MICROFILMED 1993 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the • r. • *» "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project Funded by the rrrj^rT-a NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from ^ Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ThP --nn^riaht law of the United States - Title 17, United other reproductions of copyngnted material. Under certain conditions specified '" t^e law 'ibrarie^^^^^^ m; .^♦i^r- nriA Of these specif lea cc iditions is tnai xne photocopy or other reproduction i- . - - •• "»= purpose other than pr!v ate study, scholarship, or research " - ui>er n.akes a request tor, or later uses, a researcn. --'^ ..,„,■ tor ourpcses in excess of fair photocopy or reproud^jon ..^r pu p infringement. -- " that user may be aDit . _.h> - inmiiy^ USB would invD'vv violatio ^-1 ,.^ ¥ w the copyright law A UTHOR: 1 1 1 LL: TLJ/^ ■■nMn ■ nVw PLACE: H -I ir I TS FOR THE i M ^A ( niOTIC EW YORK D ^"Mf™^ 18 Restrictions on Use: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Master Negative // Original Ivlaterial as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record nxi friofic d woras of 534 f^ F7T!,.,/ TlnouidlnT C tine Ut; 3 secuiPjT- ^ veposifoT)/ or di^la .., dolden fl/ioudlnfs aincl VY/sdoinn.,. J). v^ ! 576 P 5(HM:r FILM SIZE: ^; TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA REDUCTION RATIO: IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA II_A IB IIB c.r DATE FILMED: l'JlLJ^_ INITIALS FILMED BY: RESEARCM PUBLICATIONS. INC WOODBRIDGE. cf c Association for Information and Image Management 1 1 00 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1 1 00 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 liulllllllllllllllllllllllllll I I 4 iiiiiili Inches I I I II 5 6 7 8 9 ^m 1.0 10 11 iiiiliiiiliiiili 12 13 14 15 mm TTT II I i^-^ 2.8 111^ 156 [l!!sMi= 3.2 36 == 2.5 2.2 1 '-' 1.25 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.6 TTT iilmihmlimlimj MflNUFfiCTURED TO RUM STflNDRRDS BY APPLIED IMRGE. INC. »aS-v«H!IMa'A-y:«i^ia&.Aa^ifeitA'afefewi^ ^\V\ TOT in the ffiitu df |lcn» ||orh GIVEN BY ?vo?,N,M,Ila\ e.T -2.C »»-i^-H-j. ^ I, iW In vl* ■ t^t^tJ THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Series. I PATRIOTIC AND SECULAR. A Repository of Histor- ical Data Facts, and Beautiful Thoughts. Helpful in Outlining Addresses for Timely Occasions, to wit : Arbor Day. Fourth of July Flag Raising, Decoration Day. Labor Day. Temperance Service, etc 578 pages, square 1 2mo. ^i 7^* THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. 3. MEMORIAL TRIBUTES. A Compend of Funeral Ad- dresses and Sermons, for all ages and conditions. An aid for Pastors Compiled from the addresses of the most eminent divines in Europe and America. Edited by J. Sanderson, D. D. Introduction by John nan, u. jj. Cloth, i2mo, 500 pages. Si 75 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. fort^o '^*J?^^ ^^"^^ '"^ ™^ CLOUD; or. Words of Com. fort for the Sorrowing. Over 200 contributors, in Poetry and Prose. Edited by J. Sanderson. D. D. " An appropriate gift to all who are m any trial. -From Introduction by IFw. M. Taylor, D. D. " May that Bow in the Cloud' span every bereaved home."-/'. DelVitt Jalmage. 452 pages, square i2mo. Si, 75 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. 4. REVIVALS. HOW TO SECURE THEM. As Taught and Exemplified by the Most Successful Clergymen of the various Evangelical denominations. A helpful volume to all commissioned to Go and Preach. ' Edited by Rev. VV. P. Doe. 443 pages. 3 1. 50 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. /„ p^,,. Hi 5-. ANNIVERSARY AND RELIGIOUS. An Epitome oi Historical Outlines. Beautiful Thoughts, Anecdotes, and Incidents suggesting themes for Timely Occasions, to wit: Christmas, Com^ munions Dedications. Easter. Thanksgiving, New Year's, Young 1 eople s Service, etc. 500 pages, square i2mo. 3 1 .75 CURIOSITIES OF THE BIBLE. (10,000) Prize Questions per aining to Scripture, Persons, Places, and Things, with key in- cluding Blackboard Illustrations, Chalk Talks, and Seed Thoughts, Hib le Studies and Readings, Concert Exercises and Prayer-meeting Outlines. By a New York Sunday-school Superintendent, with an introduction by Rev. J. H. Vincent. D. D. 6ro pages. ^2.00 E. B. TREAT, 5 Cooper Upi op, New York. Liberal Terms to Canvassers. V THOUGHTS^i^OCCASION patriotic an& Secular A REPOSITORY OF HISTORICAL DATA AND FACTS, GOLDEN THOUGHTS, AND WORDS OF WISDOM Helpful in Suggesting Themes and Outlining Addresses for the Observance of Timely Occasions Indi- cated by our Secular Calendar Year ARBOR DAY DISCOVERY DAY FLAG-RAISING DAY GRANT'S BIRTHDAY DECORATION DAY EMANCIPATION DAY FOREFATHERS' DAY LABOR DAY INDEPENDENCE DAY LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY ORANGEMEN'S DAY LIBERTY DAY ST. PATRICK'S DAY. TEMPERANCE SERVICE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY ^r, 4i ii E. NEW YORK B. TREAT, 5 Cooper Union Chicago : R. C. TREAT 1894 Price 31.75 % Copyright, 18941 BY E. B. TREAT. Til I I If ■4' CO N, LiJ PUBLISHER'S NOTE. This volume is issued in response to many inquiries : **What have you helpful in the preparation of a Decoration Day service?" "Can I get back numbers of the Treasury Magazine " covering given subjects ? '' Where can I find facts concerning the history of the flag? as I am invited to make an address on a Flag- raising occasion." " Do you still publish ' Centenary Orations delivered in 1876'?" ''Have you material helpful in making up a Fourth of July oration?" It will be noticed by the table of contents that a wide variety of occasions and great range of topics are here presented, and much valuable ready-reference material has been collated for the'convenience of the general reader and students of the forensic art. We are greatly indebted to Joseph Sanderson, D. D., whose painstaking care is evidenced in the historical sketches and the general supervision of the work. Our obligations are also extended to the religious and secular press for many of the selections, and due credit has been given for extracts and quotations where authorship was known ; care being taken not to dupli- cate or trespass upon the Timely Service columns Vll 187095 Vlll PUBLISHER'S NOTE, found in the bound volumes of the Treasury Maga- zine, In the endeavor to secure accuracy in the historical data and facts, we have been compelled to carefully compare conflicting authorities and use our best judgment in the statements published. Office of The Treasury Magazine, Of Religious anei Current Thought. New York, June, i8g4. ■ ' CONTENTS. ARBOR DAY. Historical, Arbor Day in Schools, .... Arbor Day Proclamation, Arbor Day Lessons, .... Arbor Day — When and How to Observe, What Trees to Plant Arbor Day, Value of Rural Beauty, Beauty and Benefits of Arbor Day, Destruction of Forests, Arbor Day a Necessity, The Trees of the Lord, . Warnings of History, .... An Old Custom Revived, . Arbor Day for the Sunday School, Arbor Day, the Children's Holiday, History of Trees, Arbor Day— The Object to be Attained, The Age and Growth of Trees, . Observation on Tree Growth, . The Poetry of Trees, Historic Trees, An Exercise for Arbor Day, PAGE 17 I/on. B. G. Northrop, . 18 Governor of Pennsylvania, 21 Christian at Work, . . 22 E. A. M. in Churchman, 25 New York Evangelist^ . 27 Selected, ... 29 Selected, . . . .30 Report Forestry Congress, 31 Selected, . . . .32 Theo. L. Cuyler, D. D., 33 Hon. Warre7i Higley, . 37 Christian at Work, . 39 Sunday School Times, . 40 John Laird Wilson, . 41 William Abbatt, . . 43 Hon. Andrew S. Draper, 45 Charles R. Skinner, . . 46 The Gar deft, ... 48 Selected, . . . .49 Ada S. Sherwood, . 53 DISCOVERY DAY. r -.-ii .V Historical, A National Holiday— Proclamation, . A Harvest Time Holiday, Old and New Style Dates of Discovery and Dedication, Christopher Columbus' Faith, . . Discovery and Conquest of America, . Christopher Columbus in America To-day, The Pioneers of American Independence, . Columbus and Hendrick Hudson, . The Man for the Time, .... Columbus and his Treatment of the Indians, America — Its National and Individual Ideals, Thoughts Pertinent to Discovery Day, ix Benjamin Harrison, . Selected, .... Selected, New York Herald, . Rev. William W. Wilson, Herald and Presbyter, Robert C. Winthrop, . Chauncey M. Depew, Selected, St. Louis Chr. Adv., Bishop Haygood, . 59 61 62 63 63 65 67 69 70 72 73 76 85 I CONTENTS, CONTENTS. XI \ DECORATION DAY. i Historical, Grand Army of the Republic. First Gen- eral Orders, The Real Cause of the War, What the War Settled, .... Memorial of a Preserved Nation, The Way to Honor our Patriotic Dead, At the Graves of the Nation's Dead, The Destruction of War, .... Thou|:jhts Pertinent to Decoration Day : Decorating Graves an Ancient Custom, . An Ancient Custom, .... Custom of the Ages, The First Martyr to Freedom, The Aim and Object of the War, Obedience to the Will of the Majority, . The Significance of Flowers, The Vow of the Soldiers, Floral Tribute to their Memory, Each Grave a Hallowed Shrine, . The Worth of our Nationality, The Nobility of Patriotism, . Our Own Heroes, Self-government Insured, The Language of Flowers, What was Gained by the War, Perpetual Gratitude their Due, . A Patriotic Duty, The Voice of History, .... Years will Increase our Appreciation, . The Price of National Life, Soldiers from a Sense of Duty, Our Principles at Stake, .... Our Defenders not Forgotten, Contrasts of Peace and War, . Representatives of Public Virtue, . Heroic Devotion Merits Reward, The Great Lesson of the Age, Glorious Deeds, ...... A Tribute to Martyrs, .... Our Country's Gallant Dead, . The Destruction of Liberty the Darkening of Christianity, ..... The Homage we Owe to the Fallen, All Honor to the Brave, .... America's Capacity for Self-government, America's All Saints' Day, Our Fallen Heroes, .... The Brotherhood of Soldiers, . John A. Logan ^ . R. S. MacArthur, D. D., Christian Advocate^ . N. Y. Christian Advocate, David Gregg, D. D., . American Wesley an. Anonymous, Selected, .... Col. Curtis, . A. T. Slade, Esq., . Chaplain J. B. Moore, Rev. W. W. Meech, Hon. James A. Garjjeld, Col. Henry C. Deming, . Rev. IV. F. Mallalieu, Richard H. Dana, Jr., . Capt. George S. Mitchell, J. Bunker Congden, Esq., Dr. Robert T. Davis, Capt. FitzJ. Babson, . Capt. W. H. S. Sweet, . Selected, Rev. J. F. Meredith, Rev. F. Moore, D. £>., Rev. William Harris, Capt. A. C. Little, Rev. Mr. Baumme, Rev. Homer Everett, . Capt. T. A. Minshall, . Gen. John C. P. Shanks, Col. John Mason Brown, Robert Grahatn, D. D., Col. John P.Jackson, Gen. Carl Schiirz, Mr. H. A. Reid, . Hon. Theodore Romey?t, J. C. Patterson, Rev. Joseph H. Twichell, Gen. John A. Logan, Hon. Schuyler Colfax, Maj. Ben: Per ley Poore, . Pres. E. B. Fairjield, Rev. William M^Kinley, Rev. H. W. Bolton, D. D., Miles O'Reilly, . PAGE 97 99 lOI 102 102 104 108 WASHINGTON'S V>\KlYiXiW.— Continued. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. Biographical, Address to the American Troops. August 27, 1776, ...... Washington and the " Cause of '76," Oration on Washington before Connecticut Legislature, George Washington^ Thomas Davis, Dr. StileSy . 109 no no III 112 114 116 116 118 118 119 119 120 120 121 122 124 125 126 127 130 132 132 134 135 135 136 138 138 139 141 141 142 144 146 153 156 158 Washington as President, The Genius of Washington, Eulogy of Washington, .... Eulogium on Washington, .... Washington a Model for the Formation of Character, The Great Man's Biography in a Nutshell, Washington Monument ; Its History, . Legend of Washington, .... Chas.J. Fox, . Edwin P. Whipple, Fisher Ames, . Charles Phillips, W. Wirt, R. E. Roberts, New York Witness, Bishop M, Simpson, PAGE . 159 160 . 161 164 . 166 168 . 169 177 INDEPENDENCE DAY. Historical, National Holidays, The Nation's Birthday— Past, Present, and Future, The Day we Celebrate, .... Great Ideas that should be Emphasized on Independence Day, .... Keeping Alive our National Principles, . A Costly Heritage, . . . . • Proper and Improper Modes of Celebrating the Day, True Patriotism, . . . . • The Grand Mission of America. . The Matchless Story of American History, The Freedom of America the Result of an Open Bible, Our American Age, The Beginning of Government, . The Trust to Succeeding Generations, Political and Personal Liberty, . Our National Influence, .... The Men of 1776, The Liberty we Need Now, The Religious Repose and Future of our Country, ...... The Different Motives of the Settlers, Our Heritage, How Gained— Our Duty, The Demands of the Hour, What the Age Owes to America, The Signers of the Declaration, The Progress of the Divine Ordinance of Government, The English and French Experiment, The Patriot's Inheritance— Its Dangers, The Dedication of Bunker Hill Monument- Address, The Cost of the Revolution, Congregationalist^ Selected, . Christian Inquirer^ . Religious Telescope, Neiv York Evangelist, Princeton Press, Court land Parker, Hon. Robt. C. Winthrop, Brooks Adams, R. C. Winthrop, . Judge David J. Brewer, . Thos. Armitage, . Hon. Robt. C. Winthrop, Rev. J. W. Loose, . Rev. John Lee, Court land Parker, . Leonard Bacon, D. D., J. M. Buckley, D. D., . Wm. M. Evarts, Selected, . . . . Wm. M. Evarts, Wm. M. Evarts, Rev. W. B. Riley, Daniel Webster, Zion's Herald, EMANCIPATION DAY. Historical, .... The Emancipation Proclamation, Freedom's Natal Day, The Future of the Negro, The Progress of the Franchise, 181 184 185 188 190 194 197 Vermont Watchman, . 198 Rev. H. W. Bolton, D. D., 200 Leonard Bacon, D. D., 201 James O'Bryne, . . 203 204 205 207 208 210 212 213 215 218 222 223 224 225 226 229 231 232 234 235 243 Rev. Joshua A. B rocket t, 246 Jesse Lawson, . . . 255 North American Review, 256 Henry Ward Beecher, . 259 \ ^^^<:m^^SW^'^~''-''^'*^'^^ Xll CONTENTS. EMANCIPATION DAY.— Continued, Part in the G. T. Allen y Washington and Lincoln's Emancipation, The Results Achieved by the Soldiers and Sailors, The Rights of the Negro, The Religion of the Negroes, The Abolition of Slavery, Emancipation Day, A People Emancipated by Defeat, . The Negro and Southern Restoration, Thoughts Pertinent to Emancipation Day, FLAG-RAISING Historical, Our Flag in History, . . . * . ' . History and Origin of our National Air and Other Patriotic Songs, .... Our National Emblem, .... Our Flag, The Widespread Influence of the Flag, . A Notable Flag-raising, .... Cultivating Love for the Flag, . Americans Rallying Round the National Flag, No Flag except " Old Glory," . The Beautiful and Glorious Banner, . The Old Flag Restored at Fort Sumter, . The American Flag, E. E. Williamson^ . John Svointon^ P. Pastor Hood, Henry Ward Beecher^ Wm. M. Evarts, H. W. Grady, . H. W. Grady, . PAGE 261 264 265 266 268 269 270 273 275 DAY. Hon. J. T. Headley, . Selected, .... Henry Ward Beecher^ Rev. H. H. Birkins, R. S. Robertson, . W. R. Maxfield, . Ex-Pres. B. H. Harrison ^ Miss H. E. Burnett, Mail and Express, Col. W. A. Prosser, Henry Ward Beecher^ y. Rodman Drake, . FOREFATHERS' Historical, The Benefits of its Observance, . The Debt we Owe to the Dutch, Our New England Forefathers. . America's Debt to Holland, Our Debt to Puritan and Pilgrim, Forefathers' Day, The Advantages of a Mixed Ancestry, . The Ruling Sentiment of the Pilgrims, . Admiration for the Puritan Characters, The Dutch as Neighbors, .... The Forefathers were God's Nobility, . Their Ideal of Education, Their Heritage to Us, Plymouth and its Surroundings, DAY. Ex-Judge Russell, Rez). David Gregg, D. D., Rev. H. Way land, D. /)., Herald and Presbyter^ . Congregationalist, Rev. D.J. Burr el I. D. D., Rev . H.J. Van Dyke, D. D. , Edward Everett Hale, . T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D., A. V. Raymond, D. D.^ . Chauncey M. Depew, . Seth Loiv, David C. Robinson^ Morning Star^ GRANT'S BIRTHDAY. Biographical, Our Victorious General, None but himself can be his Parallel, The Grandeur of Grant's Character, . Grant's Character, Eulogy of General Grant, . Our Public Schools, Grant's Magnanimity, .... Words that Live, ' Chauncey M. Depevo, Rev. H. W. Bolton, George W. Bungay, Hon. J. T. Head ley, Rev. J. P. Newman, U. S. Grant, . Hon. H. A. Herbert, U. S. Grant, . 279 284 287 289 292 294 295 299 301 303 304 305 3" 31S 316 318 321 324 326 328 329 334 339 344 351 353 354 358 369 370 373 375 376 380 383 385 387 CONTENTS. XllI LABOR DAY. Historical, .... Labor Strikes, Chronology of. Labor Day, .... Workingmen's Day, Labor Day and Holidays, The Labor Question, The Labor Question — Hobbies, The Labor Problem, Labor Organizations, The Courts and Labor Organizations, The Dignity of Labor, The Dignity of Labor, Free Labor, Labor and Capital, Capital and Labor, . Capital and Labor, Views of. Land and Labor, Labor the Source of Wealth, The Labor Question, Combination of Capital and Consolidation of Labor, Labor and Capital, Adjustments between, The Rights of Laboring Men, The Discontent of the Times, . Useful Lessons of Labor Day, PAGE 393 J. Sanderson, D. D., . 393 New York Times, . . 400 Selected, . . . 401 Selected, .... 402 Alfred Wheeler, D. D., 404 Southwestern Methodist, 406 Western Recorder, . 409 Rev. C. H. Zimmerman, 411 Religious Telescope, . 413 Ernest Gilmore, . .417 Mail and Express, . 420 Col. W. Prosser, . .421 Presbyterian Banner, . 425 Maj. Ben: Per ley Poore, . 427 Ex-President Harrison, 429 Rev. Chas. Leach, D. D., 431 William M. Evarts, 434, 463 T. DeWitt Talmage, D.D., 436 Judge David J. Bre7ver, . Bishop S. G. Haygood, S. E. Wishard, Rev. R. S. Storrs, D. D., Samuel Gompers, The Century Magazine, Cause of much Idleness and Crime, Labor Trouble, Watchman, What Constitutes a Strike, . . . Chicago Tribune, The Remedy for Strikes, .... Selected, . Socialism of our Times, .... Sup. Court Just. Brown, 444 448 450 453 457 458 462 464 465 466 LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY. Biographical, Lincoln's Birthday, February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, . . . . , Abraham Lincoln, our Martyred Leader, Lincoln's Choice and Destiny, Lincoln the Hero of his Convictions, . A Tribute to Lincoln, . . . . The Greatness of Lincoln's Simplicity, Lincoln as Cavalier and Puritan, Anecdotes and Incidents in the Life Lincoln, of Prof. David Swing, Rev. H. W. Bolton, D. D., Henry Ward Beec her. Rev. P. M. Bristol, Rev. Leroy Hooker, Bishop J. P. Newman, Rev. H. A. Delano, H. W. Grady, . 469 470 470 471 474 474 476 476 477 478 LIBERTY DAY. Historical, A Notable Day, .... An Appropriate Name, The Significance of this Holiday, The Spirit of the Revolution, . The Beginning of Constitutionality, The Proto-Martyrs of Liberty, . The Aim of the Future, The Spirit of True Americans, That Liberty Bell, 487 Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, 489 Ex-Judge Hoar, . . 490 Judge Keyes, . . 492 Hon. Winslow Warren, . 493 Gov. Greenhalge, . 494 Hon. J. C. Breckenridge, 496 Ex-Gov. Robinson, . . 498 Hon. Winslow Warren, 500 C. B. Brown, . . . 502 XIV CONTENTS, ORANGEMEN'S DAY. PAGE Historical, 505 General Declaration, 506 Thoughts Pertinent to Orangemen's Day, 508 Why I am a Protestant, 515 ST. PATRICK'S DAY. Historical, 519 Lessons from St. Patrick's Character and Work, Dr. Edward McGlynn^ . 520 The Doctrines held by St. Patrick, . . Dr. John Hall, . . 525 TEMPERANCE SERVICE. Historical, 529 Temperance Organizations, 533 Colonial and State Temperance Laws, 535 Temperance Day, Herald and Presbyter, 538 Temf)erance Legislation in the United States, 539 Temf)erance, Joseph Cook^ . . 541 Christian Liberty not a License, . . Pev. Dr. C. L. Thompson, 543 The Churches and the Saloons, . . . Neal Doiv, . . . 544 Gospel Temperance Reform, . . . Thomas C. AUirphy, . 546 Gains of Temperance in Massachusetts, . Congregationalist, . . 552 Beer, a Harmless Drink ? . . . . Neal Dow, . . . 553 The Rotting Quality of Beer, . . . Temperance Advocate, . 554 Total Abstinence, Archbishop Ireland, . 555 Battle against Alcohol, . . . . E. Chenery, M. D., . 556 The License System, .... Mrs. E. Foster, . . 557 The Saloon the Giant Curse, . . . Pev. Father J. M. Cleary, 558 Cures for Drunkenness, .... Sir B. W. Richardson, . 561 Wanted— A Crusade, Zion's Herald, . . 562 Statistics of the Liquor Traffic, . . (7. S. Int. Rev. Report, . 563 Christian Endeavorers and the Dramshop, D.J. Burrell, D. D., 566 Effects of Prohibition in Atlanta, Ga., . Henry W. Grady, . . 568 Effects of Prohibition in Maine, . . Neal Dow, ... 571 Use only the Best Liquor ! . . . . John B. Cough, . . 572 A Shot at the Decanter, .... Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, 573 The Impeachment of Alcohol, . . . Rev. C. H. Fowler, D. D., 574 Bad Example a Stumbling-block, . . Rev. Theo. L. Ctiyler, . 574 To the Workingmen of Scotland, . . Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, 575 Pertinent Facts and Thoughts, 576 i THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION ARBOR DAY. «• ^ V.1 Thp first suffeestion respecting the annual planting H.storical.-The first sugges v ^ Northrop, secretary of trees by ch^'ren is atriDuteQ lo ^^^ suggestion of the Connecticut Board of ^^"*;^"°"' ,, ;„ favor, and in in his official report of 1865. ^^ , f!^^''"?' 7„f ^feaicut to simulate ,876 he offered P"^«= ^o the children of Connecticut ing of trees throughout the f tat^' 'X\2.\Lxt in which provision ^rooo'l^'trborS?--' - now in a thriving condition on • ^'PIS^^J:^^^^^^^ S .otw ed ThfeTari^ftlrSa with f -d resuUs Ne^t co.es Iowa. then Illinois^ StherA^tr^DaTl-'^.eln recognized and ^n'co^urlged'by ttdvil Authorities, 1a forty States now observe the custom Republic, The Grange organizations t:trZS.^ of^lanW t^es for s.utary economic. and atmospheric purposes, has been that lor tne auo home ^"d school grounds. ^^^.^^^ ^^ ^^^ dafiI.^tlnd^'rein^November!TheGoverno^o^^^^^^^^^^ this year by proclamation itPP°'"\^^ '^".^^Ylt^jPs being dete?- l^T^^^^^:^ 'co'^lTi^fnr-ff Florida .themes about the middle of February. A i8 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. On the observance of the first Arbor Day in Ohio in 1882, the children of Cincinnati celebrated it by planting memorial trees and dedicating them to authors, statesmen, and other distin- guished citizens. This has come to be known as the " Cincinnati plan," and originated with Hon. Warren Higley, President of the Ohio Forestry Commission. The first Arbor Day in New York was in April, 1889, when more than half of the school districts reported as having planted trees about school grounds, and selected the maple as the State tree. The Friday following the first day of May in each year is Arbor Day in New York State by an Act of the Legislature. ) ARBOR DAY IN SCHOOLS. HON. B. G. NORTHROP. Arbor Day for economic tree planting and Arbor Day in schools differ in origin and scope. Both have been erroneously attributed to me, though long ago I advocated tree planting by youth, and started the scheme of centennial tree planting, offering a dollar prize in 1876 to every boy or girl who should plant, or help in planting, five " centen- nial trees " ; still the happy idea of designating a given day when all should be invited to unite in this work belongs solely to ex-Governor J. Sterling Morton, recently appointed Secretary of the United States Department of Agricul- ture. His able advocacy of this measure in 1872 was a marvelous success the first year, and still more each suc- ceeding year. So remarkable have been the results of Arbor Day in Nebraska, that its originator is gratefully recognized as the great benefactor of his State. Proofs of public appreciation of his grand work are found through- out the State. It glories in the old misnomer of the geo- graphies, *' The Great American Desert," since it has be- come so habitable and hospitable by cultivation and tree planting. Where, twenty years ago, the books said trees would not grow, the settler who does not plant them is the exception. The Nebraskans are justly proud of this great achievement and are determined to maintain this pre- eminence. The great problem was to meet the urgent needs ARBOR DAY. 19 of vast treeless prairies. At the meeting of the American Forestry Association, held at St. Paul in 1883, my reso- lution in favor of observing Arbor Day /'// schools in all our States was adopted, and a committee was appointed to push that work. Continuing as their chairman from that day to this, I have presented the claims of Arbor Day personally, or by letter, to the Governor or State School Superintendent in all our States and Territories. My first efforts were not encouraging. The indifference of State officials who, at the outset, deemed Arbor Day an obtrusive innovation was expected, and occasioned no dis- couragement. My last word with more that one gov- ernor was : "' This thing is sure to go. My only question is. Shall it be under your administration or that of your suc- cessor ? " Many State officials who at first were apathetic, on fuller information have worked heartily for the success of Arbor Day. The logic of events has answered objections. Wherever it has been fairly tried it has stood the test of experience. Now such a day is observed in forty States and Territories, in accordance with legislative act or recom- mendation of State agricultural and horticultural societies or the State grange, or by special proclamation of the Gov- ernor or recommendation of the State School Superinten- dents, and in some States by all these combined. It has already become the most interesting, widely observed, and useful of school holidays. It should not be a legal holiday, though that may be a wise provision for the once treeless prairies of Nebraska. Popular interest in this work has been stimulated by the annual proclamations of Governors and the full and admira- ble circulars of State and County School Superintendents sent to every school in the State. Arbor Day has fostered love of country. It has become a patriotic observance in those Southern States which have fixed its date on Washington's Birthday. Lecturing this season in all these States, I have been delighted, as also in former years, to find as true loyalty to the Stars and Stripes X 20 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. in them as in the North. This custom of planting memorial trees in honor of Washington, Lincoln, and other patriots, and also of celebrated authors and philanthropists, has become general. Now that the national flag with its forty- four stars floats over all the schoolhouses in so many States, patriotism is effectively combined with the Arbor Day addresses, recitations, and songs. Among the latter " The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America" usually find a place. Who can estimate the educating influence exerted upon the millions of youth who have participated in these exercises "i This good work has been greatly facilitated by the eminent authors of America who have written so many choice selections in prose and poetry on the value and beauty of trees, expressly for use on Arbor Day. What growth of mind and heart has come to myriads of youth who have learned these rich gems of our literature and applied them by planting and caring for trees, and by combining sentiments of patriotism with the study of trees, vines, shrubs, and flowers, and thus with the love of Nature in all her endless forms and marvelous beauty ! An eminent educator says : " Any teacher who has no taste for trees, shrubs, or flowers is unfit to be placed in charge of children." Arbor Day has enforced the same idea, especially in those States in which the pupils have cast their ballots on Arbor Day in favor of a State tree and State flower. Habits of observation have thus been formed which have led youth in their walks, at work or play, to recognize and admire our noble trees, and to realize that they are the grandest products of nature and form the finest drapery that adorns the earth in all lands. How many of these children in maturer year will learn from happy experience that there is a peculiar pleasure in the parentage of trees — forest, fruit, or ornamental — a pleasure that never cloys, but grows with their growth. Arbor Day has proved as memorable for the home as the school, leading youth to share in dooryard adornments. Much as has been done on limited school grounds, far ARBOR DAY, 21 greater improvement have been made on the homesteads and the roadsides. The home is the objective point in the hundreds of village improvement societies recently organized. The United States Census of 1890 shows that there has recently been a remarkable increase of interest in horticulture, arboriculture, and floriculture. The reports collected from 4,510 nurserymen give a grand total of 3,386,855,778 trees, vines, shrubs, roses, and plants as then growing on their ground. Arbor Day and village improve- ment societies are not the least among the many happy influences that have contributed to this grand result. Clinton, Conn. New York Independent. ARBOR DAY PROCLAMATION. Extract from the proclamation of the Governor of Pennsylvania on Arbor Day: *'Let the people lay aside for a season the habitual activity of the day and devote sufficient time thereof to plant a forest, fruit, or ornamental tree along the public highways and streams, in private and public parks, about the public schoolhouses and on the college grounds, in gardens and on the farms, thus promoting the pleasure, profit, and prosperity of the people of the State, providing protection against floods and storms, securing health and comfort, increasing that which is beautiful and pleasing to the eye, comforting to physical life, and elevating the mind and heart, and by associations and meetings excite public interest and give encouragement to this most commendable work." What earnest worker, with hand and brain for the bene- fit of his fellow-men, could desire a more pleasing recogni- tion of his usefulness than the monument of a tree, ever growing, ever blooming, and ever bearing wholesome fruit ? IRVINQ. 22 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, ARBOR DAY LESSONS. Arbor Day is a holiday of so recent birth that it has not yet become a matter of history, but as every event holds a lesson for those who care to seek for it, a glance at the cause of its institution and the necessity thereof, will not be time lost in profitless reading. The commg of the day reminds us of our ignorance in regard to trees of any sort, even those of our own country. We know that our forests are in danger of bemg deci- mated by the ruthless strokes of the woodchopper's ax, and we know that to prevent that crisis, children, in the West especially, have been encouraged on this holiday to plant some tree or shrub to provide for future use and beauty. Kansas is said to be almost devoid of trees of any size, but in California they grow to such huge proportions that a car- riage and horses can be driven through some of the cloven trunks and houses be built in their branches ; these in- stances prove conclusively to us that the growth of trees depends upon climate, etc. As far back in our knowledge of Biblical history as the time when Noah and his family are said to have been rid- ing in the ark on the face of the waters more than 2000 years b c , we read that he sent out, from the window that he had opened, a dove, and that at evening she returned to him with an olive leaf that she had plucked. In the land of Palestine, the land of olive oil and honey, the olive tree is always classed among those of most value. It is men- tioned in the Greek and Roman classics, by the Greeks be- ing dedicated to Minerva, and used in the crowning of Jove and Apollo. ^ It was used in the building of Solomon s Temple, the beautiful wood being overlaid with gold. To prepare the booths for the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the three great feasts kept by the Jews every year, the wood of the olive was also used. The tree is very long-lived ; some writers tell us that the ancient trees now in Gethsemane are be- ARBOR DAY. 23 lieved by many to have sprung from the roots of those that stood there at the time of Christ's agony in the Garden, and that they may be two thousand years old. From the parent root there come up many shoots to adorn it while living, and to succeed it when dead. When Solomon decided upon the building of the Temple, he sent fourscore thousand men to hew in the mountains ; besides which he sent to Huram, King of Tyre, for cedar, fir, and algum trees, and we read that the wood cut out of Lebanon was sent to him " in floats by sea to Joppa." Although the culture of fruit trees, shrubs, and occasion- ally ornamental trees, was practiced by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, the cultivation of timber trees on a large scale belongs to modern times. In the days of Charlemagne the greater part of France and Germany was covered with immense forests, and one of that emperor's greatest acts was the uprooting of part of those forests to make way for orchards and vineyards. Artificial planting was begun in Germany in the fifteenth century, and only sparingly in Britain a century later. Upon the seizure of the Church lands by Henry VIII. the quantity of timber thrown upon the market so reduced its value that instead of building cheap cottages of willow and common wood, they were then built of the best oak. Planting was not general in England until the beginning of the seventeenth century, when by the establishment of botanic gardens in that and other countries an interchan^-e was the cause of much progress in that way, and planting for profit became widespread. During the time of the war of i8i2, because of the scarcity of timber for naval pur- poses and the great expense of obtaining supplies from foreign countries, the planting of trees received an uncom- mon stimulus, but with the declaration of peace in 1815 it ceased, and the raising of ornamental trees and shrubs took its place. In all thickly peopled countries the forests no longer supply the necessities for wood by natural production, and 24 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, ARBOR DAY, 25 England has had to turn to her possessions in India for help : the teak, deodar, and babool, which cover large tracts in North India, supply her railway fuel ; the gum trees on the Nilgiri hills, the cinchona on various mountain ranges, the mahogany of Bengal, the acacia of Australia, each contribute its share to her needs. A small portion only of the trees cultivated in Britain are indigenous ; some are natives of other parts of Europe, but about two-thirds of the whole are from North America ; and they are scarcely worth the trouble and expense of cultivation, for the summers are not sufficiently hot nor the light great enough to bring them to a perfect maturity. The conifers, or resinous trees, such as the larch, Scotch pine, cluster and spruce pine, the silver fir, and the yew, are characterized by straight trunks and needle shaped leaves without veins. Of these the larch produces the best timber, and is extremely durable, and besides its timber the bark is useful in tanning. Next in value is the Scotch pine, which furnishes the yellow deal of the Baltic and Norway. The value of the spruce fir is not in its being sawn into boards, but centers in poles of every kind, from those that support a hop vine to the making of masts for small ships. Among our home trees we note the ash, the elm, beech, maple, chestnut, sycamore, birch, walnut, poplar, willow, and horse chestnut. Their names and habits should be familiar to everyone. It is a source of congratulation that we have this Arbor Day, for it reminds us of our needs and their remedy. We plant a tree or a shrub because others do the same thing, we teach the school children what a beautiful thing landscape gardening is, and as we show them how tree planting is done, they learn the lesson, and then they pass it along to others, and in that way we hope to add to our gardens, our fields, and forests, more value and much beauty. Christian at Work. ARBOR DAY— WHEN AND HOW TO OBSERVE. Arbor Day is now a regular American institution. From a small beginning in 1872, it has grown to be a school frolic, enjoyed by scholars and teachers alike, and, what is better than all, the homes of our land claim their share in the happiness. The wise man who started the ball, away out in the treeless western State, has lived to see Arbor Day kept as a festival in nearly every State in the Union. Of course in a country so broad and long as the United States, there could be no one date suited to the climate of all. The season that is just right for tree plant- ing in Florida finds the soil of Iowa still frozen hard ; the flowers are bloomincr in Texas before the forests of Maine can boast a few swollen buds. So the wise ones who planned for this new gala day were puzzled about the best date. After trial of many plans, they adopted the only one at all feasible, and all along from Washington's Birthday, in the extreme South, up to early May in the northernmost States, Arbor Day has taken its place, and will no doubt hold its own among the holidays of the American people. It has done a wonderful work among the children, not only in its influence as a practical factor in the beautifying of the yards and streets about the school buildings ; but best of all has been the impetus given by it to the study of nature. The very fact that once every year the youth of our coun- try may prepare for a day devoted to trees, has aroused them to observe and ask questions, and the coming genera- tion will know more about them than did their fathers and mothers. Each locality has its own methods for celebrating the day, and from year to year they are varied enough to keep up a healthful interest. Generally there is a gathering of scholars and friends, music by the children, recitations and essays, talks about trees, quotations about them from many great writers, and bright little speeches from visitors — these 26 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. and other things that are suggested by the occasion. Then for the practical part of the tree planting : the scholars march about the grounds, with banners flying and music swelling on the breeze, until they reach the spot where the young trees await their coming ; there they halt, the trees are planted, and the name bestowed. Often the trees are named in honor of some distinguished person, or some dear friend of the school, a favorite teacher, or superintendent. Then a chosen one will explain the name and give a sketch of the person thus honored. Some- times the children plant many varieties of trees, and each child assumes a name; then, in turn, they describe their own special tree, where it originated and all about it. Sometimes a class, or a department, or even a whole school select a tree and claim it for its own. A pretty idea would be to have the scholars vote for a favorite kind of tree, and each give the reasons for his choice. One can readily see what an interesting programme might be made for Arbor Day. If the children are too small to make speeches and understand the whole affair, a wise teacher might gather her little flock about her and tell them much that would please them. Where children do not attend school, or are taught at home, let the mother make a family picnic, and have each child bring a leaf or branch, with the promise of a story from mother, or a little speech of explanation from father or elder brother. Even the very youngest child will have pleasant memo- ries lingering about the word '* trees," and Arbor Day will have a place with such bright spots as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Fourth of July. E. A. M. /// Churchman. What a noble gift to man are the Forests ! What a debt of gratitude and admiration we owe to their beauty and their utility I How pleasantly the shadows of the wood fall upon our heads when we turn from the glitter and turmoil of the world of man ! COOPER. ARBOR DAV, 27 WHAT TREES TO PLANT ARBOR DAY. The celebration of Arbor Day in our country began in treeless Nebraska in 1872. In 1893 forty States had adopted the custom, and now the schools have made it a universal festival in all parts of the Union. It has been wisely suggested that each State should choose its own tree, which in every case should be one that will thrive best in its soil. New York State has chosen the maple. In a circular which the United States Department of Agri- culture has issued, the best four trees for planting in street and park are said to be the sugar maple, red maple, Ameri- can linden or basswood, and American elm. During the War of Independence poplar trees were planted as a symbol of our growing freedom, and they were called trees of liberty. The poplar grows very fast. In the olden times trees were planted about the home to commemorate events in the family. Grandfather's and grandmother's maple trees still stand in front of the old homestead gate. They were planted on their wedding day, many years ago. Large, grand trees they are now, and they have been the homes of generations of birds who have been reared amid their branches and taught how to use their wings, and each summertime they seem to increase in number. A new tree was planted when each little child came to gladden the home. They were called birthday trees. Here and there on the homestead grounds stand the memorial trees, planted when some of the loved ones went away from the home on earth to the Father's home above. Xerxes was very fond of trees, and once when he was on a march he rested under the shade of a large plane tree of great beauty. He was so pleased with it that he presented it with a golden chain, to be twined like a sash around its body. Before he resumed his march, he caused the figure of the tree to be stamped on a golden medal, which he wore in memory of the tree. The plane tree was very much 28 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. esteemed by the Greeks and Romans. It is still planted in the south of Europe and about London, but it does not thrive in our climate. Our buttonvvood tree is very similar to the plane. The study of trees is one of the most interesting studies in nature. Some of our young people say they cannot tell a maple from an elm, or an oak from a birch. This should not be so. Watch the different habits of trees, the variety of leaves the different kinds have, and the variety of ways the boughs grow. Poplars lift upward all their boughs. Trees the most lovingly shelter and shade us, when, like the willow, the higher soar their summits the lowlier droop their boughs. We have all learned that there is no other place so pleasant for children to play as under those kindly trees that drop their boughs over them and shelter them from the sun in the summer days. Where does luncheon ever taste so good as it does under the trees when we are picnicking? How often when we have been weary and fretted with the cares of life, have we found rest and quiet sitting down and leaning against the trunk of some grand tree that grows by the wayside. It is quite an art to plant a tree so that it will take root and grow, and those who have had experience say the small trees are the ones that bear transplanting the best. Old trees do not like to be moved to new places, and will not take root easily in new soil. They seem to lose courage when they lose the old familiar place and its surroundings. It is quite an easy thing to plant a tree, but quite a hard thing to make it live and grow. So, if you are going to plant trees, get the best methods of planting them from the most experienced transplanters. ** He who plants a tree, or a bush, or a fiower, works with God to beautify the garden of the world." A^ew York Evangelist. " A TREE," says Pope, " is a nobler object than a king in his coronation robes." ARBOR DAY. 29 VALUE OF RURAL BEAUTY. As time goes on, people are learning more and more of the value of adorning their homes and surroundings with what nature so freely furnishes. This taste is not confined to the country. In fact, it might be said with much truth that the denizen of the city is doing much more in this direction than our rural friends. The fine parks that have been purchased and embellished by the highest art of the landscape gardener fully attest this. The great parks pro- jected in and around Boston, New York, and Chicago might be instanced as works which possess the highest type of rural adornment. Again, city people are turning their attention to the country, and are making the waste and abandoned places fine rural retreats, where their occupants can escape from the heat and dust of summer, and enjoy country life with all its beauties. This, we think, will settle in time the question of the abandoned farms of New England, as their value as summer homes is better known to the people of our large towns. On this point we quote from Garden and Forest .- " It is encouraging to know that in so many places there is a growing tendency to purchase so-called waste lands and to hold them for the enjoyment of the people. We call to mind another region in Connecticut where the villagers are united in their interest to preserve all the rural charms of the neighborhood. Miles of highway have been purchased with no other purpose than to allow nature to frolic in her own free way by the roadside. Forests have been bought that they might be held for public enjoyment, and the feel- ing of the community is strong for the preservation of all wild spots which will help to satisfy the desire for beauty and repose. The State of New Hampshire has considered it worth while to recognize officially the value of its moun- tain passes and ravines, its lakes and cascades, and to pro- vide roads and paths for the purpose of making them accessible. All this indicates that every year there are ."