text:
Hampton Tercentenary Pageant
1638 -- 1938
By Eloise Lane Smith, M. A.written for the
Tercentenary Celebrationof
Hampton, New Hampshire
Strawberry Bank Print Shop
Portsmouth, N. H.
Presented August 23 and 24, 1938
Produced by
The John B. Rogers Producing Co., Fostoria, Ohio
Acted and danced by residents of old Hampton
* Indian name: "The Beautiful Place of Pines."
The names of characters in the production, as well as the dates and happenings in old Hampton, through three centuries, are as accurate as I could ascertain by historical study.
In writing Episode III, I was greatly assisted by papers in the possession of the Little family, owners of the General Moulton House. These records helped remove the shrewd General from the realm of myths and legends to that of reality.
Episode IV is intended to briefly summarize the leading events and personalities in Hampton during the last century. It is also an attempt to indicate the tempo of life in 1888. This Episode has less dramatic action than the preceding scenes in order to suggest by contrast the fears and hopes of the colonists, during the wars of the 18th century, and the machine age of the 20th century.
I am grateful to the librarians of the New Hampshire State Library, the New York State Library, Harvard University, and Skidmore College for the loan of books about early New England. I also thank the Hobbs and Toppan families of Hampton for the use of many documents.
My appreciation is extended to all members of the Pageant Committee, the Producing Company, the Cast, the Rev. Herbert Walker, and others, who generously aided in the presentation of "The Drama of Winnacunnet."
PROLOGUE Voice of the Tide
Scene 1 Indian Feast
Scene 2 Settlement of Winnacunnet
Scene 3 Stephen Bachiler's Departure
EPISODE II 17th CENTURY CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Scene 1 Persecution of Quakers
Scene 2 Witchcraft Delusion
Scene 3 Return of Edward Gove
Scene 1 18th Century Life
Scene 2 The Revolution
Scene 3 The Farewell Ball
EPISODE IV 19th CENTURY DAYS IN HAMPTON
Scene 1 The 250th Celebration
Scene 1 300 Years in Review
EPILOGUE Voice of Time
TRUMPET Taps
I am the Tide
And speak through surging breaking waves
To bid you welcome, gentlefolk,
Who come to celebrate the day
Three hundred years ago, when white
Men came for conscience's sake
To build a church and found a town.
I welcomed them with food from sea
And salty marsh; and welcome you.
They played their part upon the stage
Of Winnacunnet's by-gone days,
And made the Hampton that you know.
Here Time, turned backward in its flight,
Reviews the past of settlers bold
Who braved an unmarked wilderness
With souls as restless as Myself,
Who brought them to My friendly shores
In search of liberty and peace.
So pause, good friends, and give a thought
To them, three centuries ago,
In whose affairs I played a part
And led them on to fortune, which
Is yours; for Hampton is their gift.
|Eloise Lane Smith
Copyright 1938
|Place: Meeting House Green
|Time: 1638
At the shout of the chief, all Indians rise and commence a dance around the low fires. It is a ritual dance of thanks to bountiful nature for supplying food. At the end of the ceremony, all Indians retire into the woods and wigwams except two. In the center front, the chief and a young brave remain. The former, by pantomime and unintelligible grunts, teaches the Indian boy the use of the bow and arrow. They occupy the spot light until suddenly from the right an Indian runner appears. The latter indicates by gestures that the event he reports occurs in that direction.
All three Indians show alarm. They run to the pines and hide behind tree trunks at the left. The Indians watch the opposite side of the woods.
Presently, Stephen Bachiler appears through the trees. He is closely followed by his three grandsons. One of the latter carries a large English flag of the early 17th century. The other two boys carry a heavy crate. More settlers break through the woods. A few of the men are accompanied by their wives, two of whom hold infants. There are also children of different ages. Some members of the little company of fifty carry firearms, axes, chests, tools and clothes. Others lead cows, an ox, and dogs, which stay in view of the audience during all of the next scene. The owners tie their animals to trees in the rear. The foremost settlers lay their be longings on the ground, and advance toward the smoldering embers. They hold out their hands for warmth.
The lights fade slowly while the settlers appear from the woods. The Indians watch the arrival of the white men with great interest. They turn and run in fear out of sight to the left just before the lights go completely out.
|Place: Meeting House Green
|Time: 1638
(The leader of the settlers, Stephen Bachiler, 77 years old, is a vigorous commanding figure. He carries a large Bible under one arm, and a strong walking stick in the other. His grandson, Stephen Sanborn, 14, walks by his side. They are followed closely by John and William Sanborn, 18 and 16 respectively. The last two carry a heavy crate which contains a bell that can be seen by the audience.)
S. SANBORN: (wearily)
I think that it hath been nigh to a mile, grandfather, since we left our shallop at the river.
J. SANBORN: Ay, grandfather, and this crate is more heavy with each step.
W. SANBORN: Ay, in truth, it is hard to carry it through these woods, and there are only woods ahead.
(John and William set down the crate. Other men come into view and walk slowly toward the center. There are about thirty men in all of varying ages. In the group behind Father Bachiler are Capt. Christopher Hussey and his wife, Theodate. The latter carries a baby. All stop walking.)
S. BACHILER: By God's grace we have reached the spot I once visited and "vewed it cursoryly." At last, we'll have a settlement on the grant from Governor Winthrop. We have about 100 square miles of Captain John Mason's preserve.
(He turns to C. Hussey behind, who has appeared from the woods.)
What dost thou think, Captain Hussey?
C. HUSSEY: It is a "beautiful place of pines," father, and a good spot to build a Meeting House with timber so plentiful.
T. HUSSEY: Think ye it is safe here, father? I fear for my babe if the Indians are not friendly.
S. BACHILER: Their fires are our welcome, daughter.
C. HUSSEY: Yea, wife. We could not find a better spot north of the Merrimack.
S. BACHILER: "Tis a "reasonable meet place" to make our home. Well do I know Plymouth, Yarmouth and Newbury. I judge this to be a most favored place to build a church for the glory of God, the advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our country.
S SANBORN: What may these be, grandfather? (He picks up clamshells.)
S. BACHILER: In Plymouth, I saw some. They are called clams. They come from the river and make good eating, lad.
W. SANBORN: We saw many fowl and even fish when we turned in the river and left the ocean.
C. HUSSEY: Here is maize, too. (He lifts up a corn stalk.) The Indians must find this a fertile spot. God's blessing is on this place.
S. BACHILER: (addressing his grandsons) My lads, go into the woods behind. Look well about you for a house built these two years to bind this territory to Massachusetts. (pause) Members of my company, hear ye our grant from the General Court in Boston in answer to our prayer. Captain Hussey will read our right to settle Winnacunnet.
C. HUSSEY: (reads from scroll passed to him by S. Bachiler.) "The Court grants that the petitioners, Mr. Steven Bachiler, Christopher Hussey John Molton, Thomas Molton, William Estow, William Palmer, Richard Swayne, Robert Tucke with diverse others shall have liberty to begin a plantation at Winnacunnet."
S. BACHILER: Members of my company, do ye consent to build our church *[Hampton Congregational Church Oldest church in the state at Winnacunnet] at Winnacunnet?
PEOPLE: Ay. Let us settle here.
S. BACHILER: God willing, we shall start our plantation on this spot. You, Robert Tucke and Richard Swayne, nail our flag high, so any strangers who might come this way, will know that we are loyal subjects of our Majesty's Government. Open the crate, William Palmer and William Estow.
MEN: Ay, Father. (They do so.)
S. BACHILER: This bell I brought from England. It shalt be put on top of our Meeting House. Ye need not be called by drums to worship God. Sabbath mornings, when ye hear the bell, ye may think ye are home again in England and forget the strange new ways of a new land.
(Palmer and Estow carry the bell back toward the woods. The boys return.)
C. HUSSEY: Speak out, my lads. Did ye find the bound house?
BOYS: Nay. There was no trace to be seen.
S. BACHILER: Delay no longer. Hew timbers for the Meeting House. Build it after our plans. Make it 40 by 22 by 13 feet. Mount the bell on its topmost part. Then build shelters for the night.
(All start to go slowly to the woods behind except Father Bachiler who goes to center front, and lifts his head in a prayer of thanksgiving.)
Praised be God Who brought me hither
After many bitter trials.
Bishops made me suffer much, and
Holland was my refuge where I
Waited many years; and there I
Saw the Mayflower sail in Sixteen Twenty.
Now at last I'll build a
Church, for Winnacunnet is my
Promised land. I pray God's blessing
On it. May it be a land of Peace. (pause) Amen.
(He stands a moment in silent prayer. The sound of chopping and pounding is heard as the lights slowly fade.)
|Place: Meeting House Green
|Time: 1639-1654
(A new group of settlers has arrived at the new Meeting House, in front of which are two sentinels. The 1639 settlers are led by a minister, Timothy Dalton, 65. The newcomers are welcomed and some of the first settlers recognize former friends. The meeting of friends is shown by exclamations of surprise and warm greetings. S. Bachiler himself greets Dalton by putting one arm on the latter's shoulders. Then he welcomes all in a brief speech.)
S. BACHILER: Each new comrade, thou art welcome at Winnacunnet. Ye are not strangers. Ye are our brothers in Christ. Our little company here hath known some of you in Newbury, Watertown, and Boston. Yea, longer still. In truth, some were neighbors in England. Thy leader, Father Dalton, I once knew at the University in Cambridge. Through God's grace, we meet again. Ye are welcome at Winnacunnet.
T. DALTON: God's blessing on thee, Father Bachiler. Thou hast made us welcome in the name of the Lord. We, too, come here for rights of conscience. May the Lord bless and prosper Winnacunnet.
PEOPLE: Amen.
T. DALTON: I bear a notice of an Act by the General Court in Boston.
(He passes a small scroll to S. Bachiler, who hands it to C. Hussey.)
S. BACHILER: Captain Hussey is the moderator of Winnacunnet. He shall read it aloud.
C. HUSSEY: (reads:) "Winnacunnet is alowed to bee a towne, & hath power to choose a cunstable & other officers."
S. BACHILER: Winnacunnet is incorporated as a town!
PEOPLE: (who have listened with attention) Ay. Winnacunnet is a town.
T. DALTON: I bear a copy of another Act.
(He passes another scroll to C. Hussey, who reads in a loud voice.)
C. HUSSEY: "Winnacunnet shalbee called Hampton."
PEOPLE; Hampton!
S. BACHILER: Ay. Governor Winthrop hath granted my request. Hampton is in honor of my last church in England. Hampton shall be the name of my first church in New England.
C. HUSSEY: Thy moderator of the new town of Hampton requests ye all to enter the Meeting House. Ye will receive your grants of land. I judge there be nigh to 60 families in our town. The first town meeting will be held.
(All except sentinels enter Meeting House. When they have passed in, the bell is rung by sentinel at the left. S. Bachiler, C. Hussey and T. Dalton come out. From the left John Legat and servant appear and walk toward center.)
S. BACHILER: Art thou John Legat? And art thou come to instruct our youth?
J. LEGAT: Ay. My man servant bears my books and quills.
T. DALTON: I have been teacher. I now feel the ills of age, so I welcome thee. It hath pleased the General Court to pass an Act to provide good education for children.
