Chapter 6

As one goes down Court Street from the railway station under fine old elms, one sees on the left an ornate building with a Done portico and much the appearance of a Grecian temple standing somewhat back from the village street. It is Pilgrim Hall, erected by the Pilgrim Society in 1824, and devoted to the

preservation of relics of the forefathers. It also partakes of the character of a general museum. In its great hail one finds many mementoes of a historic past. There are paintings and portraits on the walls, and in cases arranged about the room are many relics of the fathers and of the tribes of the Old Colony. Of the paintings, the most noteworthy is Parker’s copy of Weir’s great picture of the embarkation in the rotunda of the Capitol at Washington. Sargent’s large painting of the landing, which covers nearly the whole of the east wall, is barely within the range of criticism, since it was a gift from the artist. Among the portraits, the most noteworthy is that of Edward Winslow, third Governor of the colony, and one of the immortal forty-one who signed the compact on the Mayflower. It is a copy, the original being in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the only portrait, it is said, of a passenger on the Mayflower in existence. Near the Governor’s portrait is a noble face — that of his son Josiah, the first native-born Governor of the colony; the beautiful Madonna-like face beside it is that of his wife Penelope. A stern, military figure in uniform is their grandson, the Major General John Winslow of the British Army to whom was entrusted the removal of the French Acadians from their homes. All of these worthies except Governor Edward lie buried in the old churchyard at Marshfield near the grave of Daniel Webster. A

The glass cases ranged about the room attract the greater number of visitors. They contain relics of the forefathers and mothers far too precious to be exposed to the dust or the rapacity of the curiosity-seeker. Those relating to Miles Standish are exceedingly interesting. There are several of these — Holland brick from the burned ruins of his house in Duxbury, his great pewter platter with a rim at least four inches wide and a pit of proportionate depth, and his sword, the trenchant blade that again and again saved the little colony from destruction. There are traditions that it was made of meteoric stone by the Persian Magi, and that it possessed talismanic virtues. It is known to be of Persian manufacture, and was no doubt won from some Spanish hidalgo by the Captain in his wars in the low countries. On the blade is engraved the sun and the moon. On the face is an Arabic inscription to this effect: "With peace God ruled his slaves, and with judgment of his arm he gave trouble to the valiant of the mighty." On the reverse of the blade are two

The Captain’s dinner-pot has been relegated to the floor. It is a huge affair, with a jointed bail an(1 capacious stomach, rather insecurely mounted on three rudimentary legs. In one corner, under the great Sargent picture, is the arm-chair of Elder Brewster, made of toughest oak, and capacious enough for the person of Von Twiller himself. The good elder must have purchased it at Leyden or Delfthaven, for it never could have been fashioned for an Englishman. In the opposite corner is a model of that famous vessel, the Mayflower. Near it is the cradle in which Peregrine White, the first baby born to the colonists, was rocked. There is the halberd of John Alden — a murderous weapon, with a long oaken staff — his Bible, a deed acknowledged before him in 1653, an original letter from King Philip, the first Plymouth patent, dated 16921, the oldest State paper in the United States, and

Passing out of the historic building, we see near the right-hand corner an iron fence, elliptical in form, enclosing a chastely cut granite pillar, erected to the memory of the signers of the famous compact. Their names inscribed on scrolls attached to the railing encircle the stone. Going south from Pilgrim Hall a few blocks, one comes to a large and handsome building, situated so far back from the street that there is room for a pretty park between. This is the County Court-house, erected in 1820 and remodeled in 1857. There are two entrances, one on the north, the other on the south. If one enters on the south and passes through a long corridor to the further end, he will have on his left the office of the Register of Deeds. In this room, under the care of Mr. William S. Danforth, Secretary of the Pilgrim Society, is preserved one of the oldest, most complete and extensive collections of legal

The chief object for all pilgrims is, of course, Forefathers’ Rock. To reach it from the Court-house, one follows the main street a short distance south to Shirley Square. From this point a narrow side-street, the original Leyden Street of the Pilgrims, leads down to the docks and shipping. Here, near the water’s edge, amid the din and stir of traffic, one finds the historic stone. Probably the first feeling of all visitors is one of disappointment. There is no stormy and rock-bound coast, as one has been led to expect, but a low, sandy shore, a natural landing-place. The rock itself is not a part of some huge cliff, but a boulder brought down

The churchyard is quite populous; there are more inhabitants here than in the village below. The tombstones are in a great variety of form and material, though the dark slate of England and the marble and granite of our own country predominate. The earlier headstones were brought from England before there was any stonecutter in the colony, and bear the winged cherub above the inscription, with much curious tracery on the sides. The oldest stone now standing is one erected to the memory of Edward Gray, a merchant who died in 168L A stone to William Crowe, near the

The view from the summit of the hill is beautiful in the extreme. The village lies at your feet; before you the circle of Plymouth Bay rounds north and south, its northern headland being Captain’s Hill, with the Standish monument crowning its peak, and its southern the bold bluffs of Manomet. It was interesting to look into the modern town and compare it with De Rasière’s description of 1627:

I have before spoken of the range of hills that encircles the village. On the highest of these the Pilgrim Society, with the aid of contributions from the nation at large, has erected a monument to the memory of the Forefathers. There is so much of the crude and incon

gruous in American sculpture that it is a pleasure to be able to commend this memorial. It is partly at least in accord with the genius of the place, and fitly presents the character and work of the men it is intended to commemorate. The material is Maine granite. The general design is that of an octagon pedestal forty-five feet high, on which stands a colossal statue of Faith. Four subordinate figures on buttresses projecting from the pedestal represent Morality, Education, Law, and Liberty. Beneath these in alto-relief are represented the departure, the signing of the compact, the landing, and the first treaty with the Indians. There are four panels on the four faces of the main pedestal, one on the front having the inscription of the monument, and those on the right and left the names of the passengers of the Mayflower. The fourth panel awaits an inscription. The pedestal was placed in position in the summer of 1876. The statue of Faith is the gift of Oliver Ames, a native of Plymouth, and was put in place in 1877. But one of the smaller statues — that of Morality — is now in position. It was the gift of the State of Massachusetts. The alto-relief beneath it was the contribution of Connecticut. The statue of Education is completed, with its companion alto-relief, both being the gift of Mr. Rowland Matber, of Hartford, Conn. The two other statues, Law and Liberty, are yet unprovided for, and await the contributions of those who honor the memory of the Pilgrims.