The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-07-20

|
| now numbering over one thousand inhabit-
| ants will long remain monument OF Mr..
| Thomass zeal for the cause of Scandinavian
| Immigration.
| Mr.. Thomas has represented Portland three
| times in the Legislature, and was speaker of
[ the House of Representatives for the sessions
| of 1874 and 1875, being nominated both times
| by acclamation. In 1879 he was member Of
| the State Senate, but declined a denomination,
| While Mr.. Thomas was in Sweden he der
| voted himself assiduously to the study OF the
| Swedish language. and is, probably, as con-
| yersant with that language as any foreigner
! can we'll be. He even went further than to
| learn the rudiments OF the mere tongue, and
| after he returned to this country, translated
| the Swedish novel entitled, "The Last Athen-
| ian" by Victor Rydberg, work which was
| we'll received here, and for which he received
| the special thanks Of the King of Sweden for
| acquainting the American people with the
| literature of that country.
| Mr.. Thomas is direct descendant in the
| ninth generation from sturdy George Cleeves,
who, two hundred and fifty years ago this very
| year founded the city of Portland
| In honoring our guest we do honor to q fam
| lily illustrious in the annals of American his
/ tory,a family noted for its sterling integrity
| and steadfast adherence to principle, drawing
| its sturdiness from such ancestors as Bur
/ roughs, the first clergyman of Portland,
! who escaped the barbarities of an Indian
| sacre in 1880 only to be hung by o Chris
| uan people as a wizard two years later under
|
/ in the annals of fanatical homicdes, family
| inheriting its patriotism from the impulsive
| and whole-souled William Widgery, who, as a
member OF Congress, was the only man from
| New England who voted in favor Of the war
| OF 1872, knowing when he did SO that his mer-
| chant vessels which constituted his entire for
| tune must lie rotting at our wharyes during
| the continuance of hostilites; family rich
| in traditions of all that go to form and round
| off the sterling qualit es of the New England
| srn was lad Is1
/ life and actions of the venerable father of our
| guest, who comes here tonight to join with us
in bidding farewell TO his fortunate son.
For myself am proud to have been for
| more than twenty years the fellow student,
| companion and friend of our Minister to Swe-
| den. l am proud to feel as do from my init
| mate knowledge OF bis energetic character and
business-lke tact, that between the United
| States and Norway, country which has &C
/ cording TO its population the largest mercantile
1 marine ia the world, there will spring up
| stronger and more extended commercial rela-
| tions and that at no distant day We may fur
| nish Norway and Sweden, many OF the articles
which are now furnished by Great Britain.
/ can but feel that even though a minister
/ abroad, MIR. Thomas will not be 30 far carried
| away by the charms of the Baltic or the splen
/ dor of Stockholm as to forget his native State,
| and perhaps at times he may say word for
| our products, our ships, and our merchants
| who may yet open more extensive trade
| with people with whom an interchange OF
| commerce would be of inestmable value to u.s.
cannot lose the opportunity to say that
1 am pround tonight to represent an association
| of lawyers which has furnished such men as
| Greenleaf, a Clifford, Fox and the Shepleys,
| and such statesmen as Fessenden ami Evans
| am equally happy TO preside over delega-
| tion OF a medical association from which have
| sprung such physicians as Greene and TewkS-
| bury, and a delegation OF merchants which has
| furnished such men as st. John Smith and j. b.
| Brown. feel honored to be designated TO
| speak on this occasion in behalfof city which,
as our guest has well said, is NOS q suburb of
| any other municipality which stands second to
| none in bsautY and substantial prosperity,
| which has manfully survived an Iudian massa-
| ere, British bombardment and the ravages of
| fire which rendered homeless third of its
| population.
| And now TO you (turning to Mr.. Thomas), in
| your capacity of citizen of Portland, as we'll
| as in your more exalted position as minister
to foreign court, with all that such title inn
plies, in behalf Bar, rich in its traditions of
| learning, craftsmanship aud elequence, and in
| behalf of the citizens of Portland, noted for
| their sincerity and fidelity. who now surrender
| their claims upon you for the benefit of the
/ country at large, now tender you our best
wishes and sincere congratulations, and bid
| you God-speed on that journey which shall in
| troduce you to new duties aud new honors.
/ When Mr.. Thomas rose to reply he was re-
ceiVed with long continued applause. He
| spoke as follows:
MR.. THoMAs's RESPONSE.