•*^ 30 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASIO^T. ARBOR DAY, 31 more people who find pleasure and rest In the contempla- tion of natural beauty, and therefore there is reason for more earnest protest against the wanton marring of that beauty." THE BEAUTY AND BENEFITS OF ARBOR DAY. Nothing more delightful can be conceived than the cel- ebration of Arbor Day as seen in some of the Western States. Not only the children of the public schools, but their fathers and mothers turn out to plant trees on this anniversary. The minds of those engaged in this work are naturally directed toward the advantage of green shade trees in an arid waste. The beautiful similies of the Bible doubtless rise to the lips of many of them ; Eastern peoples thoroughly understood how necessary trees are to the gath- ering of moisture, and consequently to the preservation and nutrition of all vegetable life. In the city of New York two thousand children between the ages of five and fourteen were at the Spring Flower Show at Madison Square Garden the first Friday in May, 1893. Each of these received a pot of geranium or other plant easy to take care of, and the labors of these children in house gardening is to be tested at the next flower show, when a number of prizes will be awarded to the most suc- cessful. Outside of Madison Square Garden the celebration of Arbor Day was confined to the public schools. The form taken in these institutions is "appropriate exercises." [Page 53.J It is quite certain that the vast majority of our city public school children will never have any opportunity to plant trees. It is equally sure that most of them are not able or are too lazy to cultivate plants in pots in their homes. But there is nothing to prevent teachers arousing in the children under their control an interest in the names of trees in the public parks, in the beauty of their foliage, their flowers or their fruit. It would be well for many teachers if they devoted some of their own time to acquir- ing sufficient knowledge of trees to convey it to their pupils. DESTRUCTION OF FORESTS. Some of the figures presented to the Forestry Congress recently held are in point here. From them it appears that the woodland of the United States now covers 450,000,000 acres, or about twenty-six per cent, of the whole area. Of this not less than 25,000,000 acres are cut over annually, a rate of destruction that will bring our forests to an end in eighteen years if there is no replanting. It is also stated that while the wood growing annually in the forests of the United States amounts to 12,000,000,000 cubic feet, the amount cut annually is 24,000,000,000 feet, and this does not include the amount destroyed by fire. The country's supply of timber, therefore, is being depleted at least twice as fast as it is being reproduced, and it is easy to see that unless this process is soon checked, it will not be many years before the country is suffering from a decrease in rainfall, and the consequent drying up of the streams. No observant person can fail to have noticed in his own locality the great change in the volume of water in the brooks and rivers as the years go on. Nearly all the tributaries of the upper Mississippi have lost one-half of their former supply of water. Inundations in the spring are more frequent, while now in the summer the depth of many of these rivers average hardly more inches than could be measured by feet thirty years ago. The snowfall is irregular, and the climate is subject to abrupt changes at all seasons of the year. And what is true of the Northwest in these par- ticulars is true to a greater or less degree of all parts of the United States. .:ja-i5!|o!|ia!5»«5giMnaai)iMiitof ft 8o THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, clear beyond the need of argument — a man's real ideal determines the lines of his activities. Many fancies and vague dreams there may be that do not enter into volition, endeavor, or achievement ; but what a man really makes his ideal — that which he truly and persistently wishes to be, that above all things he tries to be — to that he bends all else. He may, indeed, dream and talk sentimentally of other, and it may be in themselves of better things, but if we would certainly know what is uppermost in a man's thought of life ; if we would be sure of his ruling love ; if we would know beyond doubt what he wishes to be (and it is out of uppermost thoughts, ruling loves, and fixed long- ings, that the imagination creates its ideal), there is an easy way to find out what we wish to know. When you seek to know what a man's ideal of life is, do not ask, *' What does the man say ? " His words may mis- lead you as his posings deceive him. Inquire only, *' What does this man really try to do ? " When we find out what a man who can choose his lines of life steadily strives to do, we have found out what he really wishes to be ; we know what his ideal is. Is he trying with all his might to win what men call fame ? Then fame is his ideal, and praise is success. Is all his effort put forth to gain and to hold high office ? Then power is his ideal, and his best man is he who is at the top of all the offices. Or, does he bend his energies and consecrate all his powers to the accumulation of money .'' Then no matter how fine are his words in mere talk about the true end of life, we know what his ideal is — we have not yet learned how low it is. Christ knew, and he has told us. It is money this man wants ; wealth to him measures human success or failure ; his ideal is the richest man. To him come no greater thoughts than such as puzzle his soul concerning " greater barns." Everywhere the statement holds good : A man strives hardest for what he most desires, and his ideal is involved in its realization. This is true, whether the ideal be noble DISCOVERY DAY. 8i or ignoble, divine or devilish. It would be a grave mistake to suppose that all ideals lift up ; they as certainly drag down. The false ideal pursued not only degrades — it destroys. . . It is indeed true that many, perhaps most, men lack unity of purpose ; they think of or wish for many things ; they may not be conscious of creating or entertaining such things as ideals, but after all the fact remains, a man's real desire, and by consequence, his real ideal, is shown by what he most tries to do. " By their fruits ye shall know them" is the test of the Divine Teacher, who not only gives us all true religion, but whose doctrine is the germ of all our science. With him facts determine what theories are to be, and this is the heart of the Baconian philosophy. The principle we have been considering applies to nations as surely as to men. In any community, whether a little village, a great city, or a nation, the consensus of the people's thought as to what is the true summu?n bonum, the unmis- takable chief good, "the best thing in the world," this creates the ideal, inspires the efforts, and determines the history of that community, of that nation. History is rich in illustrations. Two only I barely mention. Take Rome in Caesar's time. Rome was then fully conscious of herself, and knew perfectly well what she wanted. The end Rome sought was dominion, and Rome strained every nerve to make conquests. And so it came to pass that Rome governed the world. Greece at her best showed her ideal in her arts. And it came to pass that Greece also conquered a world, and gave the patterns for all the arts that came after her day. . . What is the American ideal ? It may seem difficult, or impossible, to find the answer. In no country of the world are there more " views," *' doctrines," ** creeds," "philosophisms" concerning human life pressed upon the attention of men. There are voices on every side, most insistent and clamorous for recognition. We cannot find our answer by weighing the pleas which these many and 82 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. diverse and most urgent voices make. We will reach our answer by asking a different and less complex question : In what path of endeavor does American energy most expend itself ? At the end of that path be sure we find the ideal of our nation. What are the most people most trying to do ? To ask this question is to answer it : Maki?tg money. Not earning a support for one's family ; not making honorable provision for old age, or comfortable settlements for one's children, but making money for the sake of money and for the sake of what it commands. Find us the richest man, and the ideal American will be one richer than he. Making money as the end and aim of life is a foolish and unmanly thing ; making money as a means to an end may be a very wise, and also a very noble occupation. The power that is in money to do good is the one quality in it that gives it worth, that entitles it to respect, that lifts it above dirt and corruption. Measuring men by mere money gauges is heathenism. Making money-having the chief end, and money-getting the chief occupation, of life, works out the most deplorable results in the thoughts and lives of men. When the richest becomes the foremost man, and one richer than the richest the ideal man, we forget why a man is sent into this world, and cease to know what a man really is. Confusion enters into all our conceptions of human life. We apply false tests to ourselves as well as to others ; we "call evil good and good evil" ; conscience loses its polarity, and virtue dies at the root. When men choose occupations simply to make money ; seek office only for salaries, perquisites, and, above all, opportunities ; in a word, when money is the end, and money-getting the busi- ness of life, character and usefulness become secondary, whereas character and usefulness are in human life what God cares for, and what a wise and good man prizes above all the world. . . Few of us realize how despotic this money ideal has be- come. Nothing is more foolish than the making of whole- sale indictments of our times or of our people, unless it be DISCOVERY DAY. 83 the blindness that will not see a storm-bearing cloud till it bursts in desolating fury. Men known to be unprincipled are honored for their bank accounts. Men of fortune, and controlling the influ- ences that command fortune, can hold high office and feel themselves too safe to need vindication when charged with infamous crimes. It no longer startles us when an election, to the United States Senate even, not infrequently turns upon the gold rather than the brains, virtue, or patriotic service of candidates. It no longer shocks us that the ** barrel " enters as an essential factor into many elections, and not a little legislation. It has become so commonplace as hardly to be a scandal that party managers calculate the price of purchasable voters, and " levy contributions " to meet what they call " legitimate expenses." Big men make combinations that crush all weaker rivals, organize "trusts" that rob the people, and are called financiers. In ravenous greed they are the sharks of the business world, and as to conscience they are the successors of the Barbary pirates who scourged the Mediterranean some generations gone. If they succeed they enter the charmed circle of our im- mortals. A million dollars covers a multitude of sins, and many millions are of the essence of nobility. Thousands of people, finding to support them voices not a few in hire- ling newspapers, count it unpatriotic that a minority in the legislature of Louisiana refuse a bribe of $25,000,000, and curse the only men who are struggling to save the virtue and honor of the State. So high is money, so low is honor. How can there be honesty in business, purity in politics, righteousness in government, or true virtue anywhere, while money is the essential element in our ideal of human success ? How can it be otherwise than that our politics should be corrupted, that legislation should be poisoned, that government should be debauched under the tremen- dous stimulus of an all-abounding idolatry of gold ? How can it be otherwise than that a fatal paralysis should strike down social and civil virtue ? 84 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. If a great university has any mission to men it is to help them to find out the very truth of things — to help them to find out how to live. A great school like this is a perpetual protest against the worship of money. It shows how nobly money may be used when consecrated to noble ends and intrusted to the wise and good. Very gracious to us was the Providence that brought together Cornelius Vanderbilt and Holland N. McTyeire — two men not often matched in this world, each in his sphere a master and king of men. That the generous founder meant his royal gift to under- lie and foster a great Christian university is absolutely cer- tain, not by mere words, but by the method he took. . . Our section — this South — is the very best part of the Union, as the Union is the best part of the world. The South has just begun her true development of all sorts, and in all lines of human activity. Her future is more glorious than the dream of any poet who ever sung to the hopes of his people the coming of a golden age. Her natural resources are inexhaustible, and the hopeful courage of her people is invincible. From 1880 to 1890, the taxable property of the Southern States increased six- teen hundred millions, and her growth has just begun. Before a century has passed away the South will be fabu- lously rich — richer than any country in the world. Whether this amazing prosperity will be a blessing or a curse depends on the relations of our people to the eternal powers. If we grow rich only, w^e become pagans. If mere business, mere money-making, shall become an all-consuming passion, then our whole course of life gets out of balance, and we drift into chaos. Nothing that a great university can do at such a time as this is better for the country than to see to it that the business prosperity of the people shall not utterly destroy them. Let a school like this lead the peo- ple into the best ways of thinking and living. Let it show to us the true ideal life. This is its mission and work. Teach us not books only, but life and duty also. DISCOVERY DAY, 85 THOUGHTS PERTINENT TO DISCOVERY DAY.* The Problem of Liberty Solved. — The elect nations of the past had been chosen of God to carry out certain purposes of his, as the chosen people of Israel, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. In later history Spain, Germany, and England each led the other in its own day and thus fulfilled the purposes of God. England of late has been the elect nation, but now the star of empire is passing westward to this land. There is no question but that now and in the future this land is to be the elect nation under God for solving the problems of liberty, of the amelioration of man- kind, and of the best Christian civilization. rev. M. M. smith, PRESBYTERIAN. American Resources. — Among the thoughts suggested by this day the first is one of humiliation. As a people we are disposed to brag and boast and have an inordinate confidence in our powers. We are possessed with an idea that American ingenuity can accomplish anything. We regard our own things as far the best in the world, our own institutions as the most perfect. But if we come to view things with an unprejudiced eye and to pass judgment free from self-interest, we must say that, as a rule, our own things are not the best, the productions of our skilled labor are not always equal to those of older countries. The only things we have any shadow of reason to boast of are those things the production of which we have nothing to do with, namely, those things which are our natural resources and are the gift of God REV. J. NEVITT STEELE, D. D., EPISCOPALIAN. The Gateway Opened. — Columbus really did more than he intended, for he actually made his discovery, which the country is now celebrating, and the importance of which * From the various pulpits in New York City. 86 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Columbus appreciated and spoke of when he said : ** I've opened a gate by which others may enter." And still he died deprived of all except the name and fame of the New World. This was the apex of his fame. It is nonsense to dwell on the fact that Columbus was a Roman Catholic, any more than Presbyterians should glory that Washington was a Presbyterian. Columbus lived at a time when he was obliged to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and that is all there is to it. REV. G. R. VAN DE WATER, EPISCOPALIAN. God at the Helm. — Columbus started on his voyage of discovery with God at the helm. Columbus was a suscep- tible man, and imbued with the power of the Holy Ghost he started to find a new passage to the Indies with the idea of spreading God's Word. REV. DR. SATTERLEE, EPISCOPALIAN. In THE Van of Civilization. — Some writers dispute that the honor of the discovery of America was due to Columbus, saying that he was never very near North America. Per- haps as much honor was due to Sebastian Cabot and the English government. However that might be, by common consent nearly everyone has agreed in giving honor to the names Columbus and Columbia. When Columbus landed he invoked the blessings of God, and in the establishment of this government the same divine power has been recog- nized. Could anyone doubt that these things were provi- dential ? It opened a country which has been fruitful in the enlargement of the Church, in the teaching of the Bible, and in bringing people of all nations and all beliefs together in the common cause of the advancement of civilization. REV. DR. J. W. brown, EPISCOPALIAN. The Problem of our Civilization.— Ours is the last experiment among the nations. Other nations may pos- DI SCO VERY DAY, 87 sibly arise and mar their future or make it, but it is in no undue spirit of self-importance that we say to-day that no other nation can arise with so great an inheritance and so great opportunities as the God of Nations has given us. Great danger lurks in our country's rapid growth in material wealth. The rich are growing richer and the poor poorer, and all are selfish. I hope that the problem of our civilization may be solved without bloodshed. REV. DR. RAINSFORD, EPISCOPALIAN. No Parallel Record. — Without a parallel in history the name of Christopher Columbus stands alone, and like some great oak towering above the forest trees, so does he stand far in advance of his age with a work which is the most important since the birth of the Saviour of mankind. And I believe that as surely as men have been chosen by God for any work, so surely was he the chosen vessel to reveal the marvels of a New World to the wondering vision of the Old. REV. E. s. holloway, baptist. Our Advantages and Opportunities. — Many bless- ings and advantages were bequeathed to all nations by the discoveries of the great captain : First, in securing large space for the multiplying millions of the Old World ; sec- ond, in affording opportunity for experiments in govern- ment, unburdened by the evil traditions and prejudices which have so often defeated efforts toward political equality ; and, third, in liberating the world's thought and sympathies by showing how men of all creeds and conceits might dwell together in the same political household in per- fect good will. DR. RYLANCE, EPISCOPALIAN. The Triumph of Faith. — God went before Abraham and Columbus as truly as when by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night he went before the children of Israel. 88 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. We do not detract from the honor due to Columbus in giving honor to those who long before his day plowed their lonely way across the trackless ocean. The year 1492 was a time of great glory and equal dis- grace for Spain. It was the year of unparalleled cruelty to the Jews, inhuman treatment of many Moors, and the introduction of the Satanic Inquisition. All the glory which Columbus brought was tarnished by the foul blackness of the Inquisition. There was danger at one time that he himself might suffer from its horrible methods of examina- tion and punishment. His life teaches this lesson more than any other— the triumph of faith. He was another Abraham ; he went out, not knowing whither he went. He was another Moses ; he endured, seeing Him who is invisible. The man without faith is the man without power. Life is an ocean, and no one can cross it safely unless he sail in the bark of faith. REV. DR. MacARTHUR, BAPTIST. Faith in the Unseen.— Columbus really did begin the discovery of America, and we are all helping to com- plete the discovery. As we re-read the story of Columbus we are perplexed beyond measure by the dissolving processes of historical criticism. Remorseless investigation has broken into a thousand pieces the image of Columbus which was the fas- cination of our childhood. While the truth is always wel- come we have need to beware of the excesses and vagaries of reckless criticism, and we cannot put our trust in those whose sole accomplishment is skill in the art of disparage- ment and disdain. Amid all disputes one fact no detractor can disguise— Columbus did the deed which brought the two continents together, and made the life of the East to flow into the lands of the West. He thought the " Sea of Darkness " was full of great islands. Thus most men go through mire and bog ere DISCOVERY DAY, 89 they reach the bedrock of reality. Men, like horses, must often wear blinders to keep them going straight forward. Knowledge comes by sailing out into the sea, and " if any man will do he shall know." He believed most profoundly in God, in the Bible, and in Jesus Christ as the incarnate Word. His science and his religion were like the right hand and the left. The greatest discovery of the ages began in prayer and ended in praise. An age that loses its faith in the Unseen will lose all power of achievement. It may produce dissectors and parasites ; it cannot bring forth heroes, martyrs, or leaders. Our Western world was discovered, our civilization founded, our institutions created by men who feared God, and there- fore feared no one else. rev. w. h. p. faunce, baptist. All Honor to the Brave. — I believe in giving Colum- bus full credit for what he did and for what good qualities he showed, but I do not think he was either a saint or a great genius. In the year 1492 America was still undis- covered, although the Norsemen made their way from Ice- land to Greenland as far back as 876. Their voyages were mere coasting expeditions. They did not open the way across the western ocean. Does it not look as if this Genoese sailor were servant of someone greater than himself ? Does it not look as if a mighty Master guided him and sent him forth on a mission ? We feel this all the more profoundly when we reflect upon the immense and striking contrast between the objects which Columbus had in view and the real results of the dis- covery of America. Let us give him honor as a brave and fortunate mariner, who did his duty according to his lights, and was, therefore, used to accomplish a great work. But above and behind this man let us look up to the Almighty Lord who guided him, and praise our God, who alone doeth wonders. rev. J. H. van dyke, D. D., PRESBYTERIAN. 90 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. The Tolerance of American Institutions. — Many speak of the life works of the great discoverer and limit them to his going west in quest of new lands, and the sub- lime faith and courage that he showed. The contributions which Columbus made to true religion were not so readily seen. In the discovery of a new world a theater was given for the development and application of religious principles such as the world never knew before. The pure religion of modern times originated in Europe, but it has only been possible for that religion to find its highest and best devel- opment under the tolerance of our American institutions. In a country where the support of religion is voluntary, and based upon the sense of personal responsibility, can alone be found the best expression of the religion of Christ. REV. C. H. EATON, UNIVERSALIST. A Survey of Four Hundred Years. — Now, what effect has all this upon us as we survey these four hundred years of our history to-day ? If our natures are at all responsive, it makes us most grateful to Almighty God, and our praise to him is loud and full and fervent. It begets within us a strong confidence in the future, and that confidence we are right in holding if we remember the basis upon which it rests. But does it make us boastful or presumptuous ? No; that would be weakness; that would be sin. It develops a deep sense of our dependence upon God, and make us humble, prayerful, and grateful. Thus attributing all of the past to Providence, let us look trustfully to him for all the future, REV. J. B. SHAW, D. D., PRESBYTERIAN. Our Causes for Anxiety.— The three great causes for anxiety for the future on the part of the people of the United States are the general lawlessness which exists throughout the country, bribery, and immigration. The lawlessness now prevalent throughout the United States generally is something which demands the most DISCOVERY DAY. 91 serious consideration, not only for the moral but the material interests of the people. United States government reports show that crime is on the increase at an alarmingly rapid rate. The subject of the increase in bribery is one of the utmost importance, for in the existence of corruption among officials the impartial administration of justice is impossi- ble, and without that the proper enforcement of the law is, of course, out of the question, and general lawlessness must follow. In the matter of immigration late United States gov- ernment reports show the hand which foreign officials bore in furthering pauper immigration to this country. The governments of Europe are using the United States as a dumping ground for their own debased populations. REV. C. H. PARKHURST, D. D., PRESBYTERIAN. A Religious Discovery. — What most impressed me in all that wondrous life, which we commemorated by sermon and song and military parade and World's Fair and Con- gress of Nations, was something I never have heard stated, and that was that the discovery of America was a religious discovery and in the name of God. Columbus, by the study of the prophecies and by what Zachariah and Micah and David and Isaiah had said about the " ends of the earth," was persuaded to go out and find the " ends of the earth," and he felt himself called by God to carry Christianity to the " ends of the earth." Then the administration of the Last Supper before those men left the Gulf of Cadiz, and the evening prayers during the voyage, and the devout ascrip- tion as soon as they saw the New World, and the doxologies with which they landed, confirm me in saying that the dis- covery of America was a religious discovery. Atheism has no right here ; infidelity has no right here ; vagabondism has no right here. And as God is not apt to fail in any of his undertakings (at any rate, I have never heard of his having anything to do with a failure), America 92 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. is going to be gospelized, and from the Golden Gate of California to the Narrows of New York harbor, and from the top of North America to the foot of South America, from Behring Straits to Cape Horn, this is going to be Emmanuel's land. All the forms of irreligion and abom- ination that have cursed other parts of the world will land here — yea, they have already landed — and they will wrangle for the possession of this hemisphere, and they will make great headway and feel themselves almost established. REV. DR. TALMAGE, PRESBYTERIAN. Our Greatest Peril. — We are to-day treading in the same steps that other historic republics have taken and re- gretted — luxury and extravagance attending upon wealth, general laxity in morality and religion, jealousies and dis- contents incident to poverty among the masses, bitter con- flicts between political parties, abuse heaped upon public servants, favors shown to the most dangerous classes when they can be used to promote party interests. These were the reasons why the historic republics fell into degradation, disgrace, and death. The greatest danger threatening our republic to-day is promiscuous immigration, and from this giant evil flow many perils, chief among which is the whole- sale placing of the sacred ballot in the hands of those who have as yet done nothing entitling them to American citi- zenship. More than one republic has been wrecked on this rock. rev. MADISON peters, REFORMED. Who Piloted the Fleet. — At this point w^e note a signal providence. The land breezes, the floating seaweed, and other tokens of not far-distant land had moved the crew to earnestly implore their captain to change his course ; but he persisted. He believed that India lay to the west, and west- ward he sailed on. At length, however, a thorn bush floated by with berries on. Its direction suggested that the land lay to the southwest, and yielding to the persistent entreaties DISCOVERY DAY, 93 of his men he changed the course of his fleet that way, and thereby changed the course of history. Had he sailed to the westward he would have landed on the coast of Florida, and the continent would have fallen into the hands of the Spaniards. As it was he landed on San Salvador. Columbus never set foot upon soil of what is now the United States of America. Had he taken pos- session of the mainland in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, our land would have been doomed to a Spanish civilization and all its attendant horrors. What those would have been may be plainly seen from the condition of Spam itself, Mexico, and the South American republics. It was a hairbreadth escape. Columbus was indeed the admiral of the fleet, but the Sovereign God was at the helm. He conducted the great navigator near enough to the continent, but not too near— near enough for the uses of discovery, but not near enough for settlement. Columbus died in utter ignorance of the true nature of his discovery. He supposed he had found India, but never knew how strangely God had used him. So God piloted the fleet. The great discoverer, with all his heroic virtues, did not know whither he went. ** He sailed for the back door of Asia, and landed at the front door of America, and knew it not." He never settled the continent. Thus far and no farther, said the Lord. His providence was over all. REV. D. J. BURRILL, D. D., PRESBYTERIAN. Mii^ rf' ^^ r^ " Beneath this Stone repose the bones of two thousand one hundred and eleven un- known soldiers, gathered after the war from the fields of Bull Run and the Route to the Rappahannock. Their remains could not be identified, but their names and death are re- corded in the archives of their country, and its grateful citizens honor them as of their noble army of martyrs. May they rest in Peace." Skptember, a. D. 1866. TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIERS, ARLINGTON CEMETERY, VA., OPPOSITE WASHINGTON, D. C. The tomb bears the above inscription. DECORATION DAY. Historical. — Memorial Day is a creation growing out of the sentiment of the times in which it originated. It has been the custom in several countries of the Old World to decorate the graves of soldiers, but in no other country is it made a day of national observance as it is now known in the north and south of the United States. Its observance at first grew spontaneously from the tender rememberance of the relatives and others who sur- vived the war for the Union. The practice of fixing a day for visiting the graves of the fallen soldiers and strewing them with flowers commenced in the early years of the Civil War of 1861-65. But different days for some time were observed in different localities. It is a well ascertained fact that on April 13, 1862, just one year after the fall of Fort Sumter, Mrs. Sarah Nicholas Evans, with the wife and two daughters of Chaplain May of the Second Regiment, Michigan Volunteers, decorated the graves of a number of soldiers buried on Arlington Heights, Va. In May of the next year, these ladies again performed the same loving service. In May of the following year, they also rendered the same sadly pleasant attention to the graves of solcMers buried at Fredericks- burg, Va. The custom gradually became more general. In some instances Governors of States recommended a day for its obser- vance; leading members of the Christian Commission exerted their influence on its behalf ; the pulpit and press advocated an honored remembrance of the fallen soldiers in this way ; the Grand Army of the Republic, and various veteran soldier associations made systematic efforts on a similar line ; many State legislatures were induced to make a given day a legal holiday for this purpose ; and at length President U. S. Grant and several Governors were led to unite in recommending the observance of the same day, and in 1874 by Congressional enactment, a ceremonial so significant of the nation's obligation to the dead, they decided upon May 30th as a legal holiday — now known and recognized as Decoration Day in nearly every State of the Union. Strew flowers, sweet flowers, on the soldiers' graves, For the death they died the nation saves. 'Tis sweet and glorious thus to die — Hallowed the spot where their ashes lie. 97 9^ THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. GENERAL ORDERS. INAUGURATING DECORATION DAY. The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose, among other things, " of persevering and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings, which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion." What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes. Their soldier lives were the reveilU oi freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security, is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided Republic. If other eyes grow dull, and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remains to us. Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their DECORA TIOM DA V. 99 sacred remains, and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime ; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor ; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left us, a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude — the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan. It is the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief to inaugu- rate this observance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. JOHN A. LOGAN, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, Washington, D. C, May 5, 1868. THE REAL CAUSE OF THE WAR. R. S. MACARTHUR, D. D., NEW YORK. We can speak at this late date and on the eve of Memorial Day with perfect frankness, and without any bitterness, as to the real cause of the war. Questions of this sort are not historic, and may be discussed in a calm and philosophical spirit. In this spirit of discussion it will not be denied that the real cause of the war was the desire for the extension of slavery. The claim made was that it was for the preservation of " State Rights"; but it really was for the establishment of a government founded on the idea that slavery was ordained of God. After Mr. Lincoln's proclamation, January i, 1863, Jefferson Davis, in a message to the Confederate Congress, spake of the Emancipation Proclamation as *' the most execrable measure recorded in the history of guilty man." He also considered it contrary to " the instincts of that common humanity, which a beneficent Creator has implanted in the breasts of our fellow-men." The idea of employing negro troops by the North was received with utter detestation by the South ; but a great change came over the opinion of 160 THOUGHTS t^Ok THE OCCASIOI^. DECORA TION DA Y. lOI I' men, such as Davis, Benjamin, and Lee, and of the peo- ple generally. This change was so marked, that it finally led to the passage of a law, during the closing week of the conflict, for the employment of 200,000 slaves as soldiers of the Confederacy. When in i860 the nation by its vote practically said that slavery should not be extended over our Western prairies, war became inevitable. The attack on Fort Sumter was the inevitable outcome of the arrogant spirit of slavery which had so long dominated the South. The attack caused an uprising in the loyal North such as the world had never before seen. Its spirit pervaded every home and heart ; it silenced all political strife, and soon the bravest of the men and boys were ready to shed their blood, if need be, for the preservation of the Union. Nobly did the North respond to President Lincoln's call for troops. The grand hills of New England, the busy villages of the Middle States, and the great slopes of the Rocky Mountains vied with one another in responding to that call, and in sending their sons to the field of battle. We have read of the courage of the cohorts of Alexander ; of the bravery of the legions of Caesar ; and of the e/an of the battalions of Napoleon ; of Wellington when he sent word to the troops, " Ciudad Rodrigo must be taken to-night," and the soldiers replied, ** It will be taken to-night " ; of Picton, who with terrible wounds rode at the head of his troops at Waterloo, making one of the charges that decided the fortunes of the day ; and of that other officer in the same battle who held his reins in his teeth because his left arm was shattered. Men equally brave fought in our war. Never did grander men contend in holier strife than did those of the loyal North. Patriotism is usually truer and more intense in large countries, and in countries rough and barren, than in those smooth and more fertile. H. WINSLOW. WHAT THE WAR SETTLED. Previous to the war two doctrines were advocated in this country— one prevailed in the South, though there were some statesmen who never adopted it ; the other pre- dominated in the Middle, Eastern, and Western States, though in all these some held the Southern view. The doctrine of the South was that the Government of the United States is a federal union ^/ .9/^:/^^; the doctrine of the rest of the country was that it is a federal republic. The logical cons*equence of the former was that a State has the right to secede ; that of the latter was, that though the States, as such, have various rights under the Constitu- tion, there is no right to secede. While the war did not change the facts as to the doctrine, it settled the issue. Incidentally slavery was abolished, and amendments made to the Constitution under the forms of legislation prescribed in it. Much light upon the difference between a federal union of States and a federal republic can be obtained by a glance at the history of our sister republic, Switzerland. In 1815 it formed a federal union of States which continued till 1848, when it was peacefully changed into a federal republic. Its Constitution provides that all the rights not expressly transferred to the confederacy are exercised by the twenty-five cantons and half cantons ; the federal government shall declare war, conclude peace, make treaties, send diplomatic representatives. No separate alliances are legal between cantons without special permis- sion. The constitution of every canton is guaranteed if it be republican in form and has been adopted by the people ; and it can be revised on the demand of a majority. It is instructive to read the arguments of the statesmen of forty years ago ; but the war settled the issue, and no State nor combination of States can extricate itself from the loving grasp of all the States. " United we stand." ** Divided " we cannot be. £ Pluribus Unum. Christian Advocate^ X02 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, DECORA TION DA V. 103 MEMORIAL OF A PRESERVED NATION. But one way is open to the people of this country who would estimate the value of the services rendered by the Union soldiers, dead and living. It is to try to imagine what the result would have been had the Union been divided. There would have been two nations instead of one ; twice as many foreign diplomats within the territory as now ; twice as many possibilities of foreign complications ; and much more than twice as much difficulty in settling them, while the influence of each fragment would be much less than half the amount exercised by the whole. Those who had a common ancestry which had been represented in the same halls of legislation, had cheered the same flag and fought together — not against each other — for freedom, would have been strangers and foreigners, aliens from the commonwealth of which Washington was the father. Mutual jealousies would make standing armies necessary, and war clouds would ever have lowered upon the political horizon. It was the valor of our soldiers that stood between the people of the United States and these evils. JVezu York Christian Advocate. THE WAY TO HONOR OUR PATRIOTIC DEAD. DAVID GREGG, D. D, We honor our heroic and patriotic dead by being true men, as true men by faithfully fighting the battles of our day as they fought the battles of their day. The flower of a true and beautiful life is the flower to put upon the sol- dier's grave. Trueness to our country is the best way to honor the soldier who fell in the defense of his country. The best citizen, the best patriot, the best son of his coun- try is he who gives the best manhood to his country. He is the man who writes upon his nature the Ten Command- ments and the eight beatitudes. You can have a Grand Army only when the ranks are filled with grand men. Such men our country wants that its moral battles may be well fought. Soldiers of the Grand Army of the Re- public recognize the call of the hour. Our nation calls for hundreds and thousands of true men. There is treason still to be put down. There is a treason of cowardly silence when patriotism and duty call us to cry out against the destructive sins of the land. This must be put down. There is treason in the senate hall. There is treason in the political caucus. There is treason at the ballot-box ; the selling of votes, and the manipulation of votes, and the intimidation of voters. There is treason in office, which shows itself in the acceptance of rewards and bribes. It is your duty to put down treason in all these forms. The traitor in the time of peace should be shot, just as the traitor in the time of war was shot. He should be shot with the blackball. He should be shot with the cannonball of public indignation and execration. He should be fired out of office and out of citizenship, and buried in everlasting oblivion. Soldiers of the Republic, the battles of the present are identical with the battles of the past. The form of warfare only is changed. The moral conflicts waged in our nation are as truly battles as were the conflicts of Gettysburg and Lookout Mountain. You have a duty in these as you had a duty in those. What are the moral conflicts whose roll call you should hear ? They are such as these : The battle for temperance ; social purity ; the right of the red man, of the Mongolian ; the battle of labor against capital, and of capital against labor ; the anti-poverty battle. Beside these there are the battles against the deadly isms which have been imported to our land and which are warring against the very life of our nation. Our country is the land where the battles of the future are destined to be 104 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. fought, and where they are already opened. Here the nations of the Old World crowd together and meet, and here the great problems and questions of the ages must be debated and settled. Rally around the true flag in these moral battles. Fire no blank cartridges, but pour hot shot into every form of evil. Deal not in feeble nega- tions, but in strong, positive statements, and fire these with the power of propelling conviction. AT THE GRAVES OF THE NATION'S DEAD. Here sleeps heroic dust ! It is meet that a redeemed nation should come, to pay it homage at such tombs, wreathing the memory of its patriot dead in the emblems of grateful affection. These grass-grown mounds, these flower-decked graves, awake the memories of the past, and the history of our nation's perils and its triumphs comes crowding on us here. It was an auspicious day when on the 22d of December, 1620, the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock its precious freight of fugitives from tyranny; while they knelt upon the then wild and inhospitable shores, and consecrated America to freedom and to God. Amid the storm they sang, And the stars heard, and the sea, And the sounding depths of the dim woods rang. To the anthem of the free. From Plymouth Rock westward the march of empire took its way, until in 1775, from 120 souls all told, the Colonies had grown to the proportions of power equal to the task of successfully resisting the encroachments of British tyranny, while the immortal Washington led his trusty patriot band through seven