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 Book .63 
 
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 AN 
 
 ^^ ^^ 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE OF 
 
 ^ 
 
 DELIVERED FEB. 22, 1821. 
 
 By HOOPER GUMMING, A. M. 
 
 PASTOR OF THE THIRD PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE 
 CITY OF ALBANY. 
 
 ^« <0^ »* ' 
 
 PUBLISHED BY DANIEL STEELE. 
 
 Packard &. Van Benthujsen, Printeri. 
 
 1821. 
 
c 
 
 
AJhany, Feb. 26, 1821. 
 Rev. Mr. Gumming, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The committee, (appointed by the gene- 
 ral committee of the several uniform companies of 
 this city,) have the pleasure of enclosing to you a 
 copy of a Resolution, unanimously passed by them 
 on Friday evening the 23d inst. 
 
 In obedience to their wishes, and my own feel- 
 ings, I request that you will favour me with a copy 
 of your very eloquent and appropriate Oration, de- 
 livered by you on the 22d inst., for publication. 
 I remain, Rev. Sir, 
 
 With respect. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 P. LANSING, Jun. Chairman, &c. 
 
 At a meeting of the General Committee of the several 
 Uniform Companies of this City^ held at Wilcox^ s Ho- 
 tel on Friday evenings 23c? Feb. 1821. 
 
 Resolved unanimously^ That the thanks of the 
 committee, (in behalf of the several uniform com- 
 panies,) be presented to the Rev. Hooper Gumming 
 for his very eloquent and appropriate Oration, de- 
 livered by him on the 22d inst., and that he be re- 
 quested to furnish the committee with a copy for 
 
publication; and that Mr. Lansing, Mr. Morgan, 
 Mr. Mayell, Mr. White and Mr. Young, be a com- 
 mittee to present this resolution. 
 
 Mbany, ^'^d Feb. 1821. 
 
 (A Copy.) 
 
 Mr. P. Lansing, Jun. Chairman, &rc. 
 Sir, 
 In compliance with the wishes of the very re- 
 spectable committee, appointed by the uniform 
 companies at whose request it was written and pro- 
 nounced, I enclose you a copy of my Oration. 
 
 With sincere friendship, 
 I remain yours, 
 
 HOOPER GUMMING. 
 
 Many, Feb. 26, IS21. 
 
WHEN a nation rises in its strength, to burst 
 the fetters of tyranny, the world becomes a deeply- 
 interested spectator. All men, whose selfishness 
 is not arrayed against the cause of freedom, palpi- 
 tate with anxiety for a successful termination of 
 the conflict. Angels, who watch and ponder the 
 transactions of our globe, because every transpir- 
 ing event is more or less intimately blended with 
 the ultimate prosperity of Zion, view with sedu- 
 lous attention the gathering tempest. The Omni- 
 potent himself, by whose providence these move- 
 ments are organized and controlled, nerves the 
 patriot's arm, and crushes into atoms the throne 
 of despotism. 
 
 It is to celebrate the evolution of such princi- 
 ples and such deeds of glory, combined yet vari- 
 ous, tending to a common centre, yet all luminous 
 and resplendent, that we have convened this morn- 
 ing in the Sanctuary of God. It is no unhallowed 
 
6 
 
 festivity that has summoned us : no unseemly riot 
 mars the passing hours : no superstitious, emascu- 
 lating, or at best unprofitable observance, rouses 
 us to action. We have met to praise departed 
 greatness — to offer the homage of our gratitude to 
 the Divine Benefactor — to retrace the efforts of 
 philanthropy — and stimulating each other to wor- 
 thy acts, by the remembrance of all that was he- 
 roic and benign and disinterested and pure and 
 praiseworthy, to swear on the altar of our coun- 
 try's liberties, eternal enmity to oppression, eter- 
 nal devotcdness to the cause of freedom. 
 
