Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1906-11-29

lied from the mother country on 10.
count Of their religious tenets, they
br0oked no breach In those funda-
mental laws that formed the basis Of
their theological system. The laws of
New England must be obeyed and iue.
tlce, cruel, swift and certain; fell upon
the evil-doer. The genius Of q HANt
fthorne has paintedgin our minds thiS
| picture Of the Puritans. The green.
clad mountains and the waving trees
are brought before US. We sigh for
poor Hester and pity the young minis.
ter's struggles between manhood and
self, while the witch antics Of Mistress
Hibblns recall vividly those dark days
Of superstition at Salem.
Then has another master hand CON
juYsd up for US those scenes
In the old colony days IN Plymouth, the
land Of the Pilgrims.
We have followed the courtship Of
Miles 6tandish and have heard the
message Of love borne by John Alden
for another, The struggle Of the fair
haired youth has been as our own.
We have heard him plead the cause Of
his friend before the Puritan iower."
Priscilla, while his own heart was
breaking for the love he would not
tell. We have smelled the sweetness
OF the Plymouth woods; we have
heard the brawling Of the brook over
pebble and shallow at the ford. We
have seen the bloom Of the May flow-
ers and we have caught the sacred an
them sung by the sweet-voiced maid
en-. Our hearts have gone out to John
Alden and we fain would have spoken
for him. Then we have laughed, too,
when amid her spinning
Archly the maiden smiled, and with eyes
overrunning with laughter,
said, In tremulous voice. why. don't
you speak for yourself, JohnT
Thus has the immortal poet led uD
through the paths Of love In that quiet
New England village. But II was not
always the songs Of peace that he
sang for he tells Us how Paul Revere
says to his friend:
II the British march
By land or sea from the town tonight
Hang a lantern aioft on the belfry arch
of the North church tower as 4 signal
light
one Il By land and two il BY sea;
And ] on the opposite shore viii be
Ready 70 ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
FOR the country felix's TO be up and 70
arm.
In like manner have the songs OF
Whittier depicted those early days IN
he land Of the Pilgrim fathers. By
he magic Of his pen he brings clearly
o our view the everyday life Of that
turdy race We see the old homen
nd the farms. in our fancy:
tlll sits the schooihouse by the road,
A ragged beggar summing:
round Il still the sumacha grow
And blackberry vines are running
And then Il Is an easy step in our
sveries to Join X Marvel, that prince
bachelors. IN his reveries over the
Iood hre In his quiet farmhouse IN
lev England. One almost can see
hat broad bachelor bedstead now,
'ith the soft warn feathers upon II.
nd hear the cracking Of the oak and
lckory on the hearth, between the
histling Of the wind through the
roken panes OF glass. Thus are w
d through sweet dream memories 70
better understanding and q dearer
1preclation OF that rugged stock
hich has been the bone and Elnew
this great strong progressive
mericAn people. and us teach with
ids our children and our childrtn1
Iildron the homage cue % our stnrdy
'csli0rs % tbs great naiional
.1nkHglvins day,