Members of the Bar and citizens of Portland,
my good friends and neighbors:
wish could feel unhappy, have been
| trying to, through all this dinner bus my
| friends, your kindness is so great, your praises
| are so lavish, this testimonial is so honorable
| that you have rendered it impossible for me TO
feel unhappy if would. cannot do it,
| No man appreciates more than do, how far
| my merits are from rounding out the full
/ measure OF your praises. But, my friends, this
| only makes your kindness all the greater. II
| is an unfortunate thing l am sure
| for any citizen of Portland TO be exled from
| our good city, from our beautiful bay, and
| from you my fellow citizens Bat, my frieads,
| you have made even going into exile happy.
/ am about to leave you for
| country that is not unknown in the annals
| of this world lt is the birth place Of her oes,
"the home of chvalry." No nober race
| ever lived than the race that has inhabited
| and now inhabits those ice clad fields Of the
| North, and who sail the deep fjords that
| penetrate the mountains. In the very twilight
in the very dawn f the history of that glorious
| old land Of the North we find issuing out from
| their fjords on board their dragon ships with
| prows of iron, race of vikings, a race of kings
| Of the sea, before whom the ships of all nation
| went down; who conquered every land they
| set foot upon.
| Later, we fad, when that religious war,
| when stha war of thirty wears was raging
! through Central Europe, il was no Prince of
| Germany,it was no Prince Of Francs that mar
| shaed the hosts of Professionalism but 1t was the
| lion of the North, the great Gustavus Adolphus
I that marched down at the head of his ten
| thousand Swedes, and organized and won
| victory. The sword of Gustavus Adolphus
| was as powerful for the cause Of pure religion
as the pen of Luther. Still later look at
Charles XII, stately form in mantle blue,
| gaining victory after victory until his little
band was decimated and anDihlated by victory
| itself Charles XII of Sweden, the man
| who took walled cities by his single mailed
| hand the man who, with drawn sword, defed
| the whole Turkish army at Bender.
| In our veins, my friends, runs the same old
| northern blood that courses through the veins
| of those heroes of Scandinavia. Five hundred
| years before Columbus ever saw the islands on
| our southern coast, the old vikings Of the NORTH
| sailing out of Norway ,coas.ed along our Shores
and built settlements on the New England
| coast It was not the Gsnoese, but it was the
old sailors of the NortAlaBd that discovered
! our continent of America.
| La our war for independence, our long and
| weary seven years war, when we threw off the
| yoke of the mother country, America must
not forget it was Sweden first Of all the ma
| tons of the earth after our ally France that
| voluntarily rendered to the yet struggling re-
! pu0lc her good will, her sympathy, and her
| recognition.
| Lot us not forget what we owe to Sweden in
| later days, when the great Rebellion, the
| greatest ever known in history, broke out
| among us. Every one Of this generation recol-
| ects one bright spring morning when the
| rebel ram, the ironclad Merrimac, steamed
| out OF Norfolk harbor, and with her PROV OF
| iron came down on our wooden walls of de-
| fence lying at anchor in Hampton Roads;
| how that rebel ram gored after another
| Of our ships to the death, while our broadsides
| ratified off her armor harmless as haiistones
| How bravely went down the good ship
! Cumberland, with the stars and stripes nailed
| to the mast, and with three hundred heroes on
| board, who fred the last broadside rs the wa
| tefs Of the ocean rolled into the muzzles of
| their guns. Then all was CONSERVATION. Tel
| egrams were sent from headquarters, "the Mer-
| rimac has escaped she has broken the block
| ade; we have nothing that Can cope with her
| These kilograms were sent tosNew York and
| Boston and PortlanG, Ito all our maritime
| cities. Here men we're talking about chainng
| RATS of lumber across our harbor, that that
| terrible might not come near enough to
| throw shells into city. Ah my friends,
| for one short hour that rebel ram was mistress
| of the seas. Then, a little nondescript craft
| appeared on the horizon, and steered straight
| for that rebel ram. The big turret revolved,
| the big guns were out, the hig shot was
| hurled into tha5 rebel monster The contest
| was long aud severe, but at lid close the Merri-
mac, crippled, hnmiliated and beaten, was
| glad to crawl back to the harbor from which
che came, to roam the seas more. Gap
| plause)
Now, my friends, this is all as familiar to