The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-02-06
RY HENRY WARD BEEC HER.


There lies, between the st. Lawrence and the
Atlantic Ocean, little gore OF land, few humid
red milo wide and long, and seems to have been
made up OF the fragments and lea'ings, after the
rest Of the continent was made. Its ribs stick
out beyond all covering !. has sand enough to
scour all creation (aughter) there are no large
rivers, but there are many nmOe little ones, that
seem to have been busy since the fioed, in taking
exercise over rits and rocks. It's indigenous pro,
ductions are ice, Indians and trees. Its wild
fruits are whortleberr3S and cheslnuts. About
the time that this part Of tho continents was first
explored, great plague had swept off large
portion of its Indians. Trading and commercial
adventurers had endeavored to effect settlement
in vain The place seemed too hard for Indians
and rowing traders. This tongue of land was set
spsrt apparently, for Wilderness, and it had pc
suilr sptltudes for keeping men away from It,
It's summers were short, its winters long, Its rocks
inAumerabe, its soil thin. Bounded TO the north
by hyperbonean cold, to the cast by endless for
ests, 10 the south by the ocean only to the west
wss there an opening through which the people
could make their way out, SHOULD there ever be
population. To settle this cold, sterile and som.
bre corner Of the creation, race of men was
raised up called The Puritans. Naturalists tell US
tina, every plant has its insect, and every animal
its parasite SO there must be somdsort of animal
adapted to live on these shores and that animal
was the Puritan. The Puritan was not described
by Cuver, or by any naturalist. None of the
modern photographers have given attention to
this class OF beings. They have been described
in popular literature and IN newspapers /; and il
we may not believe them what shall we believe
<Laughter) Takhg err idea from political
speeches and newspapers, the Puritan was hard,
tough, gaunt creature, utterly devoid Of taste and
of the finer affections, but excessively endowed
With holy combatvenesq. He was always to be
seen with his eyes earth-bCund, and sanctmonious
face; whenever they were lifted it was to fnd
fault, or money, as the case might be. He is sup
posed to regard oil men as wrong but himself
his vocation is TO put all things right. Therefore
be IS the moral tinker Of the universe, and is for
mending rips in morals, and putting patches upon
conduct generally, making up the defciencrs be
detects in Providence aud creation. Like the
ssabrd, he is ever on the wing, and never better
pleased than in storm. This character infssts
the whole Western continent, and causes more
disputes, controversies AID excltements than all
the rest OF the population utlogether. No other
character could have lived in New England. and
nothing else could live there if lie did. He was
tougher than the s;one, dier than the sand more
naurasts tell US that since the Purltans settled N
New England, its climate las grown much mIdrr
sven New Eng land winters could not stand the
sterna fault-tindIng If the Puritans. (Laughter.)
AS long as this controversy between nature and
the Puritan was confined TO New England, men
were patient within hundred yesrs, We
have seen great mischies introduced upon he rest
of the contir en. There is the Hesslan fly, that
has robbie millions on millions OF dollars ir, m
the wheat crop; there are veevils, and biights,
and the curcuio n trees and then we have the
Canada thistle, the very Yankee OF Botany
sharp, hui cry and prolific; with mil ION OF seeds
and every seed sure to sprout; growing ten times
rs fast when you cut 1t up by the roots as when
you let it alone. Among all these, none hive
been SO much deplored as the spread of the lan-
see He is the plague of the Continent; goes
everywhere engages in every thing; is always
and everywhere tue same aispuling, meddlmg,
reforming character he was in England, and is in
New Eng land, and seems likely to be until the
end of the world. Agitater in politics, disputant
in theology, faull-fnder in moral, prying up
peaceful citZpns' houses to see If the under pin
ing 10 safe he vender OF glmcracks to every
hoa -ekeeper, be has always some new way OF
grinding, or screwing, or twisting, or rolling, or
churning, or knitting, or sewiag. or plowing to
show. His plows aad washing machines would
build the C iinese wall. The Puritan Yankee ha,
at las: exhausted the patience Of the saints of tn
plantations, and they have determined to /" hunt
him home to his dem as Mr.. Cox Of Ohio say.
and 10 shut him up there all Y himself. We
would sugges therefore, That all the Yankee H.
ven,ioas be collected and v,H be Built of the
carts, plows, reapers, churhs, sewing machines,
CLOCKS, stoves and all the con.rivancss which th:
indie atiksbie Yankee has invented, and that al,
the Yankee books, spslIng.books, reading books