 No employment, except the services of religion, 
 can be more edifying to an American citizen, than 
 the consecration to patriotism of a day like this. 
 It revives the recollection of the fortitude and self- 
 denial, the magnanimity and prowess, the zeal and 
 wisdom of his ancestors. His imagination follows 
 them in their various plans of emancipation from the 
 curse of monarchy ; weeps with them in their adver- 
 sity ; sympathizes with their every struggle ; and 
 shouts for joy when success crowns their manly 
 and almost superhuman efforts. Influenced by 
 such sentiments, lie rolls his eye alojig the ranks 
 of embattled legions panting for the privileges of 
 freemen, until it fixes with admiring gaze on the 
 
lofty chieftain. If upright intentions sanctified his 
 career of glory ; — if he hved not to himself, but to 
 the publick ; — if his sword were unsheathed for the 
 protection of the innocent alone; — if it voluntarily 
 returned to its scabbard at the proper hour; — if, 
 the cause of liberty secured, the soldier with 
 cheerfulness retired to the walks of private citi- 
 zenship ; — if with avidity he seized the first suita- 
 ble occasion to convince mankind that chastened 
 ambition was hallowed in its purposes and salutary 
 in its tendency, the lineaments of his character are 
 surveyed with a pride, a pleasure, a gratitude, I 
 had almost said, an adoration bordering on enthu- 
 siasm. 
 
 Such a man was he, the anniversary of whose 
 birth we to-day commemorate. Born and nurtur- 
 ed for a specifick purpose, every faculty of his na- 
 ture and every dispensation of Divine Providence 
 toward him, challenges alike the self-rewarding 
 investigations of the philosopher, the eulogy of the 
 patriot and the devout thankfulness of the Chris- 
 tian. A crisis in the destinies of nations was ap- 
 proaching when Washington was summoned into 
 being. Long had the world groaned in vassallage. 
 As one among the many poisonous fruits of the apos- 
 tacy in Eden, the monstrous doctrine of tame sub- 
 
mission to mere men because enrobed in royalty, 
 however unrighteous and however oppressive their 
 decrees, had, by an almost immemorial usage, been 
 admitted as an axiom in political casuistry. The 
 king and the peasant were two distinct orders of 
 mankind : and all the gradations of Dukes and 
 Marquises and Earls and Viscounts must be pass- 
 ed by the gracious condescention of the Monarch, 
 ere he could look with aught of benignity on the 
 rabble who wore not an aristocratick star. Passive 
 obedience to the hereditary king, although perad- 
 venture he were an hereditary idiot or an heredi- 
 tary debauchee, was the only sentiment proper to 
 be inculcated on the vulgar herd. But the Father 
 of Mercies had ordained a better state of things 
 for his children of the human family. He looked 
 down from the height of his Sanctuary^ and beheld with 
 pity the tears which in quick succession chased each other 
 on the cheek of vassallagc : He heard the groaning of the 
 prisoner: and hastened to loose those that were appoint- 
 ed unto death. 
 
 In the chain of second causes, he connects with 
 every desired end, a suitable instrumentality ; and 
 promotes human happiness by human agency. — 
 Hence, that his benevolent designs might assuredly 
 be furthered, he created and duly qualified for 
 
the noble work, that man, whom we appropriately 
 designate as the Deliverer of our country. 
 
 Washington was called into existence at an 
 epoch, and reared amid circumstances, in all re- 
 spects most conducive to the prosperity of that 
 cause of which he was the destined champion. — 
 With the authenticated accounts of the discovery 
 of this continent, and its subsequent settlement, 
 more particularly, that part of it which is compris- 
 ed within the limits of these United States, you 
 are, as I presume, familiar. From the habits of 
 thinking which pervaded that accumulating popu- 
 lation which was fleeing to the wilds of America 
 from the persecuting policy of civil and eclesiasti- 
 cal domination, it were not reasonably to be sup- 
 posed, that a sovereignty would be long acknow- 
 ledged which did not guarantee to its subjects the 
 enjoyment of equal rights. Taxation, unaccom- 
 panied with the privilege of being represented, 
 was a burthen and an outrage from which nature's 
 noblemen at once revolted. An army of hirelings 
 was embarked to enforce the dictates of tyranny. 
 They were promptly met. Discipline, tacticks, mi- 
 litary subordination for a while prevailed ; but love 
 of country not of lucre, the rights of man, not the 
 
