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(Written expressly for the Massachusetts Ploughman ANTIQUITIES OF SALEM Who has not head of Salem, in its old colo nial days, its witchcraft and its India trade? It stands out from the storied past bathed in the dawning light of New England’s history, a grand poem sublime with heroic principle, a drama of powerful interest, a romance sweet with devotion, strong with self sacrifice and weird with superstition. We walk ip streets to-day, gay with beauty and fashion, and to us there comes no echo from the long ago; men are busy at their trades,stores of varied and costly merchandise constantly in vite the eye, old-fashioned mansions stamped with the lineage of aristocracy at and on every street, and churches of every name give charac ter to all. The steatp cars thunder their way through the heart of the city, and coming and going over the sea are a line of steamships the latest enterprise of its merchants Here was Hawthorne born, over whose mind there seemed ever to fall the shadow of the past, filling the mind with morbid imaginations, as fascinating as unreal .Few, if any, have appreciated so en tirely our early history when the was all of xin cere meaning and all exuberance of feeling was curbed by 8 grim sanctity. What 28 retrospection for the thoughtful mind how vague and dim and far away seem the days when John Endicott came to these shores, and the Lady Arabella Johnson leaving her home of luxury found here only privation and death! If we would step from out the present into the past, where in this country is there a fitter shrice, then the old church? Built in 1634, on the same spot where the first church sui ~or ships, it was removed to give place to a larger edifice and alter varous vicissitudes has been brought from Witch Hill, placed within a good external covering and located in the rear of Plummer Hall. We enter and close the door: no noise from the outer world comes to us here; silence reigns, even the sunlight streams religiously in, while becomes pregnant with memo ries of End ott, “Higginson, Roger Williams, Hoge Petersi and other grave -empeers. Imagi nation carries us back to the time when they worshipped here; we feel their presence; the bare timbers and the rough rafters are vocal once more with their prayers of thanksgiving and their hymns of praise. Bold and bare as the structure is, the rich incense of the heart's devotion has left its fragrance there through all the years Around the walls hang old time pic tures and portraits, pictures of but little grace and beauty, portraits whose hard unloving face Despeak the stern sanctity of their lives. In the rear, stretching across the width of the building in the gallery of most primitive art. Who were they jyhe sat therein? Whose were the voices that have made melody? We know not: they have passed on into the long silence, and the places that knew them know them no more. Standing where they stood are a few spinning and @ax wheels; the hum of their spinning was ceased, but through the husky twilizit of the place we may almost fancy that phantom fig ures sit at the wheels trying in vain to spin anew the threads which death has snapped from their fingers. Other old time relics have been here depost ed; stately chairs whereon have sat stately forms; an old christening stand from Parson Neves’s church to Newvark, boasting its nearly two centuries; a sofa brought from Normandy by some of the Huguenots soon after the revo cation of the edict of Nantz, in 1685: 2 spinet and piano whose keys still tell plaintively of other days and other hands which once drew qousi¢ from their touch Many other things might be noted but all fade away into on sub stantial shadows in the presence of the church Within these narrow precincts, beneath its sa cred roof, the words once spoken to Moses will steal inon the mental ear, “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Another ofject of great interest in the old Court House. First of all you will inquire for the witch pins, and in a small bottle closely sealed, will be shown the pins rusty with age, which in 1692 were taken from harmless women as proofs of their evil intent. So small and common a thing as a pin, and yet around them has clustered an interest trazie as death, lastini as the aves. Here may be seen the original death warrant of Bridget Bishop with the sher ffs return upon the back, the only one of the nineteen served hhat has been preserved Gav Bridget Bishop the first to grace the Jocust tree on Gallow's H:'l), the only one in those sombre days who dared to brighten her life with ribbons and laces, proof enough thought they who wit nessed against her of an ungodly living. [+ is with an fopressing and saddening interest that one reads over these