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A poem delivered in the first congregational church in the town of Quincy, May 25, 1840

the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town
Cranch, Christopher Pearse (1813-1892)

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POEM.

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Yet soon a different scene is painted there;—
Hark! those are not the sounds of work and prayer!
What! are the Pilgrims dancing! can it be
That the stern Puritans make all this glee!
Are these who trowl the merry catch the same
Forlorn and pious-visaged men, who came
Seeking a resting place—a shrine for prayer!
Hark, how their noise ascends the evening air!
15

See how the trees are hung with blazing lights!
Is this the way they pass their days and nights!
List to the song of Morton's jovial crew,
While with light feet they dance away the dew.
 

For an account of Thomas Morton, and the revelries of Merry-Mount (now Mount Wollaston in the town of Quincy), see Whitney's History of Quincy—and the authorities he consults. Nathaniel Hawthorne's beautiful Legend of Merry-Mount, in his Twice told Tale, will be recalled to many minds.

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