Dunstable Town

Dunstable Town

Fair Dunstable ! sometimes they call thee old : Thy youthful days are not yet fully told ; The peaceful tenor of thy even way Has left no furrows time and age display.

Thy fields are fair, thy woods are bright and green, Thy lakes and streams are dressed in silvery sheen, On thy smooth brow is written early life, Untrodden yet the paths of vice and strife. But changes soon will come thy peace to mar ; E'en now is heard the rattling railroad car Along thy wood where quiet reigned around, And the lone night-bird's song the loudest sound, Till the last year of two long centuries past Proclaimed, by engine, " men were going fast." Business and hurry bring on middle age, They 're foes of youth, a war they quickly wage, Turn peaceful streams from their calm, gentle course, Restrain their waters for propelling force. The hills are brought on level with the plain ; And plains made hills to answer hope of gain. If such of sister towns has been the fate, Thy turn may come, though it be rather late, When on the morning breeze the factory bell Shall to the sleeper hours of labor tell, When whizzing cars on every side shall go, And prove this place is neither slack nor slow. We '11 not attempt to use prophetic ken, We know what has been and may be again !

The second toast, " The President of the United States," was responded to by the Dunstable Band playing " America." The third toast was, " Massachusetts, - the earliest and foremost in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The lapse of two hundred years has added lustre to her renown, force to her example, and prominence to her high place in history. All honor to the governor ! and the governed of the old Commonwealth ! "

Gov. Washburn rose and responded happily to this sentiment, and in the course of his remarks said, " The influence of old Dunstable upon those that were born here has caused them joyfully to return, and in the celebration demon-

The fourth toast, " Our Representative in Congress, - the eminent jurist, the practical statesman, the honest politician : old Dunstable can trust him, and he will honor her," received a pleasant response from Hon. E. Rockwood Hoar, M. C, who said : -

" The founders of old Dunstable, with all the hardships of pitiless winter, merciless savages, poverty, want, and disease, still had some recompense, as they had no member of Congress. They worried over temporal cases, predestination, and free-will, but had no cause to worry over back pay and Credit Mobilier. An occasion more touching, delightful, and suited to the beautiful day, could not have been devised than the celebration. The town is the smallest of the county of Middlesex, and to-day it has seemed like the old mother sitting in advanced age by her hearth-stonfe, her family reduced in numbers by its contributions to other neighborhoods and places, her daughters changing their names as they form new alliances, but welcoming to the old homestead and to the thanksgiving table her numerous progeny."

" The ideas of free education were always cherished in Dunstable, and will always be cherished as long as the great and undying principles of justice and truth shall continue."

The fifth toast, " New Hampshire : bleak are her hills in winter, and warm are the hearts of her sons all the year round," received a brief response from the Rev. Mr. Philbrook.

The seventh toast, " New England : her townships were the nurseries of Republican institutions ; to-day they are the model democracies of the world," called up the Hon. George S. Boutwell, who said : -

" There were three points in the history of New England which he never liked to pass, when New England is concerned, namely, the municipal system, the public-school system, and the ' religious tolerance of the forefathers.' It may be said of the Puritans that they recognized the right of government to set up a church, in which all should worship and should pay toward its support ; but they were willing to have any church established not interfering with that church, and thus they should be excused from intolerance. The public-school system is due entirely to the Puritan Protestantism which prevailed in Massachusetts long ago. Its first object was to train up youth to be able to examine and judge of the Scriptures for themselves. He deemed it a loss to the municipal system that the towns, as towns, are not represented in the General Court.

" The larger cities and municipalities are absorbing and corrupt. They are to be saved, if at all, by large legislative bodies. The civil government should be in the hands of those who are well paid. The assembly should be large, and the cost would, of course, be great ; but we must pay for government. He desired to see the municipalities strengthened and their pride encouraged. One means of connecting these celebrations will be by a celebration every half-century."

The ninth toast was, " The Orator of the Day : by the ability, research, and eloquence which he has displayed to-day, he has proved himself worthy to be a son of old Dunstable, and we adopt him."

Mr. Loring responded in his usual happy manner, and the president of the day then announced that, owing to the lateness of the hour, no more toasts would be offered.

Closing Song, By Mrs. Mary Rockwell

At the conclusion of the singing a salute was fired, and the people, with many felicitations on the serenity of the day, the excellence of the speaking, the music, and the repast, bade each other good by, and retired to their several homes, well satisfied that old Dunstable had honorably and successfully observed the two hundredth anniversary of her incorporation.*

* Fine stereoscopic views of the Common, the decorations, the concourse of people, and the dinner-table were taken during the celebration, which serve to recall vividly the varied and brilliant scenes of the day.