The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-23
N~EwBNGLAyDERS DINNER.
Dn. LYMAN ABBOTT ON THE ARTs-
Il JOCRAOY or CONSCIENCE.

Gov. BLACK TA1ks OF GenuineneSn IN character
senator vroicotts Plea for n Better Under.
ystnndinB Between tho East ana the West
l-sayerNtronG Taiks About Now York City.
fhe ninety .second annual dinner OF tho New
England Society took place at Delmonioo's last
night. The event WINS notable for tho number
OFT distinguished mon present. Tho retiring
President, Charles c. Beaman. presided, and
among those who sat on either side OF him
we're Gov. Black, Senator George #. Hoar,
the Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott. President Charles
w Eliot OF Harvard University, Senator
EDWARD o. Wolcott, Gen. Nelson A. Miles. ex-
Secretary OF State Richard olney, Mayor
Strong. James whitcomb Riley, Morgan J.
o'brien. Gen. Wesley Merritt, s. Franklin
Stanton, Frederic J. De Poyster, Horace Russell,
JOAN w. vrooman, Joseph II. Choatc, J. Pier.
P0dt Morgan, and Charles T. Yerkes.
There were nearly 500 members Of the society
at the dinner, which consisted principally Of
Now England dishes. with pie and doughnuts
for desscrts. At the head OF the room. directly
over President Beaman's head and draped
with American flags, was the new picture
Of che landing Of the Puritans from the May.
flower. which was painted by Thomas J. Hood.
Prpsident Beaman, In his opening address. in.
formed the diners that the pies which they had
Consumed had come from the Woman's Ex.
change and the doughnuts were the product of
an Eighth avenue shop. The information was
greeted with groans and laughter.
cit becomes my duty AS President" said Mr..
Beaman, to toll you in asketchy way whatthe'
New England Society has been doing in the last
yoSr. The membership has increased and we
are better off financially. With a portion OF our
surplus funds we have founded u bed in Roose-
veil Hospital to which any Of you who may feel
al effects from this dinner may go and recover.
II the bed Is crowded tonight 1t may be q good
thing for the hospital. as it will induce us to
found moro beds next year. Another thing we
have done is to join with the other societies
In asking for the return of the Bradford manu-.
script. Within the year forty-four Of our men,
bers have passed away, all men whose memory
we arc glad to honor tonight"
Mr.. Beaman said that it was n matter of much
regret that President Mckinley was unable to
DO at the dinner. 1t had been the Presidents
Intention to come, he said, but his recent
Bereavement made it impossible. He asked
tho members of the society to show their sym
pathy with the President in his time of sorrow
by standing up silently. Before they sat down
they sang two verses Of :" America" Then Mr..
Beaman introduced the Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott,
who responded to the toast "Forefuthers' Day.
DIR. Abbott's speech didn't seem to meet with
the, approval, Of all of those present. There
wore q number of criticisms of things he said.
Nevertheless he was literally applauded.
THE REV. LYMAN ABBorT's SPEECH.
He began by reading n verse by Helen Hunt
jackson from his menu. 1t was:
Despise their narrow creed who will.
Pity their poverty who dare;
Their lives knew Joys; their lives wore crowns
We do not know: we cannot wear.
Continuing, DR.. Abbott said: ministers are
0ften accused of subscribing to creeds with
which they do not agree and OF preaching
R-orn faxtai In which thay d0 mot bnIiava It 10
Therefore. seemly that at the very outset 1
should say to you frankly that I do not believe
in the text that has been assigned to me
to speak about tonight. Their lives knew joys;
their lives wore crowns That is true. We
do not know; we cannot wear That ought not
60 be true; and the object which l have tonight
% to show that their joys ought to be
ours, and that we ought to wear their
crowns. For why do we crown theml Is it not
for this: that seeing a splendid ideal they
vaiiantly strove to realize it, yaliantly strove
20 mako it actual in human affairsl They
knew joys Isn't it true that their joys were
those of high hopes and of heroic endeavor. and
can we for q moment conceive that all ideallsm
has died out of American life, and that all
earnest endeavor and all heroic effort to realize
those ideals have died from the hearts of Ameri.
not New EnEf nd dinners.
The uritnns were sons of the Reformation;
tAOs itA'i CN' Il hlSA VI III lStlOIDlh-
tion, that every man stands face to face With
Almighty, God. the most solemn and stupendous
in his experience. They realized that no
Church and no priesthood could stand between
In the Kingdom Of God and that. that Kingdom
could be realized. then on this earth. 1t
was not their notion that every man should
science. and Il the e,'' Puritans &C Of OLD oid tines f%as
ruled in Massachusetts to-day, my friend. Or.
Eliot, here, would not be SAT &c a day. II is easy
now to traYcsty their sober gray and black.
e Is easy 70 sheer At them Tor their lives.
believe that we should do neither; but should
p psrn nus sN WITH a i Broader sds 0 Sreea and HP G q i e nSw
Ieih, but at the same time with all the glory of
1.-THE Puritans tried to leave the old world
behind them, but the old world has followed
them here, and we find the French, the Germans.
and roce; on every side Of us. Edward Everett
Hale told me some weeks ago that a man had
being the universal language of MASSACHUSETTS,
hundred years hence. do not think there is
chusetts as there is of Irish becoming the Ian.
ang ourselves from these, people. believe
IN the fqandation of a bTotherhood taking
lIsxs f. sa F$so' tss %soe 'hs ea; asa at tAi sep Ssi
t99g ret Ssro by by, fail, faith It. ton GonT ids1; E, and LOVE o,
ourselve, sons Of P%nritHns. It is said that the
Puri'ans in Connecticut, in meeting assembled,
once passed Two fcsolutions; first, re
sotred, : that tho saints rule the earth;
second. 'rtsolred, that We are the
paints They believed that Government should
be administered from the top and not the bot
should BIO ruled by the aristocracy.
But. gentlemen, there are two kinds of arts
tocracy, and tho world. has, tried ono kind q
aristocracy-that of picking out by some methoc
Of selection or snother q best class TO rule tn
VARIOUS ways; We have had q king that shomlt
rule with his descendants, That failed. w
have had an oligarchy, as in Venice, that SHOULD
rule, and HAT has failed. We have tried nut
ting It into the hands of the priests and minis
tiers; and, gentlemen, with no diSrespect to m!
cloth, ! must say we have made a very poor hsl
world.
''Gentlemen. I repeat that it is for. us to Sc,
chat the top rules in America-not the bottom
II .is to be q government OF the best, bu
L Is of the best in every ammo OF on,
best class, as set over another lowe
glass Of society, LApplausel That is he prob
lem that lies before us-nOt to develop an aris
yocracy OF wealth or OF intelligence or Of ~virtuc,i
by that we mean intelligence or virtue in II lin
tied number, but an aristocracy OF virtue an,
Of intelligenee in all the people Of this great en-
pire from the east to tho west and from tn
north to the south; men ruled by conscienc