 dogmas of oppression were soon to gain the pre- 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 ponderance. A corps of patriots convened by their 
 country's voice, became an host within itself. — 
 Numbers coald neither inthrall nor intimidate 
 them: for Washington was their leader. Urged to 
 the command by a deliberative assembly, the most 
 firm and prudent, the most resolute and dispassion- 
 ate, the most unassuming and collected, the most 
 meek and decided, on whose councils the light of 
 Heaven ever shed a cheering ray, he, with all his 
 characteristick diffidence and caution, could not 
 refuse. It was the cause of human nature which 
 the Advocates of Independence pleaded. That 
 Congress which selected Washington as the mili- 
 tary commander, merited and received from the 
 most eloquent legislator of the age, the following 
 encomium: "When your Lordships look at the 
 papers . transmitted us from America ; when you 
 consider their decency, firmness and wisdom ; you 
 cannot but respect their cause, and wish to make 
 it your own. For myself, I must declare and 
 avow, that in all my reading and observation — and 
 it has been my favourite study — I have read Thu- 
 cydides, and have studied and admired the mas- 
 ter states of the world — that for solidity of reason- 
 ing, force of sagacity, and wisdom of conclusion, 
 under such a complication of difficult circumstan- 
 ces, no nation or body of men can stand in prefer- 
 
11 
 
 ence to the general Congress at Philadelphia. I 
 trust it is obvious to vour Lordships, that all at- 
 tempts to impose upon such men, to establish des- 
 potism over such a mighty continental nation, must 
 be vain, must be fatal. We shall be forced ulti- 
 mately to retract : let us retract while we can, not 
 when we must. I say, we must necessarily undo 
 these violent, oppressive acts. They must be re- 
 pealed. You will repeal them. I stake my repu- 
 tation on it — I will consent to be taken for an idiot, 
 if they are not repealed. Avoid then this humili- 
 ating, disgraceful necessity. With a dignity be- 
 coming your exalted situation, make the first ad- 
 vances to concord, to peace and happiness." — 
 Thus spoke Chatham in the outset of the contest. 
 And the great Burke declared, "If we are con- 
 scious of our situation, and glow with zeal to fill 
 our place as becomes our station and ourselves, 
 we ought to auspicate all our publick proceedings 
 on America, with the old warning of the church, 
 Sursum corday 
 
 The contrast between the representatives of 
 freemen, and delegates M^ho reasoned and acted 
 on the principles of hirelings, was conspicuous. 
 The interests of the former were identified with 
 the happiness of their common country : The mo- 
 
12 
 
 tives and conduct of the latter were subordinated 
 to the local views of despots. A blind and selfish 
 policy stimulated their determinations : But a love 
 of liberty guided the counsels and inflamed the 
 zeal of the Continental Congress. Under their 
 auspices Washington took the field. 
 
 The heroes of former times had many flattering- 
 prospects to encourage them. Defeat itself could 
 not be more ignominious than the condition on 
 which their lives and fortunes were suspended. 
 The numbers, the wealth, and the collected cou- 
 rage which were pledged for their support, would 
 prove sources of consolation even amid the dis- 
 comfitures of defeat. But an army possessed of no 
 resources other than a conviction of the righteous- 
 ness of their cause, and a resolution to perish 
 rather than abandon it, Washington was called to 
 lead. Humility and moderation, circumspection 
 and more than Fabian prudence, fearless intrepi- 
 dity, patience in suffering rebukes, and a pious 
 confidence in the overruling and benign Providence 
 of the God of battles, were essential qualifications 
 for the arduous office. These were all transcen- 
 dently exemplified. In the hour of disappointment, 
 and amid the shouts of victory, the hero w^as alike 
 worthy of commendation. Whether w atching from 
 
