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which he had learned from fishermen, made, near the spot where we 

 now stand, the most impressive reception speech which history pre- 

 serves. While I trust the Pilgrims before me have not that fear of 

 hostile intent from the natives, which gave to the auditors of Samoset 

 such peculiar interest in his words of welcome, I should esteem my- 

 self especially fortunate to have learned enough of the language in 

 which antiquarians think, to be able to give to you the timely aid in 

 the purpose of your pilgrimage that his brief words gave to them in 

 the sublime object of theirs. 



As Samoset had need to employ Squanto, who had learned English 

 in England, to communicate fully his kindly purposes, so to interpret 

 in detail all the ancient relics of historic interest which we wish to 

 show you, I shall need to call to my aid the society which has ac- 

 quired a readier speech by studie.s in the same school with yourselves 

 and I know the resident members of the Pilgrim Society will assume 

 this office with great pleasure. It will suffice for me to give the gen- 

 eral words of welcome which shall assure you that Plymouth is right 

 glad to see you ; that she has not forgotten the intimate blending of 

 her early history with that of Salem. Indeed so close were the rela- 

 tions of the two colonies that history has somewhat confounded the 

 record of the two, and has not unusually given to Plymouth the 

 honor which belongs to Salem, of being the first home of the Puritans 

 in New England, and pardon me for the reminder has yet more 

 commonly charged upon us the particular shortcomings of those ex- 

 cellent men in which the Independents of Plymouth did not share. 



Salem and Plymouth are no longer in their youth, and many changes 

 have been wrought in each since Koger Williams, the beloved assist- 

 ant pastor of the church at Salem, .first preached absolute freedom of 

 conscience, and defined the dividing line of jurisdiction between 

 church and state so clearly, that he had need to make Plymouth an 

 asylum for two years. Bqtfc towns are now what the Boston Adver- 

 tiser says "seem like stray locks of gray hair upon the forehead of 

 the nation ;" but I say for the older of the two, what I doubt not the 

 younger will endorse, that the nation itself is yet young, and her old- 

 est towns are yet in the prime of life, with so much yet to achieve 

 that two hundred and fifty years are but a preparatory course to what is 

 before them. The visit of to-day may be gathered from your records 

 by some industrious historian of centuries hence, and serve an im- 

 portant purpose in perpetuating the intimacy that should ever be 

 cherished between the oldest towns of New England. 



We thank you for this call, and regret that you cannot prolong it. 



I am requested, in behalf of the Pilgrim Society, to invite you to visit 

 Pilgrim Hall and spend as much time with the relics there as you may 

 be able. The Rock is here ; Cole's Hill is before you ; Burial Hill just 



