taken passage back. The Mayflower never walked the waters like a thing of life. She was so slow a sailer that the forefathers were five months on the way from Holland -twenty weeks !- twice the running time now-a-days round the terraqueous globe! They had less than two tons apiece of ship room; our laws grant more to emigrants. Again, sea-sickness is said to be like love-sickness - no great matter in the eyes of lookers-on - nor yet in those of victims when once fairly over it. Yet in truth it is no joke. Teetotalers give up liquor - but sea- tottlers give up everything-except the ghost. As soon as the anchor was heaved, more than one heaved a sigh so piteous and profound, that it did seem to shatter all his bulk. All put on those long faces, for which they are noted to this day. Hence they feared another voyage more than famine, pestilence, exile and Indians. Five months on the ocean made them stop in barren Plymouth, rather than push on to the fertile Hudson. Much more did those sea-months frighten them from recrossing the Atlantic. Thus the Mayflower saved Plymouth, when its founders would have run away had they dared. But for fear of the May- flower, the spot where the pilgrims landed would have been known as Blunder Rock. Thanks to the Mayflower, it has become the Yankee blarney-stone. It was hard to make the pilgrims cross what they considered 'the greatest sea in the world,' but ten times harder to make them recross it. So they were like a farm- er's contrary calves. He must pull their ears off before they will begin their repast, and then pull their tails off before they will stop. Thus, thanks to the Mayflower, when the pilgrims had once landed, 'no meetinghouse was sotter.' as my toast has it, 'they seeded the continent with freedom, piety and civilization.' Here they found freedom. In quest of it they had given up business, property, England and Holland; had braved the ocean, Indians, and every variety of un- known horror. They escaped the yoke of loyalty, which maintains the divine right of kings to govern wrong- the yoke of union between church and state - which plows with an ox harnessed beside an ass-the yoke of primogeniture, that law of Cain which knocks down the second son -the yoke of conservatism, which cries, 'Touch not one cobweb on St. Pauls, for fear you shake the dome.' None of these yokes came over in the Mayflower, but seeds of freedom came with its pilgrims, which blossomed in 1776, and will ripen in 1876. Hence,
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" 'Their's is a watchword to the earth; When man would do a deed of worth He points to them, and turns to tread, So sanctioned, on the tyrant's head; He points to them and rushes on, Where life is lost or freedom won.'
"The Mayflower brought the seeds of piety. The freedom it sowed was a pre- requisite of piety. Forcing men to be pious must seem absurd, unless our creed is that
" ' We can flog the Mexicans Right into brotherly kindness, That bombshells, grape and powder and ball Are goodwill's strongest magnets, And peace, to make it stick at all, Must be druv in with bagnets.'
"Pilgrim piety was in theory- the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. In practice, it carried out the hard bargain it was forced to make for passage in the Mayflower, and less evil than we do or can. The Mayflower was a civilizer. It must be- bringing freedom and piety - while slaves and the irre- ligious can be no more than half civilized. The pilgrim ship brought civilization, for it brought women. Of its hundred souls, twenty-nine were women or girls. But for their presence, the Plymouthians at best would have been men half-fin- ished, like the half breeds of Manitoba, or would have degenerated like the French in so many a colony. In after years more than one of the heroines recall- ing the landing year may have said to hushand or lover:
"' Alack, what trouble was 1 then to you ?'
"His answer must have been:
" ' O a cherubim Thou wast, that did preserve me. Thou didst smile; Infused with a fortitude from heaven, Thou still didst smile; thy smiles did raise in me An undergoing spirit to bear up Against whate'er ensued.'
"The Mayflower brought the germs of mechanic arts, reducing drudgery to its minimum and raising comfort to its maximum; of law, protecting the weak from
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the strong, and the good from the bad; of science, forever increasing man's sov- ereignty in all domains of nature; of fine arts, refining by the miracles of sculp- ture, painting, music, architecture, poetry and eloquence. The Mayflower brought all these glories of civilization, for it brought that middle class who always create them; not the dregs and lees, nor yet the froth and foam of society. Its bright consummate flower we shall see at the Philadelphia Centennial. The Mayflower brought so much that I do not wonder that all villages in New Eng- land, and many out of it, abound in Mayflower chairs and cradles. Concerning every rococo heir-loom the Yankee says:
"' It came out in that famous bark, Which bore our sires intrepid, Capacious as another ark For furniture decrepid. As Noah saved a bird and beast, A pair for propagation, So has the seed of these increased, And furnished half the nation.'
