The Washington times., 1902-12-28

score and Ten.
THE strength Of the Pilgrims stin
remains TO the dwellers in Ply
4 mouth. The descendants Of the
people who ogmc i'm the May
flower and the Anne are strong in their
inheritance from those who founded a
State The strong bodies and clean
minds which were brought 20 the New
England coast nearly three hundred
years ago. have been perpetuated among
the inhabitants Of that town by the sea.
made historic by the aspirations and
sacrifices Of great hearts Walking in
the streets Of the famous town or driv-
ing along the country roads one meets
everywhere the descendants OF the real
first families OF New England and sees
in them the visible manifestation Of the
ideals which have made our Government
what it is.
The Strength Of the Old.
In visiting the town. nothing is more
apparent than the strength possessed by
the old. At the time OF life at which
those in most communities find ncthing
so attractive as the warm freside. and
idle hours Of dreaming. these sturdy
people seem 10 be more than ever in
terested in the work which they have
10 do. Men Of seventy-fvc or eighty do
a full DAYS work in the fields; women
who have seen four-score go about their
daily homework almost with the vigor
OF youth. In commerce. trade and social
life, these strong men and women lead.
as in their youth. and are happy in doing
So
Out in the country this unusual long
evity is especially noticeable. For ex-
ample. there is a little settlement num-
bering some 300 people in the neighbor-
hood Of the Second Congregational
Church. where almost every house shell
ters someone who is more than four
score years.
Yeung Men of Eighty Years.
Here one may find David Clark. a des-
cendant OF the pilot Of the Mayhower,
strong after the storms OF eighty-two
winters. working in the fields beside the
younger generations. selectman until
very recently and prominent in the af-
fairs in his town. he keeps we'll abreast
with the times. holding TO the faith OF
the fathers and enjoying the sure re-
wards OF their stSCn morality.
Cornelius Briggs, a year older. and
George Griswold. a year younger. are
his near neighbors. and they, too. en-
Joy life as he does. Near them is Mrs
Isaac Holmes. a member OF the Wads-
worth family. and a relative Of Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow. On the adjoin-
ing farms one may find eight or ten peo-
pie who have passed the fourscOre-year
limit with minds and bodies stiIl strong
Typical Old Clergyman
% was in this parish that the Rev.
John Dwight. one OF the most effective
Of the preachers OF the town in his
time. lived and labored during former
generations. A graduate OF Amherst. a
pupil Of Dr. Jacob Ide. sf Medway. he
spared no pains to make plain the doc
trines OF the early church. Predesu-
nation. foreordination. and all that was
regarded as a necessary part OF a doc
trine sufficient for salvation were laid
before his hearers rs doctrines 10 be be
Heyed and lived by. and so earnestly
did he work that no preacher OF that
church before or since has ever secured
such satisfactory results.
He passed away years ago. but he
IS reverently remembered by the people
ne served. and ne may well be counted
a perfect type Of the clergyman OF for
mer days
Pastor an Armenian.
The pastor Of the church. who is.
strangely enough an Armenian. and
who fed from the prosecutions OF Flu
ropean bigotry as the founders OF the
church did centuries ago. attributes the
health and strength OF his people as
much 10 the equanimity az mind which
their isolation from modern life brings
them as 20 the healthfulness OF the To-
fdiINhs tN Us NiDbapls ~ uNf hv"N''is
that the largest factor is a physical and
mental inheritance comparatively un-
sullicd for centuries.
Inquiry throughout the township con-
firms the claim that nowhere in the
United states is there so large per
ccutage OF very old people. One may
easily count up about thirty men who
are over eighty years old. and several OF
these are past their nine-ieth birthday.
The number of women who are Of an
equally advanced age is slightly larger.
Never Too Old to Vote.
Reference 20 the records Of the town
clerk shows that about l2O Of The voters
are over seventy years old. and Of these
O. large percentage are only little
under eighty. These men are, almost
without exception still actively inter
estsd iu common affairs Of life, and
many OF them are doing he same hard