S. BACHILER: Read the Act, Captain Hussey.
(Legat passes a scroll to Hussey, who reads.)
C. HUSSEY: "It being one chief project of ye ould deluder, Satan, to keepe man from the knowledge of the Scriptures ... it is ordered that every township in this jurisdiction ... shall appoint one within their towne to teach all children to write & reade."
S. BACHILER: That be the law.
C. HUSSEY: Dost thou agree, John Legat, to teach all children, both "mayle and femaille (which are capable of learning) to write and read and cast accounts?"
J. LEGAT: Ay, Captain.
C. HUSSEY: "We agree to pay ... John Legat, the som of Twenty pounds, in come and cattle and butter att price currant."
J. LEGAT: I accept thy contract. I shall open the public school on "the 21 day of the 3 month 1649."
S. BACHILER: Thou art now an inhabitant of Hampton, John Legat.
C. HUSSEY: Enter our Meeting House and receive thy grant of land. It shall be in the Wigwam Row on the path toward Exeter.
(Legat, Dalton, and Hussey enter the Meeting House. S. Bachiler is left alone outside. He calls a sentinel.)
S. BACHILER: Sentinel, ring the bell. Ring it loud and clear so all my people shall hear. It is the last time, sentinel, thou shalt ring it for Father Bachiler. (pauses) One more word, sentinel. Wilt thou see to building a fortification around our Meeting House "to protect it from the violence of the heathen?"
SENTINEL: Ay, Father.
(The bell is rung, and all persons in the first episode assemble in front of the Meeting House.)
S. BACHILER: Dearly beloved, ye have been faithful friends these many years. And above all to those brave souls, who wandered with me from settlement to settlement to build a church in New England, farewell.
T. HUSSEY: Father, whither art thou going?
S. BACHILER: I return to old England, daughter.
C. HUSSEY: The Father of our church and town wilt leave the church and town he built?
S. BACHILER: Yea, Captain Hussey. Full well do I believe that Hampton shall prosper. Thou art its town clerk and selectman. John Legat shall see that the young get full instruction and other teachers shall come from Harvard College. The church shall prosper under Father Dalton, and if ye continue to seek an educated ministry.
S. SANBORN: May I go with thee, grandfather? My parents are not in this new land.
S. BACHILER: Ay, my lad. It is a long and perilous journey, lad.
T. HUSSEY: Farewell, father.
(T. Hussey puts arms around S. Bachiler. He puts a hand on her head.)
S. BACHILER: God's blessing on thee daughter. May it be God's will that thou shalt prosper in this new land.
(He turns toward all the people.)
Will my people kneel for my last benediction?
(All kneel facing S. Bachiler except Legat, Dalton, and Hussey.)
I commend ye to the Lord;
His commandments ye must keep,
And incline thy ear to Him.
May ye prosper under God,
May His blessing be thy lot;
And may peace abide with you
Now and evermore. Amen.
(The last line is spoken very slowly. S. Bachiler lifts his head. After a moment's pause he utters the word, "Farewell", and with evident emotion at parting, he turns away. His grandson supports him as both walk slowly to the end of the woods at the right. The lights begin to fade, and the people remain kneeling.)
17th CENTURY CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
|Place: Meeting House Green
|Time: 1662-1864
(The scene is similar to that of Episode 1 except the Meeting House has a stockade fence around it. The stockade is not high enough to obscure the bell. There is a rude hut with a window in it at the left. On the right is the wooden stocks for the punishment of offenders against the law. A flag, the Cross of St. George, flies prominently. At both ends of the woods a sentinel with a gun is on guard. The time is a Sunday at the close of the church service. The first persons to leave the Meeting House, through the gate in the stockade, are a tithing-man and a boy. The former beats the boy for having disturbed the meeting.)
TITHING-MAN: This will make thee quiet in meeting.
BOY: Ouch!
J. REDMAN: Thou must learn to "sit orderly and inoffensively" during the Meeting House exercises.
BOY: Ouch. Stop! Stop!
J. REDMAN: Thou shalt not profane the Sabbath by disturbing thy neighbors and Mr. Cotton in the Meeting House.
BOY: I shall not disturb the peace again, John Redman.
(The boy is freed. The people, except the Reverend Seaborn Cotton. who have slowly left the Meeting House, have stopped to watch with approval. Their attention is given to a messenger, who rides in from the left on horseback.)
TOWN CRIER: (rings a bell in his hand as people gather around horseman, who alights.)
Hear ye. Hear ye. A messenger bears important tidings.
MESSENGER: Ay, sir. I come from Captain Waldron in Dover. I have orders to read the law about the Quakers.
PEOPLE: Quakers! Followers of Roger Williams!
TOWN CRIER: Ye will hearken to the law of the General Court. Proceed messenger.
MESSENGER: "Whereas there is a cursed sect of heretics lately risen up in the world, which are commonly called Quakers ... who write and speak blasphemous opinions ... this Court" forbids any Quaker to enter this jurisdiction on penalty of imprisonment, stripes and hard labor. If this offense be repeated they shall suffer the loss of their ears and have their tongues pierced with a hot iron. They shall be banished from the colony and sold into slavery.
TOWN CRIER: Ye have heard the law.
PEOPLE: Ay.
MESSENGER: Any of ye who is suspected of being in sympathy with heretics is to be put in stocks under the law.
TOWN CRIER: Bear this message to Captain Waldron. The law of the General Court shall be obeyed in Hampton.
MESSENGER: Ay, sir. The captain will be pleased.
TOWN CRIER: Tell him we are acquainted with these heretics One of the first settlers here, Richard Swayne, was fined and disfranchised by the General Court for entertaining a follower of Roger Williams.
MESSENGER: Be watchful for other heretics among you.
(The messenger notices that the people turn away from William Marston. He points accusingly to Marston.)
That man acts suspicious.
W. MARSTON: I have two books setting forth the views of the Quakers.
MESSENGER: Where is the constable? Why does he not arrest this heretic?
TOWN CRIER: I, sir, am the constable. Thou hast been a quiet and orderly man, William Marston. Thou hast transgressed the law of the colony. I arrest thee for having two Quaker books in thy possession.
W. MARSTON: Thou doest thy duty. I resist thee not.
TOWN CRIER: I fine thee 15 pounds, William Marston.
W. MARSTON: Those of us who are persecuted for righteousness's sake know how to bear our sufferings.
TOWN CRIER: I confine thee in these stocks, William Marston. Thou might divulge new and dangerous teachings.
W. MARSTON: I forgive thee, constable. Thou knowest not what thou art doing when thou burnest my books. Some day soon, Quakers, too, will have a Meeting House.
(The attention of the people returns to the messenger. They have approved the burning of Marston's books that were pulled from his arm by the constable.)
TOWN CRIER: Messenger, report to Captain Waldron that thou hast seen William Marston put in stocks.
MESSENGER: Ay, constable. I bear another order from Captain Waldron.
(Constable takes bell from tithing-man to whom constable passed it when he arrested W. Marston. Now he rings bell vigorously.)
TOWN CRIER: Hear ye. Hear ye. Give heed to another order.
MESSENGER: (reads order.) "To the constables of Dover, Hampton, Saulisbury, Newbury, Ipswich, Boston and until these vagabond Quakers are out of this jurisdiction: You are required in the King's Majesty's name to take these vagabond Quakers Anna Colman, Mary Tompkins and Alice Ambrose ... to whip upon their naked backs and so convey them from Constable to Constable till they are out of this jurisdiction, as you will answer it at your peril...."
TOWN CRIER: (turns to people.) Ye have heard this order. Gather sticks to obey this command, if ye have no whips at hand.
PEOPLE: (bring sticks and whips from woods behind.) Ay, constable.
TOWN CRIER: Will the heretics arrive soon?
MESSENGER: Ay, constable. Thou shalt do thy duty when thou hearest the blast of a horn.
PEOPLE: Cursed be heretics.
(A blast of a horn is heard, and a cart, with the three Quakers tied behind, comes into view from the left. The people rush toward the Quakers, brandishing their whips. The cart passes across the Green with the constable and others striking the women until the cart, dragging the women behind, passes out of view at the right.)
|Place:Meeting House Green
|Time: 1671 -1683
(The bell on the Meeting House is rung by the sentinel. There is a general assembling of people, who gather to hear the news. The occasion is the return of Eunice Cole after fifteen years in a Boston jail. A constable leads a bent old woman by a chain on her wrist. The people indicate by actions in pantomime and mutterings that she is hated, feared, and despised. The Reverend Seaborn Cotton tries to calm their fears.)
PEOPLE: The witch is back! Cursed be witches! The Devil take her!
S. COTTON: (turns to people.) I pray ye show no violence. Are ye fearful of an old woman?
PEOPLE: The Devil loves witches. We hate witches. Away with her.
S. COTTON: (ignoring threats, turns to a selectman close by.)
Nathaniel Weare, thou art a selectman. Wilt thou act as spokesman for our town and say if Hampton will supply food and fuel for a homeless old woman?
(Weare turns to consult two selectmen, Godfrey Dearborn and William Sanborn.)
PEOPLE: She is a witch. We want no witch.
S. COTTON: I pray thee do not cast her out. Fifteen years Eunice Cole hath suffered in Norfolk County jail. What sayest thou, Nathaniel Weare?
N. WEARE: Food and fuel shall be given Eunice Cole.
S. COTTON: Constable, release thy prisoner.
(The chain is removed, and Mr. Cotton leads E. Cole to the hut at the left. Both disappear in hut.)
P. JOHNSON: The witch hath returned! Cursed be witches!
BOY: The Devil hath returned!
(Boy goes to hut and peeps in window. Other boys throw stones at the hut, and people start to disperse in sullen mood. The sentinel from the left runs to pull the rope of the bell. The people gather again in front of the Meeting House. A horseman rides in from the left and dismounts.)
N. WEARE: Art thou a messenger from Governor Cranfield?
MESSENGER: Ay. I come from His Excellency and bring his orders.
(Soldiers enter from left. They have guns and a horse drawn cart.)
N. WEARE: Thou hast our attention. Read His Excellency's orders.
MESSENGER: To the subjects of Hampton within His Majesty's Province, Ordered: "That ye Trustees of Hampton shall not call any Public Meeting about any Town business or on other pretence whatsoever without leave first obtained from ye Justice of the Peace."
N. WEARE: Our Town Meetings forbidden!
MESSENGER: His Excellency furthermore orders that the people's estates shall be turned over to him.
PEOPLE: Our homes are our own possessions!
MESSENGER: His Excellency threatens to close your Meeting House if the orders are not obeyed. The Governor hath full power to confiscate your lands and dwellings. Your leases for your homes must come from Governor Cranfield.
N. WEARE: No Governor can forbid our Town Meetings or close our Meeting House!
E. GOVE: No Governor can take away the people's estates nor tax without representation!
MESSENGER: Art thou Edward Gove? The Governor hath a warrant out for thy arrest.
