under their jurisdiction, the love of their country predominated
over every influence save that of conscience alone, and they
preferred the precarious chance of relaxation from the bigoted
rigor of the English Government to the certain liberality and
alluring offers of the Hollanders. Observe, my countrymen, the
generous patriotism, the cordial union of soul, the conscious
yet unaffected vigor which beam in their application to the
British monarch:

"They were well weaned from the delicate milk of their
mother country, and inured to the difficulties of a strange land.
They were knit together in a strict and sacred bond, to take
care of the good of each other and of the whole. It was not
with them as with other men, whom small things could
discourage, or small discontents cause to wish themselves
again at home."

Children of these exalted Pilgrims! Is there one among you
ho can hear the simple and pathetic energy of these expressions
without tenderness and admiration? Venerated shades of our
forefathers! No, ye were, indeed, not ordinary men! That
country which had ejected you so cruelly from her bosom you
still delighted to contemplate in the character of an affectionate
and beloved mother. The sacred bond which knit you together
was indissoluble while you lived; and oh, may it be to your
descendants the example and the pledge of harmony to the
latest period of time! The difficulties and dangers, which so
often had defeated attempts of similar establishments, were
unable to subdue souls tempered like yours. You heard the
rigid interdictions; you saw the menacing forms of toil and