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 l^gskallj), |oIiticaIlti, Idigiousln. i 
 
 A THANKSG-IVING- DISCOURSE. 
 
AMEKICA 
 
 PHYSICALLY, POLITICALLY, RELIGIOUSLY 
 
 A DISCOURSE, 
 
 UKLIVEnED OX 
 
 ^riliVZSTIvS&IVIiSra- D^Y, ]^]■O^^K]MBER 34, 1864, 
 
 I). DUBOIS SAHLEE, 
 
 rASTui: or the congregational ciiuecii, Sheffield, mass. 
 
 |lclri-|)o.iii: j 
 
 JOHN A. GRAY & (IREEX, PRINTERS, STEREOTYPERS, AND BINDERS, I 
 
 F I R E - P R K B U I L D I N G S , \ 
 
 CORNER OF FRANKFORT AND JACOI? STREETS. I 
 
 I 
 
 18 6 4. ' 
 
 c^py 2. 
 
.$13 
 
 P 
 
<rv. 
 
 AMERICA 
 
 Pffi'SIOALLY, POLITICALLY, RELIGIOUSLY, 
 
 *'Hc hath not dealt so with any nation." — Ps.vljl 147 : 20. 
 
 Tins was not the lano-uao-e of io;noraiice. The 
 early emj)ires were well known. 
 
 There they were : — Nineveli, tlie first of nations^ 
 with the world as her domain; and Bal)yloii, per- 
 petually associated ^vitli all that is resplendent in 
 courts and kiuo-doms ; Media, holdino" monarchs as 
 slaves in her palaces ; and Persia, unal^le to expend 
 her treasure, witli the peoj)le of many realms and 
 languages subject to her sway. 
 
 Upon an elevation, higher tlian these empires, 
 stood Israel, as the favorite of Heaven. 
 
 Nor Avas it in unhallowed boasting that this 
 song of thanksgiving was sung. Human pride was 
 lost in o-enuine latitude of the heart. Indeed, 
 inherent greatness in Israel, as a people, was not 
 in any proportion to tlie extraordinary providences 
 attendino; them. 
 
 Israel was fostered, guided, inspired, as ^^eie 
 
none of tlie ancient empires. Great and lioly 
 men, sucli as tliey did not possess, were lier coun- 
 selors and leaders. A national inheritance was 
 M'aiting centuries for lier possession. Miraculous 
 (^xj)eriences formed lier liistory, sucli as Tvineveli, 
 Persia, and Bal)}'lon liad never known. 
 
 Her historical record is too familiar to require 
 a reliearsal. In our day it is a constant instructor 
 of the mind and an inspirer of the imagination. 
 Comparing it A\ith that of the other governments 
 of the earth, it was truly declared: "He hath not 
 dealt so with an}' nation." 
 
 The present is a repetition of the past. We 
 believe there are t(^ be ol^served divine dealings, 
 and manifestations, and wdiat may almost be called 
 miracles in these later days — in our own times, 
 and in the histor}' of our own country. There are 
 things connected witli our national history worthy 
 of our heartfelt and grateful remembrance. 
 
 The hymn of thanksgiving which echoed in tlie 
 East may resound in the West. The music of Joi-- 
 dan and Siloam\s rill is ans'wered by the chorus 
 (►f the Hudson, the Mississippi, and ever-praising 
 Niagara. 
 
 I. The position assigned to our country' is Avor- 
 thy of notice. We are planted away from the 
 world, as it were, and yet in the midst of it. On 
 the East Ave look to^\•ard Europe. The power of 
 our example is felt across the Atlantic. Monarchy 
 
is tliere crumbling to decay. Tlie l)oasted mU- 
 tress of tlie seas trembles at tlie imfriendliuess of 
 a neigliboring dynasty. We rest in comparative 
 safety amid the efforts of thrones after more ex- 
 tended empire. The ocean banishes from us tlie 
 idea of monarchical succession and of the divine 
 right of kings to do as they please. 
 
