Norwich bulletin., 1911-11-22

regular Compact day meeting cele-
 cra,ing the s.gnin3 of the impact
 on board the Mayflower in Province
 town harbor, November 21, 1920. This
 tiEie the rie-: ers "' the c.ua were
 F,F' iieged to bring .,lyite;i guests and
 Si,ty-four mernae-s and gu~.rs gath
 cred in the parlefs at. 1..35 D. m. They
 were greeted by the Norwich mem
 bers of the club, who constituted the
 committee of arrange .aents. Mrs. Wa
 terman R. Burnham, chairman, Mrs.
 Burrill W. Hyde, Mrs. Nelson D. Rob
 5nson. Miss Gerr, Miss Lucy Geer Mrs.
 B, P. Bishop, Miss Eliza w. Avery,
 Miss Fhehe H. Brewster and Mrs. Wal
 do Tiilinshast, Miss Annie Tillinghast
 of PIainfield and Mrs. George A. Has
 kell of Jewett City.
 A fine programme at 1 p. m. includ-
 ed music by Miss Mabel s. Clark and
 an address by Rev. Lewel1yn Pratt.
 D.D. The exercises were conducted
 by the club president. Mrs. Christo-
 pher Morgan of Mystic, and opened
 with tie singing If Dr. Bacons hymn.
 Miss Clark then sang Browns Pil-
 grim Fathers. Mrs. Frank Coxeter ac-
 rrogramme she sang the Boat Song by
 Ware Mrs. Nelson D. Robinson read
 the Compact requesting their de-
 scendants to rise as she read the name
 of each signer. Elder Brewster was
 represented by 27 of the company
 pr. Pratt's Paper.
 Dr. Pratt's address was upon Gov crnor Bradfords History of Plymouth Plantation. The recovery in 1897 of the original manuscripr was mat ter of prime importance for clear knowledge of the early history of New England. This manuscript had been us=d by Morton n 1889, Prince in 113s, and Governor Hutchinson in 17G7. T. was kept in the Stceple chamber of the Old South church and after the siege of Boston II mysteriously dis appeared, and as time went t was given up as hopelessly lost. But in So ,HI searches for original documents in the bishop of London's library at Putnam and several extracts made there were recognized ten years later being taken from Bradford's manuscript.
 How it came tc be transferred from the library in the Steeple chamber sn | the Old South church, Boston. to that in the Episcopal palace at Putnam is l not explained but the probability is 1 that ft was carried over by English l soldiers during or after our revolution 1 ary war and that it was taken to F'ul- | ham palace by some officer who knew | that the bishop of London had furis- | diction over all the colonies outside of l the British isles. Seven requests to | the bisAor from this country to re- 1 store the book were refused by him. | Senator Roar, however, in 1896, se- | cured it's return to America. Befors | it left England fac-simile was repro l duced from which $50 copies were | printed
 History sf Plymouth Colony
 By very many the book is called in cerrectiy, the Leg of the May yfower BSadfcrd wrote it out long after Ire i arrival of the Pilgrims. It is really 8 history of the Plymouth colony, chiefly in the form of annals extending from the inception of the colony down to the year 1s47. It gives an account of the szdgin of religious dissent in England, describes the sufrerinss cf l the psrsecutea ones in England tells of the departure te Holland, nf their l manner of living there, of the req sons and causes oS their removal from Holland over the vast and furious" ocean, the conflict of opinion over where to go. and then the considera items that moved them to make the attempt. minute account is given Holland, of their difficulties about rnoney, fcod ships. dcstination, the delays, the long voyage, their sroping approach to Plymouth, and their de-
 As the history proceeds year by year, few things are omitted that noble curiosity could desire to look into, snd'l SIS it $ in the form of annals It has 1 the privilege of stopping where it will 1 1 and the work brought down to 164e was finished as far 1t went.
 Fine H.rdwritins.
 Bradford's Joarnal is a large qIarto ( ef 2so pages. written for the most part ( on one. side .sf the paper only It is 1 book and is somewhat discolored. The 1 ' history is written in handwriting Of singular clearness-thc letters arc s formed separately. The work falls 1 into two divtHons-an introductory chapter telling the story up to the point of the occupation of New Flynn f puth, and the second book of annals. ' ' These were probably begun as late as ( ie44 frsn 'serfbeied wriAings'' begun 'aheut 1880 and so peaced up at times ]. f leasure Afterwards" Tbe last en- 1 In 1850 The English in which it is 2 written is that of the Bible or perhaps he mere popular language of the Pill [ sri9n's Progress. E. Bradford uses it with great effect. . He also csnfefmed to the usage of the highest digritaries in his varied or hography He sreils Connecticut in ten different ways and none of them we come upon expressions which have become archaic, as murdereFs, mean ,ag small guns; extravagents, wander .fs from their place; "he that cund oiaharn that he had been the "chief bickler in q former faction and 'rnJ11r~7 more like a furious beast han :: Ian until ''he was clapt up while One gathers little from his aosk of his own personal history and character He seems to have joined he eensregaticn at Srcory; to have -eit persecution and to have been in he first party that escaped to Ley tsn Of his life there he says notl1- ns. Of his life in America he tells If his illness and being near I've point ,f death.r and after Governor Carver's iezth he speaks of himself till 1640 ,s ''the governor" We learn about his 'anily only rom the Appendix. This -eticence showed his modest and re- -erveS character. and alse his com I slete absorptioH in the fortunes of the .hureh and celeIF- to which he deyot- .e himself and his work
 Affections Were Deep.
 He carries this devotion to Plymouth 1 Q the fault of narrowness, but his af- ! ectfons, if narrow, were also deep. 1 rhe confidence in him was shown in 1 lte twelve elections as governor. His 5ufftanism of the earlier type l Thich had not begun to frown upon .alture, Hi which austerity had net urnee to seurness. nor lost its sym- ,atay v ith the many-sided interests of lurnzn life. He shows that he was a nan of considerable reading Ge was 1 .lse q careful observer of nature-not