years of fierce storm to victory, and national independence. It was a dark day in our national calendar when a Dutch slave ship landed at Jamestown, Va., its freight of human DECORA TION DA Y. 105 chattels in evident contravention of heaven's cherished purpose of rearing in America a continental home for liberty, and building a national asylum for the world's oppressed. Slavery at length spread its deadly virus through every avenue of the body politic, until four millions of God's poor lifted their manacled hands before heaven's high altar, and impleaded deliverance. Priests and people put their hands on God's Bible, and at his holy altars swore oppression was divine, while legislators essayed to send the nation bay- ing on the blood marked footprints of the fleeing fugitive. But there were those who heard and heeded the divine injunction : ** Proclaim liberty through all the land to all the inhabitants thereof." The voice of Garrison, of Phillips, of Wilson, of Sunjner, was heard in the van, while others chimed in, in full chorus, urging the high behest of injured justice : '* Let my people go." Repeated attempts to silence the voice of freedom, both from the rostrum and the pulpit, were heard, but signally failed, for there were those who, amid the prostrate multitude, had not bowed the knee to Baal, or worshiped at the bloody shrine of oppression's Moloch. Faithfully they sounded the notes of prophetic warning : There is a poor blind Sampson in this land. Shorn of his strength and bound in bonds of steel, Who may in some grim revel raise his hand And shake the pillars of this commonweal. Long and loud was the war of words until, believing the fullness of time had already come, John Brown struck a blow for liberty that shook as with omnipotence the pillars of oppression's pagan temple ; and though his body swung from a Virginia gallows, his soul went marching on. Defeated in the arena of public strife, and refusing to brook a barrier to the extension and triumph of their peculiar ideas and institutions, the South rose in mad rebellion, and swore the nation dissolved, and the institutions of human chattelhood established on the sure foundation of confed- io6 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. erate independence. The echo of that cannon shot aimed at the flag of our national life and liberties, as it waved over Fort Sumter, echoed through the land, setting the heart of patriotism on fire. At the call to arms, the yeo- man left his furrow, the mechanic his bench, the merchant his counter, the lawyer his brief. The parson left his pulpit and the members their pews, and all clad in the nation's blue, wheeled into one common battle line, singing, *' We are coming, Father Abraham, a hundred thousand more." Then came the hurried partings, the whispered farewells, and away to the war, for the Stars and Stripes must be defended, and our nation and our liberties perpetuated at whatever cost of hardship, of treasure, or of blood. The rival of such patriotism the world has never seen. At times the nation's sun seemed growing dark, and portentous clouds hung heavy on all the sky. Thinking the nation's night had come, beasts of prey with greedy howls crept forth, and serpents hissed the dying day. But the rocket's red glare, And the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there, borne up by a million brave hearts and hands, with the plighted vow, that though they perished the nation should live. The immortal Lincoln bowed in prayer, and plead Heaven's almighty aid, vowing the proclamation of freedom through all the land to all the inhabitants thereof ; and though the assassin's deadly arm cut short his high career, his soul went up to God with four million broken manacles in its hand. Amid the murky gloom the contest fearfully raged. Battery answered the thundering battery, and volley replied to volley, and charge met charge, while a continent trembled under the battle tread, and the nation bleeding, reeled. In the smoky distance dimly seen, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, Garfield, and a host of equally brave, led DECORA TION DA Y. 107 on to victory. At length the heavy clouds lift up and vanish, the dust and smoke of battle cleared away, the nation's sun rolled back to meridian, and poured its light of promised peace on all the land. Alas, many who went forth to the deadly fray returned not, save encoffined for the tomb, or smitten with a mortal wound or deadly disease, which claimed their lives at length. Over the memory of these, we drop the tear of affection, and strew above their sleeping dust the fragrant emblems of a nation's undying gratitude, and chant again their funeral requiem : Oh, hearts devoted ! whose illustrious doom Gave there at once your triumph and your tomb ; Ye firm and faithful in the ordeal tried, Of that dread strife by freedom sanctified ; Shrined, not entombed, ye rest in sacred earth, Hallowed by deeds of mortal worth. What though to mark where sleeps heroic dust No sculptured trophy rise, or breathing bust ? Yours on the scene where valors race was run, A prouder sepulcher — the field ye won ; There shall the bard in future ages tread, And bless each wreath that blossoms o'er the dead, Pause o'er each warrior's grass-grown bed, and hear In every breeze some name to glory dear ; And many an age shall see the brave repair. To learn the hero's bright devotion there. American Wesleyan. Let our children know the names and deeds of the men who preserved the Union ; let piety and patriotism sweetly unite in forming the character of our children that we may have a race of loyal and noble Americans to carry forward the triumphs of liberty after those who won it have gone to their reward. R. S. MACARTHUR, D. D., NEW YORK. io8 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. THE DESTRUCTION OF WAR. There are those who intimate that blood-letting is healthful for nations, and that nothing but the lancet can keep them from plethora, and that frequent wars are neces- sary in order to kill off the useless and bad population of the earth. That heathenish idea is utterly loathsome, especially when we remember that war is indiscriminate and takes down the good as well as the bad. Then I think the time has come when Christian nations ought to sub- stitute arbitration and treaty in the place of wholesale massacre. A glance at isolated facts will show the waste, the desolation, the suffering, the extermination of war. When Napoleon's army marched up toward Moscow they burned every house for 150 miles. Our Revolutionary War cost the English government $680,000,000. The wars growing out of the French Revolution cost England three thousand millions of dollars. Christendom, or as I might mispronounce it in order to make the fact more appalling, Christ-endom has paid in twenty-two years fifteen thousand millions of dollars for battle. Those were the twenty-two years, I think, ending in 1880 or thereabouts. The exor- bitant and exhausting taxes of Great Britain and the United States are for the most part resultant from conflicts. When we complain about our taxes, we charge fault upon this administration or that administration, upon this line of policy or upon that line of policy, but it is a simple fact that to-day we are paying for the shot and the shell, and the ambulances, and the cavalry horses, and the batteries, and the exploded fortresses, and the broken bones, and the digging of the grave-trenches, and for four years of national martyrdom. Edmund Burke estimated that the nations of this world had expended thirty-five thousand million dol- lars in war, but he did his cyphering before our great American and European wars were plunged into. He never dreamed that in this land in the latter part of this century in four years we should expend in battle three DECORA TION DA V. 109 thousand million dollars. But what was all the waste of treasure when compared with the waste of human life? The story is appalling. In one battle under Julius Caesar 400,000 fell. Under Xerxes in one campaign 5,000,000 were slain. Under Gengis Khan at Herat 1,600,000 were slain. At the Nishar 1,747,000 were slain. At the siege of Ostend 120,000. At Acre 300,000, and at the siege of Troy 1,816,000 fell. The Tartar and African war cost 108,000,000 lives. The wars against the Turks and Sara- cens cost 180,000,000 lives. Added to all these the millions who fell or expired in the hospital in our own conflict. ANONYMOUS. THOUGHTS PERTINENT TO DECORATION DAY. Decorating Graves an Ancient Custom.— The cus- tom of decorating graves with flowers prevailed among the Greeks .and Romans. Simonides wrote (500 b. c.) for Sophocles' epitaph : Wind, gentle evergreen, to form a shade Around the tomb where Sophocles is laid, Sweet ivy, wind thy boughs and intertwine With blushing roses and the clustering vine ; So shall thy lasting leaves with beauty hung Prove a fit emblem for the lays he sung. It is a custom full of eloquent appeals to the heart of sorrowing survivors, and is fraught with such associations as induce an elevation of sentiment, and a poetry of feel- ing adapted to modify our grief and invest the sepulcher with the kindly emotions of hope and immortality. On earth, the thorns and roses are blending And beauty immortal awakes from the tomb. The bridal and the burial have alike sought their richest emblems among these fairest symbols of beauty and decay. no THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. The old Romans not only used flowers for personal decora- tion, but made them the accessories of religion. These delicate emblems adorned their priests, altars, and sacrifices. Their statues were crowned with them. An Ancient Custom. — History records an Athenian custom, which was to wreath with flowers the monuments of those who had fallen in battle. Their fertile imaginations also provided an Elysium which was especially set apart for the eternal rest of those who had sacrificed themselves in their country's defense. There it was supposed or imag- ined that crystal streams from pure fountains always flowed, and that the sweetest flowers constantly bloomed. Such were the honors bestowed by a highly cultivated and patriotic people upon their brave defenders. The American Nation has never yet nor will it ever fail to bestow the highest honors upon their country's defenders. The memory of the patriots who fell in our revolutionary struggle for our independence are as fresh in the memory of the nation as it was when our independence was achieved ; so it will be with those who sacrifice their lives to maintain in its integrity the Government which our fathers established at the expense of so much blood, treasure, and suffering. Human life is not altogether measured by the number of years to which it may be prolonged, but that life is the most valuable and the longest which best subserves life's great^ ends. " Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, thy God's, and truth's," is a wise saying, and worthy of all commendation. COL. CURTIS, ERIE, PA. Custom of the Ages. — To commemorate those great events which have elevated national character, has been the custom in all ages. History, poetry, and eloquence have each vied in celebrating those exhibitions of courage which reflected so much honor upon the republics of antiq- uity. Rome, a nation which surpassed her contemporaries DECORA TION DA Y. Ill in love of arts and arms, erected statues, and garlanded triumphal arches in honor of her victorious brave. It is then in conformity to an ancient custom— the most natural and the deepest gratitude— that we decorate the graves of the heroic dead, who fought and fell that their country might survive. It is but natural that flowers should give expression to our love for the departed ; theirs is an oratory that speaks in perfumed silence. Joy and sorrow have their appropriate expression in these mute yet eloquent letters of '' the blooming alphabet of creation." A. T. SLADE, ESQ., CLEVELAND, O. The First Martyr to Freedom.— Chaplain J. B. Moore, standing by the grave of Corporal Sumner H. Needham, Sixth Regiment, Mass., the first martyr of the war of Freedom, killed in the Baltimore Riot, April 19, 1861, said : *' We are assembled to-day to call the roll of the honored dead anew, and to lay a fresh tribute of love and gratitude upon their graves. The occasion is complete in itself. It needs no help of speech to make it memorable. These eloquent flags waving at so many headstones, with no stripe erased, and no star obscured ; these bayonets gleaming in the sunshine ;• these echoing cannon, this tap of drums ; these beautiful flowers borne by loving hands, contributed by loving hearts ; these sacred memories baptizing us all ; speak to us to-day more eloquently than man can speak, in a language which we can all understand. The shadow of the flag fell upon every home. The price of that peace was paid by every heart. From every river, from every hillside, from every quiet of the village, from the hum of the city, from the rich man's palace, from the poor man's cottage, from the workshop and the warehouse, from the pulpit and the platform, from the forum and the bench, from Congress, and from all the people, the defenders of the Government had sprung ; and when, with the music of victory, our armies returned, the cypress was twined with the laurel at 112 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, DECORA TION DA Y, "3 every hearth-stone, because the long roll of killed, wounded, and missing was answered by some heart in every home. This was the significant fact of the war. The army by which it was waged was the army of the people, created and sustained and encouraged by the people, whose will it was sent to execute, whose government it was pledged to main- tain. Unlike the armies of history, it was organized for no personal or sectional grasp of power or dominion, but for the preservation of that national integrity and unity which had made the United States of America the model republic of the world." The Aim and Object of the War. — AVe learned in the days of childhood to revere the memory of the patriots of that mighty struggle which made us an independent nation. In our youth we admired the specimens of their eloquence in behalf of civil and religious liberty, to secure which they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. From year to year we have met on the ever glorious Fourth of July to celebrate our independence, and, with hearts aglow with gratitude and gladness, we have recounted their toils, their trials, and their triumphs. Many long years passed ere their hope of a free and prosperous country was a full and crowned reality. But it came, when by the ordering of an allwise Providence it would be most secure. It requires but a glance at the history of nations to see that our past is without a parallel in the increase of population, in the development of all the resources of material prosperity, in the progress of scientific research, in the production of literature, in the embellishments of art, and in the perfec- tion of our civil institutions. With every demand for statesmanship we have found the men to conduct us in our onward progress, till high above all the evidences of our wealth and power, above all the beauties and benefits of our country and climate has towered up this crowning fact, that the teeming millions of our people are the freest, hap- piest on earth ; and that they enjoy in larger measure than the world has ever before known the privileges and pre- rogatives of true manhood. Like the old heroes and heroines so justly celebrated in history, our fathers and mothers freely gave up their best beloved on the altar of their country. Then said the mother to her son, And pointed to his shield : Come with it, when the battle's done, Or on it from the field. In the issues thrust upon us we were made to feel that we were so forced into the conflict that we could not avoid the war without unutterable dishonor ; that if we failed to subjugate the rebels with the men and means at our com- mand, we should justly expose ourselves to the contempt of all nations. We fought, not for empire, not for power, nor for the love of martial glory, nor for the gratification of a vindictive passion, nor even for the abolition of slavery— that great system of wrong which underlay the education of caste, and fostered an oligarchy that would never rest till it culminated in the rebellion— we fought simply to preserve our own from destruction, that the Union might live. But God included in the result the liberty of the bondmen, of whom he said by his providence, " Let my people go that they may serve me." Accordingly he gave little success to our arms till emancipation was proclaimed, not only as a measure of military necessity, but as an act of justice. Regarding the situation and the use our enemies made of these bondmen, a soldier said : ** We are not fight- ing to free the negroes, but we are freeing the negroes to stop fighting." While we fought to preserve our nationality, the divinity that shapes our ends determined the result should embrace as one people, living under o?ie govern- ment established by the people, and maintained for the people, the whole territory from the chain of lakes on the north, to the great gulf on the south, and reaching from the Atlantic wave to the Pacific surge ; and that this whole 114 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, country should be called the United States of America. With the guiding hand of Providence so manifest in our national history as it has been from the time when our ancestors landed on Plymouth Rock or planted the settle- ment at Jamestown, we could but go forward, appealing to the God of battles, pouring out our treasure and our blood till a restored Union spread the protection of our flag from East to West, from North to South. / All nature sings wildly the song of the free, The red, white, and blue float o'er land and o'er sea ; The white in each billow that breaks on the shore. The blue in the arching that canopies o'er The land of our birth, in its glory outspread, And sunset dies mingle the stripes of the red. Day fades into night and the red stripe retires, But the stars on the blue light their sentinel fires ; And though night be gloomy with clouds overspread. Every star keeps its place in the arch overhead ; When the storm is dispelled, and the tempest is through, We shall count every star on the field of the blue. REV. W. W. MEECH, JERSEY SHORE, PA. Obedience to the Will of the Majority. — If silence is ever golden, it must be here beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose lives were more signifi- cant than speech, and whose death was a poem the music of which can never be sung. With words, we make promises, plight faith, praise virtue. Promises may not be kept ; plighted faith may be broken ; and vaunted virtue be only the cunning mask of vice. We do not know one promise these men made, one pledge they gave, one word they spoke ; but we do know they summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and in that act they resolved all doubts, and made im- mortal their patriotism and their virtue. For the noblest man that lives there still remains a con- flict. He must still withstand the assaults of time and DECORA TION DA Y. "5 fortune; must still be assailed by temptations before which lofty natures have fallen. But with these the con- flict was ended, the victory was won, when death stamped on them the great seal of heroic character, and closed a record which years can never blot. The faith of our people in the stability and permanence of their institutions was like their faith in the eternal course of nature. Peace, liberty, and personal security were blessings as common and universal as sunshme and showers and fruitful seasons ; and all sprang from a sm- gle source-the principle declared in the Pilgrim covenant of 1620— that all owed due submission and obedience to the lawfully expressed will of the majority. This is not one of the doctrines of our political system, it is the system itself. It is our political firmament, in which all other truths are set, as stars in the heaven. It is the encasing air; the breath of the nation's life. Against this principle the whole weight of the rebellion was thrown. Its overthrow would have brought such ruin as might follow in the physical universe, if the power of gravitation were destroyed. I love to believe that no heroic sacrifice is ever lost. That the characters of men are molded and inspired by what their fathers have done— that treasured up m Amen- can souls are all the unconscious influences of the great deeds of the Anglo-Saxon race, from Agincourt to Bunker Hill It was such an influence that led a young Greek two thousand years ago, when he heard the news o Marathon, to exclaim, - The trophies of Miltiades will not let me sleep." Could these men be silent in 1861- these, whose ancestors had felt the inspiration of battle on every field where civilization had fought in the last thousand years > Read their answer in this green turf. Each for himself gathered up all the cherished purposes of life- its aims and ambitions, its dearest affections-and flung all, with life itself, into the scale of battle. HON. JAMES A. GARFIELD, ARLINGTON. VA., MAY 30, 1868. ii6 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION-. The Significance of Flowers. — Flowers are natural tributes of sorrow, emblems of affection, testimonials of remembrance. We deck with them the altars of our religion ; we garland with them the bride of our choice ; we encircle with them the cradle of our latest born ; we garnish with them the sanctuaries of home — why should we not scatter them on the graves of the loved and lost, and invest even the cold sepulcher with faithful symbols of hope and immortality ? Next to that immortality which conveys to us a conscious personal existence in the assembly of the just made perfect, no boon is more coveted by the thoughtful mind than that which insures us an everlasting existence in the memory of our fellow men. COL. HENRY C. DEMING, HARTFORD, CONN. The Vow of the Soldiers. — As the sound of that cannon shot went echoing round the earth, what different emotions were kindled in the minds of men ? The aristo- crats, the Pope, the kings, and the emperors of the Old AVorld, with ill-suppressed delight hailed it as the harbinger of hope to themselves, and from it gathered assurance of the long continuance of their power and prerogatives. The oppressed, and those aspiring, and those laboring for the rights of men, trembled as they feared that the last hope of an expecting world was about to pass away amid the storm of battle and the smoke of deadly conflict. But good and true men, all through this land of ours, were roused as by the shock of an earthquake; many a cheek was blanched to utter paleness, but not with fear ; many a voice was tremulous but only on account of indignant grief ; many a heart was almost pulseless, but only for the love it bore for the dishonored flag of the Republic. Then came the overwhelming tide, the flood, the grandest out- burst of enthusiastic loyalty and patriotic devotion which the world has ever known ; and the great oath was sworn by an outraged people, that the nation's wrongs should be avenged, and liberty established throughout all our borders. DECORA TION DA V. 117 To fulfill this vow, the loyal masses of the land offered all they had of strength, and wealth, and life. To fulfill this vow, from the battlefields of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, from Plymouth Rock, from the hills and valleys of the East, and from the broad prairies of the West, thousands of men at their country's call, '' with silent tongue, and clenched teeth, and steady eye, and well-poised bayonet," went hurrying to the fields of conflict. To ful- fill this vow, three thousand and more of the bravest hearts that ever beat in sympathy with the down-trodden and enslaved, now silent rest, '* a fearless host in glory's brightest bed." To fulfill this vow, these men were ready to do, to endure, and to die, if need be, upon the battle- field where it is comparatively easy for the soldier to meet his fate, or in the hospital by swift or lingering disease, or of starvation and torture inflicted at the instigation of the infamous wretches who managed the affairs of the Rebellion. On fame's eternal camping-ground Their martial tents are spread, While glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead. To honor such men as these, who gave their lives for the cause they had espoused, we have to-day assembled, and in the language of the epitaph inscribed to the fallen heroes of Chaeronea, to whom, unlike our own, defeat instead of victory was decreed : These are the patriots brave, who side by side Stood to their arms, and dashed the foeman's pride ; Firm in their valor, prodigal of life, They welcomed death, the arbiter of strife, That we might ne'er to haughty victors bow, Nor thraldom's yoke, nor dire oppression know; They fought, they bled, and on their country's breast (Such was the will of Heaven)— those warriors rest. rev. (bishop) w. f. mallalieu, MOUNT HOPE CEMETERY. DORCHESTER, MASS. ii8 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Floral Tribute to their Memory. — We hear much of the language of flowers. With them we crown the head of childhood, and deck the brow of beauty. They bring to the sick chamber the cheering rememberance of the grand expanse of strength and loveliness that is spread abroad without. They grace the festival. They soothe the grief of the funeral. They tell the deepest secrets of love, and pass into the cells of memory, never to be forgotten. But where have flowers ever been applied by man to a nobler, fitter purpose than by us to-day ? Have we not done well to give the sweetest products of our native land to the memory of those who died to defend it ? May not these flowers best spend the brief hour of their unassuming lives in doing honor to heroes, and wither and meet death on the graves of the truest hearts that ever bled? Our heroes died that there should not be sunken in the soil of this land the corner stone of an empire of slavery. They gave their lives to secure the soil of this continent to the freedom and the utmost elevation of aU human beings who are to live upon it. Well, then, may we devote to their memory this annual offering the earth pours into our hands, in the infinite prodigality of nature ! RICHARD H. DANA, JR., CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Each Grave a Hallowed Shrine. — As we honor their patriotism, emulate their example, glorify their hero- ism, and teach our children the sacredness of the great cause in which they offered up their young lives, let us scatter over their graves the brightest beauties of life — the glad tokens of a blessed immortality. And may the service, now inaugurated, be perpetuated through each recurring year, so long as the Republic shall stand ; thus shall Each grave become a hallowed shrine — a Mecca for men's feet. Around whose sacred bounds shall countless pilgrims meet, To bless the hands that struggled, the hearts that nobly bled, The soldiers and the sailors — the stricken, fallen dead. DECORA TION DA Y. 119 Thus to the hero martyrs-the brave who lived and died. To all who bled for freedom's cause, we'll point with holy pride ; And leaning o'er each silent bed, as here we bend to-day. We'll place our choicest gadands o'er their consecrated clay. CAPT. GEORGE S. MITCHELL, LAWRENCE, MASS. The Worth of our Nationality.— It is good for us to be here He who reverently and gratefully makes a pil- grimage to the spot where lies the patriot soldier, who gave his life for his country and for freedom, and for the expres- sion of those emotions places a violet upon the soldier s grave, has received a re-consecration to the work which belongs to the citizen and the patriot. Recognizing the claim of the soldier who fell for his country, to be remem- bered with honor and gratitude, we shall all more truly estimate the worth of the nationality they died to preserve, and be better prepared to labor, and if need be to die in its defense. ^^^ JAMES BUNKER CONGDEN, ESQ., NEW BEDFORD, MASS. The Nobility of Patriotism.-Ii is appropriate and iust that we should thus commemorate the services of those who fought during this long struggle. All nations ancient and modern, Christian and heathen, have religiously cherished the memories of those who have fallen in the military service of their country. The reason is obvious : to peril life in the national defense is the severest test of patriotism, and the spirit which prompts that sacrifice deserves enduring honor ; while the homage which it receives educates and develops that noble sentiment which is the only security for the continuous life of nations.^ bo long as its sons are willing to die for their motherland so lona will it endure to shelter and bless them and their chirdren At the hour when a people shall be unwilling to abide this test, they will find that they have no longer a country worth saving, and those lives they will have deemed more valuable than honor and freedom transmitted 120 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, DECORA TION DA Y. 121 undimmed through centuries of glorious national life, may prove to be an intolerable burden of humiliation, misery, and disgrace. Better to be where the extinguished Spartans still are free, In their proud channel of Thermopylae, Than stagnate in the rnarsh. DR. ROBERT T. DAVIS, FALL RIVER, MASS. Our Own Heroes. — No longer will Americans look to Greece or Rome for examples of heroism and patriotism. There is not a village or hamlet within the lines of the loyal States that cannot produce characters worthy of the best and bravest of ancient times ; and not only in individuals, but in a proud nationality, has this been developed. We are indeed a nation ! ^'he flag of our country symbolizes the power of forty millions of people, strong in the con- sciousness of duty to be done, proud in the realization of truth and right vindicated. And this stupendous fabric of government, this beautiful temple of Liberty, has for its foundations the simple virtues of the people. CAPT. FITZ. J. BABSON, GLOUCESTER, MASS. Self-government Insured. — As our forefathers secured the theory of self-government by the bayonet and bullet between Lexington and Yorktown, so, by the bayonet and bullet between Sumter and Appomattox, have their descen- dants secured the embodiment of that theory in all the ramifications of our Government. After four years of blood- shed and carnage, of agony and gloom, our people joyfully beheld the smoke of battle floating away, and our beautiful land once more bathed in the glorious sunlight of peace. The painful alternations of the public mind between the bouyancy of hope and the depression of despair — untold wealth dissipated as the morning dew — and, far above and greater than all, an unnumbered host of dead — these repre- sent the cost, mental and material, of effecting this happy issue out of our national troubles. National patriotism, when inspired by the magnetic influence of human sym- pathy, is the noblest of enthusiasms. When Napoleon marched his army into Egypt, he urged his troops to deeds of valor with the appeal, '' Soldiers, forty centuries look down upon you from these pyramids." This precious slumbering dust, when animate, leaving the peaceful pursuits of life, sundering the ties of friend- ship and love, and assuming the habiliments of the soldier, incurred exposure, hardship, fatigue, danger, death, inspired by no such love of glory, but rather by the consciousness which animated the hero of Trafalgar, "Our country expects every man to do his duty." When the Lydian king inquired of the great Athenian philosopher who was the happiest among men, his response was, that " No man should be pronounced happy till his death." Thrice happy, then, he who incurs death because his love of country is so broad as to embrace humanity. CAPT. W. H. S. sweet, NEWBERN, N. C. The Language of Flowers.— Venus was represented wearing roses, Juno with the lily, and Ceres was represented with her hair entwined with wheat and poppies. With cypress they decked the dwellings of the dead, because if once cut down it will not spring up again. It had a true significance with them, because they held death to be an eternal sleep. With a more cheering faith, we plant in its stead the evergreen and those redolent flowers, whose roots being buried rise again. Then do we invoke the symbolic language of Flora, as the most eloquent of all tongues, and with her oratory of perfumed silence tell alike of mother's love or a sister's affection. No word spoken can rival the delicacy of sentiment expressed by this vocabulary. In Eastern lands they talk in flowers, And they tell in a garland their loves and cares ; Each blossom that blooms in their garden bowers, On its leaves a mystic language bears. 122 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. The flowers on the grave, bright and fresh, or faded and withered, speak to the heart in language too plain to be misunderstood, and tell of the changing nature of all things here, where '* we all do fade as a leaf." The words of men die away and are forgotten. The tones of the minstrel and the cadences of the orator are fleeting as the song of sum- mer birds. But the great truths which God has written upon the flowers with which we deck these graves, are everlasting. Hither may we come from year to year, as on this May day when the earth is in its richest sunlight, and the beauty and bounty of nature unite and impress us with the fitness of all God's handiwork — here may we come, laden with the bright, beautiful flowers, and as we strew them upon the graves of our heroic dead, repeat the story of their self- sacrificing devotion. Let us recount their services and their virtues. The eye shall kindle at the remembrance. The lip shall quiver at the thought. The heart shall leap with the emotion. And from these and other soldiers' sepulchers shall go out a succession of patriot heroes, and shall perpetuate their virtues while they immortalize their glorious names. • They never fail who die In a great cause; the block may soak their gore, Their heads may sodden in the sun ; their limbs Be strung to city gates or castle walls ; But still their spirit walks ahroad. Though years Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts Which overspread all others, and conduct The world at last to freedom. ANONYMOUS. What was Gained by the War. — State rights : if the thousands that marched to the front of battle had refused to resist with their lives this dogma, what to-day would our country have been ? What should we have been? Our DECORA TION DA V. 123 Stars and Stripes would have been swept away, and the " Stars and Bars " would have floated in their stead. Our free schools, and free Bibles, and free pulpits, and free ministers, and free people, all, all would have been gone — gone to chains and a vassalage worse than that of ancient Egypt, Babylon, or Rome ; and to-day instead of decorating the graves of our comrades fallen in glorious and honorable battle, we should have been weeping in silence at the grave of Liberty itself. When we look at our vast country with all its resources of wealth and power, at our system of free government with all the appliances for further advancement in greatness and intelligence, reaching as it does from ocean to ocean, with its fields, and mines, and streams, its hills and valleys, smiling in the sunlight of freedom, inviting the poor and oppressed of all lands to come and occupy them, to plow and reap, to build and grow, and be happy — when we look at all this and think what we would have been had the Rebellion proved a success, we feel that our comrades did not die in vain, and we feel that this is but a small token, indeed, of the love that we ought to show their memories. What tender emotions are awakened to-diiy in our minds as we bend over the silent, yet eloquent, mounds where the American soldier sleeps his last sleep. REV. J. F. MEREDITH, READING, PA. Perpetual Gratitude Their Due. — '* These flowers are the alphabet of our hearts ; with them we spell out Faith, Hope, Heaven." Flowers express in their structure and colors the most delicate affections and appreciations of the soul, for " the flower seems to be the portion of vegeta- ble on which nature has bestowed the most pains. The least conspicuous flowers reveal under the microscope an exquisite beauty." The heroic daring of the Federal soldiers, their sublime courage, entitles them to the perpetual gratitude of their countrymen and to the admiration of the world. Never in 124 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. DECORA TION DA V. 125 all the martial contests of bygone times has there been such a widely diffused and enlightened patriotism as was witnessed in the Union army. The purity of pur- pose, the solemnity of resolve, the noble aspirations of very many who rallied under the Union flag have im- mortalized the national character and ennobled mankind, proving to what sublime heights of thought and action the race may ascend under the inspiration of liberty and nationality. • The graves of the dead should be adorned and shielded against all desecration. Nehemiah mourned over the des- olation of Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. His heart was especially sorrowful at the thought that the sep- ulchers of his fathers should be dismantled and dishonored. As the memory of the dead is a natural outgrowth of the doctrine of immortality, so ornamentation and care of the tombs of the dead is a reverential tribute of human nature to the Bible doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. It is well, then, that we look ten- derly to the places where our loved ones sleep. Let the sepulchers of the brave be made worthy resorts of weeping freedom. Let the solid tablet with fitting inscription upon it brood over the slumbering body of the fallen hero. Let the marble shaft spring above the dusty dwelling place of the soldier of his country. Let the morning and evening sun, which shall greet, gild, and linger on its sides and play upon its summit, symbolize the showering benedictions of his countrymen which will stream from age to age to honor his name and memory. From age to age the honorable fame of this patriotic army will endure. It will not decrease, but rather increase with the flow of years. When the passions of the times are stilled in the grave and the men of this generation have passed away from the earth, the gathering plaudits of coming generations will greet the memory of the men who in a great crisis saved the national life. REV. FRANKLIN MOORE, D. D., POTTSVILLE, PA. A Patriotic Duty. — One of Sir Walter Scott's most graphic sketches is of the pious enthusiast, commonly known as " Old Mortality," who was wont annually to visit the graves of the heroic Covenanters, cleaning the moss from the gray stones, and renewing with his chisel the half- defaced inscriptions. Scott says of him : *' Motives of the most sincere, though fanciful devotion, induced the old man to dedicate so many years of existence to perform this tribute to the memory of the deceased warriors of the church. He considered himself as fulfilling a sacred duty, while renewing to the eyes of posterity the decaying emblems of the zeal and sufferings of their forefathers, and thereby trimming, as it were, the beacon light which was to warn future generations to defend their religion even unto blood." Mutatis Mutandis^ this is our office, and that of those who year by year shall succeed us in this pious and patriotic duty, to " let no neglect, nor ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generation that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic." REV. WILLIAM HARRIS, TOWANDA, PA. The Voice of History. — In the meridian splendor of the grandest of the ages, the most enlightened people on the face of the earth, professed believers in the common brotherhood of man and universal fatherhood of God, enunciated a doctrine new and strange in these centuries of ours, that there is no law higher than the statutes of men. From the banks of the Tiber, Rome — which had *' rocked the cradle of two civilizations," ruled the world, and gone down to ruin — conjured us by the mangled remains of her murdered Tully ; and Greece through the eloquent lips of her dying Demosthenes, plead with us, to lay the founda- tions of our governmental fabric upon the immutable prin- ciples of justice. But the ceaseless activity and intense individuality of the American mind, regardless of conse- quences, and impatient of restraint, either human or Divine, drove its plowshare of utilitarianism through creeds and 126 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. DECORA TION DA V. 127 \ formulas of the past, hoary with age and stamped with venerable authority, and from amid their ruins evoked a new genius, with golden front and sinews of iron, which pointed to its railroads and telegraphs, its mines of iron and of gold, its fields of coal and its granite warehouses, its dextrous agents dancing upon fragile ropes above the thunders of Niagara, riding upon the wings of the wind, linking together continents by submarine cables, uniting oceans by isthmus canals, and said, lo ! this is my age, the age of material power and material inspiration ; and mad- dened by ambition, lusting for gain, insatiate of power, unmindful or regardless of the warning lessons of the past, with more than Oriental devotion we knelt and worshiped at its shrine. In vain did the voice of history on the one hand, thundering along the course of ruined and desolated empires, pealing out from the the buried grandeur and magnificence of the past, portray to us the inexorable result of national injustice and crime ; and equally in ' vain on the other did the genius of our republican institu- tions, standing at the golden gates of the future, and hold- ing in her hands the bloody cerements of the past, warn us by the disastrous fall of other nations, great and powerful as ours, to beware of the whirlpools and maelstroms of wrong and error into which they had fallen, and had sunk to rise no more. But admonitions and warnings and consequences were alike unheeded ; forgotten or ignored was the great law of retributive justice. CAPT. A. C. LITTLE, AURORA, ILLS. Years will Increase our Appreciation. — Their heroic deeds take rank in that grandeur whose full appre- ciation requires the lapse of thoughful years. Their great- ness, heartily as it is recognized now, will grow more in splendor as the fruits of their victory shall fall in succes- sive years to enrich the nation's history. It has happened to them as to all prominent actors in either religious or political contests, that the excellency of their deeds could I 1 I not be fully discovered until the smoke and dust of battle had been swept away. In such time the aspirations of slandering enemies and the jealousy of lukewarm associates, and the timidity of friends in faintly claiming deserved praise, all conspire in withholding that generous award of honor which after generations take delight in bestowing. Thus the generations to come will continue the repetition of the tributes to these patriots which we have this day observed, rehearsing with ever increasing praise the moral grandeur of their deeds. REV. MR. BAUMME, SPRINGFIELD, O. The Price of National Life.