As it became known that Mr. Sumner would return home to vote, a Boston committee visited Philadelphia to urge his acceptance of a banquet, with the understanding that he should simply show himself there without speaking. Acting under medical advice, he declined this invitation. The sympathy of the community found vent in a public reception.The reception of Senator Sumner, on his return to Boston, was an imposing popular demonstration.[1]It was purely a peaceful and spontaneous celebration. There was no organization of enthusiasm; there were no military, no fire companies, no associated bodies, to swell the ranks of the procession or attract attention. Those of his fellow-citizens, simply, who wished to testify respect and sympathy, went forth to meet him; through the mouth of one, the most venerable and honored of their number, they welcomed him on his entrance within the limits of the city, and the chief executive magistrate of the Commonwealth greeted him on his arrival beneath the shadow of the State capitol. In both places, and also before Mr. Sumner’s residence in Hancock Street, there were vast concourses of citizens, assembled to do honor to their Senator.The weather was favorable; the atmosphere was clear and warm for the season; and although the appearance of the sky at times boded rain, none fell until late in the evening, long after the exercises of the day were concluded.Mr. Sumner arrived in this vicinity on Sunday morning, November 2d. On Monday he drove from Professor Longfellow’s, in Cambridge, where he had been staying, to the house of Amos A. Lawrence,Esq., at Longwood, in Brookline. Soon after one o’clock, the invited guests, who had assembled at the State House, proceeded in open carriages to Longwood, where they were joined by Mr. Sumner, who passed along the line of carriages, and was silently greeted by the gentlemen rising and removing their hats. The carriages then proceeded across to Roxbury, and thence along Washington Street to the Boston line, which was reached at three o’clock. Here the cavalcade was assembled, together with a vast concourse of citizens.The chief marshal was General John S. Tyler, assisted by the following gentlemen as aids: Major John C. Park, Colonel R. I. Burbank, Major Moses G. Cobb, E. Webster Pike, Esq., Adjutant-General E. W. Stone, Colonel A. J. Wright, Colonel W. W. Bullock, and Carlos Pierce, Esq.The following were the assistant marshals: Captain I. F. Shepard, Charles H. Hawes, W. E. Webster, F. L. Chapin, O. H. Dutton, Major F. A. Heath, F. B. Fay, Julian O. Mason, A. A. Dunnels, Stephen Rhoades, H. D. Child, Leister M. Clark, Charles W. Pierce, R. F. Martin, Rufus Frost, F. A. Fuller, J. W. Wolcott, William B. Spooner, Henry D. Williams, Colonel Robert Cowdin, of Boston, and Eugene Batchelder, Charles D. Hills, D. P. Ripley, of Cambridge.As it went up Washington Street, the cavalcade numbered, by actual count, about eight hundred horsemen; but its numbers were subsequently increased by fresh arrivals, in couples and in groups, to over a thousand.On the head of the cavalcade reaching the borders of Roxbury, it halted, and the whole was drawn up in a long line at the upper side of Washington Street, facing the centre. For over half an hour it waited for the cortege from Brookline which was to escort Mr. Sumner, and when at last the latter appeared, it was received with hearty cheers and music from the Brigade Band. It consisted of some sixteen or eighteen barouches or carriages, containing the Committee of Arrangements and other gentlemen.The barouche which contained Mr. Sumner was drawn by magnificent horses. With Mr. Sumner was the Rev. Professor F. D. Huntington, of Harvard University, and Dr. Perry, of this city, Mr. Sumner’s physician. Among those in the succeeding barouches were Messrs. Abbott and James Lawrence, George and Isaac Livermore, Edwin P. Whipple, George R. Russell, Charles G. Loring, J. Huntington Wolcott, Hon. E. C. Baker, President of the Senate, Dr. Beck and Rev. Dr. Francis, of Cambridge, Professor Lovering, and James Russell Lowell, the poet,—that which followed Mr. Sumner’sbarouche containing Professor Longfellow, and George Sumner, the brother of the Senator.As the carriage with Mr. Sumner touched the line between Roxbury and Boston, there was a general cheer, which was continued along far into the distance,—the Brigade Band playing “Hail Columbia.” The first division of the cavalcade wheeled to the left, and formed into an escort. The carriages of Mr. Sumner and the Committee came next in succession, and then the two remaining divisions fell into column.A few rods north of the Roxbury line the cavalcade came to a halt, when Mr. Sumner’s carriage was driven alongside of that containing Hon. Josiah Quincy, and Hon. Alexander H. Rice, mayor of Boston. After greetings between the parties, Professor Huntington introduced Mr. Sumner to Mr. Quincy in the following brief address.“Mr. Quincy,—The Committee of Arrangements for welcoming the Hon. Charles Sumner to his home present him here to you, Sir, a venerated representative of the city of his birth. He comes back from his public post, where he has bravely advocated the cause of all freemen, to enjoy a freeman’s privilege and discharge a freeman’s duty. He comes, a cheerful and victorious sufferer, out of great conflicts of humanity with oppression, of ideas with ignorance, of scholarship and refinement with barbarian vulgarity, of intellectual power with desperate and brutal violence, of conscience with selfish expediency, of right with wrong. Boston does well in coming out to greet him. For that ample and lofty manhood, trained under her education and consolidated in her climate, has added new dignity to her old renown. It has joined her name more inseparably than ever with the aspirations of Christian liberty, and the honors of disinterested patriotism, throughout the earth, and through all time.”Mr. Quincythen addressed Mr. Sumner as follows.“Mr. Sumner,—It is with inexpressible pleasure that I address you this day as the voice of the great multitude of your fellow-citizens. In their name, and by their authority, I welcome you to your home in Massachusetts, expressing their honor and thanks for the power and fidelity with which you have fulfilled your duties as their representative in the Senate of the United States, where, ‘unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,’ you kept your love, your zeal, your loyalty to Liberty,—where neither number nor example, threat nor sneer, ‘within you wrought to swerve from truth, or change your constant mind.’ [Applause.]“You return to your country, Sir, after having given glorious evidences of intellectual power, which touched, as with the spear of Ithuriel, the evil spirit of our Union, causing it at once to develop in full proportions its gigantic deformity, compelling it to unveil to the Free States its malign design to make this land of the free a land of slaves. [Voices, ‘Never! never!’]“You have suffered, and are still suffering, for your intrepid faithfulness. But suffering in the cause of Truth and Liberty is the heaven-laid path to win ‘the crown which Virtue gives after this mortal change to her true servants.’ [Hearty cheers.]“I rejoice that my life has been prolonged to this day,—that I am permitted to behold the dawnings of ancient Liberty through the broken openings of the clouds, which for more than fifty years the spirit of Slavery has extended over this Union. I thank Heaven that now, at last, the Free States are beginning to awaken to a sense of their dangers and their duties,—that, at length, they begin to realize that the Slave States have overleaped the bounds of the Constitution. The apathy of half a century may delay for a time the triumphs of Freedom, but come they will. Final success is certain. Never again will the Free States in silence acquiesce in the farther extension of slave domain. [Loud applause, and cries of ‘Never! never!’] Henceforth they will hear and attend to the warning voice of Washington, solemnly uttered in his Farewell Address,—‘Submit not to Usurpation,’—‘Resist, with care, the spirit of Innovation upon the Principles of the Constitution.’ [Cheers.]“We welcome you, Sir, as the champion of Freedom [loud cheers], and as one to whom the deliverance which we hope may yet be destined for our country will be greatly due.”Mr. Sumner, who had been standing in his carriage, uncovered, then spoke, in a subdued voice, and evidently under the influence of deep feeling, as follows.
As it became known that Mr. Sumner would return home to vote, a Boston committee visited Philadelphia to urge his acceptance of a banquet, with the understanding that he should simply show himself there without speaking. Acting under medical advice, he declined this invitation. The sympathy of the community found vent in a public reception.