13 
 
 the heights of Dorchester, the movements of his 
 enemy; or retiring from the blood-stained fields of 
 Brooklyn ; or speeding his way across the plains 
 of Jersey; or circumventing and surprizing the de- 
 bauched allies of the King; or following up his 
 successes on the classick grounds of Princeton; or 
 disciplining his militia, or sharing their unexampled 
 privations at Valley-Forge ; or submitting to have 
 victory snatched from his eager grasp at German- 
 town ; or roused to a high-toned and vehement in- 
 dignation by the disobedience and malignity of Lee 
 at Monmouth ; or there, by retrieving the disasters 
 of a premature retreat, through the timely interpo- 
 sition of undaunted valour and matchless skill, 
 compelling his enemy to abandon his position with- 
 out daring to risk another contest; or suppressing 
 mutinies inseparable from the very constitution of 
 our nature when goaded with superhuman suffer- 
 ings, now by his personal influence, his parental 
 admonitions, his persuasive appeals to the love of 
 country — then by the prompt application of puni- 
 tive justice, when necessity demanded; or extin- 
 guishing the sparks of civil, discord at the moment 
 they were kindling into flame, and preventing the 
 citizens of two adjoining states from imbruing their 
 hands in each other's blood ; or rendering abortive 
 the intended mischief and averting from bis coun- 
 
14 
 
 trjmen the evil consequences of the treachery of 
 Arnold ; or crushing hy his heroism and weight of 
 character, the insidious and diabolical designs of 
 the infamous Newburgh letters; or besieging with- 
 out a previous warning, and forcing to a surrendry 
 within the intrenchments of Yorktown, the chief 
 and fairest hopes of the gallant British army ; he is 
 equally entitled to our gratitude, our veneration 
 and our praise. Greece has had her Epaminon- 
 das, Rome her Scipio Africanus, Scotland her 
 Wallace, but America has produced her unrivalled 
 Washington. Born to command, he ruled but for 
 the welfare of other men : destined to human rever- 
 ence, he lost not sight of the fact that he was a 
 mere and a dying mortal : idolized by millions, he 
 conferred the glory on that exalted Being to whom 
 it was richly due. 
 
 Having secured the independence of liis coun- 
 try, he voluntarily and cheerfully resigned his com- 
 mission into the hands of the duly-constituted au- 
 thorities from whom it was originally received. A 
 more august spectacle was scarcely ever presented 
 ta the eye of man. The representatives of a brave, 
 magnanimous, enlightened people listening to the 
 parting accents of a disinterested hero ; — receiving 
 back from him that sword with which they had en- 
 
15 
 
 trusted him for the protection of all that is dear to 
 
 the heart of freedom; mutually reciprocating 
 
 emotions of the most thrilling gratitude to Heaven ; 
 — an emancipated empire gazing on with admira- 
 tion and with rapture; — despots trembling; — the 
 conqueror himself arrayed in meekness, and bow- 
 ing to the majesty of the laws : — centuries will roll 
 away, the Sun exhaust his fires, the Moon wear out 
 her cheering radiance, and the Stars of yonder 
 firmament abate their twinkling : — but another con- 
 texture of objects, so cheering to the bosom of the 
 patriot, so animating to the best hopes of philan- 
 thropy, will not recur. 
 
 The unparalleled man retires, followed by uni- 
 versal benedictions, to the scenes of his youthful 
 employments and his earliest joys. 
 
 But his publick services had by no means ended. 
 The rural dehghts of his beloved Vernon, though 
 sought with avidity, and urging his lawful claims to 
 their embrace on the ground of his past long-con- 
 tinued self-denials and privations, and toils and suf- 
 ferings, must be abandoned: — for patriotism — patri- 
 otism unadulterated by love of lucre, untarnished by 
 even a suggestion of criminal ambition, again pre- 
 dominated. Attachment to the peaceful, tranquil- 
 
16 
 
 lizing occupations of husbandry Avas ardent — but 
 love of country was the ruling passion. A code of 
 government more equal, more efficient, more benign 
 than the confederation of the States, formed as it was 
 amid emergencies and amid uncontrollable embar- 
 assments,was imperiously called for by the languish- 
 ing state of commerce, by the appalling depreciation 
 of property, by the almost total loss of mutual confi- 
 dence in pecuniary transactions, and by an unchari- 
 table, a selfish spirit of rivalry amounting in some 
 cases to persecution, in many to injustice, in all to 
 the excitement of animosities that threatened the 
 speedy subversion of our dear bought liberties. 
 A national government was required — a federal head, 
 with sufficient vigour to combine against every re- 
 currence of publick exigence, the powers of the 
 several independent sovereignties. Talents, such 
 as Washington possessed, distinguished for cool 
 deliberation, profound thought, consummate pru- 
 dence, patient industry, unwearied investigation, 
 luminous deductions, firm decisions, incorruptible 
 intentions, were put in requisition. His country 
 called : with filial piety he obeyed. Repairing to 
 the spot which concentrated the wisdom and virtue 
 of the nation, he presided o'er the councils of 
 statesmen whose sagacity and purity the world ac- 
 knowledged and revered ; and by the elevation of 
 
17 
 
 his views, the influence of his example, the dignity 
 of his demeanour, the very magick of his presence, 
 contributed eminently to the adoption and subse- 
 quent ratification of our unparalleled constitution. 
 