— In the book of nature, where every emotional, mental, and spiritual quality of humanity may find its correspondence and illustrations, flowers represent good affections, thoughts, and intentions toward others. As the flower precedes the fruit, and gives notice of its coming, so good thoughts, affections, and intentions precede and give promise of deeds in love to others. These cherished dead are now beyond the reach of our good deeds ; to bring fruits to them would be vain, but to indulge good thoughts and affections toward them should enlarge our souls and wake in our breasts a more vigorous determination to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others. The indulgence in such thoughts and intentions may lead us so to act and speak that those who come after us will be encouraged by our instruction and example to sacrifice themselves if need be, when the good of the country and liberty shall demand it. Why were these brave men sacrificed ? Nothing more or less than to settle an error in statesmanship. By false teaching, two conflicting ideas were taught among the people and arrayed them in hostile parlies. This is no time or place to discuss political questions, but lest I be misunderstood, let me say, that this conflict on one side, was that we were not a nation, but a confederation of sov- ereign States, which at all times have the right to withdraw 128 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. DECORA TION DA Y. 129 from the Union. On the other side it was contended that the United States has a nationality, a common constitution, a common flag, with a government having the right to enforce its own laws and preserve its existence by force against all enemies, within or without. These two ideas moved the contending hosts on the battlefields of the late terrible conflict of arms. By the sword it decided that we have^ common country, a common flag, and that the Union of these States is not a rope of sand, but a bond so strong that no foe can break it. Let us all then accept the teach- ings of the hour, expel from our minds the fallacy it has cost so much to settle, aud here by the graves of these martyrs to liberty— inspired by the sacrifices they have made, resolve that cost what it may this " Union shall be preserved." All people, in all ages, of all nationalities and religions, have ever paid the highest respect and honor to the memories of those who died for their country, for liberty, and the rights of man. They have been the heroes and demigods before whom the people have bowed down and worshiped. And the feelings which prompt this reverence are not irreligious. It is but an acknowledgment of the great service and sacrifice of such as were willing to become martyrs for the good of the people. It seems to be so ordered in the economy of this world, that no great and lasting good can be accomplished but at the cost of great sacrifices. We cannot tell why this should be, but history proves the truth of the assertion. No people ever secured their liberty and established free institutions, but by the shedding of blood. The ancient republics renowed in his- tory, and the empires which have swayed the destinies of the world, reached their success and greatness through seas of blood. And all the kingdoms and empires of modern times which have become great and powerful, have reached their pre-eminence through the blood of their citi- zens, flowing for centuries until, as it were, it reached to the bridle-bits of the horses of the warriors. :/ I / This is the fearful price of national life, vitality, and power, of the supremacy of law and order, and the pre- dominance of right over lawless might and mob violence. Our own Republic was established after eight long years of bloody strife. Though the great name of Washington has seemed to eclipse all others, yet in the hearts of the people, Warren and his fallen compatriots are cherished as the real saviors of the country. And when we look back over the record of that great struggle, we find the names of many who have made its battlefields illustrious by their heroic death. Without the shedding of their blood, with- out the noble sacrifice of those great and good men who, uninfluenced by selfishness, but prompted only by a love of country, and a desire to promote the welfare of their fel- low men, willingly laid down their lives, the establishment of the American Republic could, never have been accom- plished. As the first period of our history opened amid the fires of the Revolution, so the second has been inaugu- rated amid the carnage of the greatest battlefields of the world. Before we could enter upon the stage of this new era, and fulfill its destiny, it seemed to be necessary that we should pass through this second baptism of fire and blood, to fit us for the accomplishment of our great and responsible duties. The light that shines from a patriot's grave is a pure and holy light, and while we are guided by it we shall never go into the paths of treason and rebellion. Let that light illuminate our pathway, and the noble example of the dead strengthen our love of country and devotion to duty. ( When patriotism in the hearts of the people is dead, all is '- lost. It is the life-blood and soul of the national existence, the animating fire which makes a people great, and their history grand and beautiful. When we no longer have brave men who are willing to fall in defense of their country, and have women willing to sustain them in the conflict ; when, if ever, we are compelled to rely upon a hireling and mercenary soldiery to defend our liberties, 130 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION". m DECORA TlON DA V. 131 we will have no liberties worth defending, and our institu- tions will soon perish and decay. When the Romans fought their own battles, they controlled the destinies of the world. When they came to depend upon a mercenary army, they became slaves, and the empire of the world passed from their hands into that of barbarians. REV. HOMER EVERETT, TREMONT, 0. Soldiers from a Sense of Duty. — Many and great were the trials of the country. Fear, as it were, oscillated between doubts of competency on the one hand and patriotism on the other, in those to whom the country had intrusted its sword. We hardly knew, at times, whether there was more to fear from the enemy in arms, than the treachery which lurked in the bosoms of some who were the nation's captains. It is one of the most incomprehensi- ble problems of history, that the cause of human liberty should be so frequently betrayed by the treachery of pro- fessed adherents. Caesar, the people's idol, and one of the great captains of the Roman Empire, overturned the liber- ties of his country. Gorgey threatened the aspirations of Hungary in 1848 ; and Louis Napoleon, chosen by the people as the President of the French Republic, like a viper, stung to death the virtuous confidence that warmed him into existence. These lessons of history, recalled by circumstances that but too plainly justified the suspicions they awakened, kept the public mind in a continual state of anxiety and dread. Fortunately, the country, in its great struggle for life, was saved from the ruinous consequences of such base betrayals as is furnished in the history of other nations ; and the reason is to be found in the virtue and intelligence of the citizen soldiery, upon whom the nation relied as its right arm of defense. With such a soldiery, the Rubicon could not be crossed, because they were more attached to the institutions of their country than to the name of any military chieftain. They followed their flag, and were but little dazzled by the pomp of military splendor. They were soldiers from a sense of duty, and ever anxiously looked forward to the day when they could in peace return to the quiet of their homes and the enjoyment of their liberties. Soldier, rest, thy warfare's o'er, Sleep the sleep that knows no waking. Dream of battlefields no more. Days of danger, nights of waking. Sleep, soldier, sleep ! from sorrow free, And sin and strife. 'Tis well with thee } 'Tis well ; though in that far off land, not a single tear Laments the brave, the buried volunteer. capt. t. a. minshall, chillicothe, o. If Principles were not at Stake the War was Useless. — If the crimes by which we were wronged so much should be forgotten, the past suffering of the living and the dead were worse than wasted, and revolutions and war become but a contest between life and death for the mastery, in which death comes off more than victor ; patriotism would be valueless, and the defenders of justice die without reward. If it was not for principles we fought, and if those principles, and their friends and enemies, be not remembered, our struggle has been useless, both as a defender of good and an exponent of evil. gen. JOHN C. p. shanks, PORTLAND, IND. Our Defenders not Forgotten. — Will a great people forget its defenders ? Will the lovers of liberty around the globe let their fame cease who saved the citadel of Freedom in the darkest hour ? No ! the glory of their fame is undying ! The little mound of Marathon, where slumber the Greeks who saved the world from Asiatic barbarism, is a holier spot than the site of city or pyramid or palace ; and while civilization endures, the glory of that little band will outshine the pomp of kings and the pride of luxury 132 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. DECORA TION- DA V. 133 and power. Time will come when the common consent of humanity will number our dead comrades among the heroes and benefactors of mankind ; when the green mounds above them will be known as true altars of patriot- ism and liberty ; when patriots of all nations and climes shall gather new inspiration at their graves — and recognize how enduring is the fame of those who bravely die in the cause of Right and Justice and their country. Time will destroy the marble of our tombs. No chiseled epitaph can survive his attack. The steel of our bayonets must perish. But there is a shrine in the temple of ages, where lie forever embalmed the memories of such as have deserved well of their country and their race. COL. JOHN MASON BROWN, FRANKFORT, KY. Contrasts of Peace and War. — It is a remark of the Father of History, in his book inscribed to Clio, that in peace children bury their parents, but that in war parents bury their children. The sentiment is not less just than is the Greek perspicuous in which Herodotus told it. It is a wise provision of Divine Providence that we can, in pensive sorrow, lay to rest our aged parents crowned with years and honors. The burst of anguish soon dies away into tender recollection, but when age brings its treasures to the early tomb, then the heart is inconsolable ; it is " Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are not." ROBERT graham, D. D., LEXINGTON, KY. Representatives of Public Virtue. — With no jeal- ousies to indulge and no envy to gratify, we seek to draw a lesson from the past that shall be to our future a beacon and a guide. To the sleeping martyrs, whose graves billow every battlefield, it matters little what we may now say or do. Our tender offerings of affection will be lost upon their mounds, and the sweet aroma of our scented flowers be uselessly exhaled to air, save as we revive our faith in the doctrines which they defended, and our zeal in the cause for which they died. They were the representatives of that public virtue which is the corner stone and mainstay of our temporal existence. It was the sentiment that Montesquieu called a sensation, and not a mere conse- quence of acquired knowledge — common alike to the low- liest and loftiest member of the State. It was the same sentiment that Leonidas felt when he fell at Thermo-l pylae ; which solaced Aristides when exiled from Greece ; which the soldier of the Revolution felt when he tracked with his blood the snows of Valley Forge ; which Patrick Henry illustrated when he invoked "liberty or death"; which actuated Adams when declaring ** sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration " ; and which these our soldiers felt when, leaving home and friends and comfort and safety, they invoked hunger and captivity, disease and death. More speedy than argument and more powerful than cannon, it bore our impulsive legions over fields so sanguinary and through conflicts so vast, that the archangel of war thereupon made new record of human prowess. The integrity of the nation has been assailed, and from the fountain of love of country came the inspiration for its defense. The sentiment was not of party. It rebelled at the mention of a divided land, and threw all of existence into the idea of unity. Not so powerful was the flaming cross of Constantine, or the victorious eagle of Napoleon. We can never forget to commemorate the deeds of those who perished to achieve this sublime result. Their memories are sacred, and the holiest benedictions of their favored countrymen will ever follow a mention of their virtues. For the monument of Thermopylae, where fell the brave three hundred, Leonidas wrote this epitaph: '' Stranger, go and tell in Lacedoemon that we fell here in defense of her laws." With greater cause for greater gratitude, let us tell to future time the story of our comrades' deeds with a monument that shall say, ** Pilgrim or citizen, go and pro- I 134 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION: DECORA TION DA Y. 135 claim through the limits of the nation, that we, soldiers of the Republic, fell in defense of its laws, its liberties, and its life," As the statue of Themistocles, from a promontory in Greece, long greeted the returning voyager, and fired anew his love for Attica and Athens, so let our far-reaching columns of storied marble and animated bronze bear vitaliz- ing testimony to the glory of our soldiery from the parapets of the Pacific to the green hills of New England. Make of wood the arches of triumph which mark our fields of battle, if it must be, that the memory of a civil strife may not be continued to another generation ; but for the soldier who knew no sentiment but love for his country, and who gave his life to duty in its defense, the eternal granite should bear to posterity the hallowed record. And as we engrave thereon the virtues of the dead let us add, in characters of bold relief, that universal freedom to man came as the corollary of devotion to our land : they died that all might go free. Of all the results of war, no richer boon ever graced the trophies of the victor. Where freedom is, no man is poor ; For nature's air is affluence to all. COL. JOHN p. JACKSON, NEWPORT, KY. Heroic Devotion Merits Reward. — To say that they died a glorious death would be saying little, for the same is said of those who, following the lead of vain and greedy conquerors, found their graves among the enslaved nations, slaves themselves to the selfish and despotic will that ruled them. For our dead we have a higher praise. It was not enforced obedience to the command of a tyrant that dragged them from their homes ; not the lust of conquest, nor the scarcely nobler thirst for glory. When the life of the nation was attempted, when the cause of liberty and human rights called for their aid, they rushed forth to rally under the banner they loved, with grand singleness of purpose and heroic devotion — leaving all behind them, to meet toil and «V danger, hunger, sickness, wounds, and death, for nothing but the sublime satisfaction of doing their duty to their country and to mankind. GEN. CARL SCHURZ, ST. LOUIS, MO. The Great Lesson of the Age. — War is no part of our business, nor of the nation's ; yet it is wise to keep alive and vigorous the spirit of patriotism. " Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty ": and it is not impossible that, in the future as in the past, the fair goddess of freedom may be stricken down, and her starry banner trailed in the dust. But we point out to posterity, through this memorial service, the blood marks of the foulest rebellion that blackens the pages of a thousand years. And we give, year by year, a fresh reminder that, when the slave power raised its hideous black hand and brandished its bloody knife, threatening the life of the nation, a million of freemen, sturdy sons of toil and industry, left their peaceful avocations, and leaped into bristling ranks of armed soldiery ; and every sword and bayonet was the centering point of high resolve to save the nation, and hand down her free institutions to all future time, or die at the post of duty in the mighty conflict. Let. the rising generation be thrilled and inspired with the liv- ing sentiment of this great lesson of the age, and be imbued with its spirit, and hand it down, renewing and renewed, from generation to generation. MR. H. a. REID, RACINE, WIS. Glorious in Deeds. — The monument at the pass of Thermopylae bore the inscription, ** Go, stranger, and tell at Lacedaemon that we died for our country and in obedience to her laws." The memory of her heroic deeds, and of the heroic men, lives in immortal freshness, though the names have not been recorded. And so it will be with our heroes though they have passed from sight. I3<5 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. The muffled drum's sad roll has beat The soldier's last tattoo; No more on life's parade shall meet The brave but fallen few. On fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, And glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead ! HON. THEODORE ROMEYN, DETROIT, MICH. A Tribute to Martyrs. — It is befitting on this, the anniversary of the great decisive battle of the rebellion (Gettysburg), to offer some tribute to the martyrs of our Union, and to estimate the importance of their achieve- ments. The destiny of Athens was determined on the plain of Marathon. Miltiades, with his few Athenians, checked the invading Persians, turned their advance into a retreat, and not only Athens, but the independence of ail Greece was secure. At the battle of Waterloo the destiny of Europe was in the scale. " Waterloo is the hinge of the nineteenth century." The disappearance of Napoleon was necessary for the advent of the great century and the peace of the Continent. His dictatorship was ended, his conquests ceased, the cause of liberty triumphed, and a new era dawned upon Europe. At the battle of Gettysburg, the destiny of America, the success of the republican form of government, were in the balance. Three long days our gallant soldiers, champions of freedom, fought the desperate foe ; three anxious days the momentous issues oscillated in the balance ; but at the close of the third day our destiny was sealed : the Con- federates were driven back in dismay, the backbone of the Rebellion was broken, its destruction decreed, Philadelphia and Washington were safe, the Union was secured, and liberty triumphant ! The destinies of nations and ages are often decided in a day. Who can estimate the results of decisive battles DECORA TION DA Y 137 between conflicting armies and opposing ideas? In the Punic wars had Carthage been successful instead of her rival Rome, the imperial city would have been razed to its foundations, the theater of civilization would have been shifted from Europe to Africa, and the history of the whole world have been changed. Had the Persians been victorious at Marathon, Athens would have fallen, and the world would never have known the classic glory of Greece. Had Napoleon triumphed at Waterloo the thrones of Europe would have been shaken and the balance of power lost. And had the Confederates been victorious at Gettys- burg and the rebellion triumphant, *' the government of the people, by the people, and for the people," would have perished from the earth, our nation would have been blotted out, liberty would have died, and the history of all succeeding ages been revolutionized ! Such were the calamities averted by the gallant men whom we have met to honor. It becomes us as devoted citizens on this his- toric day to repair to the silent city of the dead and strew^ the graves of our fallen soldiers with choicest flowers ; and chanting grateful paens, shed tears of patriotic remem-J brance, and thank God for such noble men, martyrs for^ freedom, who suffered that posterity might rejoice ; who'/ bled that liberty might be perpetual ; who died that our country might live ! It would be base ingratitude, dastardly meanness, to pass them by unnoticed, and consign their deeds and their memories to the cold waters of oblivion. Never did a soldier fight for a nobler end, bleed for a grander idea, or die for a better cause. On the field of Gettysburg no new issue was contested. It was the same old conflict that has been waged in all nations and in all ages. " History repeats itself." The same spirit of oppres- sive oligarchy has often deluged the nations in blood. It was the irrepressible conflict of antagonistic principles. It was the mad effort of the minority to rule or ruin the majority. It was the marshaling of treason against loyalty, of aristocracy against democracy, of slavery against free- 138 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, dom. The rebels received the sympathy of the world's despots ; the Union cause, the sympathy and prayers of every lover of liberty. Tyranny desired to crush, humanity to sustain our Government. The Confederates sought to destroy the Union, and to raze this grand temple of liberty — the refuge of the oppressed,— to its foundation. But their cause was tried before the Infijiite, and \.\it\x failure decreed. Under the blessing of God, our soldiers have demonstrated to the world that our Union is not a rope of sand ; that the Republican form of Government is not a failure ; that our Government has strength to put down mighty rebellions, and that the people are capable of governing themselves. All honor, then, to our soldiers, who fought with more than Spartan bravery the wicked forces of disunion, saved the Republic y and liberated the race I J. C. PATTERSON, MARSHALL, MICH. Our Country's Gallant Dead !— Let us cherish their memories and treasure up their deeds ! Let us gather their ashes into the urn of immortality, and write every name on the national roll of honor! Our country's soil gives them all sepulture. They sleep beneath the Stripes and Stars, revered by a race freed from bondage, and the liberty-loving masses of the whole world. Each soldier's name Shall shine untarnished on the roll of Fame, And stand the example of each distant age, And add new luster to the historic page. REV. JOSEPH H. TWICHELL, HARTFORD, CONN. The Destruction of Liberty the Darkening of Christianity. — As far back as the history of the world reaches we find that whenever the sword has entered any free and enlightened nation to destroy it, as the nation suffered so has its civilization and Christianity. Turn your eyes to the Old World and glance over its pages of history, and there you will find this truth verified : that wherever DECORA TION DA V. 139 rebellion has destroyed governments liberal in their forms, civil and religious liberty has been blighted. Once the honor most esteemed by enlightened and brave men was to be called a Roman citizen. Rome was the mistress of nations and for a time a mighty republic, the home of free- dom, civilization, and culture. But what is it now? A pile of majestic ruin — records of its departed greatness. And so with other nations. Italy, once a proud and inde- pendent people, now a nation of organ grinders and peddlers. Athens, once the seat of learning, now lives only in its ruins and history. Jerusalem, the holy city and seat of the Christian religion, is now in the hands of Oriental bigots. The verdict of history is that where liberty is destroyed Christianity sinks into darkness. Then as oft as the 30th of May returns with time's annual round let a grateful nation remember its dead, and with a floral offering decorate the tombs of its fallen heroes, while the dropping tear moistens the cold sod that covers their sleeping dust. To them we owe the liberty we enjoy ; to them we owe the preservation of our institutions ; and shall we not hold them in grateful remembrance ? And though we may often differ in opinion, let us here be united. In God's name let us respect and love the dead who have died for us. Let this beautiful custom be perpetuated until the day shall become hallowed in the history of freedom. It carries with it the idea of our loss and the dear cost of liberty. It brings fresh to mind the deeds of our country's martyrs, it keeps alive and warm the greatest principles for which our sires poured out their blood, on which our republic is based. gen. JOHN A. LOGAN, DU QUOIN, ILL. The Homage We Owe the Fallen. — No eloquence can be as commanding as the eloquence of these graves ; no flowers of rhetoric as appropriate as these flowers of spring with which we honor the remains of the patriot dead. They rose from the sphere of the citizen to the plane of the patriot. They learned what war meant, by meeting it 140 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. DECORA TION DA V. 141 With the courage of the warrior. War is the sundering of the dearest ties. War is the wearisome march and the privations of the camp. War is life ebbing away in the hospital or the prison pen. War is the bursting shell and the thousands upon thousands of unseen bullets speeding death ,n every direction. War is the open-mouthed cannon making windrows of victims through the ranks of armies. War is the empty sleeve and the weary crutch War IS force, bloodshed, anguish, death. To this harvest of death these brave men willingly went forth. The Spartan band of Leonidas at the Thermopyl^an Pass were not more heroic and self-sacrificing; Curtius, who leaped into the yawning gulf to save with his own his nation s life, was not more daring. Do we not owe them therefore, the homage we so willingly render to-day J 1 hey were not only patriotic, and brave, and darinV but they were martyrs also. The supporters of religion gave their lives for a principle. These martyrs of patri- otism gave their lives for an idea. It was the grand Idea of American nationality that inspired them to sacrifice and transformed them from peaceful citizens into patriotic heroes. It was to save the dear old flag from dishonor, and the nation that they loved from destruction, that they gave their lives. Some lived to see the victory won for which they had periled so much ; but many of them passed away before the hour of triumph, in the darkness of night, before the bright rays of the morning came. Some sleep in this city of the silent dead, near to the friends they loved while living. Many returned not, living or dead, but lie in dis- tant cemeteries ; or, sadder than all, have over them the tombstone marked - Unknown." But whether here or far away, a preserved republic honors all their memories and gratefully enshrines their patriotic pride in undying history We may adorn with loving tributes tlie resting place of our beloved dead ; the flowers which are strewn here may sym- bolize the living fragrance of their memory ; but we shall honor them the most by having their example teach us to 1 s love our country more, to value its dearly purchased insti- tutions more, to prize its manifold blessings more, and to advance its greatness and true glory more. And thus, as we bare and bow our heads in their honor on this com- memorative day, we shall appreciate more truly and thor- oughly those priceless privileges for which they sacrificed all they had — home, and happiness, and life — to preserve for us and the generations that are to follow us when we too have passed away. HON. SCHUYLER COLFAX, SOUTH BEND, IND. All Honor to the Brave. — To-day, the great, the gifted, and the gay, go forth on a pious pilgrimage to these silent shrines to honor the fallen brave. Eloquent eulogy will chronicle their heroism ; gifted poets will chant their praises ; fair hands will scatter floral tributes to their worth ; the surrounding groves will echo with the national airs ; and ** Liberty's bright flag will be displayed," with the roar of artillery. Never has a nation thus honored its defenders, and it is right that they should be thus honored. The un- marked grave of a Union soldier, with nothing but the few drops of the morning dew to gild it, is more glorious than the proud mausoleum of a despotic conqueror. A redeemed nation *' swells the funeral cry, and Triumph weeps above the brave." major ben: perley poore, newburyport, mass. America's Capacity for Self-government. — The successful overthrow of the great Rebellion has taught the crowned heads of the world that " we the people " can make the ablest and mightiest government that earth ever saw; that no government beneath the sun has within itself greater capacity of self-preservation than has been dis- played by the American republic. A government whose bulwarks are made strong by the willing hearts and ready hands of its own loving sons, rejoicing ever to do and to die in its defense — such govern- 142 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. ment may mock at its foes. The elements of power and endurance are in it. Talk of imperialism, of a royal house- hold, and of a blooded and titled aristocracy on American soil ! Such plants will never thrive here. One blast of a sweeping nor'wester would wither them to their root's ends Whoever would amuse himself by the culture of such exotics must nurture them carefully in the hotbed of his own fevered brain, and shut them out from the sunlight of American intelligence and the bracing air of this free land. They can only have even the sickliest growth in the nursery brain of these wild fanatics. But by transplanting into the outside world they would encounter instant blast- ing and mildew. Liberty's strong tree flourishes here. It IS mdigenous to American soil. It thrives on the rocks of New England, and on the mountain tops of Pennsyl- vania and Tennessee. The winds which sweep across the northern lakes fan its lungs into the largeness of a vigorous life, so even its leaves are for the healing of the nations It grows luxuriantly by the side of still waters in Michigan* and strikes its roots deep into the broad prairies of the Mississippi valley. This is its home : but imperialism is at best a miserable house-plant, and, thank Heaven, found in but few houses at that. For no such wretched end did our heroes die. In their last will and testament, sealed with their blood, they have bequeathed to us, as their dying legacy, a Union stronger nobler, freer than ever. " The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." By the gift of these men, and such as these, we have henceforth a more homogeneous country and a grander and higher civilization. PRES. E. B. FAIRFIELD, HILLSDALE COLLEGE, DETROIT, MICH. America's All Saints' Day.— Hero worship in some form is as old and almost as universal as humanity. The demi-gods of the ancient nations were heroes illustrious for their valor, prowess, and patriotism, and who for these DECORA TION DA V. M3 qualities were after death deified by an admiring and grate- ful posterity. The saint worship of more modern times is another form of the same thing ; for the saint is the hero of another and a nobler type, in whom moral heroism and endurance have taken the place of the physical strength and courage which characterized the heroes and demi-gods of pagan antiquity. In these countries in which the saints are more honored than in our own, they have a custom which, in one of its aspects at least, is worthy of our ad- miration. As there are not days enough in the year to give one to every saint, there is one day set apart in honor of them all, so that none of them may fail to receive some share of the homage due. This is democratic and just. It commends itself to our love of fair play and impar- tiality. For it is not always the saints most renowned that are most worthy of the honor, nor is it always the heroes whose names are most trumpeted by fame that have the highest claims upon the gratitude of mankind. This day may without impropriety be called our Amer- ican All Saints' day, for we have no better saints than those whose memory we have come to honor. Nor do I deem it any perversion of terms to speak of them as saints ; for a saint, stripped of all superstitious fancies, is simply a good man, who has not lived for himself alone, but for God and the good of his fellow men. The altar it is said, sanctifies the gift. The cause for which a man suffers imparts its sanctity to the sufferer. He who dies in battle for the rights and liberties of men must share forever in the glory of the cause for which he shed his blood. The martyrs of all ages are illustrious, not so much by virtue of their personal position and merits as from the fact that the great cause for which they suf- fered and sacrificed themselves has reflected upon them its own imperishable luster and glory. And if any cause can confer honor upon its defenders and martyrs, surely the cause for which these men suffered is such a one. rev. WILLIAM M'KINLEY, WINONA, MINN. 144 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Our Fallen HEROES.-Coming from the busy walks of life to cemetery and field, with reverence for the heroic dead and gratitude for the patriotic living, we bring a wreath of cypress for the graves of those whose lips are sealed-who answer no more to the roll call amono- the hv.ng-and speak a word to those more fortunate, who fought a good fight, kept a sacred faith, won a glorious victory, and live to fight the battles of free and ever-grow- ing people. ^ We come to linger among those graves, which are not simply houses for the dead, but vaults in which the nation's power, fame, and glory are stored. Thev are still centers o power in cemetery, churchyard, lonely fawns, groves, and national fields, beautified and indicated by shafts and slabs deserted, forgotten, and covered with turf, visited for the first time for a year-visited by friends with loving hearts and by angels, at the hand of the winds. See them coming from the hillside and valley, from hothouse and conserva tory; coming with flowers-flowers gathered, selected, cultivated ; flowers, " nature's sweetest gifts " and choices offerings. There are newly made graves, into which many of our most honored comrades have stepped since last we met Ihey were brave, gallant, and peerless, but they have passed the Appomattox of life. Those who were The pillar of a people's hope, The center of a world's desire. They have exchanged the corruptible for incorruption mortality for immortality, and joined Moses and Joshua' Wellington and Cromwell, Lincoln and Garfield, and that innumerable throng, " whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung." Alas ! The boast of heraldiy, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour ; The path of glory leads but to the grave. DECORA TION DA K. 145 Every heart in this broad land ought to respond to the call of our commander, and enter into the service of this hour with the same zeal and enthusiasm that characterized the days of enlistment, and the organization of the armies out of which these men have fallen. Other lands have had heroes, but ours were more — they were saviors, and by their sacrifices have saved the greatest land under the shining sun. Our boys went to conquer a rebellion and save the unity of a nation. When Marcus Curtius was told by the soothsayer that the chasm opened in the Roman Forum must be filled with what Romans most valued, he mounted his horse and rode away into death, a sacrifice for his country. When General Pemberton met his old comrade. General Grant, at Vicksburg, and asked for an interview, that blood- shed might cease, Grant's answer voiced the feelings of every true soldier : *' On one condition this blood may cease to flow." '* What is that ? " " An unconditional surrender on your part, General." This spirit filled the ranks as well as the ofificers. A generation has been born and bred in the South since we asked our conquered brothers to come back and share with us ; a thousand interests have developed that claim our attention ; and there remains but one thing for us to do, and that is well expressed in an old hymn : To serve the present age. My calling to fulfill. Temples and institutions of learning crown our hills ; while the generation born since the war, and now in the majority, needs the patriotism such an hour begets. If there were no words spoken, or songs sung, an hour among the heroic dead, with muffled tread and silent prayer, would impress us with a sense of self-sacrifice, and inspire a heroism the age needs. None can move among the dis- 146 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION-. DECORA TION DA K. embodied spirits of such men without profit. To go again in imagination in search of water to slake the thirst of a dymg comrade ; to note the tear of joy falling over his unwashed cheek, as we took his last farewell, is to put on anew the spirit of other days. REV. H. W. BOLTON. 147 THE BROTHERHOOD OF SOLDIERS. Comrades known in marches many, Comrades tried in dangers many, Comrades bound by memories many, Brothers ever let us be. Wounds and sickness may divide us, Marching orders may divide us. But whatever fate betide us, Brothers of the heart are we. By communion of the banner, Battle-scarred and victory banner, By the baptism of the banner, Brothers of one church are we. Creed nor faction can divide us, Race nor nation can divide us, But whatever fate betide us, Brothers of the flag are we. Comrades known by faith the dearest, Tried when death was near and nearest, Bound we are by ties the dearest, Brothers evermore to be. And if spared and growing older, Shoulder still in line with shoulder, And with hearts no throb the colder. Brothers ever we will be. MILES o'reILLY. The beautiful tribute of the Kentucky officer to his com- rades who fell in the Mexican War, on the occasion of the removal of their remains to their native land, seems pecu- liarly appropriate for a memorial service : The muffled drum's sad roll has beat These soldiers' last tattoo ; No more on life's parade shall meet These brave and daring few. On fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread ; And glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead. No vision of the morrow's strife The warrior's dreams alarms ; No braying horn or screaming tife At dawn shall call to arms. Nor war's wild note nor glory's peal Shall thrill with grim delight Those breasts that nevermore shall feel The rapture of the fight. Rest on, embalmed, heroic dead, Ye noble and ye brave, No impious footprints there shall tread The herbage of your grave ; Nor shall your glory be forgot While Fame her record keeps, Nor Honor points the hallowed spot Where Valor proudly sleeps. Yon marble minstrel's voiceless tone In deathless song shall tell, When many a vanquished age hath flown, The story how ye fell. Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter's blight. Nor time's remorseless doom, Shall dim one ray of holy light That gilds your glorious tomb. N<; 148 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, From North, and East, and West they came, They left their plowshares in the mold, Their flocks and herds without the fold, Their sickles in the unmown grain. Their corn half garner'd on the plain. To right their wrongs, come weal, come woe, To perish or o'ercome the foe. They throng the silence of the heart, We see them as of yore — The kind, the true, the brave, the sweet, Who talk with us no more. All honor to the patriot dead, Who fell that freedom's cause might live ; We strew above each grassy bed The sweetest flowers our hands can give. And thus beside each hallowed grave. We tell how recollection still Warms with those memories of the brave. Which lapsing years shall never chill. And here above their sleeping dust We call their shades from spirit land. To seal our pledges that the trust For which they died for aye shall stand. Dearer than aught on earth beside. Sacred as all our hopes of heaven— That for the flag, whate'er betide. Our lives are pledged, and shall be given. So on the field where long ago Brave warriors stayed invasion's tread, We swear afresh, come weal or woe. We will be faithful to the dead. COL. CHARLES CASE, NEW ORLEANS, LA. DECORA TION DA V. ^49 Great God ! We thank Thee for this home. This bounteous birthland of the free, Where wanderers from afar may come, And breathe the air of liberty ; Still may her flowers untrampled spring, Her harvests wave, her cities rise, And yet, till time shall fold her wing, Remain earth's loveliest paradise. Give me the death of those Who for their country die ; And oh, be mine like their repose, As cold and low they lie. Their loveliest mother earth Enshrines the fallen brave ; In her sweet lap who gave them birth. They find a tranquil grave. COL. T. A. GREEN, ST. JOSEPH, MO. These occasions recall Collins' exquisite and never to be sufficiently admired lines : How sleep the brave who sink to rest. With all their country's wishes blessed ; When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallow'd mold. She there shall dress a sweeter sod, Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. By fairy hands their knell is rung, By forms unseen their dirge is sung ; There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray. To bless the turf that wraps their clay ; And Freedom shall awhile repair, To dwell a weeping hermit there. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. Biographical.— George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Va., February 22 (old style, February 11), 1732. His ancestry can be traced no further back than his great grandfather John Washington, who settled in Virginia about 1657. His father's name was Augustine Washington, and his mother's maiden name Mary Ball, and their marriage took place in 1730. Very little is known of George Washington's early life and boy- hood. His education was elementary and very defective, except in mathematics, in which he was largely self-taught. About 1748 he was at Mount Vernon and obtained, at sixteen years of age, the appointment of surveyor of the enormous property of Lord Fairfax, and the succeeding three years of his life were spent in this service. At the age of nineteen he was appointed adjutant of the Virginia troops with the rank of major. At the death of his half-brother Lawrence in the following year, he was executor under the will, and residuary heir of Mount Vernon. In 1753, when he had barely attained his majority, the young man was made commander of the northerly military district of Virginia by the new Lieutenant- Governor, Dinwiddle. At the outbreak of the French and Indian wars in 1753-4, he was sent by Governor Dinwiddle to warn the French away from their new forts in Western Pennsylvania. The command of the Virginia troops fell on him, and his vigorous defense of Fort Necessity made him so prominent a figure that in 1755, ^t the age of twenty-three, he was commissioned com- mander-in-chief of all the Virginia forces. He served in Brad- dock's campaign, and in the final defeat showed for the first time that fiery energy which always lay hidden beneath his calm and unruffled exterior. For a year or two he defended a frontier of more than 350 miles against the French and Indians with seven hundred men, and in 1758 had the pleasure of commanding the advance guard of the expedition which captured Fort Du Quesne and renamed it Fort Pitt (now Pittsburg). The war in Virginia was thus ended and Washington resigned his post, married Mrs. Curtis, a widow, and settled at Mount Vernon. For the next twenty years of his life, Washington lived like a typical Virginia planter, a consistent member of the Episcopal church, a large slaveholder, a strict but considerate master, and a widely trusted man of affairs. His marriage brought an increase of $100,000 to his estate. There is no evidence that he was extensively read, but only that he was a methodical man of business, had a wide 153 Sts'.S.ViV^^.Mfat.-^.-JIr.Aiky..^. f.-.t«.l.JftaM.i--.J.J^^-.