records,so quaint, so queer, and yet 60 full of mystery and death. No evi dence was allowed for the defence, the magis trates assuming from the fret that the accused was guilty . As in imagination we sit and reten to the accusers, it almost seems as if bomxo in genuity had been taxed to the utmost to furnish examples of malignity. The torments of the accased,are never s0 acute as when the poor vic tims, terrified, bewildered almost doubting their own innocencé, with clasped hands and tremb ling lips implore the aid of Heaven; then ap parently,lest any pity should be excited for them in the audience, the accusers wail and writhe in agony upon the floor, struggling and pleading with unscen péetres, now exclading with hor ror as they pointed out the apparition of the ac cused, upon the beams of the meetin house with her “yellow bird,” or the “black man” whisper ing in her ear, until the spectators shrank back appalled from the shadowy shapes their own im agination had worked. The examinations tod trials exhibit many dif ferent phases of character Some proudly de fiant of their accusers, as said Sarah Good. “E scorn it!” and at the place of execution, when told by the minister she was witch and argued to confess it, replied, “I am no more » witch than you are «wizard, and if you take my life God ‘will give you blood to drink.” Others were humble and submissive to the will of Heaven, while they protested themselves as “‘in nocent as the babe unborn Fortis living in the light of the nineteenth centuer, it is hard indeed.to understand such delusiopy or feel the ‘charity «ze ought. ase is, pariane,a vein of superstition in every mind, a love ot the warvellons, a charm, a fascinating power id everything occult and mreterious. Be in those gelenia days when religion painted in vivid filt the ever present of the evil one seeking always whom he might destroy, Kongi- Seen kindled and infumed, and needed NAsion, was énke A bhow of drig, but the tressoutory acainst the powers a ness to thrill the nerves and excite the senses into a wild delirium of feeling. Space forbids more than a glance at these rec ords: they are even to all, and to all who read the lines which the past has writtenin history, affords a beautiful field for study and reflection. The East India Museum at Plummer Hall, under the charge of Essex Institute, offer their attrac tions, while many other objects of interest wil reward the curious seeker so does one good, in these driving days of snobbery and brand-newishness, to visit these old places, retire into some antiquated nook,and breake the air of repose which comes inevita bly from them As with persons so with places, each has no distinctive characteristics, the new towns, like new people, are full of life and ener gy: they have a name to make in the world, while the old town, like the old family, dated its ancestry far back in history and reposes in dig nity upon the past. Such was Salem, but now Dew fnergy seeis to pervade it, and the spirit of the future walk a handwound with the spirit of the past; but we trust it may never be so wide awake as to dispel the drowsy air and de stroy the memory haunted spots which make it 80 worthy a pilgrimage. “ELI PERKINS” ON THE WILLIAMS COLLEGE REUNION IN NEW York —‘RN attended the reunion of the New York alumni of Willams College and reports — ABSENT ONES, Mr Simael Wilkinson, formerly of the Tri une, sent word that he could not be present, be cause he did not love the College any more He said he used to love it) but one day President Hopkins suspended him from the class of 84, because he found some harmless chickens’ feath ers under his room windno We sid Woillrama was too pious for him He was sorry that the President's clickens were so unhealthy, and sorry that his conscience would not let him eat Mr Delmonico’s dinner G. P. Nelson, brother of Tom Nelson, refused to come for the reason he said, but Dr Grfen suspended him from college because he felt on his duty one night, to play a religious game of whist with a brother Freshman .he savscin old ties a fellow caudit reidine a book which had not been passed upon by the Faculty, was sure to be expelled Mr Bryant, the silver haired poet, was on hand, though a gentleman informed me that he was also once suspended for flagrant violations of the rates of the college Ttts occurred in 1815, when the poet was a Sophomore The crime was recon a poem caled Thanatopsis, before it had been racreated by President Fitch . For this pro-s immorality voony Bryant was sent off, and actually eraduc ated at Yale [should judge that Wiliams used to be a Presbyterian —a blue Prestydermana Cor leze, SPELCHFY—MR BRYANT Mr DUvrant, the venerable poet whom Jntre Benedicet spoke of as a stripline: aweero oan TS1s after looking down at the audiance, commencal