E. GOVE: Ay. I am Edward Gove. I will never submit to these orders.
MESSENGER: His Excellency hath heard of thy revolt and sent his soldiers to arrest thee.
E. GOVE: My sword is drawn to defend --
(Soldiers seize him and carry him to cart where he is chained with legs in vertical position. His wife starts forward but she is repulsed by soldiers.)
HANNAH: Edward! Edward!
(Hannah is not allowed to reach Edward Gove. She turns in appeal to N. Weare.)
H. GOVE: Thou art a selectman, Nathaniel Weare. Canst thou not obtain his freedom from Governor Cranfield's jail?
N. WEARE: Goodwife, I shall soon leave on a mission to the King. I shall inform His Majesty of Governor Cranfield's illegal acts. In truth, I shall ask for a pardon for thy husband. Patience, goodwife.
H. GOVE: God grant that His Majesty will heed thy requests.
N. WEARE: I have agreed to act as agent for the Province. I shall sail secretly from Boston with a Petition to His Majesty. It is signed by Morris Hobbs and other residents of the Province, who protest against Governor Cranfield's actions.
H. GOVE: God speed thy mission, Nathaniel Weare.
(All leave the Green and go to their homes slowly through the woods, except a carpenter, who is working on the roof of the Meeting House, and a boy, who sits on the ground watching Peter Johnson, the carpenter. Goody Cole emerges from her hut at the left, looks about, and furtively hobbles over to the Meeting House.)
BOY: The witch comes near, Peter.
P. JOHNSON: Her spell canst not harm me as I finish the new Meeting House.
BOY: (runs behind tree in fear at the right.) This tree shall protect me from the witch's evil look.
(Goody Cole approaches the center. She stops to watch Peter try unsuccessfully to hew a chip. He tries in vain to chop it off. She waits to catch the chips for her fire. At length she laughs at him.)
G. COLE: Ha ha ha. Thou art a skilled carpenter, Peter Johnson.
P. JOHNSON: The Devil take thee, witch.
G. COLE: Ha ha ha. Dost thou think thou art a carpenter when thou canst not hew one little chip?
P. JOHNSON: (pounds harder and gets excitedly nervous.) The Devil hath bewitched thee, Goody Cole.
G. COLE: The Devil hath bewitched thy axe, Peter. Ha ha ha. I come to get chips for my fire, but no chips fall. Ha ha.
(He throws his axe at her but misses. He jumps down to get it, but finds he cannot pick it up.)
G. COLE: Thou art a skilled carpenter, in truth, Peter, if thou canst not hold an axe. Ha ha ha.
(He cowers back in fear as she lifts the axe and passes it to him.)
P. JOHNSON: The Devil take thee, witch.
G. COLE: The Devil take thee, Peter Johnson.
(P. Johnson runs into the woods in fear. G. Cole walks back slowly to her hut and picks up pieces of wood on the way. She disappears inside. There is a moment without any action on the Green. This silence is broken by a horseman, who gallops in from the left and stops short. He appears to have had a fast furious ride.)
HORSEMAN: Sentinel, call thy people.
(Messenger alights and sentinel rings bell. The people and Mr. Cotton gather in the center of the Green.)
S. COTTON: What news dost thou bring, messenger?
HORSEMAN: I bring news of Edward Gove. He hath been convicted of treason.
H. GOVE: Treason! Dost thou know the sentence?
HORSEMAN: Ay, goodwife. Hast thou a stout heart? (He reads.) Edward Gove shall be sent to England and imprisoned in the Tower, "and there be hanged by the neck and cut down alive, and his head cut off, and his body divided into four quarters."
H. GOVE: The Tower!
(She collapses. S. Cotton lifts her and leads her into the Meeting House. All watch Hannah until she Disappears inside. A boy from the right rushes in.)
BOY: (breathlessly) I ran from the river. Peter Johnson has drowned!
PEOPLE: Peter Johnson, the carpenter?
BOY: Ay. The witch did it. She put the curse on him. I heard her say, "The Devil take thee."
WOMAN: The Devil hath obeyed.
ANOTHER BOY: Ay. Goody Cole is in league with Satan. I know it. I looked through her window and saw the Devil sitting at her table. The Devil wore a red cap.
FIRST BOY: Ay. The witch changed herself into a dog or a cat at will.
WOMAN: The witch drowned Peter Johnson. Peter was the first child baptized here by Father Bachiler.
PEOPLE: This is no safe place with the witch here. Put her in jail!
(The enraged people advance on her hut, and drag her out. Constable chains her wrist and pulls her after him. People shout and threaten her in excitement.)
PEOPLE: To jail, thou goest, Goody Cole. Back to Boston jail, and may Satan help thee now. The Devil be with thee in Boston jail.
(All watch with relief her departure from the right. Some shout taunts at her, "The Devil leave with thee", "Cursed be witches", etc., as she disappears in custody of the constable. The blue light slowly fades.)
|Place: Meeting House Green
|Time: 1685
(In the stocks there is a drunkard. He reflects the subject uppermost in the people's minds by shouting and singing about witches. While the bell is rung, he sings the following in a jerky drunken manner. The people slowly gather to listen to new stories about witches. The last man to appear is Mr. Cotton.)
Witches in the woods, Witches in the sky,
Witches on the ice, Witches eating pie,
Witches on the marsh, Witches picking locks,
Witches drinking tea, Are witches put in stocks?
WOMAN: That fool is bewitched.
MAN: Nay. I saw a company of witches on the marsh. They were seated on a cake of ice drinking tea.
DRUNKARD: (interrupts loudly) Witches on the ice --
WOMAN: John Godfrey's child was murdered by witchcraft.
MAN: Hast thou heard that there are eight women and two men here who are witches and wizards?
DRUNKARD: Am I a wizard? Ha ha.
(He falls asleep and is quiet in the stocks for the rest of the scene.)
WOMAN: Witches go abroad at night and --
MAN: Hark! Do ye not hear a man approaching in those woods?
(He points to the right end of the trees. A constable, half dragging Goody Cole behind him, comes into view. She is very feeble.)
WOMAN: The witch hath returned!
CONSTABLE: Ay. The Court hath ordered that Eunice Cole return.
MAN: Why hath the Court sent her among us again?
CONSTABLE: Here is the Court's decision.
(He fumbles in his coat and extracts a paper. G. Cole is chained to him. They both stop walking.)
S. COTTON: Wilt thou read the order of the Court?
CONSTABLE: (reads:) Ye prisoner at the bar is not legally guilty, "butt just ground of vehement suspissyon of her haveing had famillyarryty with the devill" was found.
S. COTTON: Constable, release thy prisoner.
(The chain on her wrist is unlocked. S. Cotton leads E. Cole to her old hut at the left. All the people watch. There are some objections to her return.)
MAN: The witch drowned Peter Johnson, a good carpenter.
WOMAN: Cursed be witches and —
(A shout from the sentinel at the right interrupts. The attention of all is directed toward a tall man, who dismounts from a horse.)
DIFFERENT PERSONS: May God be praised! He looks like Edward Gove. Edward Gove! Thank God.
(People show much surprise and some hesitation to believe it is Edward Gove. They rush toward him in a few seconds.)
H. GOVE: (embraces him.) Edward! Thou hast returned from the dead!
E. GOVE: Ay, wife. God hath let me live to be with thee again.
H. GOVE: Hast thou escaped from the Tower?
E. GOVE: Nay, wife. I have been reprieved. Much do I owe to Nathaniel Weare's mission in England.
(He turns to N. Weare.)
Nathaniel Weare, thou hast my unending gratitude.
H. GOVE: Edward, art thou back to live with us in the Royal Province of New Hampshire?
E. GOVE: Ay, wife. Back to stay with thee. Is Hampton no longer within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts Bay Colony?
N. WEARE: Nay, Edward. Many changes that have happened are amazing. His Majesty hath decreed a separation of the Royal Province of New Hampshire from Massachusetts Bay Colony. The four towns of Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, and Hampton are now beyond the bounds of Massachusetts.
E. GOVE: Dost thou know the bounds of the Royal Province of New Hampshire?
N. WEARE: His Majesty King Charles II decreed that the Royal Province of New Hampshire shall extend three miles northward from the Merrimack unto the Province of Maine.
E. GOVE: Did such a decree please our people?
N. WEARE: Nay. There were many persons who petitioned His Majesty to have Hampton remain under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. In truth, forty of thy old friends have moved from our town. They wished to live within the bounds of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
E. GOVE: Dost thou approve thy new government, Nathaniel Weare?
N. WEARE: Ay. Captain Christopher Hussey is one of the Council of the new Province.
E. GOVE: I bring a letter to Captain Hussey and greetings to members of our Meeting House from Father Bachiler.
PEOPLE: Long live Father Bachiler!
E. GOVE: (selects a paper from a roll under his arm.) This paper is an action against Governor Cranfield to recover my estate sequestered by him. It protests his tyranny to tax without representation.
MAN: May God prosper thee, Edward Gove.
(E. Gove moves to center. He puts one arm across Hannah's shoulders, and holds high in the other hand an unrolled parchment with a conspicuous seal on a red ribbon. The blue light of this episode gives way to a strong white light that shines directly on Hannah and Edward Gove as they stand facing the audience.)
E. GOVE: This parchment is my full pardon signed by Lord Sunderland at Windsor Court, September 1685, for His Majesty King James II in the first year of his reign!
PEOPLE: Long live the King!
(In a few seconds all lights go out suddenly and completely.)
|Place:Moulton House
|Time: 1761-1763
(The events of this episode take place in front of the Moulton House. The second English Union flag flies at the right. A store is on the left. The episode opens with eight slaves at work Outside the mansion. They sing as they work. The leader is an old slave, named Pompey. Colonel Moulton, 85, a man of military bearing, comes out of the center door of the house. He is accompanied by his bodyguard, Johnny Square-Toes.)
J. MOULTON: Pompey, bring a barrel of wine.
POMPEY: A barrel, master?
J. MOULTON: Ay. A barrel, Pompey. 'Tis an important occasion, Pompey, and a barrel fits the day.
(Pompey goes into the ell to get the barrel. Col. Toppan enters the garden from the left in a leisurely manner.)
C. TOPPAN: Good day to thee, neighbor.
J. MOULTON: The same to thee, Colonel Toppan. It is a good day, Colonel. In truth, it is a great day. A son has just been born in the Moulton House.
C. TOPPAN: My congratulations, Colonel. Pray give my compliments to Madame Moulton.
(Pompey brings the barrel with the help of a young slave, Cato. Another slave bears glasses in a tray. The barrel is opened, and wine is served to each of the men.)
J. MOULTON: Thank you, neighbor. A toast, Colonel. Let us drink to my son.
(Both men take a glass that is passed to them and raise it in the air.)
C. TOPPAN: I do so with pleasure, Colonel. To the health and long life of --
J. MOULTON: The child has not been named. We will drink to my son, Colonel.
J. TOPPAN: Ay, neighbor. To the long life of thy son.
(Both men drink from their glasses. Pompey presents tray for the empty glasses.)
J. MOULTON: Pompey, see that the slaves and servants toast my son.
POMPEY: Ay, master. Caesar, Cato, Brutus — you useless slaves -- the master's son is born. Drink to the long life of the master's son.
