Show FEASTED AND MADE MERRY II I I The New England Association Banquet a Brilliant Event SPEECH POET11Y AND JEST A New England Repast Followed by Appropriate Toasts The Plumbers Union Ghe a Very Enjoyable Enjoy-able < < Bnll St Marys Academy Entertainment Enter-tainment The Railway Employes ° Programme For Tonight Praise and thanks for an honest man Glory to God for the Puritan and daughters of New About fifty sons festi England attended the Forefathers val given at the Knutsford last evening under the auspices of the New England association The affair was characterized I by a fraternal feeling which made it es pecially enjoyable and the spirit of New 4 England was present throughout the proceedings pro-ceedings At oclock the company entered en-tered the banquet hall Wendell Benson Brighamoccupying the head and Nat M of the table with Major H C Goodspeed and Mrs Frank D Hobbs at the other Mrs end The others present were Hiram Wendell Benson Mr and Mrs Johnson Frank Pierce Romania B Pratt Emmeline B Wells A R Carter C P Goodspeed S H Woodman Mrs Hudson P C Brown Mr and Mrs Lewis Smith Mr and Mrs Eugene Mr and Mrs M J Gray F D Hobbs J Brainard Thrall Utter Mr and Mrs T B i Mr and Mrs Beatty Mr and Mrs R G McNiece Frank B Stephens Edmund Bourke Mr Governor Emery Will Hall Poore and Mrs F L Oushing Dr H A Whitney Whit-ney Dr McNiece recited grace and the company com-pany sat down to a sumptuous banquet which included just enough Yankee dishes to Toipind them of home LETTERS PROM NEW ENGLANDERS After the feasting Wendell Banson the toast master called upon vicepresident Goodspeed to read the reoiies to invitations invita-tions sent abroad and letters were read from Fred L Ames of Boston Editor Clements of the Boston Transcript Governor Gov-ernor Nathan Weed of Maine Governor Russell of Massachusetts and others which showed that the writers although I absent in person were present in spirit I MR BRIGHA S RESPONSE Mr Benson then called upon Nat M Brigham to respond to the sentiment Love of New England Mr Brig hams address was brief but reached heart Some characteristics of New every and England life were eloquently depicted of the speaker confessed to a feeling He homesickness as he dwelt upon them of the cauntrv villages and the alongshore spoke towns where the grand old ocean had for hundreds of years been heard sobbing her litany against the rugged rug-ged coast They were all proud oi their country and all loved New England The sentiments which an occasion of this kind aroused should be cherished for love of country was the strength of the nation THE STA TE OF MAINE Frank B Stephens responded for The State of Maine From gray sea fog from Icy drift From peril aiUMrom pain The home boiincCnsner greets thy lights On hundreallirooroa Maine Maine said the spsaker led all the New England states In the early struggles for liberty and iq the trials that came later she was always first Her sons were proud of the institutions she had fostered and their sons had won distinction distinc-tion in every walk of life Their influence influ-ence had been potent fromMaine to California Cali-fornia and only omnipotence could measure meas-ure the work they had done Mr Stephens then took up the < history of the state to dwell upon it at some length OTHER SPEECHES One of the most interesting speeches ofT of-T m i the evening was made by Eugene Lewis who spoke for New Hampshire Mrs Wendell Benson read an original poem The School Masters Supner which applauded to the echo A very earnest and eloquent address was that of Frank Piee who spoke for Vermont Ver-mont Noted for its men women maplo sugar and horses 6 The first arc strong the last are fleet The other two ire exceedingly sweet And all together nr nard to beat Major Goodspeed did full justice to Massachusetts There she is behold her judge for I j yourselves There is her historythe world knows it by heart The past at least is secure Rev J B Thrall spoke in a humorous vein on Connecticut but made no reference refer-ence to the nutmegs He was followed by Mrs Utter who read an original poem which caused a hearty laugh The last address was made by Dr I Utter who spoke for Rhode Island A bit of ground wedged in between two states of l > u growth And held there by thefretful sea I A little gem securely set A commonwealth with meager bounds But great in all that helps to make a nation gieatand strong ELECTION OFFICERS The election came next the old officers of the New England association were reelected re-elected the president being Wendell Benson H C Gdodspeed first vice president Frank D Hobbs second vice president Frank Pierce secretary and H A Whitney treasurer |