a little speech on the Darwinian theory The Poet said he didn’t believe on Darwen's theory, [Cheers ] He said Darwin's idea was that man sprang from a recrttive bkrstat wan vegetation, the scarcity, then a clam, then he aspired to be an oyster then a fish (nee Pama torn Fish,) then a seal, then a monikes, then on baboon, then a man Tle saved le thought Dar win had commenced at the wrong end—that in reality the monkey was a degenerate man— peneere —that foxes were dexanerate lawyers applause from David Dudley Field]—rhet wolves were degenerate park commissoners, that Oyposoms were werenerite polity ans that singing crickets were degenerate poets and prey ing insects were degenerate donors of divenin The poet might have added that steel pens are degenerate editors because they do revit The poet went on to say that the Chinese were getting back to monkeydom vs fist ae poss tle, and that their pig-tails only indicated the com ing monkey’s tail Mr Bryant made a good deal of fin, and while he was sneaking one of the fanny thems handed me the following on promptu verse on the poet Your tace faan hid with hashes of batr That we realivdor theop weat vou tre wer declare Aman Wecoplesa vou ok th The sane Bat tis shocking to think you re babuon on the brutn' PR ADAMS Dr Adams sand he was a Yale man, but that Mr Baldwin, one of tas parishioners, gave Woo dams College $28 000, and that made tia on Alumnus He werd Coflece ite was prete, gen erally allike vo all Golleves He sant it owes alike at Yale—that they read about the sane amount of Livy, and ‘poneyed’ the Ofes of Horace in about the same manner Hee dra at tell how much Horace owed, nor wheezer te thought Mr Greeles was coud pas or not He said Willams was on healthy saluted. {eheer[—Collece The last remark was cated! ered pe sonal, and Ch dimonteo's worters were or dered to carry back several baskets of Koederer He said he expeted to hear from sober serous voune Dr Pyne, which was aneiber runtereon on the other divines present Ele agreed with Mr. Breuntoon his degenerate monkey thers He had seen in Nature a voune teat stalk carrying the parent bean on its shoulders past as Eneas carried the father Aneiises — [Sensa bon] After making no moral remark about Jack, the quant-climber, atet mentiontes Jack the bean-leller, Dr Adams sat down amausie and great applause GOVERNOR WASHBORN Governor Washburn compared Deamonico's to the old $150 per week boarting mouse at Wal hams College He sail chickens were beanae around college than around Demonico's He also spoke of the general degzrulation of Wl liams College graduates—how Judge Field had been betrayed into taking a positon of the Sue preme Court [eneers ] How Jodse Benedier had fallen fallen, fallen unomine now find bhian co mx to Albany, actualy to become a member of the State Legislature, and nos rene cal Gortid has gone on from tad to worse but te now stands an object of composerition, am the Na tional Congress. The Governor said he himself became a sate sect of ob oquy for so months, in its own State, for suggesting, in 1834 the craves preqect of a railroad between New York and Boston, and on account of which crime he had sae been severe ly panicked by being compelled to serve out a term as Governor of the State. The Governor said New York was the Boston of the Empire State. [Cheers.] Norhroe was said about Ply mouth Rock or the Boston organ [Cheers ] He said the discovery of America was yy food thing for Massachusetts, as it gave them a «oud marker for Massachusetts shoes and buup-skirts. Applause.] Fitch of the Syracuse Standard; Mr. Rhodes, of Cleveland; ex-Governor Bross, of Chicago, c. GENERAL GARFIELD. General Garfield, M.C., from Ohio, went off against the Smithsonian Institute in Washing ton. He said he was glad it was burned up, and that all the old museums are humbug. He said when he saw the eels and snakes in jars of whiskey [cheers]—he grieved to see so much good whiskey—[applause]—spoiled. He thought the whiskey was worth more than the snakes. (Groans for the snakes ! He believed that man was a better educator than universities—person al contact a better instructor than books. Then the General went off on the dignity of labor. He indorsed labor enthusiastically He got ex cited over it He even tore his white kid gloves telling us about it He was in favor of every body working, [Groats ] he said everybody ought to work and let other people stand around with their hands in ther pockets. {Cheers} Then the General put on his hat, buttoned up his $100 overcoat, lighted a 40-cent ‘“Henry Clay,’’ and started for the Fourth Avenue Hotel The General says he is a hard-working man. Tisaia is lumbering—log-rodling in Con gress PROFESSOR BUEL Pofessor Buell, of the New York Episcopal Theological Seminary, now commenced an