The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1850-12-23
Grafton

DELIVERED BEFORE THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF
LOUISIANA ny 3. s. PREHTlss, DEC. q 49,
This is a day dear 10 the sons of New England,
and ever held by them in sacred remembrance.
On this day, from every quarter of the globe, they
gather in spirit aroprd the Rock of Plymouth, and
hang UT IN the IlrfSSs0 \their Pilgrim Fathers the
garands of fiaE .S,ulAude and affection. We
have assembled for sGVpurpose of participating in
this honorable duty Of r3rforming this pious pill
grimage. To-day we will visit that memorable
spot. We will gaze upon the place where feeble
band of exiles founded a mighty nation; and our
hearts will exult with proud qualification as we
member that on that barren shore our ancestors
planted not only empire but Freedom. We will
mediate upon their tolls, their suiierings and their
virtues and tomorrow return to our daily avoca-
tions, with minds refreshed and improved by the
contemplation of their high principles and noble
purposes.
The human miBd cannot be contented with the
present. Il is ever iOurneying through the trod
den regions of the past or making adventurous
excursions into the mysterious realms of the future,
He who lives only in the present, is but brute,
and has not attained the human dignity. OF the
futnre but little is known clouds and darkness
r,4, upon il; We yearn to become acquainted with
its hidden secrets we stretch out our arms towards
It's shadowy inhabtantsj we invoke ou: posterity,
but theV answer us not. We wander IN us dim
nrerincts till reP4on becomes confused, and at last
start back 10 fear, like mariners who have entered
,an unknown ocean, of whose Winds tides, currents
and uuicksands they are wholly Ignorant. Then
ii is that we turn for relief 10 the past, that mighty
reservoir of men and things. There we have some
thing tangible to which our sympathies can at
tach. up6p which we lean for support from
whence we can gather knowledge and learn wis
dom. There we are introduced into Natures vas
laboratory, and witness her elemental labors. VIZ
mark with interest the changes in continents ant
oceans by which she has nOtched the centuries
But our attention is still more deeply aroused bl
the great moral events, which have controlled thl
fortunes of those who have preceded us, and stil
influence our own. With curious wonder we gaZ
down the long asles of the past, upon the genera
lions that are gone. We behold, as in magi
GLASS men in form and feature like ourselves, actu
Sted by the same motives, urged by the same pas
gions, busily engaged in shaping out both thei
own destinies and ours. We approach them an
thev refuse not our invocation. We hold convers
with the wise philosophers, the sage Legislators an
the divine poels. We enter the tent of the genera
and narake of his most secret counses. We go fort
with him to the battle field and behold him place HI
olittering squadrons; then we listen with peasin
fsar tn The trumpet and the drum, the still nor
terrihIe music of the booming cannon and tn
clasbing arms But most of all, among the innl
merable multtudes who people the past, we see
our own ancestors, drawn towards them by an irr
sistable sympathy. Indeed they were our oth
selves With reveTent sOlicitude we examine I'M
their character and actions, and as we find tue
worthy or unworthy, our hearts swell with prit
mr. our cheeks glow with shame. We search Wi
ayidity for the most trivial circumstances in the
history and eagerly treasure up every memento
tlteir fortunes. The instincts of our nature BIZ
Iis indissolubly 10 them, and link our fate wi
theirs Men cannot live without Ilst; 1t is
essential TO them as a future. Into Its vastcontln
we will Journey to-day and converse with our 7
grim Fathers. We Will speak TO them and tn
will answer u.s. ~,
Two centuries and quarter ago, little tempe
tost, weather-beaten bark, barely escaped from
Jaws of the wild Atlantic, landed upon the blea
est shore of New England. From her deck disc
bArked hundred and one care-worn exlles 10
casual observer no event could seem more lnslg
fcant, The contemptuouse of the world scarct
tlejcned to notice it, Yet the famous vessel u
hore Cesar and his fortunes carried but an lgno
freight compared with that of the Mayhower' /
little band of pilgrims brought with Them nelt
wealth nor power, but the principles of civil g
religious freedom, They planted them for the I
time in the Western Continent, They cherish
cultivated aud developed them to a full and lu
rant ma. .fny7, and then furnished them to Il
posterity as the only sure and permanent 1oun
inns for a free government. Upon those ioun
lions rests the fabric of our great Republic: u
those principles depends the career of human Iii
Nv. Little did the miserable pedani and bigot '
tben welded the sceptre of Great Britain imaG
that from this feeble settlement OF prosecuted
Jasnised Puritans, in a century and a half, WI
1rise a nation capable of coping with his own mis-
empire in arts and arms.
Jtis not my purpose TO enter INTO the hlstor
the Pilgrims; TO recount the bitter prosecutions
ignomnOus suiterngs Whlcn uToVe tieih itoun
land to tell of the eleven years ol F3ace ana {
snent in Holland, under their beloved aud We
ated pastor; nor to describe the devoted patrio
which prompted them to plant colony in somt
tant land, where they could remain citizens OF
native country and at The same utne Dc rem
from i,s CONCESSIONS: where they could enjoy lii
without violating allegiance. Neither sh'
sneak of the perils of their adventurous voyag
the hardships of their early settlement; OF I'll
mine which prostrated and the pestllenee
consumed them.
tbe mage Of history and from the lips of trad
On occasions similar to this, the ablest and
hopored sons Of New England have been a
iomed to tell, with touching eloquence, the st
their suferings their fortitude, their peIseve
and their success With pious care they have
ared and preserved the scattered memorials OF
early davs, and the names Of Carver Brsl
WlGs0w, stsndisA. aad sbef noble eompal