compare for me the baffled projects, the deserted settlements, the abandoned adventures, of other times, and find the parallel of this. Was it the Winter's storm, beating upon the houseless heads of women and children? was it hard labor and spare meals? was it disease? was it the tomahawk? was it the deep malady of a blighted hope, a ruined enterprise, and a broken heart, aching in its last moments, at the recollection of the loved and left, beyond the sea?-was it some, or all, of these, united, that hurried this forsaken company to their melancholy fate? And is it possible, that neither of these causes, that not all combined, were able to blast this bud of hope? Is it possible, that from a beginning, so feeble, so frail, so worthy, not so much of admiration as of pity, there has gone forth a progress so steady, a growth so wonderful, a reality so important, a promise yet to be fulfilled, so glorious?

Such, in a very inadequate statement, are some of the circumstances, under which the settlement of our country began. The historian of Massachusetts, after having given a brief notice of Carver, of Bradford, of Winslow, of Brewster, of Standish, and others, adds, "These were the founders of the colony of Plymouth. The settlement of this colony occasioned the settlement of Massachusetts Bay; which was the source of all the other colonies of New England. Virginia was in a dying state, and seemed to revive and flourish from the example of New England. I am not preserving from oblivion," continues he, "the names of heroes, whose chief merit is the overthrow of cities, of provinces, and empires; but the names of the founders of a flourishing town and colony, if not of the whole British empire in America." This was the judicious reflection of Hutchinson, sixty years ago, when the greatest tribute to be paid to the Fathers of Plymouth was, that they took the lead in colonizing the British possessions in America. What, then, ought to be our emotions, as

*Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts Bay, Vol. II. Appendix,

p. 463.

we meet, on this anniversary, upon the spot, where the first successful foundations of the great American republic were laid?

Within a short period, an incident has occurred, which, of itself, connects, in the most gratifying association, the early settlement of New England, with the present growth and prosperity of our wide-extended republic. Within the past year, the sovereign hand of this great confederacy of States has been extended, for the restoration and security of the harbor, where, on the day we celebrate, the germ of the future growth of America was comprehended within one weather-beaten vessel, tossing upon the tide, on board of which, in the words of Hutchinson, the Fathers of New England, by a solemn instrument, "formed themselves into a proper democracy." Two centuries, only, have elapsed, and we behold a great American representation convened, from twenty-four independent and flourishing republics, taking under their patronage the local interests of the spot where our fathers landed, and providing, in the same act of appropriation, for the removal of obstacles in the Mississippi and the repair of Plymouth beach. I know not in what words a more beautiful commentary could be written, on our early infancy or our happy growth. There were members of the national Congress which made that appropriation, I will not say from distant states, but from different climates; from regions which the sun in the heavens does not reach in the ́same hour that he rises on us. Happy community of protection! Glorious brotherhood! Blessed fulfilment of that first timorous hope, that warmed the bosoms of our fathers!

Nor is it even our mighty territory, to which the influence of the principles and example of the fathers of New England is confined. While I utter the words, a constitution of republican government, closely imitated from ours, is going into operation in the States of the Mexican confederation, a region more extensive than all our territories east of the Mississippi. Further south,

one of the provinces of Central America, the republic of Guatimala, has sent its envoys to solicit a union with us. Will posterity believe, that such an offer was made and refused, in the age, that saw England and Spain rushing into war for the possession of a few uninhabited islets on the coast of Patagonia? Pass the isthmus of Darien, and we behold the sister republic of Colombia, a realm two thirds as large as Europe, ratifying her first solemn treaty of amity and commerce with the United States; while still onward to the south, in the valleys of the Chilian Andes, and on the banks of La Plata, in states not less vast than those already named, constitutions of republican government are in prosperous operation, founded on our principles, and modelled on our forms. When our commissioners visited those countries, in 1817, they found the books, most universally read among the people, were, the constitutions of the United States and of the several States, translated into the language of the country; while the public journals were filled with extracts from the celebrated Defence' of these constitutions, written by that venerable descendant of the Pilgrims, who still lives to witness the prosperous operation of the governments, which he did so much to establish.*

I do not fear that we shall be accused of extravagance, in the enthusiasm we feel at a train of events, of such astonishing magnitude, novelty, and consequence, connected by associations so intimate, with the day we now hail; with the events we now celebrate; with the Pilgrim Fathers of New England. Victims of persecution! how wide an empire acknowledges the sway of your principles ! Apostles of liberty! what millions attest the authenticity of your mission! Meek champions of truth! no stain of private interest or of innocent blood is on the spotless garments of your renown! The great continents of America have become,

* John Adams, formerly President of the United States. He died at Quincy, July 4, 1826.

at length, the theatre of your achievements; the Atlantic and the Pacific, the highways of communication, on which your principles, your institutions, your example, are borne. From the oldest abodes of civilization, the venerable plains of Greece, to the scarcely explored range of the Cordilleras, the impulse you gave, at length, is felt. While other regions revere you as the leaders of this great march of humanity, we are met, on this joyful day, to offer to your memory our tribute of filial affection. The sons and daughters of the Pilgrims, we have assembled on the spot, where you, our suffering fathers, set foot on this happy shore. Happy, indeed, it has been for us! O! that you could have enjoyed those blessings, which you prepared for your children! Could our comfortable homes have shielded you, from the Wintry air! could our abundant harvests have supplied you, in time of famine! could the broad shield of our beloved country have sheltered you, from the visitations of arbitrary power! We come, in our prosperity, to remember your trials; and here, on the spot where New England began to be, we come, to learn of you, our Pilgrim Fathers, a deep and lasting lesson of virtue, enterprise, patience, zeal, and faith!

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE, TO PRACTICAL MEN, AND ON THE ENCOURAGEMENTS TO ITS PURSUIT.*

THE chief object of the Mechanics' Institute is, to diffuse useful knowledge among the mechanic class of the community. It aims, in general, to improve and inform the minds of its members; and particularly to illustrate and explain the principles of the various arts of life, and render them familiar to that portion of the community, who are to exercise these arts as their occupation in society. It is also a proper object of the Institute, to point out the connexion between the mechanic arts and the other pursuits and occupations, and show the foundations, which exist in our very nature, for a cordial union between them all.

These objects recommend themselves strongly and obviously to general approbation. While the cultivation of the mind, in its more general sense, and in connexion with morals, is as important to mechanics as to any other class, nothing is plainer, than that those, whose livelihood depends on the skilful practice of the arts, ought to be instructed, as far as possible, in the scientific principles and natural laws, on which the arts are founded. This is necessary, in order that the arts themselves should be pursued to the greatest advantage; that popular errors should be eradicated; that every accidental improvement in the processes of industry, which offers itself, should be readily taken up and pursued to its principle; that false notions, leading to waste of time and labor, should be prevented from gaining or retaining currency; in short, that the useful, like the ornamental, arts of life, should be carried to the point of attainable perfection.

*The following Essay contains the substance of Addresses delivered by the Author, before several institutions for scientific improvement.