Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1910-02-24

ULaughtcrD
The Rev. Dr. Thomas eulogized the
character Of Nermonts citizenship. II |
is no place for Weddings, said DR.. Thorn |
as It requires strong men, fought In the |
capacity for work. The men Of Vermont |
he said. were just men who held to con-
victions through thick and thin They
wore drol IN speech. deliberate in judg-
ment and possessed faculty almost
uncanny for penetrating character. He
was afraid that Vermont was lax and
backward in agriculture. but he hoped
for Improvement soon. She is behind
hand also in education said Dr. Thomas,
and one Of her greatest needs in that
direction is more support for her many
| good small colleges and schools Tho
I colleges require particularly larger equip
mont
| "When somebody asked D X Pearson,
| the phlanthropist. who has already given
away SG,0Q,H0, how he made his first
| dollar" said Mr.. Woodruff, the next
speaker. "ho said it was by shoveiing
| snow In the mountains Of Vermont.
! They call me n Yankee said Dr. Pear
son, and | take off my hat and bow.
| TncF cali me q Puritan, and bow
! twice
Those of us who like that sort OF thing
! have to acknowledge that early New
england furnished almost no fun. our
forcbcars were literal people. The eli
! mate or something else transformed them
ere long into the most eager receivers
| and purveyors of humor in the world.
II the climate did It, It's the best thing
we can say about the climate. Uaugh-
teri
NO section of the country is so integ-
raj. so to speak. as New England and
Vermont Is a part of II. You recognize
! New England the moment you enter 1t.
| Even If YOU enter in sleeper at night
YOU notice, likely enough, the tang in
! the air and wake up to enjoy it. ! know
the stimulating wakefulness OF the New
| England climate because | spent four
years in college mp there with merely in
termittent periods Of sleep. GJaughter)
There were and there are now few
| middin' men in New England Take
religion. fruitful field of contemplation
and controversy. There were no mid
dim men of God. They We're the one
thing or the other. and mostly one thing.
or course they did have little deviltry
from the first, from the time that young
John Ellington nearly set off the powder
ma gaz!ne of the Mayilower to the time
when another Ellington was hanged.
for murder Put the temper Of the ma
jority was for long sermons, dreary
catachetical lectures. much agonizine
searching out OF sinners, heavy penalties
for not going to church-a sort 70 reli-
gious oligarchy where the ministers were
the olgarchs. Many healthy children
were frightened into dreadful state
of nerves. actually dying in many in
stances. from fear of hell and damna-
ton and that they were not Of the elect
They were a quaint and fearful people
There is one thing about the old Puri.
tan that strikes US as odd-his love FOR
, beer. and for that matter of spirits, and
his belief that good beer was necessary
to health. What a calamity that was
when the sailors of the Mayhower shu
off the beer supply. fearing that they
wouldn't have enough to get home on
U4auEhter) And old Elder brewster
speaks with surprise of the good healti
of his handful because they had moth
ing but fare spring water to drink.
Uaughter)
=, And at the old time funerals, though
. they heard no prayers for the dead
which We're considered blaspl emous
. and though no minister offtciated at thu
grave, the palbearers. whether men %
. boys, We're given their drink of spirit
. just before liftirg the corpse and TIN
y mourners generally returned to thu
house for more to eat and drink. Th
:, sort of thing was bound TO bring disaster
= and it did The wave of temperan"
" reform that swept over New England
= century ago has never quite ebbed
4 veteran, mourning remarked sadl
enough that temperance has done ia
-, funerals
There was greatness In that peop
OF New England just the same. great
ness almost Of suparmen. 1t took some
thing to have survived the log schOC
houses with their awful draushts. Il roar
Ing Are roasting the children at one en-
and freezing the little wights ut the 9th
, er; strong enough to have survived bap
tis,n at one week old in churches so col
that the sacramento bread often rattle
- around In the plate; strong enough t
= have spent many hours in churche
where an Eskimo would have CONCEALED
" at looils q lusty youngster to sc
; through an old-fashioned New Engan
winter. and when he did get thrOuR
childhood ills and being dosed with thos
:" amazing, disgustinG nustrums they cal
ed medicine, but which We're astrologic;
and pagan and diabolical-w he Ill
get through all this-he was fl for any
80 thing. fit to think. TO work to swee
back the Indian and conquer the wilder
:" ness: fit TO raise families the size
10 which startle all Of us fellow alumni! {
- the soon to be welcomed Theodore Roos'
Welt. HMughterJ We read of dozens
~ Instances where the old colonial cou
still count up while he was alive do
- ems. scores. yes. hundreds of great-gran'
a, | children.
80 "Flnally-has il not occurred to all
- vnup-the essence OF one word, perhal
" the sweetest and most wonderful woi
Nv In our vocabulary-home been In
w narted more by these men OF New En-
Nv land than hy an other type OF men,
~ Charles +. Mathewson and others mac
'S short talks reminiscent OF thair hoyho'
days In Vermont.
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