(Slaves run to the barrel with alacrity. They drink together when Pompey says, "To the master's son".)
J. MOULTON: Moultons in Hampton have been named John and Jacob and Henry and -—
C. TOPPAN: Those are familiar names in many families, Colonel.
J. MOULTON: Ay, Colonel. Christopher is a name less common thou art thinking. My son shall not be given a Moulton name. He shall be called -- Benning.
C. TOPPAN: Benning shall be the name of thy son, Colonel?
J. MOULTON: Ay, Christopher Toppan. My son shall be named for His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esquire, Governor and Commander-in-chief of His Majesty's Royal Province of New Hampshire.
C. TOPPAN: An excellent choice, Colonel. 'Tis almost as good a name as Christopher.
J. MOULTON: And less common, Colonel. Come on the morrow, neighbor, when we will discuss our business proposals.
(C. Toppan walks to the left.)
C. TOPPAN: Ay, neighbor. Our business affairs will wait another day. Again, good health and long life to thy son. Good day, Colonel Moulton.
(C. Toppan leaves. J. Moulton calls to Pompey in the rear of the garden.)
J. MOULTON: Pompey, have the fatted ox brought here.
POMPEY: Ay, master. (Calls to slaves working in garden.) Brutus, Caesar, Cato. Lead in the fatted ox. The master orders him brought here.
(The slaves go to obey. The Colonel waits for them and after taking a pinch of snuff, walks to and fro in front of his house. The three slaves lead in the ox slowly from the right.)
J. MOULTON: Ha. 'Tis the biggest ox I ever raised. He weighs one thousand four hundred pounds, Pompey says. His Excellency will be pleased with such a heavy creature. Pompey, have him decorated for the Governor. Put flowers around his neck. Pick roses for his back. On his head put a small flag. That will please the Governor.
POMPEY: Ay, master.
(J. Moulton watches with approval while Pompey directs the decoration of the ox. The slaves put garlands of flowers and ribbons around the ox. On his head there is a flag.)
J. MOULTON: Is he ready? Ay. Brutus, Cato and Caesar lead the ox to Portsmouth. Present him to His Excellency Governor Wentworth with the compliments of Colonel Johnathan Moulton of Hampton.
(The three slaves lead the ox slowly out of sight to the left. J. Moulton watches them depart, lie then walks toward the house, and is about to enter the door when a stagecoach is rapidly driven in from the left and stops near the center front. J. Moulton turns with interest to watch the driver halt the stage and alight. He then calls Pompey.)
J. MOULTON: Pompey, another barrel. I will refresh the passengers. Tell the servants to bring water for the horses.
(Pompey goes into the ell for another barrel of wine. J. Moulton greets the driver and watches the passengers descend from the high stage. He welcomes them as they turn to walk to the house.)
J. MOULTON: Welcome all. Refresh thyselves before continuing on the long journey to Boston. There are many miles before Ipswich is reached where the stage will put up over night.
PASSENGER: Art thou Colonel Johnathan Moulton?' Thy fame has spread through all the colonies. Thou art a gracious host. I thank thee for myself and my fellow travelers.
J. MOULTON: The road is rough in spots to Ipswich. Refresh thyselves with wine while I write a letter to be sent by stage.
(Pompey appears with glasses of wine, and serves the passengers. Servants bring buckets of water to the horses. J. Moulton enters the store. When man and beast have drunk, and the passengers are settled again in their seats in the stagecoach, J. Moulton appears from the store with a large letter. He walks over and hands the letter to the driver.)
J. MOULTON: Convey this message to His Excellency Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of the Royal Province of Massachusetts. Tell His Excellency that Colonel Johnathan Moulton despatched it by post on the first stage from Portsmouth to Boston.
DRIVER: Ay, Colonel. It shall be put in His Excellency's hands.
J. MOULTON: May ye have a fast but safe journey.
(The stage driver cracks his whip. The horses make a sudden start, and J. Moulton watches the stagecoach until it passes out of sight at the right. He then turns toward the house and enters. Servants remove the barrel and buckets, and are busy outside when a rider on horseback hurries in from the right. He stops and addresses Pompey, who is at work near the center front.)
MESSENGER: Dost thou know where Colonel Johnathan Moulton of Hampton lives?
POMPEY: Ay, stranger. This is the Colonel's mansion. I will call the master.
(Pompey goes in the house, and J. Moulton appears in the door.)
J. MOULTON: I am Colonel Moulton. Thou hast news, messenger?
MESSENGER: Ay, Colonel. 'Tis important news. France has surrendered! The Treaty of Paris is signed!
J. MOULTON: The colonists have won! The French and heathen Indians have been conquered!
MESSENGER: Ay, Colonel. All Canada is English! All America east of the Mississippi is English! France and her heathen allies have lost North America! I leave for Portsmouth to carry the news.
(The horseman leaves from the left to Portsmouth. J. Moulton can hardly believe the news. He speaks out loud.)
J. MOULTON: The French have surrendered! My heathen enemies are beaten!
(He turns and slowly enters the house. There is no action in the garden except the work of slaves, who sing to themselves. Presently, a fife and drum corps is faintly heard. It grows louder, and enters from the left. It is followed by the bodyguard of Gov. Wentworth, and finally the Governor appears with much pomp and show of authority. The cavalcade stops at the door of the Moulton mansion. There is a space between the fife and drum corps and the Governor's bodyguard so that J. Moulton will not be hidden by the soldiers when he comes out. He bows low to the Governor.)
J. MOULTON: My greetings to Your Excellency, Governor Wentworth.
WENTWORTH: My greetings to Colonel Moulton. Hast thou had news by messenger from His Excellency Sir Francis Bernard, Governor of Massachusetts?
J. MOULTON: Ay, Your Excellency. The French have surrendered!
WENTWORTH: The Treaty of Paris is signed, Colonel. 'Tis a great day for the colonists. Seven years of war are over. When it began, Colonel, France had twenty times as much territory in North America as we had. Now France has lost North America!
J. MOULTON: Ay, Your Excellency. We have fought and waited many a year for this day.
WENTWORTH : Thou hast killed too many warriors of the Ossipee tribe not to feel a personal victory in the news, Colonel.
J. MOULTON: Your Excellency is very flattering. WENTWORTH: His Majesty King George III rejoices in the loyalty and valor of thy deeds, Colonel.
J. MOULTON: I am ever ready to serve His Majesty in my humble way.
WENTWORTH: On the way from Portsmouth I met thy slaves. They led the biggest ox my eyes had ever seen. The slaves said this great ox was a gift from Colonel Moulton. Thou art a loyal devoted subject, Colonel. How may I repay thee for thy gift?
J. MOULTON: 'Tis nothing, Your Excellency. It is my pleasure to serve thee.
WENTWORTH: Is there no favor I may grant thee, Colonel?
J. MOULTON: I am content to be thy subject, Your Excellency. My reward comes if I can please thee. This has been an important day. First, we have news that the French have surrendered.
WENTWORTH: What is next, Colonel?
J. MOULTON: Your Excellency, my son was born. May it please thee, the child is named Benning. From no greater man in the colonies could my son have received his name, Excellency. (Speaks to servant in garden near him.) Tell thy mistress to send out the child. (Servant enters house. Soon a nurse appears in the doorway with the infant in her arms. She stands there with the spotlight fixed on her.)
J. MOULTON: This is my son, Benning, Your Excellency.
(B. Wentworth and J. Moulton both look at child in nurse's arms.)
WENTWORTH: Thou hast honored me, Colonel. How may I honor thee?
J. MOULTON: If Your Excellency wishes to grant me a favor, I most desire a grant of a "small gore of land" next to my township of Moultonborough.
WENTWORTH: Granted. Thou hast made a modest request, Colonel, and thou art granted the "small gore of land." Now, I leave for Boston to discuss with His Excellency Sir Francis Bernard the terms of the new Treaty. Good health to thee, Colonel, and long life to thy son.
J. MOULTON: Good day to Your Excellency.
(J. Moulton bows low to the Governor. The latter gives a signal to the drummer. The fife and drum corps starts to move, and the little procession leaves from the right for Boston. J. Moulton and the nurse watch Governor Wentworth depart. The lights begin to fade slowly. J. Moulton turns to the child.)
J. MOULTON: My child, thy father is now the largest landowner in the whole Province of New Hampshire. I am rich in lands. Ha. The "small gore of land" the Governor hath granted me is a whole town. I shall name it New Hampton. It adjoins my township of Moultonborough. I shall form a new town to be called Center Harbor on the lake where I killed countless heathen Indians. My child, thou art too young to know that thy father owns 80,000 acres of land, and most of eight towns in the Province. All this land shall be thine, my son.
NURSE: Thy son sleeps, Colonel. He knows naught of thy possessions.
J. MOULTON: On the morrow, I shall tell Colonel Toppan. Ha. His wealth lies in commerce and ships at sea always subject to loss from winds and storms. My wealth shall lie in lands. This has been a great day for Colonel Johnathan Moulton.
(After boasting about his wealth to the infant, the nurse, child, and J. Moulton all enter the house as it grows dark. The slaves have disappeared for the night. After a moment of complete darkness, there is a burst of flame over the front of the eli and store. The fire appears to completely consume the store, which does not figure in the next scene.)
|Place: Moulton House
|Time: 1774-1776
(The scene opens with fifty or more men standing in front of the new Moulton House. They discuss the growing grievances against the British King. The English flag flies prominently from the flag pole in the garden. J. Moulton and C. Toppan are conspicuous leaders of the protesting group. W. Lane and J. Marston stand to one side. The tempo of this scene is fast. The men speak in brisk staccato tones showing their willingness to take action and the indignation they feel. The men applaud the resolutions passed at a recent town meeting.)
J. MOULTON: I will read the article passed at the last town meeting of which I was moderator. (He opens a paper which he carries and reads.) The citizens agreed "that they must not submit to the growing oppression of the British King." They agreed that the oppressive measures "will be totally Destructive to our Constitutional Rights and Liberties, and have a direct Tendency to Reduce the Americans to a state of actual Slavery."
MAN: Ay. We shall become slaves.
J. MOULTON: It is our "Indispensable Duty as men, as Christians, and as Americans, publickly to express our Sentiments and Determinations at this important and alarming Crisis." Selectman Lane, wilt thou read the resolves that were adopted at the adjourned meeting?
W. LANE: (takes paper from pocket and reads.) Resolved that "it is Inseparably essential to the Freedom of a People and to the inherent Right of Englishmen in every part of the British Dominions, that no Tax be imposed on them without the consent of their Representatives", and resolved "That we will, to the utmost of our Power, and in every Reasonable and Constitutional way ... Defend the Happiness and Security of America, and if ever Necessity requires it we will RIsque our Lives and Interest in support of those Rights, Liberties & Privileges."
MAN: Ay. We agree with those Resolves. (Men applaud.)
C. TOPPAN: Governor Wentworth found our Resolves too strong for his taste. He has fled the colony.
J. MOULTON: His Excellency was a gracious gentleman, --
(He is interrupted by a horseman, who rides in rapidly from the right. The rider pulls his horse to a quick stop, but does not dismount. J. Moulton advances to the center front to greet the rider.)
