Evening star., 1911-08-12

lowlier yielding precedence to those oi
better condition. At command they take
their way up .he hill in this order and
entering within the rude temple they
have raised. each man sets down hie
upon it. Thus" says Derasieres. they
are on their guard night and day"
THE pastor prayed for quarter of an
hour. The teacher then readeth and ex-
sung which ole Of the ruling elders die
tates. Afterward the pastor breaches a
sermon or exhorts extempore, then they
conclude with a prayer"
Ancient Courthouse.
The most conspicuous feature CT the
town is the ancient courthouse In which
are preserved the early records in the
handwriting of the men who ruled the
little colony. Here Is the original patent
for the Plymouth Company from the Earl
Of Warwick. and the original deeds In the
Indian language, by which the abor' ginal
proprieetors conveyed the fields and for
est occupied by the Pilgrims. The chief
tans made their signatures by rude
sketches of reptiles and animals. Here
also are the records OF the transaction S
OF Cows. Carver. Bradford, Brewster: the
reports of Capt Miles Standish; the origi-
down for the government of the infant
colony; the assignment of town lots. the
allotment of the agricultural fields: the
division of the cattle when they came a
few years after the landing. and were so
few that every COW was required to fur
nish milk for thirteen people These pre-
cious documents are carefully preserved.
and next to the Declaration of lndepend-
ence and the Constitution Of the United
States, are the most precious of all manu-
sNHc I've Avp,A~ vi
The original of the compact signed by
the passengers OF the Mayfiower in the
harbor OF Provincetown has been lost,
There is no trace whatever OF 1t, but
many copies remained.
The first laws enacted by the Pilgrims
were very rigid One of them dated De-
cember 81. 1879, established trial by jury,
SO that no one could suffer unjustly.
First Public Execution.
In 1890 the first public execution took
place in Plymouth. The culprit was John
Ellington. who. as Bradford wrote home
to England, was a knave, and so would
live and die" Ellington had waylaid and
shot one of the villagers. and was a1-
judged guilty Of murder. The colony pa
tent could not confer a power 1t did not
itself possess. to infict the death penalty.
SO the magistrates took counsel OF their
friends just come into Massachusetts bay,
and were advised TO purge the land Of
blood
In 1858 the crime Of adultery appears
to be first noticed In the laws. The pun
pings, the persons convicted to wear two
capital letters "A. D." cut in cloth and
sewed on their uppermost garment on
their arm or back Another law which
would be rather unpopular with the pres
ent generation, provided that "any per-
sons who behaved themselves profanely
by being without doors during the meet
ings on the Lords day. were first to be
admonished and for second offense set in
the stocks. Common scolds'' were
gagged and set at their doors for certain
hours, for all corners and goers to gaze
at" Swearing was punished by boring a
hole through the tongue with hot iron.
In 1921 a duel was fought by Edward
Doty and Edward Leicester. servants OF
Stephen Hopkins. They fought with
swords and both were wounded. To pre-
vent future foolishness Of that sort. the
men were tied together hand and foo,
and placed in the commons. where every
one could see them, without food OF
drink, for twenty-four hours.
The records show some odd nomencla-
ture. Fourteen Of the Pilgrims bore the
pious name OF John, there were seven
Williams. seven Edwards, six Richards,
four Thomases, four JameseS and three
were called Francis. Among the women
member Allerton. Humility Cooper. Rose
Stardish. Priscilla Mullins, Resolved
Hoyt and Constance Hopkins-sweet old
names-while among the men were
Wrestling Brewster. Damaris Hopkins
Oceanus Hopkins, Digory Priest and
Thomas Tinker.
The first election in America was held
February q. 1921, when all Of the men
were allowed to exercise the right OF suf-
frage, and Miles Standish was chosen
captain by a majority vote.
Had Sense Of Humor.
Notwithstanding their stern disposition
and serious demeanor, the pilgrims were
not entirely without q sense Of humor.
Back Of the town, over the hill. upon
which they planted their fortress-church.
is a fresh water pond, perhaps a mile
across, which, 1t appears from the rec
ords. was discovered by John Ellington.
the man who was hanged, while he was
prowling around one night. In the MORN
ing he reported that he had found the sea
in that direction. There wa sa lively dis
pute between him and his neighbors as
to the accuracy Of his information, and
from that day to this the pond IL called
"Billington's sea-
On the right hand OF the square was
the home of Gov Bradford. who. taking
everything into consideration was the
ablest and most eminent Of all the Pill
grims, and In that mansion he died. at
the age of sixty-eight. having been chosen
governor thirty -one times. Gov. Brad
ford's first wife, Dorothy May, fell over
board from the Mayf1ower into the sea
and was drowned. He afterward mar
ried the widow Southworth. who was his
first love, and had rejected his addresses
In England when they were both very
young. She came to Plymouth in August.
1923, on the ship Ann, and Bradford mar
ried her within two weeks after her ar
rival.
The Forefathers' monument, in the
public square, which was begun In 1889,
was not completed until 1859. 1t is made
Of granite and is surmounted by ng-
ure of Faith. holding Bible in her hand.
The pedestal is ornamented with series
of bas-reliefs in marble. representing
four scenes in the history of the Pill
grims, and on it's four corners are fg-
ures typical Of Morality, Law, Educa-
ton and Freedom, which the Yankees
consider essential to the welfare OF man.
An inscription informs you that the mon
ument was erected by a grateful people
in remembrance OF the labors, sacrifices
and sufferings Of the forefathers for the
cause of civil and religious liberty. but
1t Is a very poor example OF art Tnere
are many monuments in Massachusetts,
but outside of Boston, with the excep-
ton of some of Dan French's work, like
the Minute Man, at Lexington. and a
similar figure on the Concord battlefield,
they are UNIV orthy both in taste and exc
cuticn. Grateful communities have erect
cd In the common sof almost every vii
laEe memorials to the young men who
went out from them to the civil war. In
almost every case there Is granite CARL
cature of a private soldier standing upon
a pedestal, and 1t is pity they are so
bad.
MIDGET WHIPPED AMAZON.