 All eyes were now fastened on him, as the most 
 appropriate executive organ of the government. — 
 His sense of duty once more triumphed over per- 
 sonal inclinations ; and he embarked on an untried 
 ocean, the precious character he had acquired. 
 But the remotest posterity will declare, what we 
 all believe, that it is impossible to ascertain in 
 what respect he merits the warmest eulogy, whether 
 while leading the republick to conquest on the field 
 of battle, or elevating and consolidating her happi- 
 est destinies in a time of peace. Unanimously call- 
 ed and even urged to the first office in the gift of 
 the people, he entered on its duties with his char- 
 acteristick modesty and uprightness. Modesty is 
 the inseparable companion of great minds. Its un- 
 usual ascendency over the exalted powers of 
 Washington, was doubtless one among a multitude 
 of natural causes, that produced the overflowing 
 admiration, gratitude, and enthusiasm, of a magnan- 
 imous, a reflecting, and an enlightened nation. He 
 could not pass to the seat of government, without 
 
 being thronged in every stage of his progress, by 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 his delighted countrymen. His fellow-citizens of 
 the first character and station vied with each other 
 in lavishing encomiums. Thousands, whom he 
 had instructed in the use of arms, and the only le- 
 gitimate purposes for which they must be wielded, 
 flew to be his escorts. And even the unassuming, 
 retiring, gentle sex, erected the triumphal arch. — 
 Venerable matrons taught their lisping children to 
 rehearse his praises : " The Defender of the Moth- 
 ers will also protect their Daughters." The deli- 
 cate and vestal hand scatters garlands in his path ; 
 while from the unsullied lips of virgin innocence 
 flows a tribute the more acceptable, because per- 
 fectly appropriate and sincere. 
 
 "Welcome mighty chief! once more,, 
 Welcome to this grateful shore! 
 Now no mercenary foe 
 Aims again the fatal blow. 
 Aims at thee the fatal blow ! 
 "Virgins fair and matrons grave, 
 (These thy conquering arm did save !) 
 Build for thee triumphal bowers : 
 Strew ye fair, his way with flowers. 
 Strew your hero's way with flowers." 
 
 He entered on the duties of the Presidency, with 
 the same devotedness to the best interests of man- 
 kind, the same acknowledgment of the overruling 
 
19 
 
 and special Providence of God, which had dis- 
 tinguished his previous career. Surrounded by dif- 
 ficulties great enough to have appalled an ordinary 
 mind, he evinced equal firmness and prudence, pa- 
 rental affection to his constituents, and a magna- 
 nimity to foreign nations which challenged their 
 profound respect, and secured the prosperity of 
 his people. Eight successive years witnessed the 
 glowing ardour of his patriotism and the matchless 
 wisdom of his councils. He again voluntarily re- 
 tires to the shades of private life, impressing upon 
 his fellow-citizens, with all the benignity of an anxi- 
 ous father, those sage and wholesome maxims for 
 the future guidance of their conduct, to which, with 
 mingled gratitude and admiration you have this 
 morning listened, ^e closes his publick life as he 
 began it, with an act of religion : " repeating his 
 fervent supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the Uni- 
 verse and Sovereign Arbiter of nations, that his provi- 
 dential care might still he extended to the United States ; 
 that the virtue and happiness of the people might be pre- 
 served ; and that the government ivhich they had institut- 
 ed for the protection of their liberties might be perpetucdP 
 His country, by the blessing of God on his ad- 
 ministration, in full enjoyment of liberty without 
 licentiousness, religion without bigotry, and the 
 means of rapid advancement in vahiable know- 
 