J. MOULTON: Welcome, stranger. Hast thou a message for Hampton citizens? I am Colonel Jonathan Moulton.
P. REVERE: Ay, Colonel Moulton. My name is Paul Revere. I have come for two purposes. I bring a letter from General Artemas Ward. I also bring important tidings from the Committee of Safety in Boston to the patriots of Hampton and Portsmouth. News has just been received that the British will no longer export arms to the colonies. The colonists must get their military stores by capturing British supplies already here. Have you men in your militia who will help in the seizure of Fort William and Mary at New Castle?
J. MOULTON: Ay, Paul Revere. Part of the militia shall be ordered to Fort William and Mary at once.
P. REVERE: If the Fort is captured the powder will be carried to be used in the siege of Boston. Gen. Gage is assembling his regulars around Bunker Hill. The Americans have only scanty supplies for the siege. I carry the alarm to Portsmouth.
(He speaks rapidly, passes a letter to J. Moulton, and gallops off at once to the left. J. Moulton tears open the letter, and reads aloud.)
J. MOULTON: "Headquarters, Cambridge Sir: By information just received, I apprehend the Enemy intends to attack somewhere this night; therefore have act on the shortest notice.
|Artemas Ward"
C. TOPPAN: The seacoast must be guarded. Sentries must be stationed on the coast to give notice of the appearance of the Enemy's fleet.
J. MOULTON: The militia shall be ordered to hold itself in readiness to march at a minute's warning. It will alarm the country in case the Enemy appears. General Washington shall be notified at Cambridge.
C. TOPPAN: The continental forces have a great general now. And the Continental Congress in Philadelphia will pass wise and great resolves.
W. LANE: Hampton is taxed £6 lOs to pay expenses of the New Hampshire delegates, and --
(A horseman enters from the right, dismounts, and holds his horse.)
MESSENGER: Colonel Moulton? Is Colonel Jonathan Moulton here?
(J. Moulton steps forward from the two men with whom he has been talking.)
J. MOULTON: Stranger, I am Colonel Moulton. Hast thou a message for me?
MESSENGER: Ay, Colonel. I come from General Washington's staff. The Commander-in-chief of the colonial forces has come from Cambridge on a secret mission to Col. Meshech Weare's in Hampton Falls. Col. Weare desires you to come to his home to confer with the General about the defense of the northern colonies.
J. MOULTON: I shall hasten at once to see General Washington. Pompey, bring my fastest horse. Messenger, remain to give news of the continental forces in Cambridge to Colonel Toppan here, and my secretary, John Marston.
(J. Moulton's horse is brought. The colonel mounts the horse and gallops off to the right.)
MESSENGER: I bring the new union flag. It is the flag of General Washington's army. The General commands that it be flown from flagpoles at all homes of patriots. It shall replace the King's colors.
(He hands a folded large flag to C. Toppan and 3. Marston, who hold it outstretched so that the audience may see it.)
J. MARSTON: In Colonel Moulton's absence, I receive the new union flag.
MESSENGER: There are thirteen red and white stripes -- one for each of the colonies -- with the English Union. It is the new flag under which General Washington took command of the colonial forces.
J. MARSTON: It shall replace the King's Colors at Colonel Moulton's.
C. TOPPAN: Report to General Washington that the new continental flag flies in Hampton.
(The messenger mounts his horse, turns, and leaves from the right. C. Toppan and J. Marston hold the flag high and walk over to the flagpole. With the assistance of two men, the King's colors are hauled down, and the new flag is raised. The old flag is quickly snatched and hidden behind a tree. All eyes are turned to watch the new flag first fly in Hampton.)
C. TOPPAN: This is the banner under which all patriots friendly to the American cause will fight.
W. LANE: Ay, and all patriots friendly to the American cause will put their names to this resolve from the Continental Congress.
(W. Lane takes some papers from an inside pocket. He passes copies to C. Toppan and J. Marston. The latter men glance at the documents.)
C. TOPPAN: Wilt thou read the resolution of the Continental Congress, Selectman Lane, so all citizens may know its purpose?
W. LANE: (reads:) "We the Subscribers do hereby solemnly engage and promise that we will, at the Risque of our Lives and Fortunes, with ARMS oppose the hostile Proceedings of the British Fleets, and Armies, against the United American COLONIES."
C. TOPPAN: Those men who sign this Test Paper are friendly to the American cause. Selectman Lane, wilt thou circulate the papers for signatures?
W. LANE: The Test Papers will be passed among you. When your name is signed, go to your homes. Inform your wife and children that General Washington's army in Cambridge needs all available supplies. Bring here all possible pewter, lead, and any blankets that can be spared. Your gifts will be a sign of your loyalty to the American colonies.
(C. Toppan, J. Marston and W. Lane move among the men with the Test Papers. After signing his name, each man leaves so that only C. Toppan, J. Marston and W. Lane remain. The trio gathers in center front.)
C. TOPPAN: How many signatures on the Test Papers hast thou gathered, Selectman Lane?
W. LANE: (He counts, and answers slowly.) There are 174 Hampton signers now.
J. MARSTON: From this list, I shall choose men to be trained for the war. Officers and men will be selected to go to Ticonderoga, to serve in Colonel Joshua Wingate's regiment in defense of Piscataqua Harbor, and in defense of Rhode Island.
W. LANE: Colonel Toppan, the Committee of Safety voted to agree with you for the purchase of seven cannon now at Piscataqua Harbor.
C. TOPPAN: I will sell the colonists eight six pounders at £20. I know the great need of the colonies for firearms.
J. MARSTON: Colonel Moulton has received word from Josiah Bartlett of Kingston that our Continental Congress in Philadelphia is considering a resolution for the independence of the colonies.
C. TOPPAN: Ay. If independence is declared the war will be prolonged. The colonies will need more men and supplies.
W. LANE: Ay. Food and supplies and firearms are needed. Hampton has answered the call for volunteers, but it is not easy to furnish food with molasses at £5 a gallon and sugar at 20 shillings a pound.
(A woman appears slowly from the left. She carries a folded blanket. She walks to the center, and timidly asks:)
WOMAN: Selectman Lane, is it true that General Washington's army needs blankets?
W. LANE: Ay, goodwife. The colonials have scant supplies.
WOMAN: I bring this blanket for our soldiers. 'Tis heavy and warm. I myself spun and wove the wool.
J. MARSTON: Thy gift shall be sent to General Washington's army. Pompey, bring thy master's horse cart.
(Other women gradually come into sight from all sides. They bring blankets, stockings, and mittens. Next come more women with pewter plates, candlesticks, etc. C. Toppan and W. Lane receive some of the gifts. Pompey brings the cart to the center, and C. Toppan, J. Marston and W. Lane pile the gifts in the cart. Even children come running with pewter spoons and porringers, and a few men bring muskets.)
C. TOPPAN: Your gifts will please Colonel Moulton and cheer General Washington.
J. MARSTON: I shall take these supplies to Colonel Weare's and present them to General Washington. Our great Commander will be heartened by thy loyalty to the American cause.
(J. Marston gets into the driver's seat and drives the loaded cart from the right. The people stand and silently watch the cart disappear as the lights are slowly dimmed.)
|Place: Moulton House
|Time: 1784
(The scene takes place in the garden of General Moulton in front of his house. There are flowers in abundance. The occasion is a farewell ball to Nancy, J. Moulton's daughter. J. Moulton, now over sixty, is always addressed as General. This scene is the climax of the pageant in color, beauty, music, and dancing. The costumes are elaborate. A new flag with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes flies from the flagpole. The General always carries a gold-headed cane on which he leans heavily. A chair is placed at the left of the center door. It is raised on a little platform. During the party Nancy sits in it, so that it occupies a very prominent place in the setting and spotlight. At the right of the door on the ground is a table. There is a large punch bowl and many little glasses on the table. Slaves stand behind the table ready to serve. There are seats for the orchestra at the right, and other seats are placed under trees for guests. There is a festive air and much gayety during the party. The lights go up. The General in silk knee breeches and other elaborate 18th century accessories enters the garden through the door. He looks with approval on the arrangement of flowers and potted plants. Then the General walks over to the punch bowl behind which slaves are busy. The General speaks to Caesar, a slave.)
J. MOULTON: Caesar, are the grounds ready for Mistress Nancy's party?
CAESAR: Ay, master. Many flowers have been brought from the master's other gardens.
J. MoULTON: Be generous when the punch is served. Make the guests feel well wined.
CAESAR: Ay, master. My master is known as a hospitable host.
J. MOULTON: Look to it that my reputation does not suffer.
CAESAR: Ay, master.
(Nancy, 21, enters the garden from the center door. She is dressed in gorgeous satin. Her entrance is impressive and she stands a moment in the spotlight on the threshold of the door. Nancy then sits in the chair at the left of the door, and two women servants come to arrange her skirt and hair, and then retire into the house. J. Moulton turns to his daughter admiringly.)
J. MOULTON: Thou hast a fine day for thy farewell party, Nancy.
NANCY: Ay, father. The skies smile on me. Dost thou think that many guests will come to bid farewell to thy daughter?
J. MOULTON: Yea, daughter. The most distinguished men of the state will be present. Chief Executive, Colonel Meshech Weare, Josiah Bartlett, and --
(Nancy interrupts her father.)
NANCY: Father, the musicians arrive.
(Men with instruments appear from the left. They are greeted by J. Moulton, who seats them among potted plants at the right.)
J. MOULTON: Gentlemen, I pray you will refresh yourselves at the punch bowl. Before the minuet would you kindly play an old air well known in London before the colonies were independent?
MUSICIAN: Ay, Sir. Does the General mean "Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes ?"
J. MOULTON: Ay. We have not heard it here since the war. It will be a pleasure to hear it once more. After the guests arrive, play the popular dance by Mozart.
MUSICIAN: We shall play the "Minuet in F" at your command, General.
NANCY: Ah! The first guests arrive, father. They are my brother, Benning, and Sarah Leavitt, his bride of two years.
(J. Moulton glances to the left and sees guests arriving. He hastens to greet them as fast as the use of his cane permits.)
J. MOULTON: Welcome, dear friends and neighbors. My daughter would forever grieve if her Hampton neighbors were not present at her farewell. (Colonel Toppan and wife bow before Nancy.)
J. MOULTON: The punch bowl is on the right, Colonel Toppan.
(Other guests enter from the left and advance to Nancy, who remains seated. The musicians play "Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes". All guests bow deeply before Nancy and then walk to the right. Some find seats in the garden. Others stand by the punch bowl.)
J. MOULTON: The Chief Executive, Colonel Meshech Weare and Mistress Weare --
The Honorable Josiah Bartlett, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Mistress Bartlett -—
The Reverend Paine Wingate, Member of the Continental Congress, and Mistress Wingate -—
Doctor Samuel Langdon, Past-President of Harvard College, and Mistress Langdon -—
The Reverend Ebenezer Thayer, Pastor of our church, and Mistress Thayer -—
Selectman Joseph Dow and Mistress Dow -—
Selectman Philip Towle and Mistress Towle -—
(As the General calls the names of his friends, each couple in turn bows before Nancy. The names fade away as the orchestra plays the opening measures of the minuet. Sixteen guests arrange themselves for the dance. They dance through one complete of the minuet. When the last bows are ended, the guests draw back rom the enter to each side. Nancy rises.)
