The Somerset reporter., 1897-07-01
Maine Historical Society.

The Maine Historical Society held its
annual meeting at Brunswick last week
Previous TO the presentation of papers,
the society held a business meeting at
which the following officers were elected .
President ames =. Baxter
Vice President-Rufus K Sewa.
Treasurer-Fri,z H. Jordan
Corresponding secetary aud Biographer
Joseph Williamson.
Recording Secretary, Librarian, and
Curator, Hubbard w. Bry4nt.
Standing committee Rev. s Burrage.
Prof Henry L. Chapman. Gen. John
Marshall Brown, Hon Edward 2. Burn
ham, Hon Samuel c. Belchers. Captain
Charles Z. Nash, John NJ. Gljdden.
The following were elected to member.
ship in the society; Frederick Atwood
Winterport Maine; Edward A. Butler,
Rockland. Maine; Henry b. Cleayes,
Portland, Maine Samuel I. Dole South
Windham, Maine John II. Fogg, Port
land, Maine Francis Keefe, Elliot, Maine,
Seth L Larrabee, Sidney w Thaxter,
Robert T. Whitehouse.
These corresponding members were
elected: Professor +. Ganong. North
ampton, Mass. Prof Charles F Richard
son, Hanover. n. H; Henry Herbert
Edes, Cambridge, Mass. d. S. Aexan-
der, Buffalo, New York.
The society voted to hold the annual
field day at the Isles of Shoals and Old
York early in September.
When the afternoon meeting was called
to order by President Baxter, in one of
the lecture rooms of the Seares Science
building, there was large attendance,
among those present being a number of
ladies'. The first thing on the programe
was the paper by Mr.. Baxter, whose
subject was "A brief resume of the voy-
ages of John Cabot Mr.. Baxter said
The map of the world at the time OF
the Norman conquest of England was
confined to Europe, fragment of West
ern Asia and Northern Africa. Outside OF
this limited area all was a dark waste.
Even India was practically unknown to
Europe. From the time of Alexander
it had been a fabulous land overlooking
with riches, but these were only reached
by the infidel merchant men of the east.
1t was left to the Crusaders to open the
eyes of Europeans to the Indian traffic
and the methods by which it was prose.
cu:ed
Near the close of the 18th century,
Marco Poulo, an enterprising young mer-
chant OF Venice, undertook the perlouS
adventure of a journey to this wonder
land, and succeeded in reaching it. and
visiting its principal parts. Paulo's ex-
ploration of Cathay and his history of its
wealth stimulated adventure geographical
learning was fostered, and mariners of
Venice became noted throughout Europe
for their skill, while her wealth and SPLEEN
dor, second only TO the opuence and
magnihcence Of Cathay, the source of her
grandure, became the burden of poetry
and romance.
Generations came and went, and Ven.
ice continued to enjoy her monopoly of
the Indian traffic. 1t seemed as though
such prosperity could never end but in
the 18th century the discovery of printing
evidenced the opening of a new era in
human progress. Already the genius of
Gioja had opened the vision of mankind
to the possibility of highways across
the watery desert. which trackless and
UNEMPLOYED had hitherto limited maritime
enterprise in the West; and to realize to
man the benefit of Gioja's achievement,
Gutenberg was to supplement it by an
other, which, indefinitely multiplying the
records OF human thoughts and experien-
ces and scattering them to the obscurest
corners of the civilized world. would
make it possible for them to take root, and
finally to flower and fruit into new ideas
and achievements