Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1884 — Standing on Plymouth Rock. [ARTICLE]

Standing on Plymouth Rock.

Never had I stood on more honored soil. The landscape, viewed from every point of interest, gave the keen impression of its original aspect. New England seldom clothes herself anew. "We were at Duxbury, eight miles up the bay. Going down to Plymouth one glorious morning—-oh,, how . .the sun. shines and the sweet sea breezes blow in Massachusetts!—we were a merry party. After leaving the depot, our first quest was Pilgrim Hall, in which is collected the relics of the'colony. It is a fine stone building, with a Grecian portico, adorned with a life-size bas-re-lief represting the landing of tho Pilgrims. Immediately outside the hall, engraved on a quaint slab, is the compact signed by the passengers of the Mayflower, displaying earnest zeal, love and devotion to the King of England. Three large pictures hang on the walls of the hall, descriptive of the embarkation and landing. In glass cases are various relics, swords and candles, purses, gems, rings, various deeds, records, and other manuscripts, curious and interesting, as displaying signatures of Miles Standish, John Alden, William Bradford and others. A cradle, several chairs, and cabinets of goodly shape and substance are also preserved. From the hall we walked to the old burying-ground on Burial Hill, where the site of the watch tower is indicated by four granite posts. A grand view of ocean and shore z we had there, and the dense masses of fbliage and patches of housetop at our feet. Then wandering about, we read the scarcely legible, rude inscriptions on the stones, which were made of slate, and had been capped with zinc to prevent decay. At the foot of the hill stands the church mentioned previously, on the site of the first church.— Cor., Chicago Inter Ocean.