NANCY: Farewell, my neighbors and kind friends. I have been honored by your presence. My husband comes soon, and I must make ready to leave.
1ST GUEST: God speed you, Mistress Nancy.
2ND GUEST: Good fortune go with thee.
3RD GUEST: Farewell. God's blessing be with thee.
(Nancy makes a deep curtsy, and enters the house. The guests bow to the General, and leave from all sides slowly.)
J. BARTLETT: Not since I was in Philadelphia have I seen so much grace at any ball. Pray tell your daughter to give my greetings to the pastor, Jeremiah Shaw, in Moultonborough. He is the son of thy neighbor, Edward Shaw.
C. TOPPAN: My neighbor's daughter is the most beautiful bride in the whole state.
ANOTHER GUEST: The northern states have charming belles.
ANOTHER GUEST: General, thou always hast been a most gracious host. The farewell ball of thy daughter is in keeping with thy reputation.
M. WEARE: The state will not forget thy great aid in the French and Indian War, General, nor thy part in turning the tide of battle at Saratoga. Thou hast long been a servant both of the Province and State of New Hampshire, General. We wish both thee and thy daughter much future good fortune.
(After the last guest leaves, the General remains alone in the garden. He walks to and fro with the help of his cane. A horseback rider appears from the right, and dismounts. He holds the horse's bridle.)
J. MARSTON: Greetings, General. Thy business is concluded in Newbury, and I hasten back. Alas, I fear I am late to see thy guests, General.
J. MOULTON: The guests departed with many good wishes for thy future.
J. MARSTON: I may never again see thy old friends of the war days, General. 'Tis a long way that Nancy and I go to make a home.
J. MOULTON: Ay, John. But in no other place would thou start with as much prominence as in my township of Moulton- borough.
J. MARSTON: I remember thy instructions about reaching Moultonborough. We shall first come to Lake Winnipiseogee.* [Old spelling for Winnepeasaukee]
J. MOULTON: Ay. It was there many years ago that I killed numerous Indian warriors. There it was I first sent settlers from Hampton into the wilderness under Colonel Mason. Now, I send my daughter there with my blessing.
(The slaves clear away the punch bowl, table, seats, and most of the flowers.)
J. MOULTON: Caesar, call Brutus. Haul down the flag and bring it to me. Then bring my favorite saddle horse.
CAESAR: Ay, master.
(The slaves take down the flag and bring it to the General. They carry it outstretched so the audience may see it.)
J. MOULTON: This is the first flag in the State of the new government of the United Colonies. Josiah Bartlett brought it from Philadelphia where it was made by Betsy Ross. Carry it with thee on thy journey. Thou shalt take the first United States flag into my "small gore of land."
(J. Marston takes the flag, folds it, and puts it in his bag back of the saddle.)
J. MARSTON: I shall always prize the flag from the Moulton House. It shall fly on our new home in Moultonborough.
(Caesar brings a saddled horse. He holds the horse while Nancy, wearing changed garments and carrying a hat box, comes from the house.)
NANCY: I am now ready to go with thee, husband.
(She embraces the General.)
NANCY: Farewell, father. Mind thy health.
J. MOULTON: Farewell, daughter. God prosper thee in thy new home.
(She mounts the horse with the help of Caesar. J. Marston mounts his horse.)
NANCY AND JOHN: Farewell, father.
J. MOULTON: Farewell, my children.
(They leave from the left. The General looks after them a moment, then leaning on his cane, he slowly enters the house. The slaves continue to busy themselves in the garden. They sing as they work. The song is the old tune, "Nobody Knows The Trouble I See." It is the same song as they sang in the opening scene of the Moulton House episode. At the close of the song, the lights are suddenly dimmed, and a servant rushes out of the house. The slaves are stunned as the servant announces, "The General is dead," and the servant returns to the house. The news is called softly from one to another, until it is shouted in the distance. The slaves appear terror-stricken and tremble in fright. Colonel Toppan arrives breathlessly from the left. He enters the house, and the Candlelight, seen through a window, disappears. The candle is lighted again, on the inside of the house, and in view of the audience. It is at once extinguished as before. The thumping of the General's cane is clearly heard as if he were walking inside. Colonel Toppan comes out of the house. He is followed by a servant who is much overcome by emotion.)
SERVANT: I beseech you, Colonel Toppan, in the name of my great master, to "lay the spirit" of my master. It walks with his cane. We hear it through the whole house. Not a candle will burn in any room.
C. TOPPAN: Tell thy sorrowing household to have no fear. I shall send a parson to lay the troubled spirit.
(C. Toppan leaves from the left. The house remains in apparent darkness while the noise of the cane is still heard. The frightened slaves again softly sing "Nobody Knows the Trouble I See." Presently, a parson with a large Bible under his arm appears from the left. He pauses in front of the door, opens his Bible, raises one hand, and reads:)
"Then he called his disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils... Therefore, there is no higher power but of God ... Peace be within thy walls and prosperity within thy palaces... The God of peace be with thee."
(He pauses, closes the Bible, and says:)
PARSON: The evil spirit shall depart. I shall lay it, and nail it up in a closet. Then peace shall be within these walls.
(A servant brings hammer and nails and solemnly presents them to the parson. The latter enters the house. Soon loud pounding is heard as the parson nails up the haunting spirit. The slaves relax. They are apparently relieved, and they disappear. The sound of the thumping cane ends, a candle is lighted in the window and the parson leaves the house. He turns toward the house and lifts his hand as if in benediction.)
PARSON: The Lord bring peace to this house and to the sorrowing householders who dwell therein.
(There is an air of relief that the spirit is "laid". The p arson turns to leave the house. When he is nearly out of the garden, the sound of the cane is heard again. The light in the window goes out. The parson looks around, then gives a startled jump and runs from the garden in terror. The noise of the cane continues to be heard by the audience as all lights fade, and the scene ends.)
19th CENTURY DAYS IN HAMPTON
|Place: near Meeting House Green
|Time: August 15,1888
(The scene represents the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Hampton on August 15, 1888. An American flag of 38 stars flies from the same pole that has been used in preceding episodes. At the right near the background row of pine trees is a platform for the band. Also at the right, and nearer the pageant audience is another platform, draped in American flags, where the speakers sit and face the audience of 1888. The first rows of chairs, in front of the speakers' stand, are reserved for veterans of the Civil War. Behind them Hampton men, women, and children will sit. Seats back of the Hampton group will be occupied by visitors from Kingston, Hampton Falls, East Kingston, Kensington, North Hampton, Sandown, Danville and Seabrook. The last rows of seats are for the visitors from Rye, a part of which was formerly Hampton. Two rows of seats are allotted to each town. The lights go on and the five speakers are on their platforms. The people gather informally and take their seats. A horse and buggy appears from the left and is driven along the pines toward the band. The driver and his wife alight. The horse is hitched to a tree and the couple takes its place in the 1888 audience. Other horse drawn vehicles of different types (barges, tallyhoes, carriages, carry-alls, etc.) appear from the left. Each family in turn alights, has the horse hitched, and finds seats. The horses and carriages stay in full view throughout the entire episode. The band plays "Marching Through Georgia", and the Civil War group, with the Post flag, marches in and fills the front seats. All others assemble without order. Late-comers on foot or bicycles take their seats. The president of the day, Charles M. Lamprey, rises and calls the assemblage to order by pounding the gavel which is on a small table on the speakers' platform. He makes an address of welcome.)
Note: All quoted speeches, unless otherwise noted, are taken directly from addresses given at the 250th anniversary, August 15, 1888.
C. LAMPREY: "Fellow citizens of Hampton and vicinity, ladies and gentlemen: We meet here today in honor of our town, and in respect to our ancestors. This, the 15th day of August, 1888, and its connection with the year 1638, will ever be remembered by the citizens of our native town who have assembled together to show respect and gratitude to our forefathers, who, 250 years ago, were seeking a new spot to establish a plantation for the building of a new town, founded on civil liberty and religious freedom. And when we, fellow citizens of the present Hampton, and citizens of the daughter towns -- have assembled together to celebrate — we do it out of pure respect for our ancestors and the Rev. Stephen Bachiler, Thomas Marston, Morris Hobbs and others. Our welcome is full of motherly love and Christian spirit, in calling in our neighbors of the original Hampton and adjoining towns, for we all feel proud of our locality, the picturesqueness of the seashore, the prominence of Boar's Head, and the comfort and convenience over our highways."
(1888 audience applauds.)
C. LAMPREY: The literary exercises of the celebration will follow. We regret that representatives of some of Hampton's daughter towns, who were expected to be present to respond to toasts to their respective towns, cannot be here. The next toast will be to Hampton Falls from which the south parish, now the town of Seabrook, was set off in 1769, and was the last town formed out of Hampton's original territory. Hampton Falls was the home of the most notable family -- the Weare family -- n two centuries of Hampton's history. "The family culminated in Meschech, a delegate to the colonial congress ... chief justice ... and president of the state during the Revolution." The Honorable Warren Brown will speak for Hampton Falls.
(W. Brown, one of the speakers, who sits on the platform, rises, steps to the center of the platform as C. Lamprey sits, and addresses the people.)
W. BROWN: "For 75 years Hampton Falls was a part of Hampton. Her history is ours as much as yours, a common heritage. For 175 years my town has had separate existence. In 1712 its first meeting house was erected, near the site of the Weare monument ... The pastors were all graduates of Harvard and all eminent. Samuel Langdon was president of Harvard in 1774-80, while Paine Wingate was afterwards delegate to Congress, the state's first senator and a useful judge ... Washington and Lafayette each visited the town. Emigration has been large. Raymond was largely settled by her sons and Weare to the extent of one half. The relations of the daughter town to her mother have always been most pleasant, and, we trust, will ever continue such."
(There is applause from the 1888 audience as W. Brown takes his seat. C. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: George H. Jenness Esquire will speak for Rye.
(G. Jenness rises from his seat on the platform as C. Lamprey sits.)
G. JENNESS: "Of one thing I am convinced by to-day's exercises. It will not do to speak otherwise than well of old Hampton. With me this is a labor of love. Not her son, I am her grandson ... Today's speeches have made me think Hampton the centre of the universe... My associations with Hampton are like those of my own town. My school education was gained at your old Academy. May the pleasant relations of the two towns ever continue."
(The 1888 audience applauds as G. Jenness takes his seat. C. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: "North Hampton, another daughter town, noted for its fertility and its splendid beach," is the next toast. Response will be made by Mr. John French.
(J. French rises from his seat on the platform as C. Lamprey sits.)
J. FRENCH: "I am proud of old Hampton, past, present and future. To-day is the jolliest birthday party I have ever attended ... May her virtues increase and live for twice a thousand years and her children multiply as the sands of her seashore."