"This is only a vivid way of saying that we owe more than we can tell to the Mayflower. It is a legend in the same spirit with that of St. Apollonia. That maiden martyr had all her teeth torn out. But when gathered up they were found to be panaceas for tooth ache. They hence were in great demand, and sold at high prices. The result was that when Henry the VIII ordered every man who had a tooth of St. Apollonia to bring it to him in Westminster, he soon filled three barrels with those delicate little pearl-like wedges. But all the lager beer casks, and mash tubs in Milwaukee, and out of it, could not hold the blessings which freighted the Mayflower. That bark was small to the eye, but great to the mind, like the stars. It was in fact the cheapest vessel that could be chartered in London; but it rises before my imagination - etherealized by the moonlight of ancestral memories, and transcending the queenly state of Cleopatra, when
"' The barge she sat in, like a golden throne, Burned on the water, the stern was beaten gold; Purple the sails, and so perfumed, that The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver, Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water which they beat, to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes. '
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" Forever, then, bloom the Mayflower! having a fit emblem in its namesake, the earliest blossom of New England woods; the morning star of spring, -hiding under fallen foliage, - but exhaling a fragrance which, like the spring time, leaves no corner of the land unblessed. May May flowers make all our midwinter hal- cyon days !"
THE UNIVERSAL YANKEE.
The third sentiment was read:
"THE YANKEES OUTSIDE OF NEW ENGLAND. - Transplanting improves them."
The President said there was a gentleman present who claimed to be an outsider, but as his place of nativity was so near the New England line, he proposed to take him in; and called on Hon. J. C. HOPKINS to respond. Judge HOPKINS admirably re- sponded substantially as follows:
" The Yankee had peculiarities which never wore off, and were never outgrown, making him to differ from the rest of mankind. The Yankee was different from any other nationality first settling in this country. The rough and exposed life of his mountain home was not conducive to high social culture, but gave him instead strong muscle, strong heart, great hope and an iron will. The fathers had small possessions and large families. They knew that their children must go out into the world and make for themselves their fortunes and their positions. Imbued with this sentiment, their children all had a good rudimentary education; the more wealthy, the benefit of their higher educational institutions. This was the case with both male and female, so that when they came to leave their paternal homes, they had their parents' energy and hope, and wherever they settled, and though assimilating with other nationalities, they at once exhibited marked traits of individualism. Wherever is found a New England settlement, there will be found the economy, thrift, perseverance, and contentions, particularly upon re- ligious subjects, which characterized New England in her earlier days. The Yan- kee, away from New England, seemed to bring with him a section of New England, and introduced and advocated the laws and customs of his native land; so it was scarcely necessary for a man to be born in New England to be a Yankee, filled with the great American ideas. If his father or mother emigrated from there, he was a Yankee with some modern improvements. They had exercised
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far more influence in the making of our laws, in advancing the settlement of our country and establishing our educational and charitable institutions than any other class. They occupied high and permanent positions in most of the states; for in- stance, in Wisconsin, one of our United States senators, our governor, and the heads of at least two of our leading educational institutions were of the class men- tioned in the sentiment. The history of the first settlers of New York, the Dutch, particularly those who settled the Hudson and Mohawk Valley, had been very dif- ferent. Their descendants had scarcely left the boundaries of the lands taken up by their ancestors. They had lived in luxury and wealth upon the vast estates with which their ancestors were endowed. We never hear, away from that local- ity, of the Van RENSSELAERS, SCHUYLERS, VANDERPOOLS, many of their more prominent families having become wholly extinct. They married and intermar- ried among their own class, and although highly cultivated, they lacked the sterner qualities of the New England character, to lead and direct the nation. The peculiarities of the Yankee often make him the subject of ridicule, but never of contempt. He believed a man had a right to occupy any place he could get; and whether he brought with him a shovel or box of class books when he came west, to improve his fortunes, he seemed possessed with the idea that he would rise to eminence, and worked diligently to that end. A shrewd observer of men and things, he more often succeeded than any other class, a most notable example of which might be seen in the manager of the great railroad corporation of this state. And an examination of our other industrial and great corporate interests would doubtless show that they were under management of some New England man, who originally came here as a laborer. It would, therefore, be seen that " the Yankee outside of New England," as a usual thing, occupied a proud and enviable position. He had great pride in New England, which he did not leave voluntarily, but was brought out in his mother's arms, and pride in the nation founded on New England ideas."
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