The reception of Senator Sumner, on his return to Boston, was an imposing popular demonstration.[1]It was purely a peaceful and spontaneous celebration. There was no organization of enthusiasm; there were no military, no fire companies, no associated bodies, to swell the ranks of the procession or attract attention. Those of his fellow-citizens, simply, who wished to testify respect and sympathy, went forth to meet him; through the mouth of one, the most venerable and honored of their number, they welcomed him on his entrance within the limits of the city, and the chief executive magistrate of the Commonwealth greeted him on his arrival beneath the shadow of the State capitol. In both places, and also before Mr. Sumner’s residence in Hancock Street, there were vast concourses of citizens, assembled to do honor to their Senator.
The weather was favorable; the atmosphere was clear and warm for the season; and although the appearance of the sky at times boded rain, none fell until late in the evening, long after the exercises of the day were concluded.
Mr. Sumner arrived in this vicinity on Sunday morning, November 2d. On Monday he drove from Professor Longfellow’s, in Cambridge, where he had been staying, to the house of Amos A. Lawrence,Esq., at Longwood, in Brookline. Soon after one o’clock, the invited guests, who had assembled at the State House, proceeded in open carriages to Longwood, where they were joined by Mr. Sumner, who passed along the line of carriages, and was silently greeted by the gentlemen rising and removing their hats. The carriages then proceeded across to Roxbury, and thence along Washington Street to the Boston line, which was reached at three o’clock. Here the cavalcade was assembled, together with a vast concourse of citizens.
The chief marshal was General John S. Tyler, assisted by the following gentlemen as aids: Major John C. Park, Colonel R. I. Burbank, Major Moses G. Cobb, E. Webster Pike, Esq., Adjutant-General E. W. Stone, Colonel A. J. Wright, Colonel W. W. Bullock, and Carlos Pierce, Esq.
The following were the assistant marshals: Captain I. F. Shepard, Charles H. Hawes, W. E. Webster, F. L. Chapin, O. H. Dutton, Major F. A. Heath, F. B. Fay, Julian O. Mason, A. A. Dunnels, Stephen Rhoades, H. D. Child, Leister M. Clark, Charles W. Pierce, R. F. Martin, Rufus Frost, F. A. Fuller, J. W. Wolcott, William B. Spooner, Henry D. Williams, Colonel Robert Cowdin, of Boston, and Eugene Batchelder, Charles D. Hills, D. P. Ripley, of Cambridge.
As it went up Washington Street, the cavalcade numbered, by actual count, about eight hundred horsemen; but its numbers were subsequently increased by fresh arrivals, in couples and in groups, to over a thousand.
On the head of the cavalcade reaching the borders of Roxbury, it halted, and the whole was drawn up in a long line at the upper side of Washington Street, facing the centre. For over half an hour it waited for the cortege from Brookline which was to escort Mr. Sumner, and when at last the latter appeared, it was received with hearty cheers and music from the Brigade Band. It consisted of some sixteen or eighteen barouches or carriages, containing the Committee of Arrangements and other gentlemen.
The barouche which contained Mr. Sumner was drawn by magnificent horses. With Mr. Sumner was the Rev. Professor F. D. Huntington, of Harvard University, and Dr. Perry, of this city, Mr. Sumner’s physician. Among those in the succeeding barouches were Messrs. Abbott and James Lawrence, George and Isaac Livermore, Edwin P. Whipple, George R. Russell, Charles G. Loring, J. Huntington Wolcott, Hon. E. C. Baker, President of the Senate, Dr. Beck and Rev. Dr. Francis, of Cambridge, Professor Lovering, and James Russell Lowell, the poet,—that which followed Mr. Sumner’sbarouche containing Professor Longfellow, and George Sumner, the brother of the Senator.
As the carriage with Mr. Sumner touched the line between Roxbury and Boston, there was a general cheer, which was continued along far into the distance,—the Brigade Band playing “Hail Columbia.” The first division of the cavalcade wheeled to the left, and formed into an escort. The carriages of Mr. Sumner and the Committee came next in succession, and then the two remaining divisions fell into column.
A few rods north of the Roxbury line the cavalcade came to a halt, when Mr. Sumner’s carriage was driven alongside of that containing Hon. Josiah Quincy, and Hon. Alexander H. Rice, mayor of Boston. After greetings between the parties, Professor Huntington introduced Mr. Sumner to Mr. Quincy in the following brief address.
“Mr. Quincy,—The Committee of Arrangements for welcoming the Hon. Charles Sumner to his home present him here to you, Sir, a venerated representative of the city of his birth. He comes back from his public post, where he has bravely advocated the cause of all freemen, to enjoy a freeman’s privilege and discharge a freeman’s duty. He comes, a cheerful and victorious sufferer, out of great conflicts of humanity with oppression, of ideas with ignorance, of scholarship and refinement with barbarian vulgarity, of intellectual power with desperate and brutal violence, of conscience with selfish expediency, of right with wrong. Boston does well in coming out to greet him. For that ample and lofty manhood, trained under her education and consolidated in her climate, has added new dignity to her old renown. It has joined her name more inseparably than ever with the aspirations of Christian liberty, and the honors of disinterested patriotism, throughout the earth, and through all time.”
“Mr. Quincy,—The Committee of Arrangements for welcoming the Hon. Charles Sumner to his home present him here to you, Sir, a venerated representative of the city of his birth. He comes back from his public post, where he has bravely advocated the cause of all freemen, to enjoy a freeman’s privilege and discharge a freeman’s duty. He comes, a cheerful and victorious sufferer, out of great conflicts of humanity with oppression, of ideas with ignorance, of scholarship and refinement with barbarian vulgarity, of intellectual power with desperate and brutal violence, of conscience with selfish expediency, of right with wrong. Boston does well in coming out to greet him. For that ample and lofty manhood, trained under her education and consolidated in her climate, has added new dignity to her old renown. It has joined her name more inseparably than ever with the aspirations of Christian liberty, and the honors of disinterested patriotism, throughout the earth, and through all time.”
Mr. Quincythen addressed Mr. Sumner as follows.
“Mr. Sumner,—It is with inexpressible pleasure that I address you this day as the voice of the great multitude of your fellow-citizens. In their name, and by their authority, I welcome you to your home in Massachusetts, expressing their honor and thanks for the power and fidelity with which you have fulfilled your duties as their representative in the Senate of the United States, where, ‘unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,’ you kept your love, your zeal, your loyalty to Liberty,—where neither number nor example, threat nor sneer, ‘within you wrought to swerve from truth, or change your constant mind.’ [Applause.]“You return to your country, Sir, after having given glorious evidences of intellectual power, which touched, as with the spear of Ithuriel, the evil spirit of our Union, causing it at once to develop in full proportions its gigantic deformity, compelling it to unveil to the Free States its malign design to make this land of the free a land of slaves. [Voices, ‘Never! never!’]“You have suffered, and are still suffering, for your intrepid faithfulness. But suffering in the cause of Truth and Liberty is the heaven-laid path to win ‘the crown which Virtue gives after this mortal change to her true servants.’ [Hearty cheers.]“I rejoice that my life has been prolonged to this day,—that I am permitted to behold the dawnings of ancient Liberty through the broken openings of the clouds, which for more than fifty years the spirit of Slavery has extended over this Union. I thank Heaven that now, at last, the Free States are beginning to awaken to a sense of their dangers and their duties,—that, at length, they begin to realize that the Slave States have overleaped the bounds of the Constitution. The apathy of half a century may delay for a time the triumphs of Freedom, but come they will. Final success is certain. Never again will the Free States in silence acquiesce in the farther extension of slave domain. [Loud applause, and cries of ‘Never! never!’] Henceforth they will hear and attend to the warning voice of Washington, solemnly uttered in his Farewell Address,—‘Submit not to Usurpation,’—‘Resist, with care, the spirit of Innovation upon the Principles of the Constitution.’ [Cheers.]“We welcome you, Sir, as the champion of Freedom [loud cheers], and as one to whom the deliverance which we hope may yet be destined for our country will be greatly due.”