(The 1888 audience applauds vigorously, J. French bows with smiles and takes his seat. C. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: Our venerable historian, Joseph Dow, graduate of Dartmouth College in 1833, who was the orator at the 200th anniversary, is present in the audience. He would have adorned our program if his health had permitted him to take an active part. We rejoice he can be present at today's exercises. We are all indebted to him for his years of painstaking careful work in writing his history of Hampton. Deacon Dow is one of Hampton's foremost assets.
(There is applause in tribute to Mr. Dow. The latter, a white-haired man of 81, rises in the Hampton section of the audience and bows in response to the applause. After this interruption, C. Lamprey continues.)
C. LAMPREY: Another asset of Hampton's history since 1649, when John Legat was hired to instruct all children "to read and write and cast accounts" is education. Nearly all the early teachers were graduates of Harvard College. Due to the efforts of the Reverend Josiah Webster, the beginning of a school for higher education was organized in 1811. Hampton Academy has had a long and honorable record. The next toast, "Our Schools," will be given by the Honorable J. W. Patterson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(J. Patterson, who is sitting on the platform, steps to the center as C. Lamprey sits, and addresses the audience.)
J. PATTERSON: "All past history reappears in present life. So far as Hampton is concerned, what has been that history? Her founders brought at the start the clergyman and teacher, Bachiler and Dalton. They opened the school when they founded the church, and the child was to be educated and Christianized, and on these foundations they built the state... The town has its special function in our government. It is Democracy. Government touches men most closely here, and the influence of the school and town meeting holds them in their orbit."
(There is applause as 3. Patterson finishes and takes his seat. C. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: The next toast is "to the bard whose pen adorns everything it touches and who has immortalized our town by his wonderful graphic picture of Rivermouth Rock, who we regret is prevented by old age and ill health from being present to-day." A letter to the Committee from him will be read by the Honorable Warren Brown of Hampton Falls.
(C. Lamprey sits as W. Brown rises and reads the following letter.)
|"Center Harbor, N.H.
|August 4, 1888
250th Anniversary of Hampton
Dear Friends:
I am, I regret to say, unable to accept the kind invitation to be present at the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the ancient and honorable town of Hampton ...
The history of the town is full of interest. One of the first meetings of the Society of Friends on this continent was gathered here ...
Hampton is not without its legendary lore and it could boast of a noted witch in Goody Cole, and of a haunted house from whence ghosts were expelled by Parson Milton, of Newbury.
With grateful remembrance of pleasure and comfort derived from my own visits thither, I am its friend and neighbor.
|John G. Whittier."
(There is hearty applause when W. Brown reads the signature of the letter. He takes his seat, and C. Lamprey rises to preside again.)
C. LAMPREY: Our town has had its fame spread far and wide during the 19th century. Men from Hampton took an active part in the War of 1812 in which Henry Dearborn as senior major-general of the army was in command of the land forces of the United States. Many men went to California in 1849. The seafarers have sailed to Labrador, China, India, Africa, Europe, and other distant places. Some of the ships were built in Hampton, owned by Hampton men, and captains and other officers came from here. They carried the name of Hampton on the seven seas. In the late struggle between the states our young men enlisted to save the Union. In memory of the heroic dead their comrades were organized as a Post of the Grand Army of the Republic in May 1884. This Post is designated "Perkins Post" in honor of nine comrades of that name from this town, three of whom died in the service. The Honorable J. W. Patterson will give the last toast of the day to the surviving heroes who sit in front of me, the Grand Army of the Republic.
(The 1888 audience breaks into applause. J. Patterson rises again as C. Lamprey sits.)
J. PATTERSON: "The Grand Army needs nothing said. We have seen to-day the remnant of men who a few years ago went forth in response to call of country. Many (100 from Hampton) never returned. Their places are vacant here, not so in the Grand Army above. In all time to come, the nation will remember the men who stepped into the forefront of battle and preserved the union. Pausing not, they went forth and accomplished their work. The Grand Army stands for loyalty and fraternity. Its grandest object is charity."
(Amid applause J. Patterson takes his seat. C. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: We have celebrated Hampton's 250th anniversary in toasts. There has been a parade and sumptuous dinner, and outdoor dancing will follow these exercises. The old church, older than the town, will have her celebration too, on Sunday. The Reverend J. A. Ross will give an anniversary sermon. The living ex-pastors will be present. "Batchelder and Sanborn, Moulton and Palmer, among the original grantees and settlers, and Blake, Brown, Dearborn, Dow, Drake, Elkins, Godfrey, Hobbs, Johnson, Lamprey, Leavitt, Marston, Nudd, Page, Perkins, Philbrick, Redman, Shaw and Taylor, within the first twelve years, are still leading names within our narrowed limits." * [Joseph Dow's History of Hampton, N. H., Vol. I] Other names have grown familiar during the years. All welcome Hampton's sixth half century that begins under such favorable conditions. The Union has been preserved. The machine is bringing comforts to millions. Peace and prosperity are assured to the next generation by the blessings of liberty and the wealth of our country. To our descendants, who will celebrate the 300th anniversary in 1938, we express confidence and hearty hopes that they will be worthy of a brave ancestry. Our flag will probably have more than 38 stars in 1938. "When the age of the town is numbered three hundred years, the active men of that day will celebrate and return thanks, not only for the industry of the original settlers and their immediate successors, but the great improvement in developing and assisting nature in making this a wonderful and interesting town for the comfort and convenience of mankind."
We shall adjourn to August 1938.
(There is loud applause. Some of the families go to their horses and start to leave for home, turning the horses toward the left, and leaving from the same side that they had entered. The band plays the "Blue Danube Waltz." Most of the soldiers as well as other m.en find partners and begin to dance. At length the waltz ends. The dancers clap and remain standing. Mr. Lamprey rises.)
C. LAMPREY: Will you applaud a toast to the success of Hampton's 300th celebration?
(All the dancers and others, who have remained in their seats, clap loudly. Some men shout "Hurrah for 1938." The lights go out in a minute with everybody cheering Hampton's 300th celebration.)
|Place: near Meeting House Green
|Time: August 28 and 24, 1988
A slow march is heard. The lights go up slowly as the volume of the music increases. From the darkness at the right the characters of each episode move across the pageant grounds to the left. The evolution of customs, clothes, flags, and transportation through three centuries is clear. The Indians are the leaders of the march of time Procession.
Stephen Bachiler heads the settlers. He is followed by his three grandsons, one of whom carries the early English flag, and the other two carry the bell in an open crate. Theodate Hussey, with her baby in her arms, is easily recognized. Messrs. Hussey, Legat, and Dalton appear. Other settlers of 1638, carrying a few possessions, and leading their domestic animals, come next.
The leading characters of Episode II join the slow procession. Seaborn Cotton leads this group. A boy carries the English Cross of St. George. The Tithingman, Town Crier, William Marston with two books under his arm, and the Quaker women, tied to a cart and followed by the people with whips, form the first group of Episode II. Goody Cole, chained to a constable, walks along slowly, separated from the people before and behind her. Peter Johnson, the carpenter with his axe, is next. Nathaniel Weare, Godfrey Dearborn, William Sanborn, Hannah and Edward Gove, who holds high his pardon, are the last persons of Episode II to pass in review.
The Moulton House Episode is introduced by the English flag used here before the Revolution. Pompey, and other slaves precede Colonel Moulton. The stagecoach with passengers, and the decorated ox, driven by slaves, follow. Governor Wentworth, his entourage, and the nurse, holding little Benning, appear. Paul Revere on horseback, Colonel Toppan, William Lane, soldiers, and a messenger on horseback come next. The latter carries the Continental flag. Women bearing blankets and children with pewter utensils end the war group. The last scene of Episode III is represented by grand ladies and gentlemen in elaborate costumes. The stringed orchestra players also march. The flag of thirteen stars precedes Nancy and John Marston, who ride on horseback.
The 19th century players appear headed by the Civil War veterans. The latter carry a flag of 38 stars and their Post flag. The speakers of the 250th anniversary ride in an open carriage. Citizens of Hampton and the daughter towns march behind the name of the town from which they come. The parade of the 19th century is interspersed with various horse-drawn vehicles.
The 20th century receives brief attention by the appearance in the finale procession of early types of motor cars. They are followed by a motorcycle, a large flag of 48 stars, World War soldiers, and a 1938 model of an automobile. In the latter ride members of the Tercentenary General Committee and the last minister of the church that is older than the town.
The bearer of each flag in the different episodes, after he has passed into the darkness at the left, reappears in the center of the stage. One by one, the players, who carry flags, take their places next to each other with their flags. Finally, the flag with 48 stars is brought from the back to the center. This flag completes the story of the evolution of the English and American flags which were flown in Hampton during three hundred years. The procession out of the past into the past has ended. There is only the series of flags to be seen.
From the sides and rear of the pageant grounds, 128 persons march to the flags. They form a wheel with eight spokes, the hub of which is the group of flags. The Wheel of Time turns slowly clockwise. At the end of the lines of players representing spokes in the wheel, a sign, with the name and date of separation of each of the daughter towns of Hampton, is carried. The Wheel of Time symbolizes the separation, one by one, of the towns that once comprised old Hampton, and reveals the change of Time in the original grant of Winnacunnet. When the eight-spoked wheel formation has revolved three times, once for each century, the lights begin to fade. The march, "America the Beautiful," ends with the third turn of the Wheel of Time.
Out of the darkness, the Voice of Time is heard in the Epilogue.
Voice of Time
And I am Time
Who was before the Tide, and shall
Be when the race of man is done.
A bit of my more recent past
Has lived again in pageantry
By scenes from chapters that are closed.
Forbear to hold too harsh a view
Of ways that may seem quaint and crude.
Remember that the players here,
On My tercentenary stage,
Were persons like yourselves. They hoped
And dreamed that peace might be their lot,
And for this goal they worked and fought,
And left you Hampton. Tide and Time
Move on, and generations pass.
The forward flowing tide of Time
Bears all along. You play your part,
And I alone shall know how well
The past and present days compare
In useful and heroic deeds,
Or what the future years shall bring.
But I shall judge, for I am Time,
And only Time is Judge of all.
|Eloise Lane Smith
Copyright 1938
When the Voice of Time has finished speaking the Epilogue, Taps is blown, and the pageant, "The Drama of Winnacunnet," is over.
|Pomp and Circumstance
Scene 1 Indian Feast
a. Dance Rhythm of Drums
0 God, beneath Thy Guiding Hand* Duke St.
Scene 2 Settlement of Winnacunnet
All the Saints, Who from Their Labors Rest *
Scene 3 Stephen Bachiler's Departure
Tercentenary Hymn to Hampton*
EPISODE II 17th CENTURY CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Scene 1 Persecution of Quakers
Scene 2 Witchcraft Delusion
0 God, Our Help in Ages Past * St. Anne
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God *
Scene 3 Return of Edward Gove
Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow *
See the Conquering Hero Comes — "Judas Maccabeus" Handel
Scene 1 18th Century Life
a. Nobody Knows the Trouble I See
b. Rule Britannia -- Fifes and Drums
God Save the King*
Scene 2 The Revolution
Yankee Doodle*
Scene 3 The Farewell Ball
a. Drink to Me Only with Thy Eyes
b. Minuet in F -- Mozart
c. Nobody Knows the Trouble I See
Minuet in A * -- Boccherini
Pilgrims' Chorus -- "Tannhauser" -- Wagner
EPISODE IV 19th CENTURY DAYS IN HAMPTON
Scene 1 The 250th Celebration
a. Marching through Georgia
b. Beautiful Blue Danube -- Strauss
Stars and Stripes Forever* -- Sousa
American Fantasie -- Victor Herbert
Scene 1 Parade of 300 Years
a. America the Beautiful -- Materna
|Copyright 1938
Tercentenary HymnI
Who led them o'er the sea
To build a church and found a town
Where they might worship Thee;
Give us our fathers' steady view,
Their faith and courage sure
So to their goals we will be true,
And make their work endure.
