The manuscript was brought to Massachusetts by Mr. Bayard,
on his return to the United States at the end of his official
term. It was received by the Legislature in the presence
of a large concourse of citizens, to whom I told the story
of the recovery. Mr. Bayard delivered the book to the Governor
and the Legislature with an admirable speech, and Governor
Wolcott expressed the thanks of the State in an eloquent reply.
He said that "the story of the departure of this precious
work from our shores may never in every detail be revealed;
but the story of its return will be read of all men, and will
become a part of the history of the Commonwealth. There are
places and objects so intimately associated with the world's
greatest men or with mighty deeds that the soul of him who
gazes upon them is lost in a sense of reverent awe, as it
listens to the voice that speaks from the past, in words like
those which came from the burning bush, 'Put off thy shoes
from off they feet, for the place whereon thou standest is
holy ground.'
"The story here told is one of triumphant achievement, and
not of defeat.
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