“Mr. Sumner,—It is with inexpressible pleasure that I address you this day as the voice of the great multitude of your fellow-citizens. In their name, and by their authority, I welcome you to your home in Massachusetts, expressing their honor and thanks for the power and fidelity with which you have fulfilled your duties as their representative in the Senate of the United States, where, ‘unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,’ you kept your love, your zeal, your loyalty to Liberty,—where neither number nor example, threat nor sneer, ‘within you wrought to swerve from truth, or change your constant mind.’ [Applause.]
“You return to your country, Sir, after having given glorious evidences of intellectual power, which touched, as with the spear of Ithuriel, the evil spirit of our Union, causing it at once to develop in full proportions its gigantic deformity, compelling it to unveil to the Free States its malign design to make this land of the free a land of slaves. [Voices, ‘Never! never!’]
“You have suffered, and are still suffering, for your intrepid faithfulness. But suffering in the cause of Truth and Liberty is the heaven-laid path to win ‘the crown which Virtue gives after this mortal change to her true servants.’ [Hearty cheers.]
“I rejoice that my life has been prolonged to this day,—that I am permitted to behold the dawnings of ancient Liberty through the broken openings of the clouds, which for more than fifty years the spirit of Slavery has extended over this Union. I thank Heaven that now, at last, the Free States are beginning to awaken to a sense of their dangers and their duties,—that, at length, they begin to realize that the Slave States have overleaped the bounds of the Constitution. The apathy of half a century may delay for a time the triumphs of Freedom, but come they will. Final success is certain. Never again will the Free States in silence acquiesce in the farther extension of slave domain. [Loud applause, and cries of ‘Never! never!’] Henceforth they will hear and attend to the warning voice of Washington, solemnly uttered in his Farewell Address,—‘Submit not to Usurpation,’—‘Resist, with care, the spirit of Innovation upon the Principles of the Constitution.’ [Cheers.]
“We welcome you, Sir, as the champion of Freedom [loud cheers], and as one to whom the deliverance which we hope may yet be destined for our country will be greatly due.”
Mr. Sumner, who had been standing in his carriage, uncovered, then spoke, in a subdued voice, and evidently under the influence of deep feeling, as follows.
MR. QUINCY,—A year has nearly run since I left Boston in the discharge of public duties. During this period, amidst important events, I have been able to do something which my fellow-citizens and neighbors, speaking by your authoritative voice, are pleased to approve. I am happy in this approbation. Especially am I happy that it is conveyed by the eloquent words of one who from my childhood has been with me an object of unaffected reverence, who was the municipal head of my native city while I was a pupil at its public schools, and who was the head of the University while I was a pupil in that ancient seat.
Boston, early in her history, set her face against Slavery. By a vote, entered upon her Town Records, as long ago as 1701, she called upon her Representatives “to put a period to negroes being slaves.” If I have done anything to deserve the greeting you now lavish, it is because I have striven to maintain those principles here declared, and to extend them to other places,—stretching the venerable shelter of Faneuil Hall even over distant Kansas. [Loud applause.]
You have made allusion to the suffering which I have undergone. This is not small. But it has been incurred in the performance of duty; and how little is it, Sir, compared with the suffering of fellow-citizens in Kansas! How small is it, compared with that tale of woe which is perpetually coming to us from the house of bondage!
With you I hail the omens of final triumph. I ask no prophet to confirm this assurance. The future is not less secure than the past.
You are pleased to quote injunctions of Washington. If ever there was occasion to bear these, not only in memory, but in heart, the time is now, when Usurpation is the order of the day, and the Constitution is set at defiance. Beyond these precepts is also his great example, which, from first to last, teaches the constant lesson of fidelity, in standing up for the liberties of our country, in undoubting faith that the good cause cannot fail.
The rule of duty is the same for the lowly and the great; and, in the communication which I addressed to the Legislature of Massachusetts, accepting the trust which I now hold, I ventured to adopt the determination of Washington, and to avow his confidence. In both I hope to hold fast unto the end. [Loud cheers.]
Mr. Sumner then passed from the carriage in which he had been riding into that of Mr. Quincy and Mayor Rice. Professor Huntington also took a seat in the same carriage, which was drawn by six splendid gray horses. A body-guard of marshals mounted, and of police, formed on each side of the barouche, in order to keep the multitudes in the streets from pressing up to shake hands with Mr. Sumner.The cavalcade then proceeded onwards, amid repeated cheers of the multitudes lining the streets on both sides. In accordance with directions from his physician, Mr. Sumner acknowledged these demonstrations only by a wave of the hand.On reaching Newton Street, on Blackstone Square, a long line of beautiful young ladies was ranged upon the pavement on the south side, each holding a bouquet, to present to Senator Sumner. Previously, however, a very interesting scene took place. Mrs. C. W. Pierce, Mrs. G. L. Goodwin, Mrs. Henry Keyes, and Miss Mary Pierce—each dressed in white, with wreaths on their heads, and wearing elegant sashes—came forward, and presented Mr. Sumner splendid bouquets, which action seemed to give him much gratification. But the receipt of another from the hands of a lovely child, carried up to the Senator in the arms of a gentleman, and a similar act in Shawmut Avenue, were peculiarly grateful to him. No previous or subsequent circumstances during the day seemed to give Mr. Sumner such true delight as these kindnesses. On proceeding forward, the ladies showered their bouquets upon him from sidewalks and windows along the street, until the carriage was pretty nigh full. As the floral burden accumulated, he laughed the more heartily, and spoke his gratitude to every one of the fair donors his voice could reach. All along Newton Street, and the west side of Blackstone Square, the procession was cheered in the most enthusiastic manner. Ladies crowded almost every window, and the scene was the most brilliant along the route.As the procession reached the Boston Female Orphan Asylum on Washington Street, the inmates of that institution were seen ranged in front of the building, waving their handkerchiefs, and displaying on a white banner a beautiful wreath of evergreen intermingled with flowers, with the motto,—“We weave a wreath for Charles Sumner.”This was the only point on the route of the procession where Mr. Sumner rose to his feet. Here the kindness of these orphaned ones so touched his feelings, that he could not help acknowledging it in this way.Attached to several of the bouquets thrown to Mr. Sumner were appropriate and expressive mottoes. The principal of them were as follows.“No bludgeon can dim the lustre of our champion of Freedom.”“Massachusetts’s most honored son. If the ladies could vote, he would be the next President.”“A warm welcome from warm hearts to the noblest man America has ever borne in her bosom! 78 Shawmut Avenue, Nov. 3, 1856.”“Welcome home! The sons and daughters of Massachusetts greet her noblest defender.”“Infants welcome him whose name lives immortal in the hearts of his countrymen.”“Welcome, dear friend of justice!”All along the line of procession, namely, down Washington Street, Newton Street, Shawmut Avenue, Dover Street, Washington Street, West Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, Charles Street, and Beacon Street to the State House, the crowds which greeted the honored Senator at every point were great.At the corner of Washington and Newton Streets, over Washington, there was a fine display of flags and streamers. From the house of Mr. Nickerson, fronting on Franklin Square, was a splendid triumphal arch, between two elm-trees, flags and streamers surrounding the word—“Welcome!”Newton Street had a large number of flags, the union jack displayed alternately with the national ensign on staffs projecting from Franklin Square. The entire street was strewed with evergreens. It was a beautiful display.At the junction of Newton Street and Shawmut Avenue, the houses of Benjamin Smith and Alfred A. Andrews were splendidly decorated with festoons and flags. Between them, floating above Newton Street, was the following:—“Massachusetts loves, honors, will sustain and defend her noble Sumner!”The house of E. G. Dudley, at the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Waltham Street, made a fine appearance. Besides flags and festoons, was the following, wreathed in black:—“May 22, 1856.”Beneath this was the following:—“Welcome, thrice welcome!”At the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Dover Street, on the house of Rev. Mr. Sargent, was the following significant motto:—“To theRight!”pointing the route of the procession.The house of Dr. Parks, No. 88 Dover Street, was beautifully decorated,—an eagle above the upper-story windows, holding a number of streamers, which were gathered below. The following was inscribed upon the building:—“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”The piano-rooms of T. Gilbert were decorated, with the words in front,—“Welcome, Freedom’s Defender!”There were many other similar decorations. If longer time had been given, the demonstration would have been other than it was.