Keep us in freedom's ways;
Thy blessing and Thy wisdom send
To guide us all our days.
O help us prize our heritage
Of law and liberty,
So we may hand from age to age
A love of democracy.
Hammond Electric Organ Used
Instructor in Dancing and Marching
Hampton Tercentenary Official
Judge John W. Perkins, Chairman
|Olive B. Brooks, Secretary
|Edward S. Batchelder, Treasurer
|George Ashworth
|Howard G. Lane
|Edwin L. Batchelder
|Sarah M. Lane
|Fred R. Batchelder
|Adeline C. Marston
|William Brown
|Harry D. Munsey
|Charles E. Greenman
|Elroy G. Shaw
|Armas Guyon
|Rev. Herbert Walker
|Gratia G. Hill
|Rev. Edgar Warren
Pageant Committee Chairman
Members of Pageant Committee
|Eleanor H. Janvrin, Secretary
|Alfred F. Janvrin, Grounds
|Helen W. Hayden, Costumes
|Vivian Wood, Tickets
|Mrs. Lorraine L. Brooks
|Dr. Wayne P. Bryer
|Otis Eastman
|Walter R. Clark
|Howard A. Blake
|Mrs. Esther B. Coombs
|John W. York
|Mrs. Louise L. Davidson
|Hampton Falls
|Mrs. Lillian M. Dearborn
|Mrs. George J. Brown
|Mrs. Alice I. Elliot
|Thayer Edgerly
|Mrs. Anna M. Elwell
|Miss Pearl Swain
|Miss Deborah Gale
|Miss Ruth Gilman
|Walter G. Marston
|Mrs. Anna H. Gillmore
|Roy W. Gillmore
|Mrs. Ray Coombs
|Jerome F. Harkness
|Mr. Emery N. Eaton
|James E. Hay
|Mrs. Howard A. Eaton
|Arthur P. Heath
|Mrs. Fred J. Goodwin
|Mrs. Elsa M. Johnson
|Mr. Irving Lewis
|Elmer G. Lane
|Mr. Earl Mooreland
|Mrs. Carrie N. Mace
|North Hampton
|Mrs. Jessie M. Myers
|Miss Marian Berry
|Mrs. Ruth L. Palmer
|Mrs. Grace M. Chevalier
|Mrs. Marian L. Penniman
|Gordon L. Dow
|Mrs. Helen A. Perkins
|Mrs. Helen B. Drake
|Mrs. Gertrude Sherburne
|Mrs. Gertrude Hobbs
|Mrs. Muriel E. Stillings
|Paul W. Hobbs
|Mrs. Eloise Lane Smith
|Rev. Floyd Kinsley
|Mrs. Sarah B. Tobey
|James F. Leavitt
|Samuel A. Towle
|Mrs. Ruth K. Leavitt
|Mrs. Ethel G. Uhlig
|Mrs. Mabel D. Marston
|Mrs. Marion D. Winchester
|Herman L. Norton
|Mrs. Margaret B. Seavey
In order of appearance
(as of July 28, 1938)
Narrator -- WALTER J. REGER
|Stephen Bachiler
|The Grandsons of
|{Stephen Sanborn
|* Robert Batchelder
|{William Sanborn
|* Edwin Batchelder
|Stephen Bachiler
|{John Sanborn
|* John Hayden
|Christopher Hussey
|Carl Edgerly
|Theodate Hussey
|Elizabeth Hammond
|Timothy Dalton
|Dean Merrill
|John Legat
|Laurence Tilton
|Town Crier
|Jack Snow
|William Marston
|Norman Coffin
|Anna Colman
|Esther True
|Mary Tompkins
|Marjorie Wood
|Alice Ambrose
|Edith Emery
|Rev. Seaborn Cotton
|Raymond Garland
|Nathaniel Weare
|Russell Weare
|William Sanborn
|Emmons Sanborn
|Eunice Cole
|Eva Dennett
|Edward Gove
|Carl Bragg
|Hannah Gove
|Doris Bragg
|Edwin Yeaton
|Other Slaves
|Albert Wright, Carl Cook, Maurice Yeaton
|Jonathan Moulton
|John W. R. Brooks
|Johnny Square-Toes
|Arthur Noyes
|Christopher Toppan
|Philip Toppan
|Gov. Benning Wentworth
|Charles E. Greenman
|Mary Blake
|John Marston
|Norman Leavitt
|Paul Revere
|Wilson Sanborn
|Nancy Moulton
|Deborah Gale
|John French
|Bertram Janvrin
|* Descendants of Stephen Bachiler


text:
PORTSMOUTH — In each of the Seacoast Mavericks' first two years of existence, Jon Bobbett and his wife, Oneta, have hosted a Mavericks player for the summer.
On Monday at the restaurant they own on Lafayette Road — Demeters Steakhouse — they hosted roughly 60 enthusiastic city and team officials, local businesspeople and baseball fans, all of whom were on hand to officially welcome the local Futures Collegiate Baseball League entry to the city.
After two summers of playing in front of small crowds at Spaulding High School in Rochester, the Mavericks unveiled an agreement with the City of Portsmouth to play the home half of their 54-game schedule at Leary Field in 2013.
Each entry in the nine-team, wooden-bat league is made up of top college players, with an emphasis on players from New England, many of whom stay with host families like the Bobbetts, who live in Rye.
"My 11-year-old son worships (infielder) Tommy Chase," said Jon Bobbett, "wherever he is playing."
It's that community and business support, plus a heavy baseball tradition, that have team officials feeling they will make the splash in the Port City that they failed to make in Rochester, where they finished fourth of four teams (2011) and then eighth of nine teams (2012) in both wins and average attendance.
The Mavs' average attendance last year was 251, bumped up moderately by six "pilot" games played at Leary. Four of the FCBL's nine teams topped the 1,000 mark.
"The Seacoast Mavericks had other cities or towns they could go to," said Portsmouth Mayor Eric Spear. "But then you think, 'Of course they'd pick Portsmouth.' Our high school baseball team has had a national-record (89-game) win streak. Our Little League team has won state championships, and our Babe Ruth teams.
"Portsmouth is on the radar when it comes to baseball. I'm excited the Mavericks are going to be part of that tradition."
The Mavericks are owned by USA Training Centers owner/operator Dave Hoyt, whose indoor facility in Newington has advanced the career of scores of the area's top young players, many of whom are now playing collegiately, including several at the Division I level.
In his remarks, Hoyt acknowledged the work of a group of potential investors from Portsmouth who were denied in their bid to bring a New England Collegiate Baseball League team to the Seacoast almost a decade ago, calling that league's actions "a travesty." The fledgling FCBL has targeted the NECBL as its main rival for summer collegiate viability.
"The baseball landscape of the Seacoast has changed in the last 10 years," said Hoyt, citing four state championships won by Portsmouth High School and two by St. Thomas Aquinas since 2004, plus the success of the 2006 Portsmouth team that advanced to the U.S. semifinals at the Little League World Series. "We did it because Portsmouth deserves it."
The Mavericks originally wanted to call Leary Field home during their inaugural season in 2011, but couldn't be accommodated and had to look elsewhere.
Team president Mike Daboul, who was one of Holt's first hires in 2010, along with GM Sean Evans, said the support from Portsmouth-area businesses has been strong. He's hoping to have a local group to partner with at each of the 27 homes dates; last year, the team honored the late Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney and longtime local coach Chris Anderson Sr.
"In three years time we've gone from three knuckleheads sitting around a table to a very talented group of individuals who know not just the baseball side of things, but also the business side," said Daboul.
The Mavs also announced that the 1st annual Seacoast Mavericks Hot Stove Baseball Dinner will be held on Jan. 25, at the Portsmouth Harbor Events & Conference Center at the Residence Inn downtown. Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld of Durham will attend.
The team's immediate focus is finding a field manager to replace Tim Bonehill, who will not return in 2013. Assistant coach Eric Fernandes, a longtime area youth and high school coach, confirmed he will return.
Local players who've accepted spots on the Mavericks' roster for 2013 are former Portsmouth High School standouts Keegan Taylor (Northeastern), Aidan O'Leary (Manhattan), Gabe May (UMass-Boston), Matt Feeney (St. Michael's) and Keegan Pafford (Northern Essex CC); and St. Thomas alum Ryan Coppinger (Canisius).
The full roster, as well as the summer schedule, will be announced in the coming weeks. But Monday was a night to celebrate the announcement of a new home.
"There's no place the Mavericks should be but in the city of Portsmouth," said Hoyt.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hi all,
I have recently designed and implemented a group of my own reduced set and collections interfaces and classes. It was part of school assignment, but I used the opportunity to test some experimental strategies. I know well about Java Collections, but went a bit other way with immutability - the way I understand, the immutability of Java Collections is enforced AT RUNTIME - attempting to modify a set through an "immutable view" fails with a runtime exception, but there is nothing distinguishing a modifiable collection from an unmodifiable collection at compile (application design) time. The Java Collections way is all and well but there may be disadvantages to this, or at least I think they are - for instance, the code can still include 'add' and 'remove' calls to collections one knows to be immutable by design. As it has been more or less asserted (by research) that it is of benefit to be able to discover errors as early as possible, including being able to spot an attempt to modify an immutable collection, this pushed me to approach immutability differently.
And so I went another way with my collection framework - I have for instance an ImmutableCollection and ImmutableSet interfaces, which simply do not include any methods that modify the collection. In my project it all worked out fine, and so I wonder - what may be benefits and drawbacks of my design and the way Java designers did it?
Mind you, I do not advocate any particular strategy here, nor imply that I am a Java expert or anything - I just want an educated opinion on the matter, I could not really find any good material on the Internet.
I would like to be able to see patterns of application where my design is insufficient and lacking, so I can reason about my approach better.


text:
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Showing composite data for the trailing 3 years for the pts/shadowofthetombraider test profile of all graphics components where there are at least 10 results with systems having the listed component. The standard error is reported for the difference in performance against all available data. For test profiles where multiple options/versions are available, the most popular result combinations are listed first. This data is based upon 124 results.
Unfortunately we were not able to analyze enough results to provide any accurate composite data. Check back soon. You can also help by submitting your system(s) tests by running phoronix-test-suite benchmark pts/shadowofthetombraider.