Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1869-12-23
THE NEW ENGLAND FESTIVAL.
An Iun~n>uffme AMnaP

i
Masonic Temple last night, and the affair was
as might be supposed, very interesting and en-
| joyable. This Is the second annual festival
which this society has had since its organise
| ton. Its officers are a. follows:-President
Hon. Z. B. French; Vice Presidents-Hon. B.
| b. French; Major Ben Perley Poore. Mas; A.
N. ClaPp, Conn; VIM Hutchinson, Vt; Gen
1 0. .. Howard, Me-; A. 7. Britton, r. l.; Exec
utive Committee. G. Smith, Vt; Gen. X. d
| Mussey, N. H.; Gen. H. NJ. whittelsey, Conn;
| L. Deane, Me-; Secretary, 8. +. Faunce, Mass;
| Treasurer, Chauncey Smith, VT.
Among those present were Hon. E. B. French,
| the President Of the Association; s. G. Fessen-
Me-; Senator Morrill,, Of VT; Senator Wilson, OF
Mass; Judge Poland, OF VT; Hon. A. A. Brad
ford, Gen. o. q: Howard, Gen. Balloch, Gen.
Perley Poore, "Grace Greenwood" Mai. b. b.
French, Rev. j. G. Butler, Gen. H. NJ. Whittel-
sey, $. r Brown, M. g: Emery, G. H. Bliss, 8.
and many others, with their wives and families
mostly. The dinner was served at nine O'Clock,
Hon: B. French presiding.
sdes to sSe
occasion, and after Rev. j. G.. Butler was
called upon and said grace.
Following upon the dinner Gen. R. d. Mussey,
Toast Master, read the regular toasts prefacing
them with well-timed remarks.
The first was "The President of the United
States" which was received with great ap-
plause.
"Maine-She writes Dirigo for her motto, and
bears on her shield the farmer and the sailor to
typify industry and enterprise. The best source
OF national wealth will yet be found i'm her album
dant and constant water power, and when her
many rivers are lined with factories and her
borders filed with a busy population, then all
men without dissent shall praise the great Cold
Response by Senator Hamln, Of Maine, who
said that they had no Plymouth Rock in that
State, but they had many other things to stand
rV,nv1 h. all LII IN 49, ~. T.s-~
might not always be q border State. People
ate Goldfish there, and could raise ice without
any protection from the Government-that pro-
duct constituted one of the elements of her
and the great prairies OF the West, had absorbed
much Of her talent and energy by the great
emigration from her borders, and as a conse-
quence Of the late war, into which so many Of
the sons Of Maine rushed when the Government
called upon them for aid. IApplause.l The
bones Of her sons lie bleaching in every State
that raised the arm of rebellion.
The Army-It has given us Generals, who,
victorious in the field, have added to their fame
by their subsequent achievements as statesmen
and philanthrOpsts."
kesDondad IN 10 Ganerai n a. Howard Il,
some felicitOus remarks, in which he made al
fusion to the President OF the United States,
giving an account OF his first meeting him, and
of his qualities as a soldier and a statesman.
prominent in the soldier had since been re-
affirmed in the statesman. tApplause.
The next was "New Hampshire-Her granite
the strength q their
Senator Patterson, of New Hampshire, re-
spOnded, saying the toast just read referred to
the granite and the graduates Of New Hamp-
shire. These were the natural products Of that
State. He would remind his friend who had
just spoken that the countries which had given
to the world the greatest men were not those
most favored by providence with natural
sources, and the granite and graduates of New
Hampshire would compare very favorably with
the advantages claimed for his own State by his
ter ' Of the s people Of New Hampshire was well
typifed in its granite. Mr.. Patterson continued
in some happy remarks in the same strain.
VermontA State not less good to abide in
Response by Judge Poland, of the House Of
Representatives. He said he was taken quite by
surprise, but he was always ready to brag about
Vermont. He alluded to the early history Of the
State, and the hOnOred names Of her distin-
guished sons from the earliest settlers up to the
present time. He spoke Of her loyalty to the
Government; of the many natural advantages
surrounding her; claiming that she was to have
the finest seaport and harbor of any Of the
States; of the lakes which lie contiguous; of her
laughter which were miniature Congresses.
and where great questions were considered ard
discussed. He closed with glowing tribute to
the GOOD old Green Mountain State.
"New England Women-Efficient as school
marms, delicious as sweethearts, unrivaled as
wives, Incompatible as mothers; their devotion,
the, their energy, their :, love, have made New Eng
This was responded to by Mrs. Lppincott
(Grace Greenwood) in the following happy man
M. President AS this Is not only rore-
fathers, but FOremOthers' day, 1 recognize the
propriety of q woman being invited to respond
to this sentiment. Yet / feel that a better
choice could have been made. Indeed, hardly
consider myself eligible. In the first place, am
not New England woman by birth, though
come OF an old New England family, fed on the
one side by stern English Puritan, on the other
by fiery Huguenot blO0d-afamily distinguished,
however, for not having had an ancestor among
our entire stock of heirlOOms without coming
upon table, q chest of drawers, a high-p0st
beGstead or any other little article Of household
furniture, brought over IN the s Maydower :
the water once startled me by the question,
" Has not civilization advanced further in the
New England than in the other States OF the
Union? pr / said 1 thought it had, but was
obliged to acknowledge myself an outside bar
barian"-bOrn in the savage State OF New York,
though Of missionary parents from Connecticut.
home Of my fathers-Old LebanOn-a dear old
lady peering in my face said E" Let me see !-you
were born after you left Connecticut Laugh
Seriously, would not disparage my native
State. hold that am, or with the franchise,
would be, q citizen Of no mean commonwealth.
Its name Is not 80 sOnorous mouthful as Massa-
chusetts, but somehow love the sound Of It.
We have not the Atlantic, but we have fine
family group Of young seas, and We have
Niagara. We have not Bunker Hill and Lex
ingtOn, but We have the watery battle fields Of
Erie and Champlan. We have not Boston,
but our seaport, on the island of Manhattan, is
looking up. We have no Plymouth lookout
We have Plymouth Church, which holds more
people. We have no "Funnel Hall"-but we
have old Tammany. We have no colossal,
bronze statue Of Webster,-but we have the
Cardiff giant. Secondly have never made q
pilgrimage to Plymouth Rock. 1t Is in such an
out of the way place. As removals are in fashion,
| why not move it to Boston? 1 confess that
before having seen our Plymouth, never ought
| to have set my face toward the old English town
Of that name, know that never having saluted
Its immortal granite, ought to have blushed, q
on the gray battlements Of Blarney Castle,
bent to kiss its magic stone.
i shall not presume to speak for those grand
| women of 1G2O, who, in their frail little ship,
dared that wintry voyage, for the men they
loved and the faith they adOred,-an undertak:
ing that, without that love and that faith, would
have seemed like letting go of the dear old
distance, darkness, and cold. Their Immortality
blessed memory. tApplause.] l would speak
| can speak lovingly, II not elOquently-with the
| thought Of New England mother warm at my
| heart. During the late dreadful days OF civil
| war did they not abundantly prove that In them
still live even the stern virtues Of the women OF
| the Olden time? When their hospital ministra-
| tions ended, hosts Of New England women tool
up the scarcely less hard and perilOus work OF
educating the poor freedmen-whO thus saw
Nightingales turned into Doves, bringing Olive