[2]But it was not in decorations that the citizens of Boston welcomed home the beloved son of Massachusetts; it was rather with emotion too deep for utterance that they received him.The scene at the State House was beyond description. The area in front, the long range of steps leading to the Capitol, the Capitol itself, the streets in the vicinity, the houses even to the roofs, were packed with human beings. The assembled thousands greeted him with long continued cheering.Mr. Sumner arrived in front of the Capitol, where a platform had been erected. His Excellency Governor Gardner, the Executive Council, and the Governor’s Staff were escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Benjamin Stevens, Esq. Mr. Sumner was then introduced by Professor Huntington in an eloquent speech, as follows.“May it please your Excellency,—In behalf of the Committee of Reception, I present to your Excellency the Hon. Charles Sumner, Senator of Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States. It is needless to recount here his services to our Commonwealth, to the whole Republic, to the principles of a pure and just nationality, to elegant learning, to Christian statesmanship, to the liberties and the rights of man. These are all safely recorded in the imperishable history of the country and the race. How deeply they are written in the hearts of his fellow-citizens let this vast and enthusiastic concourse bear witness. He returns to his friends; but his friends are wherever justice is revered. He returns to his neighbors; but he has a neighbor in every victim of wrong throughout the world. He returns to the State that entrusted her interests to his charge, having proclaimed—according to the spirit of her own institutions and her people—the doctrine of the Brotherhood of all States, in the bonds of universal Peace. He stands at the door of her Capitol, and in the presence of her Chief Magistrate,—stands here her faithful steward, her eloquent and fearless advocate, her honored guest, her beloved son!”His Excellency replied briefly as follows.“Sir,—I am admonished by the Committee of Arrangements that my words must be few and brief.“This is no political ovation. The Chief Marshal of the procession announces that no political mottoes will be admitted into the ranks. By the same sense of propriety I am admonished that no political phrases are appropriate here.“This is the spontaneous outpouring of your friends and neighbors and fellow-citizens to welcome you from your field of intellectual victory,—and to welcome you also from your bed of pain and suffering. I cordially add my tribute, humble, save what my official station imparts to it, to crown the just and welcome offering.“We hail you with warm hearts, not only as the eloquent orator, the accomplished scholar, and the acknowledged statesman,—not only as the earnest friend of suffering humanity and of every good cause,—not only as one who, educated in the institutions and by the altars and firesides of Massachusetts, has won for himself imperishable laurels on the arena of the nation’s conflicts,—but especially now do we welcome you as the successful defender of her integrity and her honor. [Cheers.]“In her name I declare that the base and cowardly blows which fell on you struck through you into her. Within the circuit of the sun’s flight after I heard of that assault, before such an assemblage as rarely gathers in Faneuil Hall, I pledged Massachusetts to stand by you. [Loud applause.]“And she does stand by you to-day. She will stand by you to-morrow [enthusiastic cheers]; and she will stand by you in her defence forever. [Loud cheering.]“I welcome you, then, most cordially and warmly, in her name, again to her borders. Every thrilling breast and kindling countenance around you in this immense throng welcomes you,—Boston welcomes you,—Massachusetts welcomes you.“In her name I trust that the quiet of your home may speedily restore you to perfect health, so you can again go forward to your sphere of duty, to new achievements, and new victories.“And now, Gentlemen, fellow-citizens, one word to you. The duty of the day over, let us, one and all, leave our distinguished friend to the undisturbed quiet of his own home, to the fond caress of one whose ear is at this moment bent in anxious watching for the earliest warning of his approach, that he may there recover, not only from his past illness, but from the present excitement and the fatigues of travel. At present our kindest attentions will consist in scrupulously avoiding exacting intrusions.“To you, Sir, again, in the name of our glorious old Commonwealth, I extend a cordial welcome. [Loud cheers.]”Three times three cheers were then given for Mr. Sumner, who attempted to reply; but his voice was more feeble than in replying to Mr. Quincy. He spoke, with great difficulty, as follows.
Mr. Sumner then passed from the carriage in which he had been riding into that of Mr. Quincy and Mayor Rice. Professor Huntington also took a seat in the same carriage, which was drawn by six splendid gray horses. A body-guard of marshals mounted, and of police, formed on each side of the barouche, in order to keep the multitudes in the streets from pressing up to shake hands with Mr. Sumner.
The cavalcade then proceeded onwards, amid repeated cheers of the multitudes lining the streets on both sides. In accordance with directions from his physician, Mr. Sumner acknowledged these demonstrations only by a wave of the hand.
On reaching Newton Street, on Blackstone Square, a long line of beautiful young ladies was ranged upon the pavement on the south side, each holding a bouquet, to present to Senator Sumner. Previously, however, a very interesting scene took place. Mrs. C. W. Pierce, Mrs. G. L. Goodwin, Mrs. Henry Keyes, and Miss Mary Pierce—each dressed in white, with wreaths on their heads, and wearing elegant sashes—came forward, and presented Mr. Sumner splendid bouquets, which action seemed to give him much gratification. But the receipt of another from the hands of a lovely child, carried up to the Senator in the arms of a gentleman, and a similar act in Shawmut Avenue, were peculiarly grateful to him. No previous or subsequent circumstances during the day seemed to give Mr. Sumner such true delight as these kindnesses. On proceeding forward, the ladies showered their bouquets upon him from sidewalks and windows along the street, until the carriage was pretty nigh full. As the floral burden accumulated, he laughed the more heartily, and spoke his gratitude to every one of the fair donors his voice could reach. All along Newton Street, and the west side of Blackstone Square, the procession was cheered in the most enthusiastic manner. Ladies crowded almost every window, and the scene was the most brilliant along the route.
As the procession reached the Boston Female Orphan Asylum on Washington Street, the inmates of that institution were seen ranged in front of the building, waving their handkerchiefs, and displaying on a white banner a beautiful wreath of evergreen intermingled with flowers, with the motto,—
“We weave a wreath for Charles Sumner.”
This was the only point on the route of the procession where Mr. Sumner rose to his feet. Here the kindness of these orphaned ones so touched his feelings, that he could not help acknowledging it in this way.
Attached to several of the bouquets thrown to Mr. Sumner were appropriate and expressive mottoes. The principal of them were as follows.
“No bludgeon can dim the lustre of our champion of Freedom.”“Massachusetts’s most honored son. If the ladies could vote, he would be the next President.”“A warm welcome from warm hearts to the noblest man America has ever borne in her bosom! 78 Shawmut Avenue, Nov. 3, 1856.”“Welcome home! The sons and daughters of Massachusetts greet her noblest defender.”“Infants welcome him whose name lives immortal in the hearts of his countrymen.”“Welcome, dear friend of justice!”
“No bludgeon can dim the lustre of our champion of Freedom.”
“Massachusetts’s most honored son. If the ladies could vote, he would be the next President.”
“A warm welcome from warm hearts to the noblest man America has ever borne in her bosom! 78 Shawmut Avenue, Nov. 3, 1856.”
“Welcome home! The sons and daughters of Massachusetts greet her noblest defender.”
“Infants welcome him whose name lives immortal in the hearts of his countrymen.”
“Welcome, dear friend of justice!”
All along the line of procession, namely, down Washington Street, Newton Street, Shawmut Avenue, Dover Street, Washington Street, West Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, Charles Street, and Beacon Street to the State House, the crowds which greeted the honored Senator at every point were great.
