These outcasts, despised in their own day by the proud and great, are the men whom we have met in this goodly number to celebrate; not for any victory of war, not for any triumph of discovery, science, learning, or eloquence; not for worldly success of any kind. How poor are all these things by the side of that divine virtue which made them, amidst the reproach, the obloquy, and the hardness of the world, hold fast to freedom and truth Sir, if the honors of this day are not a mockery; if they do not expend themselves in selfish gratulation; if they are a sincere homage to the character of the Pilgrims (and I cannot suppose otherwise), then is it well for us to be here. Standing on Plymouth Rock, at their great anniversary, we cannot fail to be elevated by their example. We see clearly
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always referred to them with pleasure, as the grand leaders in the cause of civil and political freedom.
In a speech at the festival held in Plymouth on the 1st of August, 1853, commemorating the embarkation of the fathers, he most eloquently eulogizes these invincible defenders of “a cherished principle” and “a lofty faith.”
In reference to its covert bearing on the prominent question of the day (for he could not then speak openly), he entitled this address a “Finger-point from Plymouth rock.”
He concluded it in this eloquent and suggestive strain:--
B. B. Russell, 1874.
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