Harriet Beecher Stowe

“ The fair young face glowed as she repeated the heroic words, for already, though she knew it not, Rose Standish was feeling the approaching sphere of the angel life. Strong in spirit, as delicate in frame, she had given herself and drawn her martial husband to the support of a great and noble cause ; but while the spirit was ready, the flesh was weak, and even at that moment her name was written in the Lamb's Book to enter the higher life in one short month's time from that Christmas. ”

“ So worthily kept they the first Christmas, from which comes all the Christmas cheer of New England to-day. There is no record how Mary Winslow and Rose Standish and others, with women and children, came ashore and walked about encouraging the builders; and how little Love gathered stores of bright checker-berries and partridge plums, and was made merry in seeing squirrels and wild rabbits ; nor how old Margery roasted certain wild geese to a turn at a woodland fire, and conserved wild cranberries with honey for sauce. ”

“ The wisdom of the flesh sayeth to each one, * Take care of thyself; look after thyself, to get and to have and to hold and to enjoy.' The wisdom of the flesh sayeth, ' So thou art warm, full, and in good liking, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry, and care not how many go empty and be lacking.' But ye have seen in the Gospel this morning that this was not the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was Lord of all, became poorer than any, that we, through His poverty, might become rich. When our Lord Jesus Christ came, the wisdom of the flesh despised Him ”

“ Now, forasmuch as our Saviour Christ left His riches and throne in glory and came in weakness and poverty to this world, that he might work out a mighty salvation that shall be to all people, how can we better keep Christmas than to follow in his steps? We be a little company who have forsaken houses and lands and possessions, and come here unto the wilderness that we may prepare a resting-place whereto others shall come to reap what we shall sow. ”

“ These little ones see further in the kingdom than we," said Rose Standish. " If we would be like them, we should take things easier. When the Lord would show who was greatest in his kingdom, he took a little child on his lap."
"Ah me, Rose!" said Mary Winslow, " I am aweary in spirit with this tossing sea-life. I long to have a home on dry land once more, be it ever so poor. The sea wearies me. Only think, it is almost Christmas time, only two days now to Christmas. ”

“ They will never know what a church is, such as they are in old England, with fine old windows like the clouds, and rainbows, and great wonderful arches like the very skies above us, and the brave music with the old organs rolling and the boys marching in white gar- ments and singing so as should draw the very heart out of one. ”

“ No voice or sound from earth or sky proclaims that anything unwonted is coming or doing on these shores to-day. The wandering Indians, moving their hunting- camps along the woodland paths, saw no sign in the stars that morning, and no different color in the sunrise from what had been in the days of their fathers. ”

“ Let us look into the magic mirror of the past and see this harbor of Cape Cod on the morning of the nth of November, in the year of our Lord 1620, as described to us in the simple words of the pilgrims : "A pleasant bay, circled round, except the entrance, which is about four miles over from land to land, compassed about to the very sea with oaks, pines, juni- pers, sassafras, and other sweet weeds. It is a harbor wherein a thousand sail of ship may safely ride." ”

“ In a moment, there is heard in the silent bay a sound of a rush and ripple, different from the lap of the many-tongued w%ves> on the shore; and, silently as a cloud, with white wings spread, a little vessel glides into the harbor.
A little craft is she not larger than the fishing- smacks that ply their course along our coasts in sum- mer; but her decks are crowded with men, women, and children, looking out with joyous curiosity on the beautiful bay, where, after many dangers and storms, they first have found safe shelter and hopeful harbor. ”

“ This is a sore evil in Old England; but we will make a country here for the poor to dwell in, where the wild fruits and fish and fowl shall be the inheritance of whosoever will have them ; and every man shall have his portion of our good mother earth, with no lords and no bishops to harry and distrain, and worry with taxes and tythes. ”

“ In Old England a poor man may starve right on his mother's bosom; there may be stores of fish in the river, and bird and fowl flying, and deer running by, and yet though a man's children be cry- ing for bread, an' he catch a fish or snare a bird, he shall be snatched up and hanged. ”

“ They found it to be a small neck of land on this side where we lay in the bay, and on the further side the sea, the ground or earth, sand-hills, much like the downs in Holland, but much better ; the crust of the earth a spit's depth of excellent black earth ; all wooded with oaks, pines, sassafras, juniper, birch, holly, vines, some ash and walnut ; the wood for the most part open and without underwood, fit either to walk or to ride in. ”

“ They that go down to the sea and occupy by the great waters : they see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, and it lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven, and de- scend to the deep : so that their soul melteth for trouble. ”

“ Through the still autumnal air may now and then be heard the voices of men calling to one another on shore, the quick, sharp ring of axes, and anon the crash of falling trees, with shouts from juveniles as the great forest monarch ,is laid low. ”

“ Aye, aye," said old Margery, coming up at the mo- ment, "a brave muster and to do is there now in old England; and men and boys going forth singing and bearing home branches of holly, and pine, and mistle- toe for Christmas greens. Oh J I remember I used to go forth with them and help-dress the churches. God help the poor children, they will grow up in the wilder- ness and never see such brave sights as I have. ”

“ The land is, for a spit's depth, excellent black mould and fat in some places. Two or three great oaks, pines, walnut, beech, ash, birch, hazel, holly, arid sassafras in abundance, and vines every- where, with cherry-trees, plum-trees, and others which we know not. ”

“ Oh, but, Margery," said Mary Winslow, u we have a ' better country ' than old England, where the saints and angels are keeping Christmas ; we confess that we are strangers and pilgrims on earth."
And Rose Standish immediately added the familiar quotation from the Geneva Bible :
" For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. For if they had been mindful of that covfntry from whence they came out they had leisure to have returned. But nowthey desire a better that is, an heavenly ; wherefore God is not ashamed of them to be called their God." ”

“ Though Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobias the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian make scorn of us, and say, ' What do these weak Jews ? If a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall ;' yet the Lord our God is with us, and He can cause our work to prosper. ”

“ Some of the women are busy below, sorting over and arranging their little household stores and stuff with a view to moving on shore, and holding domestic consultations with each other.
A sadness hangs over the little company, for since their arrival the stroke of death has more than once fallen ”

“ We are in all places strangers, pilgrims, travelers and sojourners ; our dwell- ing is but a wandering, our abiding but as a fleeting, our home is nowhere but in the heavens, in that house not made with hands,. ”

“ Ah, well a day I suppose So, but then I look at my good Master Brewster and remember how, when I was a girl, he was at our good Queen Elizabeth's court, ruffling it with the best, and everybody said that there wasn't a young man that had good fortune to equal his. ”

“ A great king would marry his daughter worthily, and so he caused three caskets to be made, in one of which he hid her picture. The one casket was of gold set with diamonds, the second of silver set with pearls, and the third a poor casket of lead. ”

“ And so it happens that the only record of Christmas Day in the pilgrims' journal is this:
" Monday, the 25th, being Christmas Day, we went ashore, some to fell timber, some to saw, some to rive, and some to carry ; and so no man rested all that day. But towards night some, as they were at work, heard a noise of Indians, which caused us all to go to our muskets ”

“ This harbor is a bay greater than Cape Cod, compassed with a goodly land, and in the bay two fine islands uninhabited, wherein are nothing but woods, oaks, pines, walnuts, beeches, sassafras, vines, and other trees which we know not. "The bay is a most hopeful place, innumerable stores of fowl, and excellent good ”