At the corner of Washington and Newton Streets, over Washington, there was a fine display of flags and streamers. From the house of Mr. Nickerson, fronting on Franklin Square, was a splendid triumphal arch, between two elm-trees, flags and streamers surrounding the word—
“Welcome!”
Newton Street had a large number of flags, the union jack displayed alternately with the national ensign on staffs projecting from Franklin Square. The entire street was strewed with evergreens. It was a beautiful display.
At the junction of Newton Street and Shawmut Avenue, the houses of Benjamin Smith and Alfred A. Andrews were splendidly decorated with festoons and flags. Between them, floating above Newton Street, was the following:—
“Massachusetts loves, honors, will sustain and defend her noble Sumner!”
The house of E. G. Dudley, at the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Waltham Street, made a fine appearance. Besides flags and festoons, was the following, wreathed in black:—
“May 22, 1856.”
Beneath this was the following:—
“Welcome, thrice welcome!”
At the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Dover Street, on the house of Rev. Mr. Sargent, was the following significant motto:—
“To theRight!”
pointing the route of the procession.
The house of Dr. Parks, No. 88 Dover Street, was beautifully decorated,—an eagle above the upper-story windows, holding a number of streamers, which were gathered below. The following was inscribed upon the building:—
“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.”
The piano-rooms of T. Gilbert were decorated, with the words in front,—
“Welcome, Freedom’s Defender!”
There were many other similar decorations. If longer time had been given, the demonstration would have been other than it was.[2]But it was not in decorations that the citizens of Boston welcomed home the beloved son of Massachusetts; it was rather with emotion too deep for utterance that they received him.
The scene at the State House was beyond description. The area in front, the long range of steps leading to the Capitol, the Capitol itself, the streets in the vicinity, the houses even to the roofs, were packed with human beings. The assembled thousands greeted him with long continued cheering.
Mr. Sumner arrived in front of the Capitol, where a platform had been erected. His Excellency Governor Gardner, the Executive Council, and the Governor’s Staff were escorted by the Sergeant-at-Arms, Benjamin Stevens, Esq. Mr. Sumner was then introduced by Professor Huntington in an eloquent speech, as follows.
“May it please your Excellency,—In behalf of the Committee of Reception, I present to your Excellency the Hon. Charles Sumner, Senator of Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States. It is needless to recount here his services to our Commonwealth, to the whole Republic, to the principles of a pure and just nationality, to elegant learning, to Christian statesmanship, to the liberties and the rights of man. These are all safely recorded in the imperishable history of the country and the race. How deeply they are written in the hearts of his fellow-citizens let this vast and enthusiastic concourse bear witness. He returns to his friends; but his friends are wherever justice is revered. He returns to his neighbors; but he has a neighbor in every victim of wrong throughout the world. He returns to the State that entrusted her interests to his charge, having proclaimed—according to the spirit of her own institutions and her people—the doctrine of the Brotherhood of all States, in the bonds of universal Peace. He stands at the door of her Capitol, and in the presence of her Chief Magistrate,—stands here her faithful steward, her eloquent and fearless advocate, her honored guest, her beloved son!”
“May it please your Excellency,—In behalf of the Committee of Reception, I present to your Excellency the Hon. Charles Sumner, Senator of Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States. It is needless to recount here his services to our Commonwealth, to the whole Republic, to the principles of a pure and just nationality, to elegant learning, to Christian statesmanship, to the liberties and the rights of man. These are all safely recorded in the imperishable history of the country and the race. How deeply they are written in the hearts of his fellow-citizens let this vast and enthusiastic concourse bear witness. He returns to his friends; but his friends are wherever justice is revered. He returns to his neighbors; but he has a neighbor in every victim of wrong throughout the world. He returns to the State that entrusted her interests to his charge, having proclaimed—according to the spirit of her own institutions and her people—the doctrine of the Brotherhood of all States, in the bonds of universal Peace. He stands at the door of her Capitol, and in the presence of her Chief Magistrate,—stands here her faithful steward, her eloquent and fearless advocate, her honored guest, her beloved son!”
His Excellency replied briefly as follows.
“Sir,—I am admonished by the Committee of Arrangements that my words must be few and brief.“This is no political ovation. The Chief Marshal of the procession announces that no political mottoes will be admitted into the ranks. By the same sense of propriety I am admonished that no political phrases are appropriate here.“This is the spontaneous outpouring of your friends and neighbors and fellow-citizens to welcome you from your field of intellectual victory,—and to welcome you also from your bed of pain and suffering. I cordially add my tribute, humble, save what my official station imparts to it, to crown the just and welcome offering.“We hail you with warm hearts, not only as the eloquent orator, the accomplished scholar, and the acknowledged statesman,—not only as the earnest friend of suffering humanity and of every good cause,—not only as one who, educated in the institutions and by the altars and firesides of Massachusetts, has won for himself imperishable laurels on the arena of the nation’s conflicts,—but especially now do we welcome you as the successful defender of her integrity and her honor. [Cheers.]“In her name I declare that the base and cowardly blows which fell on you struck through you into her. Within the circuit of the sun’s flight after I heard of that assault, before such an assemblage as rarely gathers in Faneuil Hall, I pledged Massachusetts to stand by you. [Loud applause.]“And she does stand by you to-day. She will stand by you to-morrow [enthusiastic cheers]; and she will stand by you in her defence forever. [Loud cheering.]“I welcome you, then, most cordially and warmly, in her name, again to her borders. Every thrilling breast and kindling countenance around you in this immense throng welcomes you,—Boston welcomes you,—Massachusetts welcomes you.“In her name I trust that the quiet of your home may speedily restore you to perfect health, so you can again go forward to your sphere of duty, to new achievements, and new victories.“And now, Gentlemen, fellow-citizens, one word to you. The duty of the day over, let us, one and all, leave our distinguished friend to the undisturbed quiet of his own home, to the fond caress of one whose ear is at this moment bent in anxious watching for the earliest warning of his approach, that he may there recover, not only from his past illness, but from the present excitement and the fatigues of travel. At present our kindest attentions will consist in scrupulously avoiding exacting intrusions.“To you, Sir, again, in the name of our glorious old Commonwealth, I extend a cordial welcome. [Loud cheers.]”
“Sir,—I am admonished by the Committee of Arrangements that my words must be few and brief.
“This is no political ovation. The Chief Marshal of the procession announces that no political mottoes will be admitted into the ranks. By the same sense of propriety I am admonished that no political phrases are appropriate here.
“This is the spontaneous outpouring of your friends and neighbors and fellow-citizens to welcome you from your field of intellectual victory,—and to welcome you also from your bed of pain and suffering. I cordially add my tribute, humble, save what my official station imparts to it, to crown the just and welcome offering.
“We hail you with warm hearts, not only as the eloquent orator, the accomplished scholar, and the acknowledged statesman,—not only as the earnest friend of suffering humanity and of every good cause,—not only as one who, educated in the institutions and by the altars and firesides of Massachusetts, has won for himself imperishable laurels on the arena of the nation’s conflicts,—but especially now do we welcome you as the successful defender of her integrity and her honor. [Cheers.]
“In her name I declare that the base and cowardly blows which fell on you struck through you into her. Within the circuit of the sun’s flight after I heard of that assault, before such an assemblage as rarely gathers in Faneuil Hall, I pledged Massachusetts to stand by you. [Loud applause.]
“And she does stand by you to-day. She will stand by you to-morrow [enthusiastic cheers]; and she will stand by you in her defence forever. [Loud cheering.]
“I welcome you, then, most cordially and warmly, in her name, again to her borders. Every thrilling breast and kindling countenance around you in this immense throng welcomes you,—Boston welcomes you,—Massachusetts welcomes you.
“In her name I trust that the quiet of your home may speedily restore you to perfect health, so you can again go forward to your sphere of duty, to new achievements, and new victories.