^_..Ji^ 154 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION acquaintance with the leading men of the county without any strong indications of what is usually considered to be greatness He was educated into greatness by the increasing weight of his responsibilities and the manner in which he met them Though frequently elected to the legislature, he made no notable speeches but stated his opinions frankly and his reasons for holding them' and his positions were always radical ones. In 1774 the Virginian Convention appointed seven of its members as delegates to the Continental Congress, Washington being one of them, and with this appointment his national career began. It is evident from his course in Congress and from his letters that he expected that the disagreements with the mother country would end in war His associates in Congress recognized his military ability, and preparations for armed resistance were by common consent left to him, and that in case of war. Virginia would expect him to be her commander-in-chief. After the f^ght at Lexington and Concord, the first practical step was the unanimous election by Congress, on motion of John Adams of Massachusetts, of Washington as commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United Colonies. Refusing any salary, he accepted the position, asiang" every gentleman in the room " to remember his declara- tion, that he did not believe himself to be equal to the command and that he accepted it only as a duty made imperative by the unanimity of the call ; and there seems no doubt that till the day of his death he was a most determined skeptic as to his fitness for the positions he was to fill. He vvas commissioned June 19, 1775^ and reached Cambridge, Mass., July 2, taking command of the levies there assembled for action against the British garrison of Boston. The Battle of Bun- ker Hill had already taken place, and Washington's task until the following spring was to prepare his troops and to bend the course of events steadily toward driving the British out of Boston It is not easy to see how he survived the year 1775 ; the colonial povertv the exasperating annoyances, the selfishness or stupidity which cropped out again and again from the most patriotic of his fellow- helpers, were enough to have broken down most men. These things completed the training of Washington. The change in him, in this one winter was evident. If he was not a great man when he went to Canibridge, he was a general and a statesman, in the best sense when he drove the British out of Boston in March, 1776. From' that moment until his death he was the foremost man of the continent. We cannot undertake in this brief sketch to detail the military operations of the remainder of the war. Suffice it to state that Washington's retreat through the Jerseys; the manner in which he turned and struck his pursuers at Trenton and Princeton and then established himself at Morristown, so as to make the wky to Philadelphia impassable; the vigor with which he handled his army at Chad's Ford and Germantown ; the persistence with WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. ^55 which he held the strategic position of Valley Forge through the dreadful winter of i777-7^^ hi spite of the misery of his men, the clamors of the people, and the impotence of the fugitive Congress, all went to show that the fiber of his public character had been hardened to its permanent quality. It was just at this time, too, that the spirit that culminated in Benedict Arnold's treason showed itself in various ways among his officers, and in an attempt to sup- plant Washington himself. But the prompt and vigorous pursuit of Clinton across the Jerseys toward New York closed the direct active military record of Washington in the war. The enemy con- fined their movements to other points of the continent. Wash- ington watched their headquarters in New York city, and by the campaign of Yorktown, conceived by himself, and by the surrender of Cornwallis, October 17, 1781, he brought hostilities to a close. On November 25, 1783, the British evacuated New York. On December 4 Washington delivered his farewell address to the army, but he retained his commission until December 28, 1783, when he returned it to Congress, then in session at Annapolis, Md., and retired to private life at Mount Vernon, Va. His influence was as powerful after he had retired to Mount Vernon as before his resignation, and it vvas his influence alone that secured the quiet disbanding of the discontented army, that desired to make him a king, if he could be persuaded to aid in establishing a monarchy. When the Federal Convention met in Philadelphia in May, 1787, to frame the present Constitution, he was unwillingly present as a delegate from Virginia and was unanimously chosen chairman. He took no part in the debates, but made some suggestions, and it was probably his influence that secured its adoption. When the time came for the election of a President no one thought of anyone else but Washington, and by a unanimous vote of the electors he vvas chosen first President of the United States. Their unanimous vote re-elected him in 1792- 93, and even after he had positively refused to serve for a third term two electors obstinately voted for him in 1796-97. The success of the new system of government vvas in a large measure due to the wisdom, tact, and influence of the President. Attacks of v^irious kind were made upon him during his adminis- tration, but only by a very small fraction of the politicians. The people never wavered in their devotion to their President. On September 15, 1796, he published his farewell address to the country. Retiring from the Presidency in 1797, he resumed his plantation life which he most loved, the society of his family, and the care of his slaves ; and it is said that he " wished from his soul that his State could be persuaded to abolish slavery : it might prevent much future mischief." In 1798, he was made commander- in-chief of the provisional army raised in expectation of open war with France. But in the midst of his military preparations he was struck down by sudden illness, which lasted but for a day, and he died at Mount Vernon, December 14, 1799. 156 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION'. Such was the man whom the American people deh'ght to honor on the anniversary of his birth, and who in American history holds the position of " tirst in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." WASHINGTON'S ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN TROOPS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND, AUGUST 27, 1776. The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves ; whether they are to have any property they can call their own ; whether their houses are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of a brave resistance or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to con- quer or to die. Our own, our country's honor, calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion ; and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous before the whole world. Let us, then, rely on the goodness of our cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble actions. The eyes of all our countrymen are now upon us ; and we shall have their blessings and praises if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the tyranny meditated against them. Let us, therefore, animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a freeman con- tending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth. Liberty, property, life, and honor are all at stake. Upon your courage and conduct rest the hopes of our bleeding and insulted country. Our wives, children, and parents expect safety from us only ; and they have every reason to believe that Heaven will crown with success so just a cause. The enemy will endeavor to WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 157 intimidate us by show and appearance ; but remember they have been repulsed on various occasions by a few brave Americans. Their cause is bad — their men are conscious of it ; and, if opposed with firmness and coolness on their first onset, with our advantages of works and knowledge of the ground, the victory is most assuredly ours. Every good soldier will be silent and attentive, wait for orders, and reserve his fire until he is sure of doing execution. WASHINGTON AND THE "CAUSE OF '76." THOMAS DAVIS. May the name of Washington continue, steeled, as it ever has been, to the dark slanderous arrow that ** ilieth in secret." As it has ever been ! for none has offered to eclipse his glory but has afterward sunk away diminished and " shorn of its beams." Let justice then be done to our country, let justice be done to our great leader ; and as the only means, under Heaven, of his salvation, let his army be replenished. That grand duty done, we will once more adopt an enthusiasm sublime in itself, but still more so as coming from the lips of a first patriot — the chief magistrate of this common- wealth. " I have," said he, " a most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America." Aspiring to such a confidence, I see the expressive leaves of Fate thrown wide. Of future times 1 see the mighty tide ; And borne triumphant on buoyant wave, A godlike number of the great and brave. The bright wide ranks of martyrs — here they rise; Heroes and patriots move before my eyes ; These crowned with olive, those with laurel come, Like the first fathers of immortal Rome. Fly, Time ! Oh, lash thy fiery steeds away — Roll rapid wheels, and bring the smiling day 158 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, When these blest States, another promised land. Chosen and fostered by the Almighty hand, Supreme shall rise— their crowded shores shall be The fixed abodes of empire and of liberty. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 159 ORATION ON WASHINGTON. DELIVERED BEFORE THE CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE, MAY I, 1783. DR. STILES. O Washington ! how do I love thy name ! how often have I adored and blessed thy God, for creating and form- ing thee, the great ornament of human kind ! Upheld and protected by the Omnipotent, by the Lord of Hosts, thou hast been sustained and carried through one of the most arduous and important wars in all history. The world and posterity will, with admiration, contemplate thy deliberate, cool, and stable judgment, thy virtues, thy valor and heroic achievements as far surpassing those of Cyrus, whom the world loved and adored. The sound of thy fame shall go out into all the earth, and extend to distant ages. Thou hast convinced the world of the beauty of virtue— for in thee this beauty shines with distinguished luster. There is a glory in this disinterested benevolence, which the greatest characters would purchase, if possible, at the expense of worlds, and which may indeed excite their emulation, but cannot be felt by the venial great— those who think every- thing, even virtue and true glory, may be bought and sold, and trace our every action to motives terminating in self. Find virtue local, all relation scorn, See all in self, and but for self be born. But thou, O Washington ! forgottest thyself when thou lovedst thy bleeding country. Not all the gold of Ophir, nor a world filled with rubies and diamonds, could affect or purchase the sublime and noble feelings of thy heart in that single self-moved act, when thou didst deliberately cast the die for the dubious, the very dubious alternative of a gibbet or triumphal arch ! But, beloved, enshielded, and blessed by the great Melchisedec, the king of rightousness as well as peace, thou hast triumphed gloriously. Such has been thy military wisdom in the struggles of this arduous conflict, such the noble rectitude of thy character ; some- thing is there so singularly glorious and venerable thrown by Heaven about thee, that not only does thy country love thee, but our very enemies stop the madness of their fire in full volley, stop the illiberality of their slander, at the name, as if rebuked from Heaven with *' Touch not mine anointed, and do my hero no harm." Thy. fame is of sweeter per- fume than Arabian spices in the gardens of Persia. A Baron de Steuben shall waft its fragrance to the monarch of Prussia ; a Marquis de Lafayette shall bear it to a much greater monarch, and diffuse they renown throughout Europe. Listening angels shall catch the odor, waft it to heaven, and perfume the universe. WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT. SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT, 1 794. CHARLES JAMES FOX. How infinitely superior must appear the spirit and prin- ciples of General Washington, in his late address to Con- gress, compared with the policy of other Europeon courts ! Illustrious man ! Deriving honor less from the splendor of his situation than from the dignity of his mind ! Grate- ful to France for the assistance received from her in that great contest which secured the independence of America, he yet did not choose to give up the system of neutrality in her favor. Having once laid down the line of conduct most proper to be pursued, not all the insults and provoca- tions of the French minister could at al! put him out of his way or change him from his purpose. It must, indeed, i6o THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASIOJ\r. WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. i6i create astonishment that, placed in circumstances so criti- cal, and filling a station so conspicuous, the character of Washington should not once have been called in ques- tion ; that he should, in no instance, have been accused either of improper insolence or of mean submission, in his transactions with foreign nations. It has been reserved for him to run the race of glory without experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career. The breath of censure has not dared to impeach the purity of his conduct, nor the eye of envy to raise its malignant glance to the elevation of his virtues. Such has been the transcendent merit and the unparalleled fate of this illustrious man ! THE GENIUS OF WASHINGTON. EDWIN P. Vl^HIPPLE. This illustrious man, at once the world's admiration and enigma,. we are taught by a fine instinct to venerate, and by a wrong opinion to misjudge. The might of his character has taken strong hold upon the feelings of great masses of men ; but in translating this universal sentiment into an intelligent form, the intellectual element of his wonderful nature is as much depressed as the moral element is exalted, and consequently we are apt to misunderstand both. How many times have we been told that he was not a man of genius, but a person of ''excellent common sense," of " admirable judgment," of '' rare virtues " ! and, by constant repetition of this, we have nearly succeeded in divorcing comprehension from his sense, insight from his judgment, force from his virtues, and life from the man. He had no genius, it seems. Oh, no ! genius, we must suppose, is the peculiar and shining attribute of some orator whose tongue can spout patriotic speeches, or some versifier whose muse can *' Hail Columbia," but not of the man who supported States on his arm, and carried America in his brain. What is genius.^ Is it worth anything.? Is splendid folly the measure of its inspiration .? Is wisdom its base and summit — that which it recedes from, or tends toward ? And by what definition do you award the name to the creator of an epic, and deny it to the creator of a country ? On what principle is it to be lavished on him who sculptures in perishing marble the image of possible excellence, and withheld from him who built up in himself a transcendent character, indestructible as the obligations of duty, and beautiful as her rewards? Indeed, if by the genius of action you mean will en- lightened by intelligence, and intelligence energized by will — if force and insight be characteristics, and influence its test — and, especially if great effects suppose a cause proportionally great, that is, a vital, causative mind — then is Washington most assuredly a man of genius, and one whom no other American has equaled in the power of working morally and mentally on other minds. His genius, it is true, was of a peculiar kind ; the genius of character, of thought, and the objects of thought solidified and concentrated into active faculty. He belongs to that rare class of men — rare as Homers and Miltons, rare as Platos and Newtons who have impressed their characters upon nations without pampering national vices. Such men have natures broad enough to include all the facts of a people's practical life, and deep enough to discern the spiritual laws which underlie, animate, and govern those facts. EULOGY OF WASHINGTON. DELIVERED FEBRUARY 8, 1 8oO. FISHER AMES. It is natural that the gratitude of mankind should be drawn to their benefactors. A number of these h^ve suc- cessively arisen, who were no less distinguished for the elevation of their virtues than the luster of their talents. l62 THOUGHTS FOR TH^ OCCAStOAT. Of these, however, who were born and who acted through life as if they were born, not for themselves, but for their country and the whole human race, how few, alas, are recorded in the long annals of ages, and how wide the intervals of time and space that divide them ! In all this dreary length of way, they appear like five or six light- houses on as many thousand miles of coast ; they gleam upon the surrounding darkness with an inextinguishable splendor, like stars seen through a mist ; but they are seen like stars, to cheer, to guide, and to save. Washington is now added to that small number. Already he attracts curiosity, like a newly discovered star, whose benignant light will travel on to the world's and time's farthest bounds. Already his name is hung up by history as con- spicuously as if it sparkled in one of the constellations of the sky. By commemorating his death, we are called this day to yield the homage that is due to virtue ; to confess the com- mon debt of mankind, as well as our own ; and to pro- nounce for posterity, now dumb, that eulogium which they will delight to echo ten ages hence, when we are dumb. I consider myself not merely in the midst of the citizens of this town, nor even of the State. In idea I gather around me the nation. In the vast and venerable congre- gation of the patriots of all countries, and of all enlightened men, I would, if I could, raise my voice, and speak to man- kind in a strain worthy of my audience, and as elevated as my subject. But you have assigned me a task that is impossible. Oh, if I could perform it, if I could illustrate his princi- ples in my discourse as he displayed them in his life; if I could paint his virtues as he practiced them ; if I could con- vert the fervid enthusiasm of my heart into the talent to transmit his fame as it ought to pass to posterity, I should be the successful organ of your will, the minister of his virtues, and, may I dare to say, the humble partaker of his immortal glory. These are ambitious, deceiving hopes, and WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY. 163 I reject them ; for it is, perhaps, almost as difficult at once with judgment and feeling to praise great actions as to perform them. A lavish and undistinguishing eulogium is not praise ; and to discriminate such excellent qualities as were characteristic and peculiar to him, would be to raise a name, as he raised it, above envy, above parallel, perhaps, for that very reason, above emulation. How great he appeared while he administered the govern- ment, how much greater when he retired from it ; how he accepted the chief military command under his wise and upright successor; how his life was unspotted like his fame, and how his death was worthy of his life, are so many distinct subjects of instruction, and each of them singly more than enough for eulogium. I leave the task, however, to history and to posterity ; they will be faithful to it. There has scarcely appeared a really great man whose character has been more admired in his lifetime, or less correctly understood by his admirers. When it is compre- hended, it is no easy task to delineate its excellences in such a manner as to give the portrait both interest and resemblance ; for it requires thought and study to under- stand the true ground of his superiority over many others, whom he resembled in the principles of action, and even in the manner of acting. But perhaps he excels all the great men that ever lived in the steadiness of his adherence to his maxims of life, and in the uniformity of his conduct to the same maxims. These maxims, though wise, were yet not so remarkable for their wisdom as for their authority over his life; for if there were any errors in his judgment (and he discovered as few as any man), we know of no blemishes in his virtue. He was the patriot without reproach ; he loved his country enough to hold his success in serving it an ample recompense. Thus far self-love and love of country coin- cided ; but when his country needed sacrifices few could, or perhaps would, be willing to make, he did not even hesitate. This was virtue in its most exalted character. More than 164 THOUGHTS FOR THE CCA SWAT. once he put his fame at hazard, when he had reason to think it would be sacrificed, at least in this age. Two in- stances cannot be denied ; when the army was disbanded, and again when he stood, like Leonidas at the pass of Thermopylae, to defend our independence against France. Epaminondas is perhaps the brightest name of all antiquity. Our Washington resembled him in the purity and ardor of his patriotism ; and, like him, he first exalted the glory of his country. There it is to be hoped the comparison ends ; for Thebes fell with Epaminondas. But such comparisons cannot be pursued far, without departing from the simili- tude. For we shall find it as difficult to compare great men as great rivers; some we admire for the length and rapidity of their current, and the grandeur of their cata- racts ; others for the majestic silence and fullness of their streams ; we cannot bring them together to measure the difference of their waters. The unambitious life of Wash- ington, declining fame, yet courted by it, seemed, like the Ohio, to choose its long way through solitudes, diffusing fertility ; or, like his own Potomac, widening and deepen- ing his channel as he approaches the sea, and displaying most of the usefulness and serenity of his greatness toward the end of his course. Such a citizen would do honor to any country. The constant veneration and affection of his country will show that it was worthy of such a citizen. EULOGIUM ON WASHINGTON. CHARLES PHILLIPS. It matters very little what immediate spot may be the birthplace of such a man as Washington. No people can claim, no country can appropriate him ; the boon of Prov- idence to the human race, his fame is eternity and his residence creation. Though our arms had been temporar- ily defeated, and our policy disgraced, I would almost bless the convulsion in which he had his origin. If the heavens WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY, 165 thundered and the earth rocked, yet when the storm passed how pure was the climate that it cleared ; how bright in the brow of the firmament was the planet which it revealed to us ! In the production of Washington it does really appear as if Nature was endeavoring to improve upon herself, and that all the virtues of the ancient world were but so many studies preparatory to the patriot of the new. Individual instances no doubt there were— splendid exemplifications of some single qualification : Caesar was merciful; Scipio was continent; Hannibal was patient; but it was reserved for Washington to blend them all in one, and like the lovely chef-d'ceuvre of the Grecian artist, to exhibit in one glow of associated beauty the pride of every model, and the perfection of every master. As a general he marshaled the peasant into a veteran, and sup- plied by discipline the absence of experience ; as a states- man he enlarged the policy of the cabinet into the most comprehensive system of general advantage ; and such was the wisdom of his views, and the philosophy of his counsels, that to the soldier and the statesman he almost added the character of the sage ! A conqueror, he was untainted with the crime of blood ; a revolutionist, he was free from any stain of treason ; for aggression commenced the con- test, and his country called him to the command. Liberty unsheathed his sword ; necessity stained, victory returned it. If he had paused here, history might have doubted what station to assign him ; whether at the head of her citizens or her soldiers— her heroes or her patriots. But the last glorious act crowns his career and banishes all hesitation. Who, like Washington, after having eman- cipated a hemisphere, resigned his crown, and preferred the retirement of domestic life to the adoration of a land he might be almost said to have created ? How shall we rank thee upon glory's page , Thou more than soldier and just less than sage ; All thou hast been reflects less fame on thee, Far less than all thou hast foreborne to be ! i66 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Such, sir, is the testimony of one not to be accused of partiality in his estimate of America. Happy, proud America! The lightnings of heaven yielded to your philosophy ! The temptations of earth could not seduce your patriotism ! WASHINGTON A MODEL FOR THE FORMA- TION OF CHARACTER. WM. WIRT. You need not turn your eyes to ancient Greece, or Rome, or to modern Europe. You have in your own Washington a recent model, whom you have only to imitate to become immortal. Nor must you suppose that he owed his greatness to the peculiar crisis which called out his virtues, and despair of such another crisis for the display of your own. His more than Roman virtues, his consummate prudence, his powerful intellect, and his dauntless decision and dignity of character would have done nothing for him, had not his character stood ready to match it. Acquire his character, and fear not the recurrence of a crisis to show forth its glory. Look at the elements of commotion that are already at work in this vast republic, and threatening us with moral earthquake that will convulse it to its foundation. Look at the political degeneracy which pervades the country, and which has already borne us so far away from the golden age of the Revolution ; look at all * soldiers with a medal bearing the name of the battle and the simple words, '* I was there." The soldiers received and prized these medals far more than though they had been of the finest gold and studded with priceless jewels. So, my countrymen, we are in the midst of the greatest battle of the ages, not of swords, but of ideas and principles. Shall this Republic be Christian or infidel? Shall this people be a temperate and chaste people, or shall they be- come drunken and licentious ? Shall the flag wave o'er the triumphant millions in the years to come as the emblem of union and the cross of Calvary ? With confidence in Him who said, " I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, your God." We gird us for the coming fight, And strong in Him whose cause is ours, In conflict with unholy powers, We grasp the weapons He hath given, The light, the truth, the love of Heaven. THE GRAND MISSION OF AMERICA. LEONARD BACON, D. D., NEW HAVEN, CONN. This Republic was ordained of God, who has provided the conditions of the organization of the race into nations by the configuration of land and the interspaces of the sea. By these national organizations the culture and development of the race are secured. We believe that our nation is a 202 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. creation of God— that he ordained it for an object, and we believe that we have some comprehension of what that object is. He gave us the best results of the travail of ages past for an outfit, separating us from the circumstances that in the existing nations encumbered these results, and sent us forth to do his will. We built on foundations already prepared a new building. Other men had labored and we entered upon their labors. God endowed and set us for a sign to testify the worth of men and the hope th#re is for man. It is not our national prosperity, great as it is, that is the appropriate theme of our most joyful con- gratulations, but it is our success in demonstrating that men are equal as God's children, which affords a prophecy of better things for the race. ** The roll of the New England drums at Cambridge announced the presence there oi the Virginian, George Washington ;" he knew not, nor did Put- nam know, nor Prescott, nor Stark, nor the farmers who had hastened to the siege of Boston, that the war in which he then assumed the chief command was, what we now call it, the war of independence. With all sincerity the Con- gress, four days later, while solemnly declaring ''before God and the world," ** The arms we have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we will, in defiance of every hazard, with unbating firmness and perseverance, employ for the preservation of our liberties, being with one mind resolved to die freemen rather than to live slaves "—could also say, at the same time, to their '* friends and fellow sub- jects in every part of the empire," '' We assure them that we mean not to dissolve that union which has so long and so happily subsisted between us, and which we sincerely wish to be restored." The declaration on the 6th of July, 1775, was a declaration of war, but not of independence. Yet, from the beginning of the war, there was in reality only one issue— though a whole year must pass before that issue could be clearly apprehended by the nation and pro- claimed to the world. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 203 THE MATCHLESS STORY OF AMERICA. JOHN O'BRYNE, WILMINGTON, DEL. In all the annaled past the story is matchless. Go back to the frontier line of fact and fable, begin at the misty border which marks the boundary of exact knowledge, and cull out the most extraordinary stories of national progress ; parallel them with our tale of a century ; and how dry and insipid are they, how deficient in dramatic force, how slow and limping in gait, how denuded of the element of human happiness, when compared with the marvelous and bene- ficent growth of our Republic ? The glamour of history is thrown around a Cyrus, a Leonidas, a Miltiades, an Alexander, a Charlemagne, or a Napoleon, and the growing mind of the student drmks m the glory of their careers as they rise up in demigod pro- portions to the imagination. Their glories are written m the blood, sweat, and woe of the conquered. The wail of the captive is heard as the cadenced answer to the shout of triumph. Herein our history differs from that of others. Our growth is wreathed and entwined with men's well- being and woman's exaltation. It is a poem of happiness conferred, not of suffering endured. This alone makes our career a blessed one among all the people. Upon the border land of the Atlantic, bounded by the coast range, or the Alleghany and Appalachian mountains, three millions of chosen people dwelt a hundred years ago. They were a chosen people, culled from the best blood of the Norman, Saxon, and Celt, men whose consciences were their only monitors, whose ingrained sense of equality was crystallized to the answer of the New England leader that *' he knew no Lord but the Lord Jehovah." In this fringe of our continent, so mighty were these Puritan compacts that they gave to the world a Republic already oversnadowing in freedom and prosperity all the political creations of man. 204 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. THE FREEDOM OF AMERICA THE RESULT OF AN OPEN BIBLE. COURTLAND PARKER, NEWARK, N. J. The impetus of English greatness was given by the generation that settled America. It was pushed onward by the immediately succeeding generations, following for the most part the same course of thought and practice, and from which, from time to time, successive colonies came. The England of to-day is the England first fairly developed in the reign of Elizabeth and James, and which has since only been modified, never fully changed. The America of to-day, departing, I fear, too carelessly from the principles of its originators, is yet great and worthy just in proportion as it adheres to them. To state the view I wish to maintain in short compass, it is this : the character and greatness of England and America, of Eng- lishmen and Americans, are the result of the principles of tolerant Christianity, that is to say, of the open Bible and the inculcation of its precepts and doctrines. The free- dom of which we rightly boast is better than any other freedom, because it is that which springs from the open Bible, and is reverential and dutiful at the same time that it asserts the rights of man. The progress over which we celebrate this year of jubilee is due, would we but see it, to the action of those elements of character, which the open Bible, revered and followed as the fathers revered and followed it, originates and strengthens. And if we would maintain that progress, if we would have the nation live more centuries, yea! if we would have the next find us a strong, united, and happy people, we must retain the open Bible as a legal institution, insisting upon its use in all education regulated by law, and furthering it by all means consistent with law. This is the grand subject which I venture this day to suggest. A subject which in fact one can do little more than suggest, but which is super-eminently worthy of our careful thought on these anniversary occasions. INDEPENDENCE DA V. 205 OUR AMERICAN AGE. HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, BOSTON, MASS. It may well be doubted whether the dispassionate his- torian of after years will find that the influences of any other nation have been of farther reach and wider range or of more efficiency for the welfare of the world than those of our great Republic, since it had a name and a place on the earth. Other ages have had their designations, local or personal or mythical — historic or prehistoric — ages of stone or iron, of silver or gold ; ages of kings or queens, of reformers or of conquerors. That marvelous compound of almost every- thing wise or foolish, noble or base, witty or ridiculous, sublime or profane, Voltaire, maintained that, in his day, no man of reflection or of taste could count more than four authenthic ages in the history of the world : i. That of Phillip and Alexander, with' Pericles and Demosthenes, Aristotle and Plato, Apelles, Phidias, and Praxiteles ; 2. That of Caesar and Augustus, with Lucretius and Cicero and Livy, Vergil and Horace, Varro and Vitruvius ; 3. That of the Medici, with Michael Angelo and Raphael, Galileo and Dante ; 4. That which he was at the moment engaged in depicting— the age of Louis XIV., which, in his judgment, surpassed all the others ! Our American age could bear no comparison with age^ like these — measured only by the brilliancy of historians and philosophers, of poets or painters. We need not, indeed, be ashamed of what has been done for literature and science and art during these hundred years, nor hesitate to point with pride to our own authors and ajtists, living and dead. But the day has gone by when literature and the fine arts, or even science and the useful arts, can charac- terize an age. There are other and higher measures of comparison. And the very nation which counts Voltaire among its greatest celebrities — the nation which aided us so generously in our Revoluntionary struggle, and which is 2o6 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. now rejoicing in its own successful establishment of republican institutions — the land of the great and good Lafayette, has taken the lead in pointing out the true grounds on which our American age may challenge and claim a special recognition. Under the lead of some of their most distinguished statesmen and scholars, they have erected a gigantic statue at the very throat of the harbor of our supreme commercial emporium, symbolizing the legend inscribed on its pedestal, " Liberty enlightening the World ! " That glorious legend presents the standard by which our age is to be judged, and by which we may well be willing and proud to have it judged. All else in our own career, certainly, is secondary. The growth and grandeur of our territorial dimensions, the multiplication of our States, the number and size and wealth of our cities, the marvelous increase of our population, the measureless extent of our railways and internal navigation, our overflowing granaries, our inexhaustible mines, our countless inventions and multitudinous industries — all these may be remitted to the census and left for the students of statistics. The claim which our country presents, for giving no second or sub- ordinate character to the age which has just closed, rests only on what has been accomplished, at home and abroad, for elevating the condition of mankind, for advancing political and human freedom, for promoting the greatest good of the greatest number ; for proving the capacity of man for self-government ; and for " enlightening the world " by the example of a rational, regulated, enduring constitu- tional liberty. And who will dispute or question that claim ? In what region of the earth ever so remote from us, in what corner of creation ever so far out of the range of our communication, does not some burden lightened, some bond loosened, some yoke lifted, some labor better remunerated, some new hope for despairing hearts, some new light or new liberty for the benighted or the oppressed, bear witness this day, and trace itself, directly or indirectly INDEPENDENCE DA V. 207 back to the impulse given to the world by the successful establishment and operation of free institutions on this American continent ? THE BEGINNING OF GOVERNMENT. BROOKS ADAMS, BINGHAM, MASS. We all know the history of the war, how it begun at Lex- ington and Concord and dragged through seven bloody, weary years, and until it closed on the day when General Lincoln of Hingham received the sword of Lord Corn- wallis on the surrender of Yorktown. During those years this State and this town did their part, as they have always done in the time of trial, and as they probably always will do so long as the old Puritan stock remains. Meanwhile the colonies, having thrown off their old government, went on to organize a new one. Peace found the country rav- aged, war-worn, ruined, and under confederation. The Declaration of Independence had boldly declared not only the right but the capacity of the people for self-government. The task yet 'remained before them of reconstructing their government and thus redeeming the boast that had been made. For the first time in the world's history popular institutions were really upon trial, and it seemed as though they were doomed to meet with disastrous failure. How can I describe that wretched interval, the gloomiest years in American history. The confederation hardly deserved the name of government. There were enemies abroad, there was dissension at home. Congress had no power to levy taxes, so that not only the interest on the public debt, but the most ordinary expenses remained unpaid. There was a debased currency, there were endless jealousies between the States, there was mutiny in the army, imbe- cility in Congress, the people were poor and discontented, and at length a rebellion broke out in Massachusetts which threatened to overthrow the foundation of society. 2o8 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. The greatest and best of men, Washington himself, was in despair. It was then that the intelligence and power of the American people showed itself, it was then that they justified the boast of the Declaration of Independence, it was then that they established government. No achievement of any people is more wonderful than this. Without force of bloodshed, but by means of fair agreement alone, difficulties were solved which had seemed to admit of no solution. At this distance of time we can look back calmly, and we can appreciate the wisdom and self-control of men who could endure such trials and pass through action without an appeal to arms. And they had their rewards. Nothing has ever equaled the splendor of their success. From the year 1789 to the year 1860, no nation has ever known a more unbounded prosperity, a fuller space of happiness. In the short space of seventy years, within the turn of a single life, the nation, poor, weak, and despised, raised itself to the pinnacle of power and of glory. THE TRUST TO SUCCEEDING GENERATIONS. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, BOSTON, MASS. And what shall we say to those succeeding generations as we commit the sacred trust to their keeping and guardian- ship ? If I could hope without presumption that any humble counsels of mine on this hallowed anniversary could be remembered beyond the hour of their utterance, and reach the ears of my countrymen in future days ; if I could borrow'* the masterly pen " of Jefferson, and pro- duce words which should partake of the immortality of those which he wrote on this little desk ; if I could com- mand the matchless tongue of John Adams, when he poured out appeals and arguments which moved men from their seats, and settled the destinies of a nation ; if I could catch but a single spark of those electric fires which INDEPENDENCE DAY. 209 Franklin wrested from the skies, and flash down a phrase, a word, a thought, along the magic chords which stretch across the ocean of the future— what could I, what would I say? I could not omit, certainly, to reiterate the solemn obliga- tions which rest on every citizen of this Republic to cherish and enforce the great principles of our colonial and revolu- tionary fathers— the principles of liberty and law, one and inseparable— the principles of the Constitution and the Union. I could not omit to urge on every man to remember that , self-government politically can only be successful if it be .. accompanied by self-government personally ; that there must be government somewhere ; and that, if the people are indeed to be sovereigns, they must exercise their ' sovereignty over themselves individually, as well as over \ themselves in the aggregate— regulating their own lives, resisting their own temptations, subduing their own pas- sions, and voluntarily imposing upon themselves some measure of that restraint and discipline which, under other systems, is supplied from the armories of arbitrary power— the discipline of virtue in the place of the discipline of slavery. I could not omit to caution them against the corruptmg influence of intemperance, extravagance, and luxury. I could not omit to warn them against political intrigue, as well as against personal licentiousness ; and to implore them to regard principle and character, rather than mere party allegiance, in the choice of men to rule over them. 1 could not omit to call upon them to foster and further the cause of universal education ; to give a liberal support to our schools and colleges ; to promote the advancement of science and art, in all their multiplied divisions and rela- tions ; and to encourage and sustain all those noble insti- tutions of charity, which, in our own land above all others, have given the crowning grace and glory to modern civilization. 2IO THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. I could not refrain from pressing upon them a just and generous consideration for the interests and the rights of their fellowmen everywhere, and an earnest effort to pro- mote peace and good will among the nations of the earth. I could not refrain from reminding them of the shame, the unspeakable shame and ignominy, which would attach to those who should show themselves unable to uphold the glorious fabric of self-government which had been founded for them at such a cost by their fathers : " Videte, videte, ne,^ ut illis pulcherrimum fuit tantam vobis imperii gloriam relinquere, sic vobis turpissimum sit, illud quod accepistis, tueri et conservare non posse ! " And surely, most surely, I could not fail to invoke them to imitate and emulate the examples of virtue and purity and patriotism, which the great founders of our colonies and of our nation had so abundantly left them. POLITICAL AND PERSONAL LIBERTY. JUDGE DAVID J. BREWER, U. S. SUPREME COURT. Liberty has been the dream of humanity through all the ages ; and this side the waters there have been two great steps forward in the way of realizing its high ideals. The first was in that proclamation whose anniversary we this day celebrate— the proclamation of political liberty, the great Declaration which ushered into the world a government of and by and for the people, which dethroned a single monarch and made all men rulers, and which gave to the world a nation whose career has been and is the hope and inspira- tion of humanity. Only in a new world where the tradi- tions of monarchy had faded away, where the divine right of the king had become an obsolete thought, where men felt the touch and inspiration of the free air which blows over our mountains and prairies, and looked to themselves as the immediate messengers of the divine purpose to lift INDEPENDENCE DAY. 1\\ each man up into a pergonal and inalienable inheritance, was such a declaration and such a nation then possible. A century and more has passed, and as the foundations of this Government are more firmly settled, as the great structure reared by the fathers now spans the continent from ocean to ocean, and has victoriously established its right to be, political liberty has ceased to be the mere dream of the enthusiast, and has become the everyday fact of the ^ men of thought and action in the world. This was the first step ; and we are here to glory in it, and to boast of those ancestors who suffered and toiled and fought to accomplish it. The second came in our day. Political liberty did not mean personal liberty. On the southern horizon was a dark cloud, ever threatening the peace and life of the nation— the cloud of slavery. A multitude of human beings, as vast as the whole population of the colonies in 1776, were held as chattels. Wealth and political power perpetuated the injustice, and it seemed so fully intrenched within constitutional protection as to be beyond the danger of disturbance. But '* whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." Untimely greed precipitated the irrepres- sible conflict. That lone, strange man, John the Baptist of the New Dispensation, struck with his single lance the grim monster. John Brown died upon the scaffold. In that rare heroic hour of death, as the eye grew dim to the visions of sense, did the Good Master bless him with a glimpse by faith of the glory of whose door he was thus unlocking for Humanity. He '' lost, but losing, won." The dormant conscience of the nation was aroused, lethargic patriotism was wondrously startled, and from Maine to California the glad refrain of the responsive song, " We are coming. Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more," was the Jubilate Deo of the new era. It was the crisis of the nation's life. We saw the awful horror of civil war ; the wrong and suffering of the slave were balanced in the equipoise of eternal justice, by the blood and tears of the 212 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. race that enslaved him ; the trailjng garments of universal sorrow still linger and shadow every home, and Decoration Day is the great In Afej/ioriam of the nation's sacrifice. But out of that struggle came personal liberty, and for the first time there was written into the Constitution of the United States, in the thirteenth amendment, the terrible word slavery J and written in it only to contain the nation's declaration that it should nevermore exist within its borders. Personal liberty became the universal afifirmation of the law, and the second great step forward along the lines of human freedom was taken. New York Independent, OUR NATIONAL INFLUENCE. THOS. AMITAGER, D. D., NEW YORK CITY. The influence of our nation has been extremely whole- some upon other nations ; chiefly through the influence of this Republic the late French empire failed to bring Mexico back to monarchical institutions under Maxi- milian. And, certainly, no well-informed man can doubt that the moral weight of example on the part of the United States has been very great upon the modern political history of France herself. The present constitutional Republic of France, built up over the grave of Napoleon III., and con- formed so largely to the model of our own, sufficiently attests this. Then again, the power of the American States has been immensely felt upon the destinies of Spain. Unfit, from want of proper educational culture, for the liberties of a firm republic, she has made the attempt to found one with an amount of success that has astonished those who are best acquainted with her intellectual and moral status. The form thereof has passed away for the present, but the seeds of civil and religious liberty have been sown in her constitution and institutions so freely and efficiently, that they can never be uprooted hereafter. