The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-09-28

We attended the convention of the w. r.. c..
| having long table near the platform assigned
| to us, over which we hung our banner, and here
we faithfully held our places until the close
BY invitation of the Grand Army we went on
| Thursday to Old Plymouth. The cars were
! crowded, and many of the soldiers had seized
| upon this outing as a relief from the duties of
the Grand Encampment, but overrating their
| powers of endurance tainted by the way. Here
| we had an opportunity of seeing the good work
of the Red Cross system. These faithful gray
| coated men, with the insignia of their order on
their left arms were everywhere ready to re-
lieye suffering and assist the weary. They had
been, for the first time an occasion of this
kind, organized for systematic work. On the
day of parade fifteen Red Cross men were
placed at regular intervals along the line of
march, with medical supplies and ambulances,
the assignment being fifteen to every $500 All
honor to the Red Cross Symbol of mercy, we
salute thee
At Plymouth we were escorted to Pilgrim Hall
to see what remained of the Pilgrims ancient
belongings-walked in solemn procession over
the rock which was first pressed by woman's
foot, Mary Chton,) notwithstanding the tra-
dition that our famous ancestors were all
fathers" looked off ON the waters which bore
the white-winged bird of liberty to this then
New World saw rising in the distance the
monument erected to the memory of Miles
Standish, the Puritan captain, and then re-
paired to Odd Fellows Hail. where the ladies
had spread n bounteous lunch for the visitors
A lily well had been arranged in the centre of
with as many as she liked of the long-stemmod
beauties, which, curiously enough, have a de-
lghttul fragrance in New England, which they
lack in the West, and many of these were of a
delicate shade.
We climbed "Burial HILL" and from its sum-
init looked off on the grand old ocean, while we
wandered about among the ron-bound tomb
stones and read the strangely familiar names
of those old pioneers in the cause of freedom,
who yet walked in such narrow lines and clung
so tenaciously to old preiudices that they must
have been as iron-bound in their lives as are the
stones on which are recorded their virtues; but
we will leave these grave subjects and say the
citizens placed their carriages at our disposal,
that we might visit noted places, or look on at
the clam-bake down at the shore, which they
had generously provided for the soldiers and
their friends.
Saturday was set apart for our own day. and
proved to be the red-letter day of the week
When Kate Tannett Woods said, "Come to
Salem, for down there 1t will be your day and
your time," we began to look forward to stour
day" with eager anticipation for we knew that
Mrs. Woods was 'at the FORE" and that was
enough to insure good time. When we ar
rived we were received by the ladies of the
"New England Press, who each selected a
guest to whom she was expected to give her un-
divided attention, thus no one was neglected.
will not weary you with thrice-told details,
but will simply tell you what witchery the
quaint old town had for me.
We went to the ''Peabody Academy of
Science" and out of back door, down some
crooked steps, along winding board walk, be-
hind modern church, we came upon little
odd-looking building scarcely fifteen feet square,
and this was the old "First Church." built in
1884; this was the first independent church or
ganization in the New World. Roger Williams
was one of its pastors. Great beams project
overhead, and over the door, without any visi-
BILE means of support is the choir gallery look
ing not unlike a substantial hencoop, with its
high railing and straight sticks for banisters.
A square hole in the gallery floor suggests pos
cih 10 lodi t,,,f
access to the spot where the Puritan maidens
sang
I'm the well l-worn psalm. book of Ainsworth.
Printed in Amsterdam, the words and the music
hough-heWn - angular notes; like stone in the
Darkened and overhung by the running vine of
the verses"
There are now no pews, they have probably
been removed to make room for other things
In the centre stands the desk of Billy Gray one
of the financial kings of early Massachusetts,,
and as We opened the hacked and worm-eaten
cover, and looked through its plain appoint
ments, where thousands of dollars had lain in
safety, and papers worth thousands more had
been hled away, we mentally contrasted it with
the beautiful mahogany velvet-lined desks of
our business men of to-day.
AT the left was the desk of Hawthorne but
little finer in structure, and bearing no token of
the Nights OF fancy the rare powers of analysis,
the delicate and exquisite humor, which have
made its owners name immortal.
The little Old Church and the starfish which
spread its flowerlike tentacles on the beautiful
waters of the bay close to the little steamer
which took us on the harbor trip seem to stand
out in my memory more distinctly than the ban
quet, the ride, or any other of the many pleas
ures of that most pleasant day.
OF course we saw Marblehead, where the
women administered justice with their own
hands, and sang while they did it
Here's FLUID Oirson. fur his horrd hort,
Torr'd an futher'd an CORD in corrt
MOrDle'eaQ
We saw in the distance the ''House of Seven
Cables" the ''Witch House," and "Gallows
Hill, ~ from which those nineteen martyred souls
went up to heaven, and thought of ''Goody
Martini
who turned, in Saem's dreary JAIL
Her worn old Bible DER and DER
When her dim eyes could read no more"
The banquet? Well there was music, and
delightful conversation, and fish, and fish, and
fsh, and CONNECTIONS, and two wonderful cakes,
which were cut by the two presidents, and at
last speeches, fraternal and sparkling with good
things-a speech OF welcome from Sallie Joy
White, president of the New England Associa-
ton, response from our own Mrs. Lincoln,
bright little talk from Kate Tannett Woods and
an equally witty response from Mary S. Lock-
wood, in which she proved conclusvely the right
of the Woman's National Press Association to
the name it bears.
With this most perfect day closed our associa-
tion with the charming women of the N. e. p A.,
but the friendly feeling will remain with us for
ever. This ends the week, and the remainder of
our trip was made as private individuals; to
M'S there's "no admittance except on business"
Lucy A. LEGGETT.
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