“And now, Gentlemen, fellow-citizens, one word to you. The duty of the day over, let us, one and all, leave our distinguished friend to the undisturbed quiet of his own home, to the fond caress of one whose ear is at this moment bent in anxious watching for the earliest warning of his approach, that he may there recover, not only from his past illness, but from the present excitement and the fatigues of travel. At present our kindest attentions will consist in scrupulously avoiding exacting intrusions.
“To you, Sir, again, in the name of our glorious old Commonwealth, I extend a cordial welcome. [Loud cheers.]”
Three times three cheers were then given for Mr. Sumner, who attempted to reply; but his voice was more feeble than in replying to Mr. Quincy. He spoke, with great difficulty, as follows.
May it please your Excellency,—
It is a pleasure to be once more among the scenes of home; to look upon familiar objects,—the State House, the Common, and well-known streets. It is more pleasant still to behold the countenances of friends. And all this pleasure, Sir, is enhanced by the welcome which you now give me, in behalf of the beloved Commonwealth which for five years I have served, honestly, earnestly, and constantly, in an important field of duty, to which I was introduced by an unsought suffrage.
Sir, I thank you for this welcome. I thank, also, the distinguished gentlemen who have honored this occasion by their presence. I thank, too, these swelling multitudes who contribute to me the strength and succor of their sympathies; and my soul overflows especially to the young men of Boston, out of whose hearts, as from an exuberant fountain, this broad-spreading hospitality took its rise.
My earnest desire, often expressed, has been, that I might be allowed to return home quietly, without show or demonstration of any kind. And this longing was enforced by my physical condition, which, though vastly improved at this time, and advancing surely towards complete health, is still exposed to the peril of relapse, or at least to the arrest of those kindly processes of Nature essential to the restoration of a shattered system. But the spontaneous kindness of this reception makes me forget my weakness, makes me forget my desire for repose.
I thank you, Sir, for the suggestion of seclusion, and the security which that suggestion promises to afford.
Something more, Sir, I would say, but I am admonished that voice and strength will not permit. With your permission, therefore, I will hand the reporters what I should be glad to say, that it may be printed.
[The remainder of the speech is printed from Mr. Sumner’s manuscript.]
[The remainder of the speech is printed from Mr. Sumner’s manuscript.]
More than five months have passed since I was disabled from the performance of my public duties. During this weary period I have been constrained to repeat daily the lesson of renunciation,—confined at first to my bed, and then only slowly regaining the power even to walk. But, beyond the constant, irrepressible grief which must well up in the breast of every patriot, as he discerns the present condition of his country, my chief sorrow has been caused by the necessity, to which I was doomed, of renouncing all part in the contest for human rights, which, beginning in Congress, has since enveloped the whole land. The Grecian chief, grievously ill of a wound from thestealthy bite of a snake, and left behind while his companions sailed to the siege of Troy, did not repine more at his enforced seclusion. From day to day and week to week I vainly sought that health which we value most when lost, and which perpetually eluded my pursuit. For health I strove, for health I prayed. With uncertain steps I sought it at the seashore and I sought it on the mountain-top.
“Two voices are there: one is of the sea,One of the mountains; each a mighty voice:In both from age to age thou didst rejoice,They were thy chosen music, Liberty!”[3]
“Two voices are there: one is of the sea,One of the mountains; each a mighty voice:In both from age to age thou didst rejoice,They were thy chosen music, Liberty!”[3]
“Two voices are there: one is of the sea,
One of the mountains; each a mighty voice:
In both from age to age thou didst rejoice,
They were thy chosen music, Liberty!”[3]
I listened to the admonitions of medical skill, and I courted all the bracing influences of Nature, while time passed without the accustomed healing on its wings. I had confidently hoped to be restored so as to take my seat in the Senate, and to be heard there again, long before the session closed. But Congress adjourned, leaving me still an invalid. My next hope was, that I might be permitted to appear before the people during the present canvass, and with heart and voice plead the great cause now in issue. Here again I have been disappointed, and the thread of my disability is not yet spun to the end. Even now, though happily lifted from long prostration, and beginning to assume many of the conditions of health, I am constrained to confess that I am an invalid,—cheered, however, by the assurance that I shall soon be permitted, with unimpaired vigor, to resume all the responsibilities of my position.
Too much have I said about myself; but you will pardon it to the occasion, which, being personal incharacter, invites these personal confessions. With more pleasure I turn to other things.
I should feel that I failed in one of those duties which the heart prompts and the judgment confirms, if I allowed this first opportunity to pass without sincerest acknowledgment to my able, generous, and faithful colleague, Mr. Wilson. Together we labored in mutual trust, honorably leaning upon each other. By my disability he was left sole representative of Massachusetts on the floor of the Senate, throughout months of heated contest, involving her good name and most cherished sentiments. All who watched the currents of debate, even as imperfectly as I did in my retirement, know with what readiness, courage, and power he acted,—showing himself, by extraordinary energies, equal to the extraordinary occasion. But it is my especial happiness to recognize his unfailing sympathies for myself, and his manly assumption of all the responsibilities of the hour.
I am not here to indulge in eulogy, nor to open any merit-roll of service; but the same feeling which prompts these acknowledgments to my colleague embraces also the Commonwealth from whom we have received our trust. To Massachusetts, mother of us all,—great in resources, great in children,—I now pledge anew my devotion. Never before did she inspire equal pride and affection; for never before was she so completely possessed by those sentiments which, when manifest in Commonwealth or citizen, invest the character with its highest charm, so that what is sown a natural body is raised a spiritual body. My filial love does not claim too much, when it exhibits heras approaching the pattern of a Christian Commonwealth, which, according to the great English Republican, John Milton, “ought to be but as one huge Christian personage, one mighty growth and stature of an honest man, as big and compact in virtue as in body.”[4]Not through any worldly triumphs, not through the vaults of State Street, the spindles of Lowell, or even the learned endowments of Cambridge, is Massachusetts thus,—but because, seeking to extend everywhere within the sphere of her influence the benign civilization which she cultivates at home, she stands forth the faithful, unseduced supporter of Human Nature. Wealth has its splendor, and the intellect has its glory; but there is a grandeur in such service which is above all that these can supply. For this she has already the regard of good men, and will have the immortal life of history. For this she has also the reproach and contumely always throughout the ages poured upon those who have striven for justice on earth. Not now for the first time in human struggles has Truth, when most dishonored, seemed most radiant, gathering glory even out of obloquy. When Sir Harry Vane, courageous champion of the English Commonwealth, was dragged on a hurdle up the Tower Hill to suffer death by the axe, one of the multitude cried out to him, “That is the most glorious seat you ever sat on!”[5]And again, when Russell was exposed in the streets, on his way to a similar scaffold, the people, according to the simple narrative of his biographer, imagined they saw Liberty and Virtue sitting by his side. Massachusetts is not without encouragementin her own history. She has seen her ports closed by arbitrary power,—has seen her name made a byword of reproach,—has seen her cherished leaders, Hancock and Adams, excepted from all pardon by the crown; but then, when most dishonored, did Massachusetts deserve most, for then was she doing most for the cause of all. And now, when Massachusetts is engaged in a greater cause than that of our fathers, how serenely can she turn from the scoff and jeer of heartless men! Her only disgrace will be in disloyalty to the truth which is to make her free.