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 213 And most of all, the reflex influence of this country upon Great Britain herself has been, and is still felt. In many respects the influence acting back and forth between the two nations, the one upon the other, has been reciprocal, as would be natural, arising from a common origin of lan- guage, blood, common law, and religion, to say nothing of the ''mutual interests of commerce. But in all political aspects, our political life has had a leavening influence upon them tenfold greater than theirs has been upon us. Within my own memory Roman Catholics could not sit ui the English Parliament, and a Jew could not be a British citizen. Now, all this is done away with, and as in our own country, no religious test is applied in her parliamentary representation, so that the Catholic commoner and peer sit side by side with their Protestant fellow-citizens, and a native Jew has been Premier of the empire. THE MEN OF 1776. HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, BOSTON, MASS. Transport yourselves with me in imagination to Phila- delphia It will require but little effort for any of us to do so from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Lakes to the Gulf we are all there, at this high noon of our nation's birthdav, in that beautiful City of .Brotherly Love, rejoic- ing in all her brilliant displays and partaking of the full enloyment of all her pageantry and pride. Certainly, the birthplace and the burialplace of Franklin are in cordial sympathy at this hour ; and a common sentiment of con- gratulation and joy, leaping and vibrating from heart to heart, outstrips even the magic swiftness of magnetic wires. There are no chords of such elastic reach and such electric power as the heartstrings of a mighty nation, touched and tuned, as all our heartstrings are to-day, to the sense of a common glory-throbbing and thrilling with a common exultation. 214 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Observe and watch the movements, listen attentively to the words, look steadfastly at the countenances of the men who compose the little congress assembled there. Braver, wiser, nobler men have never been gathered and grouped under a single roof, before or since, in any age, on any soil beneath the sun. What are they doing? What are they daring? Who are they, thus to do, and thus to dare ? Single out with me, as you easily will at the first glance, by a presence and a stature not easily overlooked or mis- taken, the young, ardent, accomplished Jefferson. He is only just thirty-three years of age. Charming in conversa- tion, ready and full in counsel, he is " slow of tongue," like the great Lawgiver of the Israelites, for any public discus- sion or formal discourse. But he has brought with him the reputation of wielding what John Adams well called ** a masterly pen." And grandly has he justified the reputa- tion. Grandly has he employed that pen already in draft- ing a paper which is at this moment lying on the table, and awaiting its final signature and sanction. I am particular, in giving to the Old Dominion the fore- most place in this rapid survey of the Fourth of July, 1776, and in naming very many of her delegates who participated in that day's doings ; for it is hardly too much to say that the destinies of our country, at that period, hung and hinged upon her action, and .upon the action of her great and glorious sons. Without Virginia, as we must all acknowl- edge—without her Patrick Henry among the people, her Lees and Jefferson in the forum, and her Washington in the field— I will not say that the cause of American Liberty and American Independence must have been ultimately defeated— no, no, there was no ultimate defeat for that cause in the decrees of the Most High ; but it must have been delayed, postponed, perplexed, and to many eyes and hearts rendered seemingly hopeless. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 215 THE LIBERTY WE NEED NOW. BY REV. J. W. LOOSE. The national holiday, on which are commemorated the birth and independence of our nation, assures to all equal rights and privileges. In this broad free country of ours there is ample room for the legitimate free exercise of the most progressive mind in the accomplishment of the greatest possible achievements. The poor, by dint of perseverance, industry, and economy may secure to them- selves comfortable homes, or even amass wealth ; the obscure may rise to distinction and receive the highest gifts of the people ; and all law-abiding citizens (iwt a?i- archists) may alike enjoy the blessings of a benign govern- ment. Well may we glory in our true liberties and in the vast possibilities for good. But in the midst of our national advantages it may be well to pause, and consider what it cost our forefathers to secure to us the rich boon of independence and self-government. That was an eventful time, when the thirteen feeble American Colonies found themselves chafed in the iron fetters of English rule, and tremblingly sighed for deliver- ance. But the electric words of Patrick Henry thrilled the patriotic hearts of thousands, and nerved them for the coming conflict. Said he : ** We must fight ! an appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us. I repeat it, sir, we must fight ! " The burning eloquence of John Adams and other leading minds filled the hearts of the people with the spirit of independence, and last, but not least, the sober deliberate words of General Washington : ** Nothing short of independence, it appears to me, can pos- sibly do," inspired confidence, and nothing would do, till on the 4th of July, 1776, the fifty-six representatives from the thirteen colonies, in general congress assembled, unani- mously signed the Declaration of Independence, which declared the United States free from foreign rule, and provided a government of the people, for the people, on 2f6 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION-. the basis of equal rights. This was hailed with great joy, and old Independence Bell, with the Bible inscription thereon, ** Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," sent forth its glad peals for two hours, finding everywhere a happy echo in the hearts of the people. Already the ground had been made crimson with the blood which flowed freely from patriotic hearts at Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill. The people and soldiers, incensed against such indignities from English rule, could no longer think of making concessions, and the struggle for liberty ensued with unrelenting perseverance, till the fetters were broken and the now liberated eagle triumphantly soared aloft, clothed with majestic power to protect and bear upon her wings the interests of teeming millions. In the year 1783 the new-born nation was already acknowledged among the powers of the world as an inde- pendent government of and for the people. And now, only a little over a century since, we rank among the fore- most nations of the earth, and are perhaps second to none. Our free institutions, which are the very backbone and sinew of our Republic, are yet preserved unto us inviolable, and we are making rapid strides in educational and Chris- tian civilization. Ignorance and superstition can no longer be excused. All may acquire a liberal education and gain the true knowledge of God. But what is the secret of our national independence and unparalled prosperity, is a question which well deserves the profoundest investigation. Was it the discipline and skill of the Revolutionists which gave them success ? That can hardly be the case as they were not well versed in the tactics of war. We believe that with their loyalty and faithful use of arms in self-defense, they also enjoyed the favor and help of the Almighty, to whom they had appealed for the rectitude of their intentions, and in their greatest extremities sought his aid. They recognized the fact that " the powers that be are ordained of God." And when the INDEPENDENCE DAY. 217 Constitution of the United States was being framed, after prolonged debates, and when seemingly msurmountable difficulties arose, at the suggestion of one of the dehberatmg members it was « Resolved, That daily prayers be offered for divine wisdom and guidance." Accordingly a mmister was called in, who devoutly implored the wisdom which Cometh from above upon that honorable and important bodv Need we wonder at the utility of our Constitution with the divine element in it? Had not all difficulties better be settled in this way with the help of God through nraver than with misleading debates and uncharitable and unwarrantable assertions ? Up to the present day, we as a nation have not forgotten God. Upon our currency we have the inscription, ^^ In God We Trust." As we pass this currency to one another we virtually say. In God ^^e Trust " When we send it across the briny deep to foreign nations-even to heathen lands we say, - In God We Trust.' The heathen having thus learned the secret of our national success and renown, is it strange that they shoud welcome us to their lands with the open Bible, to teach them the personal knowledge of the God of all our mercies and benefits ? Our national independence may well be coveted, with God's favor and blessings. .,.11 So long as we trust in God and look to him for aid in all our efforfs to cast off every tyrannical yoke that is opposed to purity and equality of rights, we may be assured of increasing prosperity, honor and happiness. Let O d Independence Bell, with her inscription still continue to ^^ Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," till every man, woman and child shall be delivered from all oppression and enjoy the full benefits of advanced Christian civilization. We want liberty from anarchy and riot, which endanger our property; from polygamy, which is the g-at ^ra cancer of our country ; from the pest houses or brothels of rrine cities and other places, which debase our race be^^^^^^^^ the brute creation ; from the dens of vice where the poisoned 2l8 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. cup, the liquid damnation of hell is dealt out to unstable souls, and the prosperity, happiness, and honors of home are forever blighted. Is there any oppression equal to the liquor traffic? Does it not crush the wife and mother into abject poverty and clothe her children with rags ? Does it not burden outraged society beyond possible endurance? and may we not reasonably fear that it will bring upon us the anathemas of that Being who hath said, " Woe, unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken."— Hab. ii. 15. There is evidently yet a great work for Americans to do in securing the moral liberties of the people. Grand as have been the achievements of our forefathers under the blessings of Almighty God, there remains a great revolutionary work for us to do ; not by dint of arms, not at the sacrifice of fortune, home, and life, but with enlight- ened reason and a pure conscience ; we want to do our duty everywhere, and especially at the ballot-box. We no longer want to countenance evil or legalize what will make^us blush and cause a net to be spread before our brightest sons and fairest daughters. Evangelical Messenger. THE RELIGIOUS REPOSE AND FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. REV. JOHN LEE, B. D. On Independence Day two thoughts at least should occupy every mind ; the power of a religious purpose as manifested in our national life ; the future of our great country, provided she is loyal to God. To tell the story of Jewish history and leave out religion is impossible. In every page of that history God lives and moves. To tell the story of American history and leave out religion is equally as impossible. In every page of that history God—the same blessed being that spoke to Abraham INDEPENDENCE DAY. 219 and conversed with Moses — lives and moves. When Co- lumbus set sail on his first voyage to the land of the setting sun he speaks in his journal of " the means to be taken for the conversion " of its people to Christianity, and when the weary voyage was over and his feet touched the new land, he threw himself on his knees and kissed the earth and wept with joy. No one can read Parkman's magnificent works without feeling that it was something more than adventure, something more than wealth, that actuated the early French discoverers. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who lost his life on the return voyage from this country, shouted, as his last message to his fellow-voyagers in a companion vessel, " We are as near to heaven by sea as by land " — words, dying words, that throw a flood of side light on the noble spirit which prompted the early English discoverers. "Every enterprise of the Pilgrims," says George Bancroft, ''began from God"; and William Tappan gives us the following picture of the New England colonists : Strong was their purpose ; nature made them nobles ; Religion made them kings, to reign forever ! Hymns of thanksgiving were their happy faces, Beaming in music. What was the motive that moved Lord Baltimore to found Maryland ? Was it not religion ? What was the principle that actuated Oglethorpe to found Georgia ? Was it not a noble and Christ-like philanthropy? What was it that pervaded the life of him whose name is wedded to the State of Pennsylvania *'as long as the sun and moon endure " ? Was it not the spirit and the teachings of Jesus Christ ? That power which we observed in connection with the discovery of America—///^ pozver of a religious purpose — marked its explorers, characterized its colonists, made itself felt in the beginning of our national councils, and shaped the career of the Father of his Country. 220 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. America belongs to the Son of God. Her civilization is not the outcome of the teachings of Confucius, nor Mo- hammed, but of Jesus Christ. Her laws, based on Christian principles, are the echo of God's eternal law. Her ruler is He who spake as '' never man spake." Her discoverer acknowledged this. Her explorers believed it. Her pioneers and founders were animated by this blessed truth. It cheered the hearts of her colonists. It gladdened the souls of her great men from Columbus down to the one that Galena holds so dear. It is the cohesive power that makes us one body politic out of so many heterogeneous elements. The future of our country, what shall it be? Shall we forget the benediction, " Blessed is the ntition whose God is the Lord," and shall we cease to remember the solemn proclamation, '* the Lord reigneth " ? Where is the nation to-day of which Jerusalem was the capital in ages gone ? Fallen is thy throne, O Israel ! Silence is o'er thy plains, Thy dwellings all lie desolate, Thy children weep in chains. Where are the dews that fed thee On Ethams' barren shore } That fire from heaven which led thee Now lights thy path no more. A nation that acknowledges not God is just as certainly doomed to destruction as that night succeeds the day. Our revolutionary fathers did not "vaunt themselves" against God, saying : " Mine own hand hath saved me." Shall we, their children, throw away the belief that made them great ? The future of our country, what shall it be "^ In the light of the past, can we not learn a valuable lesson ? Have not the sturdiest battlers for God and right the world has ever known been the strong and rugged characters produced by the teachings of the Bible ? Were not Washington's INDEPENDENCE DAY. 221 heartiest and chiefest supporters in the long and desperate struggle such men as these — men who had crossed the ocean in search of liberty ; men who were of more value to their native land ''than Californian gold mines "? Standing on the original Bunker Hill, outside the city of Belfast, on the morning of the ist of August, 1890, I remembered that from the northern portion of Ireland there came to the "sweet land of liberty" one-half of the warriors of the Continental army ; warriors whose unconquerable heroism made American independence a possibility ; warriors who were indeed the Bible-loving sons of Bible-loving sires^ and I rejoiced in the blessed truth that the love for liberty manifested by these warriors in life and death was "strengthened by their religious opinions." Remember this important fact : God's holy book — the book of which Jesus Christ says, " Search the Scriptures," the book that lifts up the nations that obey the Saviour's com- mand — reverently kissed by the President of the United States before he assumes the duties of his office is not only an act of worship proclaiming, " Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord," but also a national tribute of homage to the truth, the soul-inspiring truth, " The Lord reigneth ! " Remember that the Bible — the book that has made us what we are to-day — informs us that God says : " Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." Is not this the book that assures me that Jehovah declares concerning the nation that obeys not his voice, " I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation " ? If we dare to treat this book which has " God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any admixture of error for its matter," as if it were an unholy thing, then, just as sure as God is in heaven, just as sure as the Jehovah despising nations have faded away as the smoke, so sure will the Lord God Almighty number the days of this republic. Epworth Herald. 222 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. THE DIFFERENT MOTIVES OF THE SETTLERS. COURTLAND PARKER, NEWARK, N. J. No thoughtful man can fail to note the difference between the motives which generally brought the first settlers to America and those which have actuated other immigration. It was lust of gold which led the Spaniard to Mexico and Peru and Cuba and elsewhere, mingled with the stern missionary martyr spirit which distinguished Jesuit self- sacrifice. It was lust of gold which in our day settled California and Australia. It was lust of wealth and power which made Great Britain mistress of the Indies. But with those who from 1610 on to 1700, when large immigra- tion well nigh ceased, defied the storms and sought homes in America, whence soever they came, and with scarce an exception, whether from Holland, Sweden, Denmark, or England, the motive of expatriation was the full enjoyment of the open Bible — of the right, that is, to believe, and to act upon their belief of what it teaches ; to enjoy the freedom of which it tells, and which it prompts ; a freedom which establishes social equality among all men combined with and because of subjection to the will of God ; a free- dom which implies law, self-restraint, love and regard of one's neighbor, mutual respect among all citizens ; a freedom which prompts activity, self-improvement, prog- ress ; a freedom different in character from that which con- sists with Atheism, Theism, or irreligion precisely in that point which has made these two nations so progressive, to wit : that man is intrinsically so capable of elevation that it is his duty ever to seek it. In a word, the freedom here established and preserved, and existing in the mother country by English law, illus- trates, at least in comparison with other nations civilized or barbarous which have it not, what is declared by the Divine Founder of Christianity : "• If the truth therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." INDEPENDENCE DAY. 223 OUR HERITAGE, HOW GAINED— OUR DUTY. LEONARD BACON, D. D., NEW HAVEN, CONN. We have a goodly heritage — how came it to be ours ? God has given it to us. How ? By the hardships, the struggles, the self-denial, the manifold suffering of our fathers and predecessors on this soil ; by their labor and their valor, their conflicts with rude nature and with savage men ; by their blood shed freely in so many battles ; by their manly sagacity and the divine instinct guiding them to build better than they knew. For us (in the Eternal Providence) were their hardships, their struggles, their sufferings, their heroic self-denials. For us were the cares that wearied them and their conflicts in behalf of liberty. For us were the hopes that cheered in labor and strengthened them in battle. For us — no, not for us alone, but for our children too, and for the unborn generations. They who were here a hundred years ago saw not what we see to-day (oh ! that they could have seen it), but they labored to win it for us, and for those who shall come after us. In this sense they entered into God's plan and became the ministers of his beneficence to us. We bless their memory to-day and give glory to their God. He brought a vine out of Egypt when he brought hither the heroic fathers of New England. He planted it and has guarded it age after age. We are now dwelling for a little while under its shadow and partaking of its fruit. Others will soon be in our places, and the inheritance will be theirs. As the fathers lived not for themselves, but for us, so we are living for those who will come after us. Be it ours so to live that they shall bless God for what we have wrought as the servants of his love ; and that age after age, till time shall end, may repeat our fathers' words of trust and of worship, Qui transtulit sustinet. 224 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. y THE DEMANDS OF THE HOUR. J. M. BUCKLEY, D. D. We celebrate the anniversary of our national independ- ence with songs of rejoicing. We have occasion to sing. Whether we consider the material progress of the past, the intellectual improvement, the triumphs of our nation over evils and enemies, the wealth and power it has attained, or the advancement of religion and the manifest care of divine Providence over our country, we see cause for rejoic- ing. But let us not overlook the demands of the hour. The rapidity of our progress emphasizes the importance of vigilance, sobriety, diligence, and fidelity to principle. The task before us is tremendous. How shall this im- mense wealth be turned into channels of usefulness, so that it may become a blessing instead of a curse ? How shall the poverty and ignorance that still abound be removed ? How shall the vices that prey on the life of the nation be overcome ? How shall the vast hordes of foreigners with whom our shores are deluged every year be enlightened and evangelized ? How shall the Sabbath be preserved ? How shall intemperance be arrested and banished ? When these questions stare us in the face we see that the great work of building a nation has only just begun. It remains for every American to be true. We need con- scientious teachers and ministers and statesmen. There is a demand for honest citizens who have intelligent convic- tions and courage to act on them. The times call for purity in the press. Never did the press exert so power- ful an influence as now. The opinions of men are formed and their political course determined by the newspapers they read. The moral sentiments of the people are largely formed by the daily press. The secular press is chiefly responsible for the political corruption that prevails, for the bad government under which great cities groan, and for the low and loose views of citizens concerning Sunday INDEPENDENCE DAY, 225 and the liquor traffic. The press is not so bad as it was in the beginning of this century, but it is more powerful. It has improved in character, but its influence has increased. If the secular press could be imbued with conscientious honesty and purity, all needed reformations would be speedily achieved. Every Christian citizen can do something for his country. When war desolated the land it was easy to see that the opinions and services of every man were important. It is not so easy to see that this is so still. But the victories of peace are more important than those of war. AVarfare of a different kind is now being waged. The weapons used are not carnal, but mighty. The forces arrayed on either side are not altogether conscious of what they are doing. Telling blows are being dealt by men who deem not that they are making history and building a nation. Everyone should know where he stands and what he thinks. His convictions on the Sunday question, the liquor question, the question of the relation of religion to the State, the question of political corruption, and all other questions involving the interests of the home, the Church, and the country should be clear, deep, and unmovable, and his private and public life should correspond with those convictions. Neiv York Christian Advocate. WHAT THE AGE OWES TO AMERICA. WM. M. EVARTS, PHILADELPHIA, JULY 4, 1876. The Declaration of American Independence was, when it occurred, a capital transaction in human affairs ; as such it has kept its place in history ; as such it will maintain itself while human interest in human institutions shall endure. The scene and the actors, for their profound impression upon the world, at the time and ever since, have owed nothing to dramatic effects, nothing to epical exaggerations. 226 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION^. INDEPENDENCE DAY, 227 i To the eye there was nothing wonderful, or vast, or splen- did, or pathetic in the movement or the display. Imagina- tion or art can give no sensible grace or decoration to the persons, the place, or the performance, which made up the business of that day. The worth and force that belong to the agents and the action rest wholly on the wisdom, the courage, and the faith that formed and executed the great design, and the potency and permanence of its operation upon the affairs of the world which, as foreseen and legiti- mate consequences, followed. The dignity of the act is the deliberate, circumspect, open, and serene performance by these men in the clear light of day, and by a concurrent purpose of a civic duty, which embraced the greatest hazards to themselves and to all the people from whom they held this deputed discretion, but which, to their sober judgments, promised benefits to that people and their posterity, from generation to generation, exceeding these hazards and commensurate with its own fitness. The ques- tion of their conduct is to be measured by the actual weight and pressure of the manifold considerations which sur- rounded the subject before them, and by the abundant evi- dence that they comprehended their vastness and variety. By a voluntary and responsible choice they willed to do what was done, and what without their will would not have been done. Thus estimated, the illustrious act covers all who participated in it with its own renown, and makes them forever conspicuous among men, as it is forever famous among events. THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION. The signers of the Declaration of our Independence ** wrote their names where all nations should behold them, and all time should not efface them." It was, '* in the course of human events," intrusted to them to determine whether the fullness of time had come when a nation should be born in a day. They declared the independence of a new nation in the sense in which men declare emancipation or declare war ; the declaration created what was declared. Famous always, among men, are the founders of states, and fortunate above all others in such fame are these, our fathers, whose combined wisdom and courage began the great structure of our national existence, and laid sure the foundations of liberty and justice on which it rests. Fortunate, first, in the clearness of their title and in the world's acceptance of their rightful claim. Fortunate, next, in the enduring magnitude of the state they founded and the beneficence of its protection of the vast interests of human life and happiness which have here had their home. Fortunate, again, in the admiring imitation of their work, which the institutions of the most powerful and most advanced nations more and more exhibit; and last of all, fortunate in the full demonstration of our later time that their work is adequate to withstand the most disastrous storms of human fortunes, and survive unwrecked, unshaken, and unharmed. The greatest statesmen of the Old World for this same period of one hundred years have traced the initial step in these events, looked into the nature of the institutions thus founded, weighed by the Old World wisdom, and measured by recorded experience the probable fortunes of this new adventure on an unknown sea. This circumspect and searching survey of our wide field of political and social experiment, no doubt, has brought them a diversity of judgment as to the past and of expectation as to the future. But of the magnitude and the novelty and the power of the forces set at work by the event we commemorate, no com- petent authorities have ever greatly differed. The cotem- porary judgment of Burke is scarcely an over-statement of the European opinion of the immense import of American independence. He declared : '' A great revulsion has hap- pened—a revolution made, not by chopping and changing of power in any of the existing states, but by the appear- 22^ THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 229 t I ance of a new state, of a new species, in a new part of the globe. It has made as great a change in all the relations and balances and gravitations of power as the appearance of a new planet would in the system of the solar world." As a civil act, and by the people's decree— and not by the achievement of the army, or through military motives —at the first stage of the conflict it assigned a new nation, ahty, with Its own institutions, as the civilly preordained end to be fought for and secured. It did not leave it to be an after-fruit of triumphant war, shaped and measured by military power, and conferred by the army on the people This assured at the outset the supremacy of civil and military authority, the subordination of the army to the unarmed people. This deliberative choice of the scope and goal of the Revolution m^de sure of two things, which must have been always greatly in doubt, if military reasons and events had held the mastery over the civil power. The first was thav nothing less than the independence of the nation, and its separation from the system of Europe, would be attained if our arms were prosperous ; and the second, that the new nation would always be the mistress of its own institutions This might not have been its fate had a triumphant army won the prize of independence, not as a task set for it by the people, and done in its service, but by its own might and held by its own title, and so to be shaped and dealt with by its own will. Few chapters of the world's history covering such brief periods are crowded with so many illustrious names or made up of events of so deep and permanent interest to mankind. I cannot stay to recall to your attention these characters, or these incidents, or to renew the gratitude and applause with which we never cease to contemplate them It IS only their relation to the Declaration of Independence Itself that I need to insist upon, and to the new state which It brought into existence. In this view these progressive processes were but the articulation of the members of the state, and on the adjustment of its circulation to the new centers of its vital power. These processes were all implied and included in this political creation, and were as neces- sary and as certain, if it were not to languish and to die, as in any natural creature. Within the years whose flight in our national history we mark to-day, we have had occasion to corroborate by war both the independence and the unity of the nation. In our war against England for neutrality, we asserted and we established the absolute right to be free of European entanglements in time of war as well as in time of peace, and so completed our independence of Europe. And by the war of the Constitution— a war within the nation — the bonds of our unity were tried and tested, as in a fiery fur- nace, and proved to be dependent upon no shifting vicissi- tudes of acquiescence, no partial dissents or discontents, but, so far as is predicable of human fortunes, irrevocable, indestructible, and perpetual. THE PROGRESS OF THE DIVINE ORDINANCE OF GOVERNMENT. WM. M. EVARTS. Tracing the progress of mankind in the ascending path of civilization, and moral and intellectual culture, our fathers found that the divine ordinance of government, in every stage of the ascent, was adjustable on princi- ples of common reason to the actual condition of a people, and always had for its objects, in the benevolent councils of the divine wisdom, the happiness, the expansion, the security, the elevation of society, and the redemption of man. They sought in vain for any title of authority of man over man, except of superior capacity and higher morality. They found the origin of castes and ranks, and principalities and powers, temporal or spiritual, in this con- ception. They recognized the people as the structure, the 230 THOUGHTS TOR THE OCCASION. temple, the fortress, which the great Artificer all the while cared for and built up. As through the long march of time this work advanced, the forms and fashions of government seemed to them to be but the scaffolding and apparatus by which the development of a people's greatness was shaped and sustained. Satisfied that the people whose institutions were now to be projected had reached all that measure of strength and fitness of preparation for self-government which old institutions could give, they fearlessly seized the happy opportunity to clothe the people with the majestic attributes of their own sovereignty, and consecrate them to the administration of their own priesthood. The repudiation by England of the spiritual power of Rome at the time of the Reformation was by every estimate a stupendous innovation in the rooted allegiance of the people, a profound disturbance of all adjustments of authority. But Henry VIIL, when he displaced the dominion of the Poi)e, proclaimed himself the head of the Church. The overthrow of the ancient monarchy of France by the fierce triumph of an enraged people was a catastro- phe that shook the arrangements of society from center to circumference. Napoleon, when he pushed aside the royal line of St. Louis, announced, ** I am the people crowned," and set up a plebian emperor as the impersonation and depositary in him and his line forever of the people's sovereignty. The founders of our commonwealth con- ceived that the people of these colonies needed no intercep- tion of the supreme control of their own affairs, no concilia- tions of mere names and images of power from which the pith and vigor of authority had departed. They, therefore, did not hesitate to throw down the partitions of power and right, and break up the distributive shares in authority of ranks and orders of men which indeed had ruled and advanced the development of society in civil and religious liberty, but might well be neglected when the protected growth was assured, and all tutelary supervision for this reason henceforth could only be obstructive and incongruous. WDEPENDENCE DA V. 231 THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH EXPERIMENT. WM. M. EVARTS. The English experiment to make a commonwealth with- out sinking its foundations into the firm bed of popular sovereignty, necessarily failed. Its example and its lesson unquestionably were of the greatest service in sobering the spirit of English reform in government, to the solid establishment of constitutional monarchy, on the expulsion of the Stuarts, and in giving courage to the statesmen of the American Revolution to push on to the solid establish- ment of republican government, with the consent of the people as its everyday working force. But if the English experiment stumbled in its logic by not going far enough, the French philosophers came to greater disaster by overpassing the lines which mark the limits of human authority and human liberty, when they undertook to redress the disordered balance between people and rulers, and renovate the Government of France. To the wrath of the people against kings and priests they gave free course, not only to the overthrow of the establishment of the Church and State, but to the des- truction of religion and society. They defied man, and thought to raise a tower of man's building, as of old on the plain of Shinar, which should overtop the battlements of heaven, and to frame a constitution of human affairs that should displace the providence of God. A confusion of tongues put an end to this ambition. And now out of all its evil have come the salutary checks and discipline in freedom, which have brought passionate and fervid France to the scheme and frame of a sober and firm republic like our own, and, we may hope, as durable. This nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. A. LINCOLN. 232 THOUCHTS 1^0 R THE OCCASION. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 233 I THE PATRIOT'S INHERITANCE— TFS DANGERS REV. W. B. RILEY. Standing, as we do today, upon the eminence of more than a century's growth, we can look back the way we have come and see more plainly than it ever appeared before that on the little hill just out of Boston the battle of the 17th of June, 1775, changed, indeed, the front of the uni- verse and set liberty so far in advance of tyranny that liberty will never be overtaken again. Children born in America since that day are heirs to all which that victory portended, and the further up the slope of centuries we go the richer will be our inheritance if we are wise and patriotic enough to appreciate, guard, and defend the heritage that our fathers won and handed down. The patriot's inheritance is liberty of body, liberty of mind, liberty of conscience or soul. But we should note the dangers which menace it. It is not my purpose to sound a sharp alarm, because, personally, I am not scared at the national situation. But to say that the patriot's inheritance is not endangered at all is to confess ourselves blind to some of the mightiest movements that characterize the times. I believe there is danger from excess of immigration. When we are told that eighteen of the leadingt:ities of the land have a popu- lation foreign born, with their children, which ranges from 51 per cent, in New Orleans to 87 in Chicago, shall we not feel apprehension ? Francis Walker seeks to allay fears by declaring that our immigrants are not now settling in cities, but on Western farm lands instead. We are not frightened lest our material supplies should fail, but our alarm is lest their ideas of government, education, morals, and religion should prevail. Mr. Beecher once defended unrestricted immigration by saying : '* If you eat bear you don't become bear, the bear becomes you." The argument was faulty in two points. It did not tell us what would happen if a man ate a whole bear or what might be the result of eating diseased bear. That is why America's stomach is aching and grumbling to-day. The trouble with thousands of the immigrants whom Europe and Asia are now sending to our shores is that they are the offscourings of the earth, diseased in body, brain, and soul, and if the stomach of America can swallow them by the shipload and assimilate them without having gastric fever and endangering her life then our nation is a gourmand indeed. I believe there is danger from the success of Rome. When we remember that only a century has passed since this Church first set foot on our shores, and reflect that already her adherents equal those numbered by all other Christian denominations combined, we may well inquire after the probable end. Others may apologize for Rome if they will, but as for me, when I remember the civil and religious and educa- tional shadows which this intolerant ecclesiasticism has cast upon every people over whom she has gained power, whether in Italy, or Spain, or Mexico, I fear, as General Lafayette said, " If the liberties of the American people are ever destroyed they will fall at the hands of the Roman clergy." The printing press appears a less reasonable hope now when the secular press is subsidized by the politicians, and Rome has made damaging attacks upon on cherished public school. The preservation of our inheritance will demand further patriotism at this very point of popular education. I trust that we are ready, as the rising generation of one of the greatest religious brother- hoods of our land, to pledge now our hands, heads, and hearts to the effort of reclaiming the press to better things, to the eternal defense of our national system of education, and to that general diffusion of higher learning which is possible to Christian academies and colleges. 234 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 235 THE DEDICATION OF BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. The dedication of the Bunker Hill monument a half a century ago was a memorable occasion. The corner stone was laid on June 17, 1825. Daniel Webster making the address and Lafayette being present. When the shaft was dedicated the oration was made by Mr. Webster, and President Tyler and his Cabinet were present. In 1842 the monument was completed and the address written by the Hon. Robert Charles Winthrop was read by ex-Governor John D. Long. The dedicatory ceremonies were particularly impressive, but it will best be remembered by the grand oration of Daniel Webster's, which concluded with the following Immortal peroration : "We wish that whoever in all coming time shall turn his eye hither, may behold that the place is not undistinguished where the first great battle of the Revolution was fought. We wish that this structure may proclaim the magnitude and importance of that event, to every class, in every age. We wish that infancy may learn the purpose of its erection from maternal lips, and that weary and withered age may behold it, and be solaced by the recollections it suggests. We wish that labor may look up here, and be proud, in the midst of its toil. We wish that, in those days of disaster, which, as they come on all nations, must be expected to come on us also, desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that the foundations of our national power still stand strong. We wish that this column, rising toward heaven among the pointed spires of so many temples dedicated to God, may contribute also to produce in all minds a pious feeling of dependence and gratitude. We wish, finally, that the last object on the sight of him who leaves his native shore, and the first to gladden his who revisits it, may be something which shall remind him of the liberty and the glory of his country. Let it rise till it meets the sun in his coming ; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play on its summit." THE COST OF THE REVOLUTION. To the picture of the American Revolution, recalled to us by the 17th of June and the 4th of July, there is both a bright and a dark side. On these anniversary occasions it is natural and proper for us to turn the bright side. The Revolution is to us the source of unnumbered blessings. Its success made possible, on this continent, liberty, repub- lican institutions, and national greatness. Well may we turn the bright side, for no other nation has quite so much over which to rejoice and be glad as the American Republic. The fathers labored ; we enter into their labors. Meantime, we may not forget how great the cost of the war to those who fought the battle and endured the priva- tion. To them there was a dark side— we can hardly realize how dark. The direct was less than the indirect cost. The war debt was less considerable than the personal losses by the derangement in business and the exhaustion of the national resources. The whole nation was made poor; there was not a house where the plague did not come. In the struggle many sank in the stream to rise no more ; others, who fared better and in some measure rallied from their misfortunes, succeeded through the struggles and self-denials of a lifetime. Two generations were hardly sufficient to recover from the losses suffered by the war. The trouble touched the very marrow, and penetrated to the secrets of the soul. But these general statements are less impressive than particular instances, where we are permitted to look into the households and note the form and extent of sacrifice and self-denial, after running on through many years. We once knew such an instance. The story, told by the Revolutionary soldier in extreme age, impressed us with i« 1' 236 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. INDEPENDENCE DAY. 237 this indirect cost of the war. Seba Moses was a young tanner and shoe manufacturer of Barkhamsted, Conn. The little money he had was in his business. The hides were in the vats ; the leather was in process of manu- facture. Though small, his craft was fairly launched and under full canvas when the Revolutionary gale struck him with great force. As the alarm came from Lexington and Concord, he, with other Connecticut men, followed Israel Putnam to Cambridge, in time for Bunker Hill. Though in the thick of the fight, where his comrades were hewn down by the British broadswords and his own life was in the most imminent hazard, he finally came off the field unhurt. Terrible as was the ordeal, he would never have allowed that passage to be torn from his personal record. Even in the nineties, as he recounted it, his soul glowed with unusual ardor. At a later date he was detailed by Washington to the commissary department, where he served with great ability and fidelity to the close of the war. When discharged, his peck of continental money was hardly sufficient to pay his hotel bills on his way home. Meantime the business at home was in ruins. Nobody had been left to do anything ; nobody could be hired to cut a stick of wood or plow a garden. The able-bodied men were in the army ; women had to turn their hands to many an outdoor job or leave it undone. The hides were spoiled in the vats ; the business had ceased and the young tanner- found himself involved in debt. He struggled a few years to recover himself, but the burden was too heavy. To escape imprisonment for debt, he fled to New York and replanted a home in New Lebanon, where he resumed the boot and shoe manufacture, making sale work for the vicinity when the sale method of our day was as yet unknown. He worked hard. After rushing through the day, he often hammered away far into the night. His family worked as hard as himself. By the most amazing industry and economy he succeeded in paying all his Connecticut debts and at his death left a handsome little property for his family. His executor found several thousand dollars in notes against poor men, which had been suffered to outlaw because he would not oppress them by enforcing collection. The lesson of compassion to the poor had been burned into his soul by his own hard and bitter experiences. In this man we have a pattern. There were thousands of such men in the Revolution, who sacrificed everything for the cause. What came after the war, in the shape of toil, sacri- fice, and self-denial with the old soldiers and their families, was often more trying than the things which happened in it. Many of those common men were really heroes, with great courage, endurance, and high purpose. The young tanner, though obliged to leave his Connecticut home, was a handsome contribution to the then frontier town in New York. His example was an inspiration to young men. He was a benediction to the worthy and struggling poor, to whom he never refused to lend and on whom he seldom enforced payment. It was a saying of his that a poor man's note was better than the gold. We say those men lost all ; the character they built towers above the heavens. They lost the material ; they gained what gold and silver can never buy. Zion*s Herald. Always Some Prejudiced Ones.