Evening star., 1911-08-13
THE CORNER STONE OF THE NATION
WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Correspondence Record

r and the Chicago Record Herald.
cross the threshold Of the front door
until he returned. Grass grew over the
pathway, the doorstep was removed and
the front door was never opened again,
for he died at sea. There is q monument
to his memory on Burial Hill. the ancient
cemetery OF the Pilgrims.
Those who have suffered disappoint-
ment at the rock will have their patriotic
equilibrium restored by visit to Pill
grims Hail. a structure OF rough granite
In imitation Of a Greek temple, with six
Doric columns sustaining a portico. It
was built in 1894. and is filled with relics
Of those stern. brave men, and the self
contained, trustful women who made-up
the passenger list of the Mayfiower. The
articles on exhibition which were ac-
tually hroupht over in that shin are COM
paratively few. and are as follows:
y
The Bibles OF Gov. Bradford. John
Alden and Edward Winslow: a chest
that was brought by Miles
Mayfower standish: cabinet brought
by William White. father
4seA1S. of Peregrine White. and his
walking stick, and brass candlestick
that also belonged to him: a water pitch
er and pair of spectacles belonging to
Peter Brown: a pewter plate belonging
to William Bradford: pewter platter.
an iron pot and some other crockery
brought over by Miles Standish. and his
famous sword. There are two uncomfoFt-
able and uglv chairs. made OF ash-one
brought by Elder William Brewster and
the other by Gov. Carver: and two era
dies, one belonging to DR.. Samuel ruler
and the other to William White In the
latter little Peregrine White. the BABY
of the Mayfiower. who was born during
the voyage. was rocked to sleep 1t is a
roughly made. heavy affair, with cam
opv over the head
There are several books in the library
which were brought in the Mayfower In
Guiding Classification Of Separation, by
Rev. John Robinson. published In 1slO
1t contains the autograph OF Gov. Will
liam Bradford. the owner. Other books
are "Cartwright's Commentary on the
Proverbs of Solomon" "A Confutation Of
the Rhemists' Translation" published in
1913 and "The Mystery Of Self-Deceiv-
ing" published in 1918. and owned by
William Brewster. All OF the books are
Of a religious character and elucidafe
the principles nnon which the theological
beliefs Of the Pilerims were based.
There is a SNUFF box that belonged to
Elder Brewster: chest. pestle and
mortar. ard a pewter plate that BELONGED
to Edward Winslow. and pair OF slip-
pers and = caoe which were worn nv his
second wife the widow OF William White,
and the mother Of the baby that was
born on the Maynower. The most ghastly
of the relics is a collection OF teeth taken
from skeletons OF the Pilgrims who died
in the winter Of 1920 and were buried on
Coles hill The bones found at the same
time are deposited in little chamber In
the canopy over Plymouth Rock.
The sword of Miles Standish has been
the subject Of much controversy. 1t IS
referred to in Longfellows poem,
c-.,.., e. ~. nr,do ~ his hasrt Miles Standish
the captsin Of Plymouth. 80
..This IL the sword Of Damascus fought with
in Flanders.
No one knows how old the blade Is. but
it was an heirloom in the family. having
been captured by q gaunt
Standish's crusader of the standish
=, clan and passed down from
f. oWOIu. Standish to Standisn until It
was brought to New England for the de-
tense Of the Pilgrims. According to the
opinion of oriental scholars the sword
was forged before the year 637 A. D. for
a famous warrior named kugoori. from
whom Jerusalem was captured in that
wear by the Khalif Omar 1. The inscrip-
ttons in cufic are quite easily translated
by those familiar with ancient writings.
and one OF them reads: With peace Goa
rules His creatures, and with the judg-
ment Of His arm gives trouble to the val
liant. the mighty and courageous
In the cabinet containing the relics OF
the Staudish family is sampler IN pref
ty designs by the daughter OF Miles
Standis1. and the following lines are en-
br0idered upon IT.:
.Iorea standish Is my name. MN.
Also all nv Hand with such convenient skiii
As may conduce to Virtue, void OF Shame,
And 1 win give the Glory to Thy Name
There Is bed quilt made by Rose the
tifuI Rose Of Love, that blcomed for me
by the wayside."
Along with the cradle in which Pere-
grine White was rocked as baby Is the
original OF his last VIII and testament,
made shortly before his DEATH when he
was more than eighty years old. and SO
feeble that he could not sign his name
and had to make ''his mark IT was not
because he could not write, for, in the ao-
Joining case are several documents IN
large firm. round penmanship, which
were written by him ten Or twelve years
previous.
There are many relics Of the Winslow
family. and they are exceedingly inter-.
exiting az illustrating the vanities as Wen
as the habits OF the aristocracy OF those
days. The slippers Of Mime. WinsloW
are very similar to those worn by the
bellies Of this generation: the cunning
shoes that were worn NJ by y,sstsd Gosi os,h &c the
royernorship Of the colony are very IKE
those made for babies nowadays, ana
there is a beaded purse which misnt De
carried today without attracting much
attention.
The only original portrait Of any OF the
PILGRIMS is that Of Gov Edward Wins
low, which was painted by
winsloW's Robert Walker In 1851, ana
was presented to the Pill
PORTRAIT. grim Society by the widow
of Isaac Winslow of bingham one OF MS
a..cendants, many years ago.
Winslow was the only member ol .he
Mevfower party who ever had his PIC
ture taken, although in the correspond
ence Of the time we have verbal de-
scriptions of Gov Bradford and other
dignitaries.
There are many pictures. painted from
time to time, of the sailing OF the
Mayhower and the landing and OF
various historical events which oc-
Cured during the early history of
the colony, but they are all imaginary,
and even the model of the ship, which oc-
cupies q conspicuous position, was made
by some one who thought he knew how
il was shaped and rigged. but never
saw 1t.
Those who remember reciting Mrs. He
mans famous hymn. The Breaking
days, will be interested In seeing the
o.,,s.o1 mo ,op,ucrinf Another Interesting