The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-12-27
From the n. T. Courier aad Enquirer.
THE NEW ENGLAND FESTIVAL.


Celebration Of the Landing of he Pilgrim
Fathers.
The New England Society, OF tho city of New
York, celebrated yesterday The two hundred aud
wenty-iourth annh ersary OF the Landing of the Pill.
grim Fathers, in manner aud spirit worthy Of that
simple, but momentous event The exercises were
held al the Broadway Tabernacle under the direc-
ton OF the Hon. Moses III. Grinnell the President Of
the New England Society The opening prayer was
made and the benedlction pronounced, by the Rev
William Adams, d. ID. and the New York Sacred
Music Society lent their valuable and effective aid in
the execution of several hymns aud musical pieces
prepared for the occasion.
OF the Grafton, by Hon. Rufus Choate we have
no words TO express our sincere and profound admir-
ration. II was the most eloquent and beautiful dis
course TO which we have ever listened. But better
eyen than the al ility and genius which, a work Of
art, 1t exhibited was the lofty splt the NOBLE patr
otto and heroic feeling Of which it was the worthy
utterance The character Of the Pilgrim Fathers, as
true heroes in the noblest of that noble word,
and that Of the Age in which they lived, that Hero
&c Age OF our history TO which it is good that in all
time TO come, the American people should reverently
and emuously turn, the only subject proper to the
occasion, was the one upon which Mr. Choale, for
above hour enchanted the attention of the crowd
ed assembly. The rapidly Of Mr.. Choate's delivery,
and still more the brilliant flashes Of Imagination
which make his speech glow with the splendid beauty
OF thunder storm forbid any attempt at reporting
MS Wofus nor, uuteu Is tns necessary, as ms ora
ton will without doubt be Immediately published
der his own direction. lie presented, in his own
burning and beautiful language, the history of the
birth and growth of the Puritan stock-of their BAN
shment by tyranny, from England TO the freedom Of
the European continent, and of the education which
large portion Of them received in the principles and
love of religious and civil liberty in the small pros
pc Gus, law obeyiDg and aw-loving Protestant Re-
public of Alpine Switzerland. The two great mo-
tives which led the Pilgrim Fathers to plant Colony
-. l..
conscientious feeling Of religious duty and ardent
unquenchablc love ofUplitical liberty These two
principles, he commended, were sufficient of them
selves to move the world; and formed foundation
upon which, "lyng far beneath the power of frost
and the earthquake" States and Institutions which
should endure with time ITSELF might well be built
lie dwet in tones Of the most stirring eloquence
upon the inherent power, the true submity, OF those
great motives TO human action, and the lofty herosm
to which they must give birth when they had out
ward expression in the glorious and immortal deeds
of the men in whose hearts they have taken deep and
mmovable root He skctchcd, in a mastery man
ner, the terrible suerings of the Pilgrims during the
first year Of their residence in the world, the
sublimity Of their endurancenot upon the decorated
theatre OF human glory, but far away from the eye Of
man, and In land whittier memory had not followed
them,-of trials, and agones, of starvation and of
death, such as have seldom if before been wit
messed in the history of the The comparison
he made between the heroism of the three hundred
Spartans who defended the gates OF Greece against
the Persian hosts, and that greater vaor which van
pushed all the tempests Of human passion and all
the adverse powers Of the tempest the and the
stars, was most beautiful and eloquent.
But We cannot undertake even a sketch Of this
magnificent Grafton. Those who did not hear it de-
MED themselves pleasure which will not soon re-
turn If there was heart there that did not beat
with quicker pulse of pride in the glory Of the New
England Fathers, or did not swell with thankfulness
to God for giving us their heroic example, it must
have been one who could not boast drop of Ameri-
can blood, and in which no spark Of liberty, civil
religious, had ever been kndled
IL is needless to say that the Grafton received
with the most hearty and repeated welcome and
when, at its conclusion, Daniel Webster stepped for
ward TO te der, in his own grand and impressive
manner, his congratulations and thanks 10 Mr. Choate
the very building shaken with the most tempes-
tuous and enthusiastic applause.