in teresting speech in Latin and Greek, interspersed with sentences of English i t was very effec tive Thirteen Williamsites went to sleep in eleven minutes The professor was verve elo quent. How theme was “disembodied ethertal wo treated = aresthetically 7?) When he got through T teld him he was merhit Save [, Dr Prof, you are yes cozbt You're always right You were next before you commenced Then we all took another, lurched our cigars pane He's a jelly wood fellow, and went home PeRtinas Grren on Horst spatxh Eques tnienines (no test countries attrac the attention and command the admiration of the male gen der, Our Tam onclined to think they don’t can ver Woman's mode of retigg mia! 1543 was on astie caddle with both feet resting on oa sme] born the near side of cue tore, pat Da via tells us woth his usual peoneacy, that Cath erine de Medicus, witeot Henry diboot France, hatdimbs of extreme symmetrey, and Lowine to the rendenrible shape, took porteu ar pleasure in wearing silk stocks, drawn vers trube and the deste oof showin them the stockings Pootibay as they were rare artices im there have—indaeed her te change the mode ar orm dinz on horseback to that oof plaeins one les soon the pommelef the saddie ? dence our mods that Peruvian belles owl mene of a” and when Dena Paez an compane wath her cousins Becca and Voconela, a preamet on the Podbecostiened and cqupped for tie ride Lmate brleeves, cur when chey precanted and bestrode there restive dirtle steeds, ada Die lesse de Beer —VMainesaot departed aaigzons' how Pe stared, for I had never seen ans that drwing Lemeniin Jadusan terlnas or voantes tere totore As we dosed alone our throngh the dusty sahurtes Dadacted mesvselt te Dona Maeuelas, the vonnuest and test looking of the De Rastro eixters aod, CAL wee ro mere theater of Heroine hate. The Stataste eirl’s beau cathaors were not prelnquished, mor the side foor and certainakle—I could see that one, the other was on the of siide—hiddeen Os snusth ne more cumbersome than a bronzed morocco slipper and stir stocking to match of the same shade, atrightful til aheve the ankle, and from that to the knee—or jase above —bagey frowsers of sun barned the Phen an overshirt, gathers] out of sought Peveuth the short poncho, of linen,—on which at least ten industrious females must have worked as many months to Accomplist the trawhy bae werk amd criver wreh whicnat was decorated —tred loosely, low mine throat Alogewetry lad vatisthed, oat bercars bad buta knub' Ger tar, in reo trebt brads was ced under heretun and any of my readers who have seen ote of those treat ROA trig ced, felt sambreras, wet were ose Urversally worn can San Praincisco seventeen years ago, called the * Loma test’ can torn on ortoureo her head vest when Tadd that the Div we bread boat strated ame cored Croawg was ormamednte | with a broad ebbon and dled Tren plome ot lottys tea ors Whe we stopped for the mishtut the fonda of Chanmeas, tired as weshy the unusual rise of th rreen or fourteen low lues DP -penta terete tight, tormented bs fleas, a tede gus ald dontia i foe saya y manta, looking She ateath ¢ef4¢ on end, who continn aly blockaded the passage of no score oot Lome. Teaneequestrennes wor trapped awhent im their Unstthily care, ones were the lay by tye to force a tae et omar) down inv fh a tortured himbs —Caomimerced Bulletin PROF. BASCOM Prof. Bascom, Professor of Rhetoric of Wil liams, went off on the brilliant field of vegetari anism, woman’s suffrage, and ventral etatisnes He said that he had discovered that there were 8 674,826 crops or in a snerm whale—[cheers | — and that a curttle-fish had been discovered in the well in the yard of Williams College so large that twenty five divinity students could stand around it. He ended up by quoting the follow ing temperance couplet, written by Charles A Davidson, while a Freshman at Witlaws Jesuits alme te ce que fais al Jenes tsouta. jafoux, Voile je crmtx le tien supreme ? Siais ce Oeln la n'ert qu'avec vers. WASHINGTON GLADDEN, Mr Gladden of the Independent, showed how much Williams Collee had done for journalism —how he had made more distinguished journal ism than any other College in the land. He said: “Williams College made Dr Prime and Dr Stoddard, of the Observer; Henry M Field, of the Evangelist; Gorse Perry, of the Home Journal; William Cullen Bryant, of the Post, Chester Pp. D sev, of the Commercial Adver tiser [cheers]; Hon. David Judd, of the Rural New Yorker, and such influential editors throughout the country, is Mr Scudder and Mr Burobaw, of Boston, Mr. Clark of Troy; Mr.
Newspaper Details
Newburyport Daily Herald
Newburyport, Massachusetts, US
Tue, Feb 13, 1872
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Amber G.
AU 21 Jun 2026
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