20 
 
 ledge of every kind, gazed on him with enthusias" 
 tick love. Their heart went with him to the scenes 
 of that calm and philosophical enjoyment which 
 he preferred to every other; and while he was 
 reaping both pleasure and improvement from the 
 noble employments of agriculture, and while he 
 was cultivating an intercourse with Heaven, they 
 environed him with their benedictions and their 
 prayers. Their affectionate solicitude smoothed 
 his decline* down the hill of life; and when he died, 
 the tears of unaffected grief suffused their manly 
 cheeks. " O our father," they exclaimed, " where- 
 fore has the Almighty so grieviously afflicted us .'^" 
 
 " How sleep the brave who sink to rest. 
 By all their country's wishes blest ! 
 When Spring with dewy finjj^ers cold 
 Returns to deck their hallowed mould. 
 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 Honour comes a pilgrim grey, 
 To bless the turf that wraps their clay ; 
 And Freedom shall awhile repair. 
 To dwell a weeping hermit tliere." 
 
 The fame of Washington is co-extensive with the 
 earth — and in its ultimate consequences, his success 
 in promoting the cause of Hberty and science and li- 
 
31 
 
 terature and the arts and pure morality and undefil- 
 ed religion, will exert a powerful influence on all the 
 civiUzed nations of our world. What am 1 saying ? 
 It has produced already an effect more benign, more 
 auspicious to the best interests of mankind, than any 
 antecedent cause, the introduction of Christianity 
 alone excepted. To the glorious issue of the Ame- 
 rican revolution, the nations of Europe are indebt- 
 ed for all their comparative liberty, so superiour in 
 a multitude of instances, to the abject vassallage 
 under which they previously groaned. It has given 
 to the human intellect a tone, an energy, a lumi- 
 nous expansion. It has prompted and rewarded 
 freedom of inquiry. To the Christian it has taught 
 the profitable lesson, that no man has a right to 
 exercise dominion over the conscience ; but that 
 in every article of faith, the Bible is God's vice- 
 gerent. It has subdued the wildness of religious 
 intolerance. It has allayed the furious spirit of 
 persecution. It has tamed the ferocity of war. — 
 It has exhibited in streams of light the wholesome 
 doctrine, that we are brethren, entitled to equal 
 privileges, and bound to consult each others' wel- 
 fare. Yes, Americans, you will permit me to in- 
 dulge a holy enthusiasm. The example of our 
 father will instruct and benefit remotest ages. Un- 
 restricted to results pertaining to " the life that now 
 
as 
 
 is,^' it has produced a developement of principle 
 and of action most auspicious to the cause of the 
 Redeemer. The wilderness of ignorance and su- 
 perstition already begins to blossom as the rose. 
 The throne of spiritual despotism totters to its 
 base. The path of the humble and fervent Mis- 
 sionary is unobstructed by the lumber of ages. — 
 The thousand films of prejudice which covered 
 the eye of reason with a Cimmerian darkness have 
 been removed : and the light of revelation is pour- 
 ing its mild and genial effulgence to guide and 
 bless the most distant regions. The illustrious 
 epoch is rapidly advancing, when among the other 
 happy results of the American revolution, we can 
 trace the conversion to Christ of myriads of Pa- 
 gans. Already attracted hither by the benignity 
 of our laws, a population who have left behind 
 them all but their innocent prejudices, are blend- 
 ing into one, an4 combining and harmonizing their 
 efforts to spread the triumphs of the Bible. Ame- 
 rica their country : — the world the prisoner whom 
 they desire to emancipate. Here, in the land of 
 religious freedom, you will find engaged in the 
 same benevolent and holy cause, impelled by no 
 policy of state, circumvented by no rules imposed 
 by the arrogance of a monarch, alarmed by no de- 
 nunciations of a metropolitan, the generous and frank 
 
S3 
 
 and hospitable and eloquent natives of the Emerald 
 Isle ; the unsophisticated and honest Welchman ; the 
 lineal descendants of the faithful, martyred Hugue- 
 nots ; the brave and hardy, the vigorous and re- 
 flecting German ; the intrepid Hollander^ distinguish- 
 ed for his patient perseverance in honest toils, his 
 personal integrity, his admirable adherence to the 
 unadulterated truths of revelation ; and that noble 
 people to whose character the splendid Philhps 
 has recently borne the following richly-merited 
 testimonial, " Wherever they tread, temperance 
 and industry attest their presence : a primeval pi- 
 ety consecrates their church; peace and plenty 
 meet upon their plains ; and the laurel which their 
 genius and their heroism have won, is intertwined 
 with the palm-leaf of an immaculate morality. — 
 Let Scotland then, even if she stood alone, prove 
 the advantage of an educated peasantry: and 
 should the sceptick awake not at her voice, may 
 the spirit of Burns pass across his slumber, and 
 burst upon him in the blaze of its refutation." 
 