— In every country, no matter what its form of government, there is always some prejudice against the living, and sometimes this extends even to the dead. The piece of history I now propose to give you may sound strangely, yet it is true. We all have a deep respect for our Revolutionary sires ; we revere their memory. The name of George Washington is precious to us all. He lives in every heart to-day. And why ? Because he was a true patriot ; because he led our patriotic sires to victory in behalf of liberty and freedom. But do you not know that during the revolution 238 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. which secured to us such priceless blessings these patriotic fathers organized a society called the '' Cincinnati." Baron Steuben was the first president and George Washington the second. Thus linking patriotic hearts in closer bonds of union. But even they escaped not the shafts of envy. So great was the prejudice against these Revolutionary fathers in some parts of the country, that even after the war was over and liberty won the graves of some of those who had fallen in battle were desecrated. Plowshares turned the turf which rested on the bosoms of fallen heroes, and from the soil enriched by their sacred ashes ruthless avarice reaped a bounteous crop. Are you aware that one State- Rhode Island— passed a law that no man belonging to that organization should hold office in that State ? And that Massachusetts also condemned it.^ And that afterward the pressure was so strong against these acts, the same States repealed them ? Such has always been the course of prejudice. It grows without reason or cause even in a land where patriots live and freedom and liberty flourish. And it is the same to-day as in the past. GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN, DU QUOIN, ILL. The Perpetuity of the Union.— When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dis- honored fragments of a once glorious Union ; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent ; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering glance, rather, behold the gorgeous ensign of the Republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured, bearing for its- motto no such miserable interrogatory as What is all this worth ? nor those other words of delusion and folly, Liberty first, and Union afterward, but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its INDEPENDENCE DAY. 239 ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable ! DANIEL WEBSTER. Liberty a Costly Boon. — Tyrants in all ages have sought to exalt and glorify themselves by trampling out the rights of the people, and subjecting them to the merciless sway of despotic will. But the cause of liberty, though crushed and almost hopeless through centuries, has always lived and struggled with whatever of strcngh it could com- mand against the foes that have been arrayed against it ; and the graves of its victims are scattered in mournful array along the pathway of nations. The bravest and best men of all times have perished in the struggles against tyranny and despotism, and free government has never secured even a feeble existence save at a most fearful cost. The experiment of republican government in our own country is similar to that of all others. Here, however, liberty has won her grandest triumphs. Here freedom is enthroned securely and is the unchallenged boon of every inhabitant. But we contemplate the cost of the victory with mournful and pitying hearts. To secure it the patriots of the Revolution died ; to secure it the hosts who fell in the struggle against the Rebellion were sacrificed. h. e. havens, springfield, mo. Dissatisfied Foreigners Should Return Home. — We have a government strong enough to protect all, but not strong enough to oppress any. We have liberty guarded by law and law made beneficient by liberty. The war has made us a more homogeneous people. There is nothing that binds us together so strongly as common suffering in a common cause. Every permanent political structure has to be cemented with blood. Our adopted citizens from other lands have been more thoroughly Americanized in 240 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. sentiment and feeling by the few years of the war than they could have been by a long lifetime of peace. Let those who hanker after the pomp and vanities of royal courts, whose vitiated tastes crave the leeks and onions and fleshpots of Egypt, talk, as some of them do, of establishing imperialism upon American soil. Liberty can afford to have any cause, however absurd, advocated. But let those degenerate Americans who so passionately long for the stars and spangles and garters, the paraphernalia of courts and the livery of slaves, let them prepare to die in disappointment or emigrate to some foreign shore, where they will be allowed to hide themselves from the contempt of mankind under the shadow of the rotten dynasties and aristocracies which they profess so much to admire. Revolutions do not retrograde. The index finger on the dial plate of destiny will not go back to accommodate such spurious sentiment, or gratify the vanity of a race of syco- phants unworthy of their country and their age. REV. WILLIAM M'KINLEY, WINONA, MINN. EMANCIPATION DAY. Historical. — There have been several days in the history of slavery in various countries which might be designated " Eman- cipation Days," especially since it was ordained by God that in the year of the Jewish Jubilee the rulers of his people should " proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." An emancipation bill passed both houses of the British parlia- ment August 7, and obtained the royal assent August 28, 1833. This act, while it gave freedom to the slaves throughout all the British colonies, at the same time awarded an indemnification to the slaveholders of one hundred million dollars. Slavery was to cease on August i, 1834, but the slaves were for a certain time to be apprenticed laborers to their former owners. Objections being raised to the apprenticeship, its duration was shortened and the complete enfranchisement took place in 1838. The French emancipated their negroes in 1848, and many of the new republics in South America did the same at the time of the revolution, while the Dutch slaves had freedom conferred upon them in 1863. Slavery ceased in Hayti in 1791, its abolition being one of the results of the negro insurrection of that year. A law for the gradual emancipation of slaves was passed in Brazil in 1871 ; from that date all children born of slave women shall be free, but they are bound to serve the owners of their mothers as apprentices for twenty-one years. In 1874 the British Governor at the Gold Coast in Africa announced that thenceforth no person could be sold as a slave in the protectorate or removed from it for that purpose. Although the Declaration of Independence of the United States asserts that " all men are born free and equal, and possess equal and inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," there were in the colonies that threw off the British yoke several hundred thousand negro slaves— valued at about six hundred thousand dollars— whose condition of slavery was expressly recognized in the Constitution of the United States as ratified in 1788, provision being then made for the rendition of fugitive slaves, a subject to be regulated by the Federal govern- ment, but slavery otherwise was to be regulated by the laws of the States wherein it existed. The different positions of the Northern and Southern States regarding slavery combined with other causes to engender that diversity of feeling and interest between North and South out of which arose the Civil War. This irrepressible conflict came to a climax with the election of Abraham Lincoln to 243 ^44 THOUCHTS POk THE OCCASTOJ^. EMANCIPA riON DA Y. 245 the Presidency, led to the secession of the Southern States, and the bloody four years' war which tv\(\ti\ in the limitation of the principle of State sovereignty, and the consolidation of the Union. At the beginning of the War the people and leaders of the North had not desired to interfere with slavery, but circumstances had been too strong for them. Lincoln had declared that he meant to save the Union as best he could— by preserving slavery, by destroying it, or by destroying part and preserving part of it. In the course of the War many negroes were emancipated, and on September 22, 1862, Mr. Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring all the negroes of secession masters, who should not have returned to the Union before January, 1863, to be free. This course had been suggested, and the minds of the people prepared for It, by the act of Congress of March 13, 1862, which forbade the employment of miHtary force to return fugitives to slavery; and that of July 16, 1862, authorizing the contiscation of the property of rebels, including slaves under this designation. Accordingly the following document, which in view of its pur- poses and effects, must ever hold an important place in the national annals, was issued : PROCLAMATION. Whereas, on the 22d day of September, in the year of our Lord, 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit: That on the ist day of January, 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State, or any designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be thenceforward and forever free, and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them,' in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. That the Executive will on the 1st day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States, and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong controverting testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof are not then in rebellion against the United States. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in- Chief of the army and navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for repress- ing said rebellion, do, on this ist day of January, in the year of our Lord, 1863, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaim for the full period of one hundred days from the day of the first above mentioned order, and designate as the States and parts of States, wherein the people thereof are this day in rebellion against the United States the following, to wit : Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana— except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jeffer- son, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, includ- ing the city of New Orleans— Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, also the counties of Berkeley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and which excepted parts are, for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued. And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves, within said designated States and parts of States, are, and henceforth shall be, free ; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and navy authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain from all violence ; and I recommend to them that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this ist day of January, in the [L. S.] year of our Lord 1863, and of the independence of the United States of America the 87th. Abraham Lincoln. By the President : William H. Seward, Secretary of State. The work of emancipation in the United States was completed at the adoption of Article XIII. of the amendments to the Constitu- tion, December 18, 1865, and the reconstruction of the States m rebellion upon that basis. 246 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. REV. JOSHUA A. BROCKETT. In the celebration of the emancipation of the negro from bondage in America, and the importance of the proclamation of emancipation by the negro's friend, the then President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and its moral influence upon the life of all nations, and par- ticularly this nation, it were well for us briefly to consider the various circumstances and events leading to emancipa- tion. I shall therefore discuss the advent of the three classes who first became permanent inhabitants of this country after its discovery by Columbus. I shall show the attitude of the two dominant classes relative to the problem of individual and human rights; also their motives in entering upon the occupancy of this country. The quest of the world has been and is for liberty. Because of the unholy desire for power and more rapid accumulation of wealth, the great and more powerful nations have at some period of their existence sought the subjection of their fellows. They have committed the grave mistake of incorporating in legal form the institution of human slavery. It is needless that I should say to you, that America made the mistake of other great nations in fostering the same. After the discovery of America by Columbus, the fifteenth century witnessed a remarkable awakening of thought and enterprise, caused by the discovery of this country, hitherto unknown to the civilized world. Since the first civilized settlement in America there have been three distinct elements in America's population, exclusive of that class included under the term of modern emigrants. Europe in the seventeenth century began to form associa- tions for the purpose of establishing commercial colonies in EMANCIPATION DAY. 247 America. The first of those companies was the London Company, which was chartered by King James I. in 1606. This company sent out the next year a band of emigrants, who established the first permanent English settlement on the banks of the James River, in Virginia. The govern- ment of Virginia was first vested in a council appointed by the king. But after a number of changes the colony was given the right of self-government, and a house of bur- gesses, chosen by the people, was established. That was the first representative body of modern times in America, and held its first session on the 19th of June, 1619, or twelve years after the advent of the colonists into this country. Two months later, in the month of August, that company of Virginia colonists received their first shipload of negro slaves. A second settlement of an entirely different nature, by the Pilgrim Fathers, a band of Puritan exiles from Eng- land, who had first sought refuge from English oppression in Holland, was made at Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the 2ist of December, 1620. They had no kingly authority, nor the power of any nation to support them ; but, with undaunted faith in God and the justice of their cause, they acted under their own authority. Before landing, however, upon American soil, in contradistinction to the Virginia colonists, they organized their government in the cabin of their ship, the Mayflower. Their civil system was from the commencement thoroughly republican. Thus it can be readily seen that the two first settlements were entirely different in their form of government, in their object of colonization, and in their origin. The Pilgrims fled from the home of their birth to escape spiritual oppression and bondage ; while, on the other hand, the first colonists toiled on, willingly submitting to the yoke of royal tyranny until given the right of self-government. Hence, the Pilgrims who fled oppression abhorred the same ; while, on the other hand, those who had consented to royal oppression, when once freed, or at the first oppor- 248 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. EMANCIPA TION DA Y. 249 tunity, imitated their masters and enslaved others. Like their fathers, the descendants from those two classes have always been divided, to a greater or less degree, on the question of human rights and human slavery. Notwith- standing that slavery once existed in a modified form in various Northern States, the North has always exhibited a decided opposition to the course. In the year 1820, the territory of Missouri presented its petition to Congress for admission as a State, with a con- stitution sanctioning slavery; but there was a general determination on the part of the free States to oppose the admission of another slave-hoiding State. This was the first decisive move toward America's red rubicon. The Southern members of Congress, however, insisted that Missouri had a right to choose her own institutions, and threatened to withdraw from the Union if that right was denied her by refusing the territory admission into the Union. A bitter contest with regard to slavery now developed itself between the two sections of the Union. That con- test continued until Henry Clay presented that series of measures known as the Missouri Compromise. Thus the question of slavery lay dormant under the conditions of those measures for thirty years. But in the fall of the year 1848, upon the election of Zachary Taylor of Louisiana, by the Whig party, the slavery question again presented itself in a most aggravated form. At that time both the enemies and friends of slavery had grown more powerful since the temporary settlement in 1820. At that time, also, a strong anti-slavery society had grown up in the North,' which was determined to oppose the extension of slavery beyond its then existing limits. In the Presidential election of i860 there were four parties in the field, claiming the support of the people. The vital issue in that campaign was the question of slavery in the territories. The Republican party had as their candidate in that campaign, Abraham Lincoln. The Democratic party was divided into two factions. The fourth party was the Constitutional Union party. The contest was bitter beyond all precedent. It resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the Union. Prior to the election, the threat of withdrawal from the Union by the South was repeated ; and after the election of Abraham Lincoln was ascertained to be a fact beyond dispute, the Legislature of South Carolina summoned a convention of the people on the 17th of December, i860, adopted articles of secession, and withdrew that State from the Union on the 20th day of December, after which the following-named States seceded in the order given : Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Thus, in the midst of national turmoil and on the verge of a grim and desolating war, the Republican nominee came into office. History once again repeated itself after centuries, and gave to the world a second Moses. In the guidance, control, and saving the ship of state from total wreck among the rocks of secession and breakers of rebellion, never was there a greater task given to mortal stewardship. In connection with this I here quote a state- ment from Mr. Lincoln's address to the lower house of New Jersey, while en route for the inaugural ceremonies at Washington. Said the President-elect : ** I shall endeavor to take the ground I deem most just to the North, East, West, the South, and the whole country. Received as I am by the members of a legislature, the majority of whom do not agree with me in political senti- ments, I trust that I may have their assistance in piloting the ship of state through this voyage, surrounded by perils as it is, for if it should suffer wreck now there will be no pilot ever needed for another voyage." But, as the storm-dipping eagle nurtures her eaglets amid the thunder-scarred crags and peaks of the loftiest mountains, and teaches them to float with joy on the light- ning-torn bosom of the blackest storm, so had the Almighty, 250 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASIOl^. EM A NCI PA TION DA V. 251 while the storms of war's horrors were marshaling their forces of awful wrath, raised up the man of liberty amid the majestic forests of a Western home. Like ancient Israel, the prayers, tears, and groans of mothers and sisters had gone up a pitiful memorial to God. And when the thunders of cannon, on land and sea, began to shock the continent with their fearful din, forth came the choice of God — the man of liberty. Notwithstanding that various official mistakes were made in the commencement of his administration, never has there a greater man graced American soil, nor the whole circumference of God's footstool, than Abraham Lincoln. Pause for a moment and reflect upon his position as the ruler of a divided nation. Aye, well might the powers of the world look in per- plexed amazement as he assumed the duties of state, with an army posted on the distant Indian frontier numbering but sixteen thousand, and most of the serviceable war vessels in foreign waters. Fort Sumter was fired upon on April 12, 1861. Then it was that the call was made for seventy-five thousand troops. The war was on. Virginia, on April 17, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee now seceded— the eagles of North and South hastened to battle. The South was belted with the fiery girdle of Northern wrath ; but in it lay the salvation of the republic and the solution of a question the principle of which rested upon the acknowledgment of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Never has Heaven looked upon, nor have the powers of earth engaged in, a conflict based on the one side upon principles more human, on the other so dark and sinister, as was the late war. But soon from the scene of conflict went back trains bear- ing the dead and dying. The dead sons of the North told the story of defeat and humiliation to Union arms. I Against the gleaming horizon of a Southern sky the galaxy of Southern officers were silhouetted like a constel- lation of stars of the first magnitude. The folly of supposing that all the bravery belonged to the North was fully demonstrated. Then it was that Northern matrons brought the powers of their judgment, unfettered by the excitement of battle, to the aid of the Union. Garrison, Sumner, and Phillips thundered in behalf of the slave. Whittier, the Quaker poet, sang the songs of emancipation. The united voices of the Hutchinson family caused thousands to labor in behalf of the bondmen ; while the mantle of inspiration fell upon the negro poet, Hortore of North Carolina, and he sang : Come, melting pity, from afar. And break this vast, enormous bar Between a wretch and thee. Purchase a few short days of time, And bid a vassal soar sublime On wings of liberty. Thus, while fresh troops came to the front, with them came the lion of the Federal troops out of the West, a mystery in his silence, but grim in purpose — the immortal Grant. Vic- tory perched upon his banners, and, in the midst of joy, on January i, 1863, went forth the decree of emancipation, the proclamation of which startled the world with its just magnanimity and challenged the admiration of an onlook- ing universe. Five millions of people, helpless, worse than poor because of their ignorance, made the air resonant with their songs of praise. Along the dusty turnpikes men, women, and children journeyed with joy— but where? The world's history does not furnish a parallel case. But with undaunted courage they faced the world, wrested from the field its stores, and, under the star of nominal liberty, they are marching on to-day to a higher destiny I 252 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, EMANCIPA TION DA Y. 253 and to an exalted plane of heroic endeavor undreamed of by their liberator. The years past have enabled us to give to the civilizing agencies of the country a just proportion of skilled mechanics, contractors, farmers, merchants, successful journalists, physicians, and eminent lawyers. These, with their accumu- lations, are the personal accessories of an advanced civili- zation. To have succeeded in the years that are past is not enough ; but to be more successful in the future should be our constant aim. The successes referred to have been achieved by sternest efforts, ofttimes amid harsh injustice and cruel oppression on the part of a grosser element of the white race. But I do not, I cannot, believe that the violation of the majesty of State and national law, by the frequent lynching of negroes, is indorsed by the more cultured and respectable of our white friends. Nay, they realize that such crimes carry within themselves the germs of self destruction. These crimes place an indictment upon the loyalty of the State to the national constitution, so long as they are allowed to pass unnoticed by the administration ; and it is impossible for either white or colored, who desire the highest good for our State, to longer tolerate these ungodly proceedings, which can only be denominated an agreement with death and a covenant with hell. It is a fact, believed the world over, that a dominant characteristic of all Americans is a love of fair play. But the treatment which the negro has received in the past decade, at the hands of our friends, does not confirm this opinion. On the contrary, it is too true, in many instances, that even the right to life is denied. I come to plead naught of the question which has proved such a hideous nightmare — social equality. As there ever will be different grades and circles of social existence, there never can, nay, nor never will be, absolute social equality in this or any land ; and as a race we deprecate any attempt to nullify or abridge this unwritten law of the ages. But, inasmuch as the Almighty has created his children of various hues, I plead again, that if one of these children be cast in an image of pearl, another in the image of ebony, another in the image of bronze, if their work be meritori- ous, then should they receive social and public recognition for their work's sake. Those works demonstrate beyond all cavil that the souls enshrined within those caskets eman- ate from the same divine source and partake of the same indefinable essence of infinitude. White men, grant these rights to us ; and in return we renew our pledge, that should the devastating flames seize with hot hand your homes or stores, the brawn of black hands and the loyalty of true hearts will assist in their subjection. Should the dread breath of pestilence visit our cities and towns, we pledge the skill of our physicians in common with yours, and the affectionate care of our mothers to nurture your sick and swathe your dead. We declare that we will spring with loyalty to^ay, as in the past, to protect the sanctity of your home and the virtue of your wives and daughters. Will you keep hands off of ours? Let these and other similar duties be performed, each toward the other, and it is my prophecy, the return of each anniversary of the Emancipation Day will be hailed with greatly increased joy by both black and white. The lessons of the hour are, therefore, how to live and adjust ourselves (both races) to changing times and conditions, how to strangle and utterly destroy the black incubus of lynch law, so that our lands shall be made more productive and our people more God-fearing and better. Solve these questions, and, notwithstanding that we rejoice in the present prosperity of our State, I predict a brighter day, a more golden prosperity. As the children of light come trooping up the eastern sky, and, with rosy fingers, fold back the curtains of dawn ; as Aurora, with flaming cheeks, rolls in her fiery chariot up i 254 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. through the gates of day, and bathes all nature with a flood of light, so is the present prosperity of our State and its citizens but the dawn of a brighter day in future enterprises. These blessings must we attribute unto God, through the efficiency and patriotism and faithfulness of his steward and our liberator, Abraham Lincoln. Of his greatness, future generations shall speak more clearly than we. In him, we know, were blended the chivalry of Southern cavaliers and the virtues of Northern Puritans, with a manliness and individuality surpassing both. From the hovering clouds, clothed with splendor, capped with glory upon glory, looks the spirit of our martyr friend to-day, side by side with Moses, the emancipator of Israel, with Pericles of Greece, with Cromwell of England. But infinitely above these and the gods of ancient lore is the spirit of our friend, because, not for his own, but a different race, he offered up his life. Let this day be to us as sacred as was the night of the Passover to ancient Israel. Let the anthems of your praise ring out with joyous liberty until the glad sound shall be caught up by the hoary heights of the western mountains — ** Lincoln and freedom ! " By the mountains let the electric words be hurled down to the embattled hills — thence, down to the lowlands, through the shaded aisles of dark-plumed forests, until the skies shall catch the glad sound — ''Lin- coln, beyond the stars, and freedom inseparable now and forever." Thus, hurled from glory to glory, and from age to age, shall these words pass on until the unsightly piece of ebony, quarried from the depths of slavery's pit, shall prove a priceless jewel gleaming in the diadem of humanity. A, M. E, Review, EMANCIPA TION DA V. 255 FREEDOM'S NATAL DAY— WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED AND WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE.* Through fire and blood freedom and citizenship came to us. The conflict was waged for the preservation of the Union, but back of all of that were the prayers, the tears, and the heart throbs of the millions in the bonds of chattel slavery. We stand to-day in the presence of the American people, and with uncovered heads before the statue of Abraham Lincoln to celebrate the emancipation from slavery in the District of Columbia. This occasion should be a suggestive one to us. We should realize that awful grandeur in the responsibility of American citizenship, and we should read our duty on the starry firmament of the old flag. This is our country, our home. We know no cause but the American cause ; no flag but the American flag ! Let others appeal to England and the nations of the earth, but our appeal is to the American people and to their sense of fair play. It is a fact well known to history that no race of people has ever had full and equal justice accorded them when the law has been administered wholly by another race. Espe- cially is this true when that other race is in any way antago- nistic to them. Legislative enactments amount to nothing before a hostile court. All of the reconstruction measures have been swept away like chaff before the wind, Not by legislative enactments, however, but by judicial mandate. Only the XIII., XIV., and XV. amendments to the Consti- tution now remain as monuments of legislation growing out of the results of the late Civil War, and these are in part a unity. Keeping our faces turned to the future we must take sides upon the questions which present themselves to the American people. We must understand so as to handle intelligently the questions of " finance,'* of " land," and * From Anniversary Address in Washington, D. C, by Jesse Lawson. 256 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, " labor," for as we help to solve these questions our own race problem will disappear and be forgotten. The press- ing needs of the race at the present time are business education and industrial opportunity. The one we must attain, the other we must make. THE FUTURE OF THE NEGRO. The great colored population is largely confined to the seven Southern States lying below a line drawn from the northern border of Delaware to the northeastern corner of Kansas and south to the Gulf of Mexico. There are now over six millions of black men in the country ; nearly four millions in the Atlantic and Gulf States ; and, according to the present laws of increase, although every year conditions are becoming more favorable for this hitherto oppressed people, they will reach in 1920 nearly fifteen millions, and by the opening of the next century from now — 1984 — they will have increased to the enormous population of about one hundred and twenty millions — over three times the present census of the country. The present white popula- tion of this lower tier of States is about four millions. According to the estimated laws of increase, in 1984 it will only have reached some thirty millions — about one-fourth of the negro population at that time. The States where the colored people now live — and they have a strong attachment to their homes— are adapted to them every way, as to climate, forms of labor, and oppor- tunities to secure subsistence. There is little tendency to migrate to other States, except farther South, or to a foreign country. Under the terrors of a Ku-Klux persecu- tion and the absolute impossibility of securing defense or justice from the courts, a few thousands found their way, some years since, into Kansas and the surrounding States. But the sufferings of the flight, and the hard fortunes that followed attempts to enter upon new forms of industry in a harsher climate, with the partial mitigation of the abuses EMANCIPA TION DA V. 257 experienced in their old homes, soon put a stop to this hegira. It is a somewhat singular fact that the colored man, now that the gates are wide open, does not seem to hasten to the North as during the period of his bondage. He is not pushing into our cities to compete, with the foreign emigration pouring in upon us, for opportunities for labor. In the great call for female servants we are still left to Ireland, the Scandinavians, and our Canadian neighbors. It has been discovered that our climate is too harsh for them, and they readily sink into consumption under it. They are the children of the sun, and take readily to the cultivation of the products of a warmer zone. There will always be enterprising young people of both sexes who will push out from their homes, seek Northern schools, oppor- tunities for making their fortunes, and will make their homes in this part of the country and on the other side of the Atlantic ; but the great body will remain in their native States. Frederick Douglas well says, referring to the fact : " Dust will fly, but the earth will remain." It is much more likely that the wealthier portion of the white population will, as the years roll on, change their homes. The men that work will ultimately possess the property. It will be slow work, but whether the National Government bestows its millions to destroy this perilous illiteracy of the South, or not, the black men will be gradu- ally educated and elevated. Their schools will be rapidly increased. Already they are enjoying a better trained ministry. They are making money and building for them- selves decent residences. Their elevation is inevitable. Money will demand and command civilizing and cultivating appliances. Wealth, education, and culture will necessarily enforce respect. Contrary to the opinion of Dr. Stevens, Professor Greener of Harvard University, a Harvard graduate, wearing himself Saxon features, and of a light shade of color, and others with him, do not believe the races will largely intermarry. In their estimation the present mulatto 258 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, — the terrible symbol of the moral corruption of slavery — will gradually die out. The educated negro will be as little disposed to marry out of his color as the white. There will be exceptions, especially among the ignorant and vicious, and there will be fewer instances among the cultivated, where high intellectual qualities will trample under foot all race peculiarities. But these instances, with the increase of mental development and training, will become rarer. The black man will not be faded out by miscegenation. The fate of the Indian, and the supposed fate of all weaker races in the presence of the stronger, will not be the for- tune of the American negro. He has his great defense already in his hand. He is the peer at the ballot-box and in the courts of his white fellow-citizen. For the present, through his ignorance, he is made his tool, or is wronged out of his rights. He may make merchandise of his right of suffrage for a while ; but it is his, and every year he will come to have a higher conception of its significance. In the competition of parties his natural and acquired rights will be respected. As he becomes sufficiently edu- cated to understand his position and the power his numbers give him, there may be more danger of his crowding the white man in the Gulf States than of his being crowded himself. His color, simply as color, is no offense at the South. The white children have been brought up on dusky bosoms and love them. It is caste that alone creates an offense, and this is unchristian and must die out, as will every other indignity to humanity and to God. The black man, wearing his unfaded and God-given badge of race, equally cultivated, equally rich and self-possessed, will live beside his white neighbor and enjoy the opportunities and bounties of a common heaven equally with, his Saxon fel- low-citizen, both alike unsconscious of the different livery each one wears. This condition of things is seen in all portions of Europe, and will, ere long, be witnessed on American soil. North American Review, kM A NCI PA TION DA V. 259 THE PROGRESS OF THE FRANCHISE. HENRY WARD BEECHER. Let me call your attention to some of the elements of growth that have taken place in this nation. I was one of those whose courage never failed except in spots. Before the War I did have some dark days, in which I felt as though this nation was going to be raised up merely to be the manure of some after nation, being plowed under. It seemed to me as though all the avenues of power were in the hands of despotism ; as though a great part of humanity was trodden under foot ; as though every element that could secure to despotism a continuance of its power had been seized and sealed ; and I did not see any way out— God forgive me ; but those very steps which made the power and despotism of slavery dangerous were in the end its remedy and its destruction. In the beginning of our history no man could vote who was not a member of the church ; and, by the way, the deacons, to relieve the church members from the trouble of calling at the ballot-boxes, took their hats and went around and collected the votes from house to house ; but deacons in those days were trustworthy. After a little a man was allowed to vote, though he did not belong to the church, if he was a white man and owned property to a certain amount, and that was the first step in augmentation of suffrage and the widening of its distribution. After a time it became necessary to knock down even that exception. Franklin labored with might and main to this end, and employed that significant argument : *' If a man may not vote unless he is a property-holder to the amount of one hundred dollars, and he owns an ass that is worth just a hundred dollars, and to-day the ass is well and the man votes, but to-morrow the ass dies, and he cannot vote— which votes, the ass or the man ? " The property qualification disappeared before the democratic wave, which washed it all away. f 260 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASWK. Then came the question of foreigners' voting They were not allowed to vote except upon long probation. Like many of your fences, one rail after another fell down, until the fence that at first was so high that it could not be jumped, became so low that anything could jump it that wanted to ; and in New York now they jump it quite easily But the day is coming, and I hope very soon, when this pretense of limitation will itself be taken away, and every man that means in good faith to settle here shall have it proclaimed to him, the moment he stands here, " You are not to partake of the protection of our laws without bear- ing your own personal responsibility for the execution of those laws." I would make every man vote the moment he touches the soil of this country. The next step to this was the admission of the colored man to the franchise. This was the boldest thing that ever was done. It is said that it was a war measure it was necessarily so connected with the War as to come under that general designation ; and I aver that no land ever, even in war, did so brave and bold a thing as to take from the plantation a million black men who could not read the Constitution or the spelling-book, and who could hardly tell one hand from the other, and permit them to vote, in the sublime faith that liberty, which makes a man competent to vote, would render him fit to discharge the duties of the voter. And I beg to say, as I am bound to say that when this one million unwashed black men came to vote though much disturbance occurred-as much disturbance always occurs upon great changes-they proved them- selves worthy of the trust that had been confided to them Before emancipation the black man was the most docile laborer that the world ever saw. During the War when he knew that his liberty was the gage, when he knew the battle was to decide whether he should or should not be free, although the country for hundreds of miles was stripped bare of able-bodied white men, and though property and the lives of the women and children were at the mercy of EMANCIPA TION DA Y. 261 I the slave, there never was an instance of arson, or assassina- tion, or rapine, or conspiracy, and there never was an uprising. They stood still, conscious of their power, and said, " We will see what God will do for us." Such a history has no parallel. And since they began to vote, I beg leave to say, in closing this subject, that they have voted just as wisely and patriotically as there late masters did before the emancipation. And now there is but one step more. We permit the lame, the halt, and the blind to go to the ballot-box ; we permit the foreigner and the black man, the slave and the freeman, to partake of suffrage ; there is but one thing left out : and that is the mother that taught us, and the wife that is thought worthy to walk side by side with us. It is woman that is put lower than