Worse to bear—oh, far worse!—than the evil speaking of others is the conduct of some of her own children. It is hard to see the scholarship which has been drawn from her cisterns, and the riches accumulated under her hospitable shelter, now employed to weaken and discredit that cause which is above riches or scholarship. It is hard, while fellow-citizens in Kansas plead for deliverance from a cruel Usurpation, and while the whole country, including our own soil, is trodden down by a domineering and brutal Despotism, to behold sons of Massachusetts in sympathy, open or disguised, with the vulgar enemy, quickening everywhere the lash of the taskmaster, and helping forward the Satanic carnival, when Slavery shall be fastened not only upon prostrate Kansas, but upon all the Territories of the Republic,—when Cuba shall be torn from a friendly power by dishonest force,—and when the slave-trade itself, with all its crime, its woe, and its shame, shall be opened anew under the American flag. Alas, that any child of Massachusetts, in wickedness of heart, or in weakness of principle, or under the delusion of partisan prejudice, should join in these things! With such Ihave no word of controversy at this hour. But, leaving them now, in my weakness, I trust not to seem too severe, if I covet for the occasion something of the divine power
“To bend the silver bow with tender skill,While, void of pain, the silent arrows kill.”[6]
“To bend the silver bow with tender skill,While, void of pain, the silent arrows kill.”[6]
“To bend the silver bow with tender skill,
While, void of pain, the silent arrows kill.”[6]
Gladly from these do I turn to another character, yet happily spared to Massachusetts, whose heart beats strong with the best blood of the Revolution, and with the best sentiments by which that blood was enriched. The only child of one of the authors of American Liberty, for many years the able and courageous Representative of Boston on the floor of Congress, where his speeches were the masterpieces of the time, distinguished throughout a long career by the grateful trust of his fellow-citizens, happy in all the possessions of a well-spent life, and surrounded by “honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,” with an old age which is second youth,Josiah Quincy, still erect under the burden of eighty-four winters, puts himself at the head of our great battle,—and never before, in the ardor of youth, or the maturity of manhood, did he show himself so grandly conspicuous, and add so much to the heroic wealth of our history. His undaunted soul, lifted already to glimpses of another life, may shame the feebler spirits of a later generation. There is one other personage, at a distant period, who, with precisely the same burden of winters, asserted the same supremacy of powers. It is the celebrated Dandolo, Doge of Venice, at the age of eighty-four, of whom the historian Gibbon has said, in words strictly applicable to our own Quincy: “He shone, in the last period of humanlife, as one of the most illustrious characters of the times: under the weight of years he retained a sound understanding and a manly courage, the spirit of an hero and the wisdom of a patriot.”[7]This old man carried the Venetian Republic over to the Crusaders, and exposed his person freely to all the perils of war, so that the historian describes him, in words again applicable to our day, saying: “In the midst of the conflict, the Doge, a venerable and conspicuous form, stood aloft, in complete armor, on the prow of his galley,” while “the great standard of St. Mark was displayed before him.”[8]Before the form of our venerable head is displayed the standard of a greater republic than Venice, thrilling with its sight greater multitudes than ever gazed on the standard of St. Mark, while a sublimer cause is ours than the cause of the Crusaders; for our task is not to ransom an empty sepulchre, but to rescue the Saviour himself, in the bodies of his innumerable children,—not to dislodge the Infidel from a distant foreign soil, but to displace him from the very Jerusalem of our Liberties.
May it please your Excellency, I forbear to proceed further. With thanks for this welcome, accept also my new vows of duty. In all simplicity let me say that I seek nothing but the triumph of Truth. To this I offer my best efforts, careless of office or honor. Show me that I am wrong, and I stop at once; but in the complete conviction of right I shall persevere against all temptations, against all odds, against all perils, against all threats,—knowing well, that, whatevermay be my fate, the Right will surely prevail. Terrestrial place is determined by celestial observation. Only by watching the stars can the mariner safely pursue his course; and it is only by obeying those lofty principles which are above men and human passion that we can make our way safely through the duties of life. In such obedience I hope to live, while, as a servant of Massachusetts, I avoid no labor, shrink from no exposure, and complain of no hardship.
The cavalcade then moved rapidly away, escorting Mr. Sumner to his home in Hancock Street.On arriving there, he was again welcomed with unbounded enthusiasm by a large crowd assembled in the street and on the sidewalks, the windows being filled on both sides up and down the street. The crowd cheered vociferously for Mr. Sumner, his mother, the Governor, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Hon. N. P. Banks, and Hon. Anson Burlingame. Mr. Sumner and his mother appeared at the window and bowed their acknowledgments, which called forth general and enthusiastic plaudits. The multitude then, giving three parting cheers for the distinguished Senator, separated, and the ceremonies of reception terminated.Many of the business firms closed their stores during the afternoon. The paper agreeing to do so was headed by A. & A. Lawrence & Co., Gardner Brewer & Co., Parker, Wilder, & Co., Denny, Rice, & Gardner, Wilkinson, Stetson, & Co., Blake, Bigelow, & Co., Pierce Brothers & Flanders, &c.
The cavalcade then moved rapidly away, escorting Mr. Sumner to his home in Hancock Street.
On arriving there, he was again welcomed with unbounded enthusiasm by a large crowd assembled in the street and on the sidewalks, the windows being filled on both sides up and down the street. The crowd cheered vociferously for Mr. Sumner, his mother, the Governor, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Hon. N. P. Banks, and Hon. Anson Burlingame. Mr. Sumner and his mother appeared at the window and bowed their acknowledgments, which called forth general and enthusiastic plaudits. The multitude then, giving three parting cheers for the distinguished Senator, separated, and the ceremonies of reception terminated.
Many of the business firms closed their stores during the afternoon. The paper agreeing to do so was headed by A. & A. Lawrence & Co., Gardner Brewer & Co., Parker, Wilder, & Co., Denny, Rice, & Gardner, Wilkinson, Stetson, & Co., Blake, Bigelow, & Co., Pierce Brothers & Flanders, &c.
Letter to Hon. M. F. Conway, November 17, 1856.
Hon. M. F. Conway, afterwards Representative in Congress from Kansas, in communicating this letter to the public, reported that it “was of great value in securing the appropriation of twenty thousand dollars by the Legislature of Vermont in aid of Kansas.”
Hon. M. F. Conway, afterwards Representative in Congress from Kansas, in communicating this letter to the public, reported that it “was of great value in securing the appropriation of twenty thousand dollars by the Legislature of Vermont in aid of Kansas.”
Boston, November 17, 1856.DEAR SIR,—I wish that I could aid your efforts to interest the State Legislatures for Kansas. To these Legislatures I look at this exigency for something worthy of the cause which is now in jeopardy. They have the power, and this is the very moment to exert it. God bless the State which begins!Surely liberty in Kansas, involving our own liberty also, is worthy of every effort. To its security every citizen should contribute according to his means; and I know no better rule for the State Legislatures than for the citizen. These Legislatures should all contribute according to their means,—the more, the better. And such contributions, like every other charity, will be twice blessed.Accept my best wishes for Kansas, and believe me, dear Sir,Faithfully yours,Charles Sumner.Judge Conway, of Kansas.
Boston, November 17, 1856.
DEAR SIR,—I wish that I could aid your efforts to interest the State Legislatures for Kansas. To these Legislatures I look at this exigency for something worthy of the cause which is now in jeopardy. They have the power, and this is the very moment to exert it. God bless the State which begins!
Surely liberty in Kansas, involving our own liberty also, is worthy of every effort. To its security every citizen should contribute according to his means; and I know no better rule for the State Legislatures than for the citizen. These Legislatures should all contribute according to their means,—the more, the better. And such contributions, like every other charity, will be twice blessed.
Accept my best wishes for Kansas, and believe me, dear Sir,
Faithfully yours,
Charles Sumner.
Judge Conway, of Kansas.
Letter to a Banquet at Faneuil Hall, November 24, 1856.
