Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1853-10-13
"The Pilgrim Mothers" :"

Francisco, Of the landing of tho PI
grims at Plymouth, tie Mayor Q
the City, Brenaam, read a note
(which he had received from a lady
in reply to a request OF his that sh
would send him toast for the pcca
sion. The note was read as a fit in
PRODUCTION to the toast itself, Whicl
WAS then drank amid the most en-
thusiastic applause, as it deserved t,
be, and with overaowing bumpers
The letter in the main is good one
and is appropriate just now, wh en- d
late celebration is reminding the
world anew of the Pilgrim Fathers
1t is as follows:
81 am surprised that a man Of
your gallantryshould be at a loss for a
toast on an occasion like this; | say
surprised, because | know that you
are II pt such humbug as these ru-
litani cad, straight faced, hypocrit tfcal,
psalm singing, Pilgrim Fathers,
whom | hold in utter detestatica a.
You came from the South, where we
do "ho onor to whom honP pr is due II
mean to the women. Fpr more than
two h undred years this 1agrant act
of injustice to the gh|tle sex has
been tolerated and couh htenanced by
the men, until it has ceased to appear
an injustice to them For 200 y EARS
men have usurped so quietly all
the honors Of Plymouth Rock-lIave
given themselves dinners. and to ohst-
red themselves, and made speeches
about themselves, their privatibns,
their hardships, their dangers and
prosecutions, that. a stranger nfyer
would suppose that there ever had
been a goman within Il thousand miles
Of Plymouth Rock.
"'The Pilgrim Fathers forso bth,
What had they to endure in comp pari-
son to the Pilgrim Mothers?' 1T is
true they had hunger and cold, and
sickness, and danger-foes without
and within; but the unfortunate Pill
grim Mot hers! they had not only all
these to endure, but they had the
Pilgrim Fathers also! and yet their
names are never mentioned w ho-
ever heard Of the Pilgrim Mothers?
Whoever gives a dinner in honor of
them? Whoever writes songs, dri hks
toasts, and makes speeches in re col.
lection Of them? This selfsuffici EN-
cy on the part Of men is beyond all
endurance. Any one to hear th EN-
would actually suppose that . Jew
England had been colonized by m en-,
and posterity provided by special
act of Providence! Only Mrs He
mans has ventured to insinuatc t hat
there ever WAS woman in The ca Sc,
that the May aower ever brou ght a by
thing but men across the Allan tic
| assure yd "a, my dear friend, that |
am perfectly disgusted with the self
conceit of the men; they appropri-
ate everything to themselyes-eEen
the settlement Of a colony, and the
peophng of a whole continent. l.
did hope there was one prerogative
they would leave to woman. We
have submitted Quietly to their in-
ventions for superceding US in many
things-to their sewing machines and
'fxings'-but We will not tamely
subni it to be deprived of this one
privilege; we will not allow ourselves
to be deluded into the belief that
New England was settled and peo-
pied entirely by Pilgrim Fathers;
how could they have been fathers if
there had been no mothers2 And |
hope, dear captain, that | have sue.
ceedeh d in convincing You that you
will b : lending yourself to an act Of
great injustice towards Us if you do
not propose for your toast, The Pill
grim Mothersl' y