the slave— lower than the ignorant foreigner. She is put among the paupers and the insane whom the law will not allow to vote. But the days are numbered in which this exclusion can take place. Peekskill, N. Y. WASHINGTON AND LINCOLN'S PART IN EMANCIPATION. DR. GEORGE T. ALLEN. In the struggle of 1776 the name of Washington was hailed as the synonym of all that was grand and patriotic in humanity ; while that of Benedict Arnold fell on loathing ears as the quintessence of all that was disloyal and grovel- ing. Then the whole nation believed that our country could never again be cursed by the birth and life in it of another such political lusus natures; but within twelve months from July, i860, the whole country was corrupt with worse traitors than Benedict Arnold or Aaron Burr. When Arnold turned Tory, and stole the mantle of Judas Iscariot to serve George III. and the devil in, our ances- tors were simply experimenting in the principles of civil liberty ; their civil and political status was then a shadow, 262 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION, EMANCIPA TION DA Y. not a reality. No man then living could declare they would succeed in casting off the yoke of England, and driving the British soldiery and Hessian mercenaries from the land • nor could human wisdom then predict that final success With them would secure to the people national and consti- tutional liberty, or perpetuate in the New the despotisms of the Old World. In those days of political darkness Arnold turned traitor, fell from his high estate, and was, - like Judas damned to everlasting fame," and Sank to the vile dust from which he sprung, Unwept, unhonored, and unsung, and patriotism and liberty everywhere this day prolon^rg the loud -Amen!" The traitors of 1861 rebelled when the work of 1776 had incubated and become a living reality and God had breathed into it the spirit of national immor' tahty— when the Union had advanced nearly a century upon the most glorious mission ever sanctified to a people during which it had been the hope of oppressed humanity everywhere, and a beacon-light in the path of civil and religious progress and of human liberty to all the nations of the earth. President Lincoln, with unexampled success labored manfully through more cares and responsibilities than ever beset any other man in America. God gifted him with peculiar faculties befitting the particular crisis of his presidency, and his name will be transmitted to posterity as gloriously as any that honors the pages of history. None but the Saviour of man has had a more important mission on earth, or filled his destiny better, than Abraham Lin- coin. If there be anything in foreordination, God predesti- nated him before the foundation of the world to be the savior of our country, and then laid aside the materials for his composition until the time arrived for his advent among the sons of men. To my mind his character is as noble his patriotism as lofty, and his mission as grand as Wash' mgton's, and his name will descend through all time as sacred in the memory of every true American. After the 263 clouds of the late Rebellion and the smoke of battle will have passed away before the rising sunshine of national unity, the ashes of Washington and Lincoln will, in the minds of their countrymen, be mingled and consecrated in the same urn, their histories recorded on the same tablet, and their spirits associated in the same blessed eternity. Abraham Lincoln's name is now as immortal as if Gabriel had dipped his fingers in the sunbeam, and written it in letters of living light across the cerulean arch of heaven. There are miracles of war as well as of peace. In so wide a land as ours, longitudinally as well as latitudinally, with all its diversities of climate, interests, and prejudices, some have fancied the ties that bound the States in one a mere rope of sand ; but the attack, even of a domestic foe, on our flag drew from the avocations of peace five hundred thousand armed patriots into the field with all the imple- ments of warfare. At the close of the Rebellion the nation was summoned to witness the mingling of the blood of our noblest patriot, Abraham Lincoln, with that of all the immortal victims who had preceded him through mortal struggle and agonies to an eternal oasis of glory. Over the grave of slavery the world now consecrates the mingled sacrifice — a sacred ovation to liberty. How sleep the brave who sink to rest, By all their country's wishes blest ! When Spring, with dewy fingers cold. Returns to deck their hallowed mold, She there shall dress a sweeter sod Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. By fairy hands their knell is rung ; By forms unseen their dirge is sung; There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, To bless the turf that wraps their clay, And Freedom shall awhile repair, To dwell, a weeping hermit, there. Springfield, III. 264 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. THE RESULTS ACHIEVED BY THE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. E. E. WILLIAMSON. The great results which were achieved by our soldiers and sailors can hardly be calculated or appreciated. As an incident of the strife, four millions of human beings became free. Those whom God in his mysterious providence has caused to come into being with a darker color than our own were ushered into the broad sunlight of American freedom. The institution which had been the **bone of contention " between the various sections of our country for nearly two hundred and fifty years, which had neutralized the Declara- tion of Independence which Jefferson drew with his own hand, which had culminated in the Rebellion, perished by its own act. The Dred Scott decision and the fugitive slave laws vanished with the barbarous code. Horace Mann, who once occupied the position which was made vacant by the death of that illustrious man John Quincy Adams, said on one occasion, *' Is Massachusetts any more worth living in than it was?" Is there to be a time when I can speak of it without blushing? But to-day, Massachusetts, and the whole of the American republic, from the border of Maine to the Pacific slopes, and from the Lakes to the Gulf, stand upon the immutable and ever- lasting principles of equal and exact justice. The days of unrequited labor are numbered with the past. Fugitive slave laws are only remembered as relics of that barbarism which John Wesley pronounced ** the sum of all villainies," and whose knowledge of its blighting effects was matured by his travels in Georgia and the Carolinas. If Horace Mann could speak to us at this hour, he would say that Massachusetts is worth living in ; that the nation has entered on a new era of enlightenment, because efforts were made to establish a confederacy whose corner stone should be slavery ; and because the heroism of the soldiers EMANCIPA TtON DA Y, 265 and sailors, at whose graves we bow on this day of conse- cration, fought and bled that the wicked scheme might not be consummated. Not only does the American continent feel the quickening power of this great achievement, but the Old World, the land of Wilberforce, of Father Mathew and Schiller, of Lafayette, and those great minds which lightened and alleviated the despotism of other days, have received an impetus, the beneficence of which will be last- ing as the world itself. Marblehead, Mass. THE RIGHTS OF THE NEGRO. JOHN SWINTON. " What shall we do with the negro ? " Shall we not help him to yet advance along the lines of freedom, educa- tion, industry, and prosperity upon which he has been steadily advancing for a century? He has grown, he is growing, he will grow through the years, if the right of growth be not denied him. When I recall the negro as I knew him during the exist- ence of slavery, in the Carolinas, in the States of the Gulf, and in those along the Mississippi — when I behold the improvement that has been brought about in his being and condition since his liberation — I feel bound to say that he is doing as well as could be expected, and to express the opinion that he will do yet better under a larger liberty. He has been transformed within a generation, and the work of transformation will go on steadily, if it be not impeded. **What shall we do with him?" I see no reason to believe that he will go to Liberia, or to Mexico, to British Honduras, or to any other country beyond that of his nativity. Yet if I were of his race I would fly from any part of the South in which the franchises of mankind can- not be enjoyed. 266 THOUGHTS TOR THE OCCASION'. EM A NCI PA TION DA Y. 267 It is grievous to know that the negro does not possess his natural or his constitutional rights in some of the Southern States. It is inexpressibly horrifying to me, as a Christian or as a believer in the commonwealth, to read the ever- recurring reports of the torturing and lynching of colored people in sundry States of the South. But of these wrongs I speak not here. The very best thing we can do for the black man, or for the white, is to strive with all our might to promote and secure the establishment of his inalienable rights. THE RELIGION OF THE NEGROES. p. PASTOR HOOD. One of the great redeeming features of the negro race is their firm belief in what might be called the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, and we are free to say that in none of their errors do they go to the extent of the blind adherents to Romanism, even among the more enlightened Papists. He may act sometimes by his loud boisterousness as if he thought God was asleep or gone on a journey, but he always believes he has the right to approach him for himself. Where among the negro religionists will you find any false theology which offers a prayer for the dead, or the belief in a purgatory, or anything that questions the com- pleteness of the Holy Scriptures ? In all the negro super- stition and ignorance you will find no parallel for such unsound and unscriptural tenets as are held by the most ignorant Papists in Roman Catholic countries. In what condition are these most ignorant Papists of other countries found ? Many of them desperadoes, beggars, highwaymen, and in this country they form the most dangerous elements of society, and much of this condition is the result of such belief as we have quoted. The negro believes implicitly in the Bible, and consequently in a personal God and a real devil, and a hell (not a sheol nor a hades), and a heaven, flowing with milk and honey. He has an absolute faith in a personal Saviour who, only, has power on earth to forgive sin, and in a Holy Spirit upon whom he relies as the witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. The only written theology of the negro is found in the plantation melodies ; what are they but the plaintive strains of weeping faith which came from hearts in vital union with God? Whence that yearning desire of the race found every- where, to become more thoroughly acquainted with the Word of God— that superstitious reverence for everything divine, and that unswerving faith that made us bear with patience our sorrows, and for two hundred years call only on God, till we stand before the world as a living example of fortitude and endurance. Whence this patience? It must be attributed to something higher than fear. But do these beliefs produce the practical effects commensurate with the tenacity with which they are held ? No, but they produce effects far beyond Romanism or Buddhism, and the errors are far less destructive. In all these ignorant communities you find a class of people striving hard to stem the current of immorality. During the darkest days of slavery on every plantation there were Christian negroes who could be trusted any- where and with anything, so much so that when the war came their masters felt free to go to the front and leave their treasures, their wives, their daughters and helpless children in the absolute care and protection of these negroes, and their trust was not betrayed. To-day you will find in these black belts the most honorable marriages, and the tie in many cases sacredly kept, churches disci- plining members for immoralities, and ministers, ignorant men, giving their trumpet no uncertain sound upon these great principles. It would not be better if we were given over to some form of idolatry. The thousands who have died with an unshaken faith in Christ disprove this ; the fortitude and 268 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. EMANCIPA TION DA V. 269 patience with which we have borne what no other people have, with even our erroneous Christian beHefs as our only staff, disprove it ; and the thousands of old negroes to-day who see they must perish in their present condition, but from the little light they have are striving every way they know to give their children a clearer idea of the truth, disprove it. It is not enough to come in contact with the negro as the owner of a plantation to form an idea of his religion. I have gone from church to church in this black belt as an humble missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ, and come in contact with my people as the tutor of their children in day and Sabbath school, and my experience has been that of many other negro missionaries, my people have hailed us as messengers of light. Preshyteriafi Journal. THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. H. W. BEECHER. Deadly doctrines have been purged away in blood. The subtle poison of secession was a perpetual threat of revo- lution. The sword has ended that danger. That which reason had affirmed as a philosopher the people have settled as a fact. Theory pronounces, *' There can be no permanent government where each integral particle has liberty to fly off." Who would venture upon a voyage on a ship each plank and timber of which might withdraw at its pleasure ? But the people have reasoned by the logic of the sword and of the ballot, and they have declared that States are inseparable parts of national government. They are not sovereign. State rights remain ; but sovereignty is a right higher than all others ; and that has been made into a common stock for the benefit of all. All further agitation is ended. This element must be cast out of our political problems. Henceforth that poison will not rankle in the blood. . , The South, no longer a land of plantations, but of farms, no longer tilled by slaves, but by freemen, will find no hin- drance to the spread of education. Schools will multiply. Books and papers will spread. Churches will bless every hamlet. There is a good day coming for the South. Through darkness and tears and blood she has sought it. It has been an unconscious Via Dolorosa. But, in the end, it will be worth all it has cost. Her institutions before were deadly. She nourished death in her bosom. The greater her secular prosperity the more sure was her ruin. Every year of delay but made the change more terrible. Now, by an earthquake, the evil is shaken down. Her own historians in a better day shall write that from that day the sword cut off the cancer she began to find her health. . . And, since free labor is inevitable, will you have it in its worst form or its best ? Shall it be ignorant, impertinent, indolent ? or shall it be educated, self-respecting, moral, and self-supporting ? Will you have men as drudges, or will you have them as citizens ? Since they have vindicated the government, and cemented its foundation stones with their blood, may they not offer the tribute of their support to maintain its laws and its policy ? It is better for religion, it is better for political integrity, it is better for industry, it is better for money — if you will have that ground motive — that you should educate the black man ; and, by education, make him a citizen. They who refuse education to a black man would turn the South into a vast poorhouse, and labor into a pendulum, necessity vibrating between poverty and indolence. EMANCIPATION DAY. WM. M. EVARTS. The immense social and political forces which the exist- ence of slavery in this country and the invincible repug- nance to it of the vital principles of our state together generated have had their play upon the passions and the 270 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. EMANCIPATION DAY. 271 interests of this people, have formed the basis of parties, divided sects, agitated and invigorated the popular mind, inspired the eloquence, inflamed the zeal, informed the understandings, and fired the hearts of three generations. At last the dread debate escaped all bounds of reason, and the nation in arms solved, by the appeal of war, what was too hard for civil wisdom. With our territory unmutilated, our constitution uncorrupted, a united people, in the last years of the century, crowns with new glory the immortal truths of the Declaration of Independence by the emanci- pation of a race. FREEDOM'S HOLY CAUSE. MR. E. W. HAYES. Lincoln, who for four long years with noble courage steered the ship of state over a raging sea ; whose eye was ever watchful when dangers thickened round, and his hand steady on the helm when the night was darkest and the tempest roared— to him the bondman ever looked with confidence and hope. Just when the ship had reached the haven where Peace stood smiling on the shore then he was stricken down by treason's foulest blow. He died for Freedom's holy cause, That cause for which we wave the sword on high, And swear with her to live, for her to die. Bunker Hill, III. A PEOPLE EMANCIPATED BY DEFEAT. H. W. GRADY, ATLANTA, GA., BEFORE THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY, NEW YORK. The shackles that had held the South in narrow limita- tions fell forever when the shackles of the negro slave were broken. Under the old regime the negroes were slaves to the South, the South was a slave to the system. Thus was I gathered \\\ the hands of a splendid and chivalric oligarchy the substance that should have been diffused among the people, as the rich blood is gathered at the heart, filling that with affluent rapture, but leaving the body chill and colorless. The old South rested everything on slavery and agricul- ture, unconscious that these could neither give nor maintain healthy growth. The new South presents a perfect democ- racy, the oligarchs leading into the popular movement — a social system compact and closely knitted, less splendid on the surface, but stronger at the core — a hundred farms for every plantation, fifty homes for every palace, and a diversi- fied industry that meets the complex needs of this complex age. The new South is enamored of her new work. Her soul is stirred with the breath of a new life. The light of a grander day is falling fair on her face. She is thrilling, sir, with the consciousness of growing power and prosperity. As she stands full-statured and equal among the peoples of the earth, breathing the keen air and looking out upon an expanding horizon, she understands that her emancipation came because in the inscrutable wisdom of God her honest purpose was crossed and her brave armies were beaten. This is said in no spirit of time-serving and apology. I should be unjust to the South if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has nothing to take back ; nothing for which she has excuses to make. In my native town of Athens is a monument that crowns its central hills — a plain white shaft. Deep cut into its shining sides is a name dear to me above the names of men, that of a brave and simple man who died in brave and simple faith. Not for all the glories of New England from Plymouth Rock all the way would I exchange the heritage he left me in his patriot's death. To the foot of that shaft I shall send my children's children to reverence him who ennobled their name with his heroic blood. But, sir, speaking from the shadow of that memory, which I honor as I do nothing else 9 272 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. on earth, I say that the cause in which he suffered and for which he gave his life was adjudged by higher and fuller wisdom than his or mine, and lam glad that the omniscient God held the balance of battle in his almighty hand and that the American Union was saved from the wreck of war. This message comes to you from consecrated ground. Every foot of the soil about the city in which I live is sacred as a battleground of the republic. Every hill that invests it is hallowed to you by the blood of your brothers who died foryour victory, and doubly hallowed to us by the blood of those who died hopeless, but undaunted in defeat- sacred soil to all of us— rich with memories that make us purer and stronger and better— silent but stanch witness in its rich desolation of the matchless valor of American hearts and the deathless glory of American arms— speaking and eloquent witness in its white peace and prosperity to the indissoluble Union of American States and the imperishable brotherhood of the American people. What answer has New England to this message ? Will she permit the prejudice of war to remain in the hearts of the conquerors when it has died in the hearts of the con- quered ? Will she transmit this prejudice to the next generation, that in hearts which never felt the generous ardor of conflict it may perpetuate itself ? Will she with- hold, save in strained courtesy, the hand which straight from his soldier's heart Grant offered to Lee at Appomattox ? Will she make the vision of a restored and happy people, which gathered above the couch of your dying captain, filling his heart with peace, touching his lips with praise, and glorifying his path to the grave— will she make this vision on which the last sigh of his expiring soul breathed a benediction, or cheat or delusion ? If she does the South, never abject in asking for comradeship, must accept with dignity its refusal. But if she does not refuse to accept in frankness and sincerity this message of good will and friendship, then will the prophecy of Webster delivered to this very society forty years ago amid tremendous EM A NCI PA TION DA Y, 273 applause be verified in its fullest and final sense, when he said : "■ Standing hand to hand and clasping hands, we should remain united as we have been for sixty years, citizens of the same country, members of the same govern- ment, united, all united now and united forever. There have been difficulties, contentions, and controversies, but I tell you that in my judgment "Those opposed eyes, Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven, All of one nature, of one substance bred, Did lately meet in th' intestine shock. Shall now, in mutual well-beseeming ranks, March all one way." THE NEGRO AND SOUTHERN RESTORATION. H. W. GRADY, ATLANTA, GA., FROM ADDRESS BEFORE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY, NEW YORK. It is a rare privilege, to have had part, however humble, m this work. Never was nobler duty confided to human hands than the up-lifting and up-building of the prostrate and bleeding South, misguided, perhaps, but beautiful in her suffering and honest, brave, and generous always. In the record of her social, industrial, and political restoration we await with confidence the verdict of the world. But what of the negro ? Have we solved the problem he presents, or progressed in honor and equity toward its solu- tion ? Let the record speak to this point. No section shows a more prosperous laboring population than the negroes of the South, none in fuller sympathy with the employing and land owning class. He shares our school fund, has the fullest protection of our laws, and the friend- ship of our people. Self-interest as well as honor demand thiit he should have this. Our future, our very existence depend upon our working out this problem in full and exact justice. We understand that when Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, your victory was assured, for 274 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. EMANCIPA TIOiV DA Y. 275 he then committed you to the cause of human liberty against which the arms of man cannot prevail — while those of our statesmen who made slavery the corner stone of the Confederacy doomed us to defeat, committing us to a cause that reason could not defend, or the sword maintain, in the light of advancing civilization. Had Mr. Toombs said — which he did not say — that he would call the roll of his slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill, he would have been fool- ish, for he might have known that whenever slavery became entangled in war it must perish, and that the chattel in human flesh ended forever in New England when your fathers — not to be blamed for parting with what didn't pay — sold their slaves to our fathers — not to be praised for knowing a paying thing when they saw it. The relations of the Southern people with the negro are close and cordial. We remember with what fidelity for four years he guarded our defenseless women and children, whose husbands and fathers were fighting against his freedom. To his eternal credit be it said that whenever he struck a blow for his own liberty he fought in open battle, and when at last he raised his black and humble hands that the shackles might be struck off, those hands were innocent of wrong against his helpless charges and worthy to be taken in loving grasp by every man who honors loyalty and devotion. Ruffians have maltreated him, rascals have misled him, philanthropists established a bank for him, but the South, with the North, protests against injustice to this simple and sincere people. To liberty and enfranchisement is as far as law can carry the negro. The rest must be left to conscience and com- mon sense. It should be left to those among whom his lot is cast, with whom he is indissolubly connected and whose prosperity depends upon their possessing his intelligent sympathy and confidence. Faith has been kept with him in spite of calumnious assertions to the contrary, by those who assume to speak for us or by frank opponents. F'aith will be kept with him in the future, if the South holds her reason and integrity. I FREEDOM. No man is free who is a slave to the flesh. SENECA. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. GOETHE. A FREEMAN Contending for liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth. WASHINGTON. The ends for which men unite in society and submit to government are to enjoy security in their property, and freedom in their persons from all injustice and violence. H. BLAIR. Free speech is to a great people what winds are to oceans and malarial regions, which waft away the elements of disease and bring new elements of health ; and where free speech is stopped, miasma is bred, and death comes fast. H. W. BEECHER. It remains with you, then, to decide whether that free- dom at whose voice the kingdoms of Europe awoke from the sleep of ages, to run a career of virtuous emulation in everything great and good ; the freedom which dispelled the mists of superstition and invited the nations to behold their God ; whose magic touch kindled the rays of genius, the enthusiasm of poetry and the flame of eloquence ; the freedom which poured into our lap opulence and arts, and embellished life with innumerable institutions^ and improvements till it became a theater of wonders ; it is for you to decide whether this freedom shall yet survive, or be covered with a funeral pall and wrapped in eternal gloom. R. HALL. FLAG-RAISING DAY. •• It still Waves." "Forever Float that Standard Sheet." Historical. — The first recognition of a clay as Flag-raising Day was, June 14, 1894, by order of the Governor of the State of New York, at the request of the " Sons of the Revolution " that the National flag be hoisted on the public buildings of the Stateon the 117th anniversary of its adoption by Congress, June 14, 1777. In Philadelpliia the same day was observed at the request of the " Colonial Dames of America." The history of the American flag will be made clearer if treated under three divisions, viz., The Early Flags of America, The Colonial Flags, and the National Stars and Stripes. The Early Flags of America.— The first flag unfurled was the Spanish ensign, with the arms of Castile and Leon, borne by Columbus together with his expedition flag in 1492. When John Cabot came over in 1497 he brought the English Flag, or St. George's cross, a white flag with a rectangular red cross extending the entire length and breadth of the banner. This was probably the only flag during the sixteenth century planted on territory now belonging to the United States. When the Mayfloiver sailed from England she wore the cross of St. George as a secondary banner, and carried the British National Standard at masthead. This was the " King's Colors," often spoken of as the Union Jack, a combination of the cross of St. George, and the cross of St. Andrew or Scotch Standard. In 165 1, the English Parliament changed this Union Flag to the cross of St. George, or as it had been before the union of the English and Scotch banners ; and the General Court of Massachu- setts followed suit by adopting the same flag for the standard of the Colonies. In 1707, Parliament re-adopted the Union Flag; and this, with many modifications, was used by all the English Colonies in America from that time until the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. When Hendrick Hudson first explored the river which has ever §ince borne his name, he carried the Dutch ensign, a flag of three equally wide longitudinal stripes of orange, white, and blue. In 1650, the orange stripe was changed to red ; and this combination of colors, red, white, and blue, eventually became the fundamental design of the glorious " flag of the free." The Massachusetts Council in 1776 adopted as a standard a white flag with a green pine tree and the inscription, " An Appeal to Heaven." A flag like this, once belonging to a military com- pany of Newburyport, is now in the museum of Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Often seen in connection with the Pine Tree Flag, was the «79 28o THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. Rattlesnake Flag, said to have originated from a picture pub- lished by Dr. Franklin in 1754, the interpretation being this : The colonies were in their contests with the Indians acting with only partial co-operation. Franklin, wishing to impress upon the people the need of union, made an engraving of a curved rattlesnake divided into several parts, each bearing a name. The head was New England; the other colonies represented the remaining divisions. Under this device was the suggestive motto, " Unite or Die." Other similar emblems had the motto, "Don't Tread on Me." Colonial Flags.— The Colonial Congress in 1775 appointed Messrs. Franklin, Lynch, and Harrison a committee to prepare a design for a Colonial flag. George Washington was then in camp m Cambridge, Mass., where this committee went to consult hun concerning the important work. During their stay they were entertained at the house of a patriotic citizen, where boarded a professor who proved a very important assistant in desijrninfr the flag. ^ ^ December 13, when they met for dinner, the party consisted of Washmgton, the three committeemen, the professor, the host, and hostess. The conversation drifted upon the work of the committee. The professor and the hostess talked intelligently upon the subject,* and before the meal was over they were added to the committee who met the same evening and discussed the vital question. They arrived at the conclusion " that the flag must be one which will now recognize our loyalty to Great Britain, and at the same time announce our earnest and united suit and demand for our rights as British subjects." The professor said : " The field of this flag must be entirely new, because first, it will soon represent a new nation ; second, because it will represent a new principle in govern- ment—the equal rights of man as man." The design that this committee presented had a field composed of thirteen equally wide, longitudinal, alternate red and white stripes, with the Union Flag of England for a union; this became the recognized standard of the Colonial army and navy. A full-sized garrison flag was quickly made, the exact counter- part of the plan offered by the committee, and was flung to the breeze with appropriate ceremonies by General Washington and staff, January 12, 1776, at Cambridge, in presence of his army, the V ranklin committee, and citizens. The proceedings were watched by the British officers on Charles- town Heights, and through their field glasses they discerned the details of the design. Recognizing the cross of St. George, they said, It is thoroughly English, you know," and hastily concluded tnat General Washington thus announced his surrender, and with great enthusiasm greeted the thirteen stripes with thirteen cheers followed by the more dignified salute of thirteen guns. Although umntentional, it was really its official recognition by its enemies. FLAG-RAISING DAY. 281 and may now be looked back upon almost as a prophecy of the result of the struggle. The Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, changed the British Colonies into Independent States. The Colonial flag thus became the standard of the thirteen New and Independent States. The National Stars and Stripes.— In June, 1777, a com- mittee having been appointed by Congress to confer with General Washington concerning a design for a National flag, reported in favor of a flag containing thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, and a blue field adorned with thirteen white stars. This was adopted June 14, and the design was carried to the upholster- ing shop of Mrs. Ross, No. 239 Arch Street, Philadelphia, where the first national flag was made. The original design required six-pointed stars, but upon Mrs. Ross' suggestion, that five- pointed stars would be more symmetrical, the pattern was changed. This lady was afterward given the position of manufacturer of government flags, which occupation upon her death was retained by her children. The Stars and Stripes were first unfurled at the battle of Saratoga upon the occasion of the surrender of Burgoyne. By an act of Congress, January 13, 1794, the design was changed so as to incorporate fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, and one star was to be added for every subsequent State admitted. This, how- ever, was repealed in 181 8, when the original number of stripes was re-established, the stars continuing to increase as new States were admitted. There are now, in 1894, forty-four stars in the flag. In designing a flag the union should be one-third the length, and cover the width of seven stripes. The infantry company flag is six by six and one-half feet. There is no reason for the difference of size in the stars as seen on some flags, except the taste of the maker, nor is there any official rule for the arrangement of the stars on the union, or field, but in the army flag they are grouped in the form of one large central star, and in the navy flag they are arranged in parallel rows. The first United States flag was hoisted by Lieutenant John Paul Jones, who was placed in command of the Ranger, a United States war vessel, the same day Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes ; at the time it was flung to the breeze the vessel was in Portsmouth harbor. At the National Encampment of the Grand Army ot the Republic, held in Boston, August, 1890, this flag was worn across the shoulders of Quartermaster Robert B. Lincoln of Dahlgren Post 2, as it was not in a condition to be borne aloft. This flag is owned by Mrs. Stafford of Cottage City, who kindly loaned it to the Massachusetts Department for the parade. The Stars and Stripes were first carried around the world by Captain John Ken- drick of Boston, sailing in the fall of 1787 in the craft Columbia. X 282 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASIOJST. FLAG-RAISING DAY, 283 The time consumed in making the voyage was nearly three years. The Stars and Stripes has become an educational factor on the line of patriotism : several of the States having enacted laws mak- ing it obligatory upon school officials to hoist the flag upon school buildings or upon a flag pole on the school grounds during the sessions of the school. The President's Flag.— The origin of the President's Flag is due to President Arthur. He suggested it in the spring of 1882, his attention having been called to the fact that nearly every other great power in the world had a royal ensign ; that is, a flag used to indicate the presence of its head or ruler on any vessel. The matter was laid before the Cabinet, which made no opposition. The President himself decided upon the design of the flag, which was to be a blue ground with the arms of the United States in the center. It was then ordered by the Navy department that the new flag should be placed on their lists and hoisted at the main when the President was on board any vessel. It was first used on the occasion of President Arthur's trip to Florida in 1883. The Flag over Fort Sumter.— For eighty-four years the Stars and Stripes held undisputed sway in all territory belonging to the United States; then, on January 10, 1 861, borne at the masthead of the steamer Star of the West, it was fired upon by South Carolina troops, as she was entering Charleston harbor carrying supplies to the garrison at Fort Sumter. This was fol- lowed by a regular attack on the fort, April 12, 1861, which was the beginning of the War of the Rebellion. After two days of valiant resistance Major Robert Anderson was obliged to surrender, but on 'terms permitting him to lower the flag himself and bear it away. He carried it to Washington and delivered it into the hands of the Secretary of War, who carefully treasured it until the end of the conflict, when it was sent in a new mail pouch to Fort Sumter where, on April 14, 1865, Major-General Anderson had the happy privilege of restoring the old smoke- stained, shot-pierced flag, without a single star smitten or effaced from its fold of blue, to its rightful position over the partially demolished ramparts of Fort Sumter. A young officer who at the time was serving as Assistant Provost Marshal in the city of Charleston, S. C, participated in the soul-stirring ceremonies of the grand occasion, and he stated that Major-General Anderson, over- conie with emotion, was unable to hoist the flag, and received assistance from members of his command. Is there a parallel case in the history of all nations where the terms of surrender allowed the flag to be borne away by its defend- ers, and afterward, the fortunes of war turning, the same flag raised by the same man over the same fort to remain trium- phant ? Flag at Half-Mast. The custom of putting flags at half- staff or half-mast is probably as old as the use of flags themselves, which certainly dates back to the time of the Punic wars, if not farther. It was customary at that time to lower the flag in token of defeat, for we are told that after the defeat of the Carthaginian ships by the Romans, the flags were taken down and trailed over their sterns by the victors, as it is still done when captured vessels are brought into port. The custom of putting flags at half-mast is, in all probability, quite as old, and most likely was confined to the navy at first. The United States Revenue Flag was adopted in 1799. Its design is credited to Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury under John Adams. It is a small flag, consisting of sixteen red and white vertical stripes, representing the sixteen States then in the Union, and a white union with the national eagle and stars in dark blue. The Lighthouse Service Flag is a long white triangle with a red border, a blue lighthouse on a white field. The Flag Raised over Captured Richmond.— The first National flag that was raised over the capitol of Richmond, Va., on the capture of that city on the morning of April 3, 1865, was the garrison flag of the Twelfth Maine, and was the flag that had floated over the St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans, when that build- ing was General Butler's headquarters. General Shipley brought it to Virginia and gave it in charge to Lieutenant Johnston L. De Peyster, a youth of eighteen, a member of General Weitzel's staff, who had begged of General Shipley the privilege of hoisting the flag, should the city be captured. This he did with the assistance of Captain Loomis L. Langdon, Chief of Artillery on General Weit- zel's staff, immediately upon the city's surrender at 8.15 o'clock, April 3, 1865. The Confederate Flag.— The Confederate flag of "stars and bars " was adopted in March, 1861, by the Confederate Con- gress. It was composed of three horizontal bars of equal width, the middle one of which was white, the other two red, and in the upper left-hand corner was a blue square with nine white stars arranged in a circle. Owing to some real or supposed confusion of the Union and Confederate flags, a battle flag was adopted in September, 1861, which had a red field charged with a blue saltier, with a narrow border of white, on which were displayed thirteen white stars. The stars and bars was supplanted in 1863 by a flag with a white field, having the battle flag for a union. This was again changed before the collapse of the Confederacy, and finally the outer half of the field beyond the union was covered with a vertical red bar. 284 THOUGHTS FOR THE OCCASION. OUR FLAG IN HISTORY. HON. J. T. HEADLEY. Men, in the aggregate, demand something besides abstract ideas and principles. Hence the desire for sym- bols — something visible to the eye and that appeals to the senses. Every nation has a flag that represents the country — every army a common banner, which, to the soldier, stands for that army. It speaks to him in the din of battle, cheers him in the long and tedious march, and pleads with him on the disastrous retreat. Standards were originally carried on a pole or lance. It matters little what they may be, for the symbol is the same. In ancient times the Hebrew tribes had each its own standard — that of Ephraim, for instance, was a steer ; of Benjamin, a wolf. Among the Greeks, the Athenians had an owl, and the Thebans a sphynx. The standard of Romulus was a bundle of hay tied to a pole, afterward a human hand, and finally an eagle. Eagles were at first made of wood, then of silver, with thunderbolts of gold. Under Caesar they were all gold, without thunderbolts, and were carried on a long pike. The Germans formerly fastened a streamer to a lance, which the duke carried in front of the army. Russia and Austria adopted the double- headed eagle. The ancient national flag of England, all know, was the banner of St. George, a white field with a red cross. This was at first used in the Colonies, but several changes were afterward made. Of course, when they separated from the mother country, it was necessary to have a distinct flag of their own, and the Continental Congress appointed Dr. Franklin, Mr. Lynch, and Mr. Harrison, a committee to take the subject into consideration. They repaired to the American army, a little over nine thousand strong, then assembled at Cam- bridge, and after due consideration adopted one composed FLAG-RAISING DAY. 285 of seven white and seven red stripes, with the red and white crosses of St. George and St. Andrew conjoined on a blue field in the corner, and named it, " The Great Union Flag." The crosses of St. George and St. Andrew were retained to show the willingness of the Colonies to return to their allegiance to the British crown, if their rights were secured. This flag was first hoisted on the first day of January, 1776. In the meantime, the various Colonies had adopted distinctive badges, so that the differ- ent bodies of troops that flocked to the army had each its own banner. In Connecticut, each regiment had its own peculiar standard, on which were represented the arms of the Colony, with the motto, "Qui transtulit sustinet" (he who transplanted us still sustains us). The one that Put- nam gave to the breeze on Prospect Hill on the i8th of July, 1775, was a red flag, with this motto on one side, and on the other, the words inscribed, " An appeal to Heaven." That of the floating batteries was a white ground with the same '' Appeal to Heaven " upon it. It is supposed that at Bunker Hill our troops carried a red flag, with a pine tree on a white field in the corner. The first flag in South Car- olina was blue, with a crescent in the corner, and received its first baptism under Moultrie. In 1776, Colonel Gadsen presented to Congress a flag to be used by the navy, which consisted of a rattlesnake on a yellow ground, with thirteen rattles, and coiled to strike. The motto was, "Don't tread on me." "The Great Union Flag,' as described above, without the crosses, and sometimes with the rattlesnake and motto, " Don't tread on me," was used as a naval flag, called the " Continental Flag." \s the war progressed, different regiments and corps adopted peculiar flags, by which they were designated. The troops which Patrick Henry raised and cal ed the - Culpepper Minute Men " had a banner with a rattlesnake on it, and the mottoes, - Don't tread on me," and "Liberty or Death," together with their name. Morgan's celebrated riflemen, called the - Morgan Rifles," not only had a ii'j..-^»>a.r.* saii-j.-.Af ^]»