Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1849-10-24
Webster at Plymouth Rock.
By Y. ?. WILLIS.
FROM THE NEW YORK TR,BrNE

acter- Most OF its rivals are such pal
pable and utter scissors work that vo,
/ may have the freshest leading article.
: OF twenty that You have perused deter
mlnedly for the last year fairly read to YOU
and not be able to guess correctly. over
three out of the twenty, which paper your
friend is reading from. But nobody can
well attribute one of Willis's articles TO
another. or another's TO him Whatever
their merits or their faults, they are at all
events of his own. The leader in his last
is letter from Plymouth Rock describ-
ing the dinner recently given there on the
223th anniversary Of the Embark alton Of
the Pilgrim Fathers in the NaHaolcer for
the untrodden shores of the New World
The whole letter is as good as il is long:
but we wish to present separately the pic
ture Of Daniel Webster. who was present.
and Of course the central figure Of the
festival. OF him Mr.. Willis saws:
had never CHANGED to sit at table with
Mr.. Webster. and was very glad of this
opportunity to see him. for once, with
MS aIInOr OH. on VIII understand. of
course. that the annual and formal .Pil-
grim Dinner" takes place in December.
and celebrates the Landino. and that this
was mere informal gathering. avowedlv
to celebrate the Embarkation. The re al
object probably was to meet Mr.. Webster
over the Pilgrim theme his Congressional
duties preventing him from attending here
in the winter. Mr.. Winthrop's presence
was secured by the same arrangement.
and that of other eminent New England
ers IN Congress. Easier access to the
place in summer. and the chance of find
/ ing agreeable guests among the distin-
guished strangers from the South in the
travelling season. were additional reasons
+ for establishing a biennial dinner. and in
deed t9is celebration seems likely to be-
come the more important Of the two.
! There were hundred present. princi-
pally influential Bostonians" You know
I Boston well enough to understand how
this would differ from a company of in
tiuental New Workers. They are mostly
rich men. but they are ''smart men, also
not a rich fool. nor a mere literary man
among them. For either disproportion of
brains to the pocket, they have very little
respect in Boston. 4 more keen, sara
collected about table, and it was i'm
possible not to recognise, even in their
looks. the cool iEevitableness and bread
thy calculation which makes Boston en-
terprise both more liberal and certain tn an
one from any other capital in our country.
Among the invited guests were Mr. Mer-
Ger. the wealthy planter from Louisiana.
Governor Woodbury., of New Hampshire.
NJ Of I
Edward Everett. and Mr. Mildmav, a
grandson of Lord Ashburton | shall not
have informed YOU Of all the 'distincuish-
ed presences, however. without mention
ing that, a, double window which OPEN
ed from the dining to the hall like
bandbox a. the opera, were seated several
of the more charming descendants Of the
Pilgrims. among them Mrs. Bancroft, (wife
of the late Minister to England whom the
younger Quincy. in his speech, took oc-
cason to compliment very gracefully up
on her felictous representation Of the
ladies of the Pilgrim stock at the proud
est court of Europe. Perhaps it would in.
terest our female readers to add that the
elder Quincy. who was also present. made
speech in which he tartly called the
principal orators 10 order. they (Mr Webs
ter. Mr.. Everett. and Mr.. Winthrop) hav-
ing glorified the pilgrim fore fathers to
the exclusion of the pilgrim fore-mothers.
without whose assistance, he thought, the
landings down to US from Plymouth would
have been very disiresSjngly interrupted.
Mr.. Webster was already in the recep-
ton room on the arrival of the special train
which brought the guests from Boston,
dressed with that courtly particularly
which becomes him. and he made his
greetings to his friends as they came in.
like natures monarch that he is, with an
uncontrived and unoppressive dignity and
simplicity. He was suffering from an
annual affl!ctlon to which he is subject, in
the shape of what is called in England
ebay fever "a sort of catarrh, which
comes to some persons with each years
infusion of the aroma Of new cut-grass
into the atmosphere. It had evidently
Frustrated his usual health and spirits. and
when not conversing he looked scarcely
in a fit condition even for silent presence
at a festivitv.
At the announcement Of dinner. Mr.
Webster, who was to fill 1.-The chair" took
the arm Of a venerable clergyman Of
Plymouth. who has occupied the same
pulpit for fifty years, and seated himselfa a,
the cross-table between this gentleman
and DR.. Wavland. Two long tables ex-
tended down the large dining-hall Of the
hotel. and at the upper extremity of one
Mr.. Everett was peninsulated by Mr.. Mild
may. and near the upper end Of the other
sat Mr.. Winthrop: these two the principal
oratorical pliances Of the occasion. The
witty and life-enjoying Judge Warren (the
most agreeable man for SO eminent a one
that the maturing succession to the Web
ster epoch has to SNOWY had the manage
ment Of the dinner arrangements. and he
was we'll appointed, no less for his ready
! Judgment and courtesy than as being Pre-
sident of the .'Pilgrim Society," and the
/ best descended man in New England.
having in his genealogical tree six of the
bes. known names among me company of