Hancock Street,Monday Evening, November 24, 1856.DEAR SIR,—I am sorry to renounce any opportunity of doing honor to Mr. Burlingame; but my careful physician does not allow me yet to take part in the excitement of a public meeting, and I yield to his prescription.My best wishes attend your distinguished guest to-night and always. His recent triumph is the occasion of special joy, not only in Massachusetts, but everywhere throughout the free North. Many who voted against him must, in their better moments, condemn themselves,—as much as they have been condemned by others. If not entirely dead to generous impulses, they must be glad that they failed. If not entirely insensible to appearances, they must look with regret at the means employed to accomplish the end proposed. If not entirely indifferent to principles, they must look with amazement at the unprecedented, incongruous, and eccentric political conglomerate of which they constituted a part.It was natural that the propagandists of Slavery, acting under dictation from Washington, should vote against Mr. Burlingame. It was natural that others,who allow themselves to be controlled by the rancors and jealousies of party, should do likewise. But it was hard that this blow at Freedom should be attempted in the name of Trade, and that merchants of Boston should be rallied against a candidate who had done so much to make Boston respectable. And yet this extraordinary conduct is not without parallel in history. The earliest antislavery effort of England was against the Barbary corsairs, and this, it is well known, was opposed by “the mercantile interest.” And this same “mercantile interest,” as you also know, set itself against the great antislavery enterprise of Clarkson and Wilberforce, when they demanded the suppression of the slave-trade. Such examples teach us not to be disappointed, when this interest is invoked against our efforts. But I rejoice to know that in Boston there are honorable exceptions, and, if anything be expected from me to-night, let it be a tribute to one of these. I propose the following toast.The Merchants of Boston.—May they all appreciate the spirit of him among their number, who, when pressed to vote against Mr. Burlingame on mercantile grounds, nobly replied at once, “I am a merchant, but at the polls I mean to be a patriot.”Accept my thanks for the honor of your invitation, and believe me, dear Sir,Faithfully yours,Charles Sumner.Joseph Story, Esq.
Hancock Street,Monday Evening, November 24, 1856.
DEAR SIR,—I am sorry to renounce any opportunity of doing honor to Mr. Burlingame; but my careful physician does not allow me yet to take part in the excitement of a public meeting, and I yield to his prescription.
My best wishes attend your distinguished guest to-night and always. His recent triumph is the occasion of special joy, not only in Massachusetts, but everywhere throughout the free North. Many who voted against him must, in their better moments, condemn themselves,—as much as they have been condemned by others. If not entirely dead to generous impulses, they must be glad that they failed. If not entirely insensible to appearances, they must look with regret at the means employed to accomplish the end proposed. If not entirely indifferent to principles, they must look with amazement at the unprecedented, incongruous, and eccentric political conglomerate of which they constituted a part.
It was natural that the propagandists of Slavery, acting under dictation from Washington, should vote against Mr. Burlingame. It was natural that others,who allow themselves to be controlled by the rancors and jealousies of party, should do likewise. But it was hard that this blow at Freedom should be attempted in the name of Trade, and that merchants of Boston should be rallied against a candidate who had done so much to make Boston respectable. And yet this extraordinary conduct is not without parallel in history. The earliest antislavery effort of England was against the Barbary corsairs, and this, it is well known, was opposed by “the mercantile interest.” And this same “mercantile interest,” as you also know, set itself against the great antislavery enterprise of Clarkson and Wilberforce, when they demanded the suppression of the slave-trade. Such examples teach us not to be disappointed, when this interest is invoked against our efforts. But I rejoice to know that in Boston there are honorable exceptions, and, if anything be expected from me to-night, let it be a tribute to one of these. I propose the following toast.
The Merchants of Boston.—May they all appreciate the spirit of him among their number, who, when pressed to vote against Mr. Burlingame on mercantile grounds, nobly replied at once, “I am a merchant, but at the polls I mean to be a patriot.”
The Merchants of Boston.—May they all appreciate the spirit of him among their number, who, when pressed to vote against Mr. Burlingame on mercantile grounds, nobly replied at once, “I am a merchant, but at the polls I mean to be a patriot.”
Accept my thanks for the honor of your invitation, and believe me, dear Sir,
Faithfully yours,
Charles Sumner.
Joseph Story, Esq.
Letter to a Committee at Worcester, November 24, 1856.
Boston, November 24, 1856.MY DEAR SIR,—Not willingly do I give up the opportunity of uniting with the gallant Republicans of Worcester in celebrating our recent victories; but my health, though vastly improved, has limitations which I cannot with prudence neglect, and these forbid the indulgence to which you kindly invite me. Please tender to the Republicans my cordial congratulations. Clearly do I see the beginning of the end. All New England, with New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, constitute an irresistible phalanx for Freedom, while our seeming reverse in the Presidential election is only another Bunker Hill. If toasts are in order at your festival, let me propose the following.The late Presidential Election.—Like Bunker Hill, it teaches us our strength, and gives assurance of speedy triumph.Believe me, my dear Sir, faithfully yours,Charles Sumner.
Boston, November 24, 1856.
MY DEAR SIR,—Not willingly do I give up the opportunity of uniting with the gallant Republicans of Worcester in celebrating our recent victories; but my health, though vastly improved, has limitations which I cannot with prudence neglect, and these forbid the indulgence to which you kindly invite me. Please tender to the Republicans my cordial congratulations. Clearly do I see the beginning of the end. All New England, with New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa, constitute an irresistible phalanx for Freedom, while our seeming reverse in the Presidential election is only another Bunker Hill. If toasts are in order at your festival, let me propose the following.
The late Presidential Election.—Like Bunker Hill, it teaches us our strength, and gives assurance of speedy triumph.
The late Presidential Election.—Like Bunker Hill, it teaches us our strength, and gives assurance of speedy triumph.
Believe me, my dear Sir, faithfully yours,
Charles Sumner.
Letter to James Redpath, Esq., January 10, 1857.
Hancock Street, January 10, 1857.MY DEAR SIR,—I am happy that you are still active for Kansas. Much remains to be done. Indeed, I think that no effort can be safely relaxed, until the Territory is admitted into the Union as a Free State.The Slave Oligarchy has not yet abandoned its darling idea of a new Slave State, and this can be defeated only by vigilance. The lull which seems now to prevail does not persuade me to repose. Too much is at stake. Besides, I have read the fable of the cat in the meal.Of course, emigrants who love Freedom, and, if need be, are willing to die in her cause, must be encouraged to plant themselves in the Territory. But we who stay at home must contribute to their comfort and protection, and, since this can be done most effectively through State Legislatures, these must be enlisted. The name of a State Legislature will be a tower of strength.Massachusetts, which, throughout our history, has led in every liberal movement, must lead now by a generous appropriation, which, if not needed, may not be used, but which, in any alternative, will be an irresistible token of her sincerity, an example to otherStates, and a fountain of encouragement to distant fellow-citizens. I cannot believe that Massachusetts will hesitate. Her people have already opened their hearts to Kansas, and the public treasury should be opened as wide as their hearts.Accept my thanks for the good you have done and the good you are still doing, and believe me, my dear Sir, with much regard,Faithfully yours,Charles Sumner.James Redpath, Esq.
Hancock Street, January 10, 1857.
MY DEAR SIR,—I am happy that you are still active for Kansas. Much remains to be done. Indeed, I think that no effort can be safely relaxed, until the Territory is admitted into the Union as a Free State.
The Slave Oligarchy has not yet abandoned its darling idea of a new Slave State, and this can be defeated only by vigilance. The lull which seems now to prevail does not persuade me to repose. Too much is at stake. Besides, I have read the fable of the cat in the meal.
Of course, emigrants who love Freedom, and, if need be, are willing to die in her cause, must be encouraged to plant themselves in the Territory. But we who stay at home must contribute to their comfort and protection, and, since this can be done most effectively through State Legislatures, these must be enlisted. The name of a State Legislature will be a tower of strength.
Massachusetts, which, throughout our history, has led in every liberal movement, must lead now by a generous appropriation, which, if not needed, may not be used, but which, in any alternative, will be an irresistible token of her sincerity, an example to otherStates, and a fountain of encouragement to distant fellow-citizens. I cannot believe that Massachusetts will hesitate. Her people have already opened their hearts to Kansas, and the public treasury should be opened as wide as their hearts.
Accept my thanks for the good you have done and the good you are still doing, and believe me, my dear Sir, with much regard,
Faithfully yours,
Charles Sumner.
James Redpath, Esq.
Letter to the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 22, 1857.