The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-12-10

Nevertheless Plymouth began relatively to lose
ground. Whole communities came over IN pouy'
bringing all classes from labOrers to phvsiclahs
and clergymen; but few went to Plymouth. Inc
Pilgrims had constituency. Iheir -Dlt'er op-
position to the established church and to the Puri
tans, and their desire to be let alone. efectuahy
isolated them from their sister colonies
In the next two decades Bradford, Brewster anu
Standish died and Winslow returned TO hneiau'
The creation of thriving towns all about Massa-
chusetts bay and to the west as far as the Coh-
necticut river, on the Sound and even over on
Long Island powerfully reacted on the little group.
Up to 1890 Plymouth the dominant force
in the New World. After that men and events
swept past her and around her until in 1851, she
was swallowed up by Massachusetts,
Their absorption into the Massachusetts colony
was easy and natural In 1851 their creed did not
differ materially from that of the churches founueu
in Salem and in the later colonies. All the New
England churches were as completely separator
from the established church as even Robinson
could have wished
The political extinction of Plymouth was really
q triumph. The Pilgrims had conquered spirltua-
w. The New England churches were ruled Dy lhe
congregations. What they called popish practlces
were everywhere ended
Plymouth, losing her civic independence, became
first general possession of all New Ensiahu anu
then tradition of the nation
The little Mayflower band had become mighty
host steadfast always in the maintenance OF
individual rights, and latterly stout defenders OF
religious liberty.
There are now more sons of the Pilgrims in the
Mississippi valley than in Massachusetts, more on
the Pacific coast than in Plymouth
The revolt ut Scrooby, so unimportaEt that II
was scarcely noticed by the authorities, at first
,.i.ssred merely protest against established err
ror and power Then, with little conception OF
tbe significance of their acts, the men who led
that revolt became the most successful adventures
in all history
Europe generally regarded America much as
the Greeks regarded all the world beyond the I'll
lars of Hercues-as uninhabitable, except by par
barians. and full of terrible monsters. Colonial
tion had previously been failure because II had
lacked knowledge and right purpose The I'M
cbarted western seas and the unexplored western
world were almost as mysterious. N lo2O as they
. had been in 1902. The economic success OF Plym-
outh dissipated the mystery and made the CONT
nent land for citizens rather than for adventur-
ers for workers rather than for prefgate peers
Emrope's attitude was Immediately changed, and
the New World was slowly transformed from a
Rotany bay into place of illmitable opportunity
The pilgrims were politically impracticable and
remained economically unimportant to the end
They were spiritually brave but as body apart
they were impossible to live with. They agreed
with few, and few agreed with them; but they
made the great demonstration, they and not Col
umbus made the great discovery.
An ancient legend tells us that the two great
: rocks standing one on the southerly point OF
Spain, the other over against it on the noftherly
point of Africa were torn asunder by Hercules
= TO admit the Atlantic and form the Mediterranean
sea. This beautiful old myth, as Is the habit o.
myths fitted itself to existing facts and explained
mystery by creating greater mystery
The Pilgrims did not mystify. They answered
the riddle over which Europe had gravely pom
dered for more than hundred years They lifted
the curtain which for six hundred years had con
cealed the great mystery. With their feeble hands
they ei ected pillars that marked the entrance Il
Il new continent through which speedily poured
the feed Of life that has given America to thu
world