TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 99 



pliment to the Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth. But I will reserve 

 that subject for another occasion, when another audience shall throng the 

 floor and galleries of this venerable hall. I will now speak, not of the 

 Governor of Massachusetts, but of Massachusetts herself. How has Prov- 

 idence blessed us in making us citizens of the good old Commonwealth ! 

 With what a profusion of bounty has Providence surrounded us in appoint- 

 ing here our lot ! We often speak in admiration of the wonders of art, 

 and the triumphs of machinery. What shall we say of that amazing 

 mystery which transforms the brown earth, insipid water, and invisible 

 air, into delicious fruits, and beautiful and fragrant flowers ! What shall 

 we say of the delicate machinery of the little seed, which gives to the oak 

 its strength, to the flower its beautiful tints, and to the fruit its exquisite 

 flavor ! — of that beneficent Power which surrounds us under a Northern 

 sky, with the gorgeousness of an Asiatic summer ! We have heard it 

 said, that the only products of Massachusetts are granite and ice ; she has 

 been called the State of hard bargains and hard granite, of icy lakes, and 

 — icy hearts, I will not add, for that has long been an obsolete idea, — but 

 I will conclude with giving you as a sentiment, — 



Massachusetts, — The land of granite and ice, of fruits and flowers, of 

 arts and men ; the stern mother, who rears her children by a rugged disci- 

 pline ; the generous mother, who endows them with bountiful gifts of 

 mind, body, and estate. 



The President then announced the following toasts : — 



Our Puritan Forefathers, — The children of faith as well as of fancy ; 

 they trusted their lives and fortunes in a May-flower. 



Our late Minister to the Court of St. James, — We honor him as a 

 scholar, we respect him as a statesman, and we love him as a noble spec- 

 imen of the fruits of New England culture. (Loud cheering.) 



The Hon. Edward Everett, in reply, said : — 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I am greatly indebted to you for 

 this cordial reception. I cannot but feel under great obligations to the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society, of which I have long had the honor 

 of being a member, — though a very unprofitable one, — that the first voice 

 of salutation which reached me on returning home, proceeded from them. 

 Our respected fellow citizens, Messrs. Josiah Bradlee and Stephen Fair- 

 banks, on their morning stroll through East Boston, were good enough, 

 before I had set foot on terra firma, to convey to me your kind invitation, 

 and here, fellow citizens and friends, amidst this attractive display of the 

 bounties and beauties of nature, surrounded by so many of those who 

 most adorn and honor the community, drinking in the breath of sweet 

 flowers, and the sweeter breath of friendly voices, T have the happiness, 

 after a long absence, to stand in your presence, and to enjoy the honor of 

 your welcome. (Applause.) 