 When such a people amalgamating therr ener- 
 gies, and borrowing daily improvement from the 
 increasing lights of literature and the arts, resolve 
 to consecrate to God, to their common country, and 
 to mankind, their several faculties, what elevated 
 
24 
 
 hopes may we not cherish respecting the future 
 glory of America ! 
 
 My fellow citizens ! I fervently congratulate you, 
 that the example of Washington is perpetually 
 guiding you like a polar star in all your researches 
 after usefulness. Imitate his patriotism, his disin- 
 terestedness, his morality, his religion. Fear not 
 reproach, while pursuing your onward course in 
 the path of duty. Remember, that — " calumny is 
 the shadow of merit, and that — though it ever fol- 
 lows, it never overtakes it." Washington was slan- 
 dered ! but did defamation arrest him in his hiffh 
 career.'^ No! he lived not to himself, but to the 
 benefit of others : and conscious, that his intentions 
 were hallowed, he thought it wicked to desist. In 
 all your conduct, inquire how would Washington 
 have acted ? His head and his heart were both so 
 extraordinarily good, that 'tis safe, perfectly safe 
 for Americans to adopt his maxims, to tread in his 
 footsteps, to think as he thought, to act as he acted. 
 Are we soldiers, or do we fill a more retired and 
 less splendid station ? Are we magistrates or pri- 
 vate citizens ? Are we ministers or people ? In the 
 spring, or the winter of life ? Prosperous, or smit- 
 ten with adversity ? Our political Father, by his 
 own excellent example, in varied, peculiar, and 
 
S3 
 
 trying exigencies, instructs us amply. Never did 
 he bathe his sword in the blood of innocence ; 
 never did he corrupt the purity of the sex ; never 
 did he cajole the populace with the impositions of 
 the demagogue, nor flatter them by falsehoods into 
 a surrendry of their rights : His ambition was con- 
 secrated to the publick weal. Never did he op- 
 pose insidiously, nor with outrage, lawful power : 
 never did he lend his aid to the malignant efforts 
 of an infldel philosophy ; but gloried in the name 
 of Christian. Never did he take undue advantage 
 of his successes and his influence ; but improved 
 them sedulously for the good of others : and when 
 he was visited with disappointments, he humbly 
 bowed and silently kissed the rod which smote 
 him, believing that this world was not his home, 
 and seeking another, even an heavenly country. 
 
 An imitation of his example, is the best memorial 
 of his birth, and life and services — the most endur- 
 ing and splendid monument that we can erect to 
 his glory. Let the Fathers teach the children : 
 and let the youthful patriot gladden the emotions 
 of the aged bosom, by adopting him as the pattern 
 and exemplar. Then shall the intemperate, over- 
 heated, bigotted, irreconcileable hatred between 
 man and man, engendered by the accursed spirit 
 
26 
 
 of party, yield to the influence of better principles. 
 V/e shall all be Americans. A halo of glory shall 
 encircle our wide-spreading empire. " The star- 
 spangled banner" will wave triumphant on every 
 ocean. The prowess of such heroes as bled on 
 Bunker's heights, at Saratoga, at Eutaw; and in 
 more recent days at Queenstown and Bridgewater, 
 at Baltimore and New-Orleans, at Chippewa and 
 Erie and Williamsburgh, will be the fruitful themes 
 of poetical penegyric — While the unexampled vic- 
 tories of Perry and Macdonough, and Decatur and 
 Jones, and Hull and Bainbridge, will serve as a 
 torch to kindle the flames of patriotism, and light 
 our grandsons to the spot where they will conquer 
 and still be free. 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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