 Upon our Western borders, instead of one At- 
 lantic we have tliree. There the Pacific rolls foi- 
 ten thousand miles its silver tides. Beyond, lie 
 those mysteries of human existence, the nations <^f 
 Asia. It is well that their crowded and suffo- 
 catino; millions are not at our doors. The charac- 
 teristics of these nations are insatiable avarice and 
 unutterable atheism. Their proximity ^vould be 
 the omen of a moral and physical struggle of por- 
 tentous mao;nitude and duration. Our virtue and 
 our patriotism might not save us from terrible 
 disaster or destructicni. The widest expanse of wa- 
 ter on the earth is made to separate between us 
 and them. To it has l^een given the significant, 
 and it is hoped j^trophetic name of the Pacific — 
 that is, — Peace. 
 
 No situation could be more admiral)le than ours 
 for attaining a noble destiny. In our Aveakness it 
 was our strength, in our strength it vastly aug- 
 ments our power. We may shed upon the world 
 the light of truth, and are preserved from evil 
 influences. 
 
 We may now glance at the land itself 
 
6 
 
 Tn the North lies a chain of lakes or inland seas. 
 They claim, after their kind, preeminence in beauty 
 and extent. Our coasts j)i'esent inviting harbors to 
 tlie mariner. The Hudson, Avith an easy grace, 
 carries a^vay the crown for attractiveness from 
 other rivers. The Mississij)pi, with its tributaries, 
 takes no second 23lace in varied and enchanting 
 scenery, in vast regions drained, and irrigated, and 
 in usefulness to man. In the center and heart of 
 our country are found the almost imlimited jirairies. 
 We see them in the flowery bloom of spring, and 
 in the o-reen and o'old of their summer attire. 
 Once beheld, they can never be forgotten. They 
 remain in the mind litVs unfadins; dream of beau- 
 t\'. From east to west, ten thousand valleys, 
 springs, and rivulets I'eflect the smiles of Heaven. 
 Mountain chains traverse the country and vary the 
 landscape. Lofty peaks, some of them perpetually 
 white with the snows of ages, stand as reverend 
 monitors, pointing silently to the Infinity of power. 
 
 In America, labor receives its richest reward. 
 This remark is applicable to ever}^ department of 
 enterprise. Tlie Western soil is unrivaled in fer- 
 tility, unless you exchange a temperate clime foi- 
 the heat and miasma of the tropics. Providential 
 safeguards against famine exist, in variety and ex- 
 tent of territory, and in the facility of communi. 
 cation. Europe is looking to our prairies to give 
 l)read to lier i)eople. For man}' years, the chief 
 supply of cotton has been obtained from this coun- 
 
try. The arts and sciences have been liljerally 
 encouraged. Our manufactures compete with those 
 of the worhl. TJie veo-etable and mineral kino-- 
 (h)ms in almost all their productions have here 
 found a home. Sul)terranean rivers of oil pour 
 forth their streams of light to human habitations 
 all over the earth. Mountains of gold and moun- 
 tains of silver are drawing millions to tlie West 
 to balance the millions of the East. Civilization, 
 ^vitll bewildering rapidity, is laying the founda- 
 tion of free empires in solitudes untrodden but 
 by the foot of the savage. 
 
 Our land is probably the healthiest region on 
 tlie glol)e. Great exposure is incident to the set- 
 tlement of new countries. Fortune and fame are 
 here pursued with absorbing anxiety. Frequent 
 and widespread financial disasters occur. There is 
 a constant strain uj^on the physical and mental 
 })o^ver of the nation. Americans, nevertlieless, live 
 longer than any other people. A larger number 
 reaches the age of a century than in other most 
 tavored and civilized j^ortions of the eartli. 
 
 Terrible plagues, which appear to have their na- 
 tiu'al abode in the Old World, come upon us with 
 comparative lightness. Something may be attri- 
 V)uted to the resolute Inioyancy of the peo2:)le. 
 This quality led them to forsake their native- 
 lands, hoping for a better home on a distant 
 shore. This spirit, it may be, shakes off man)' 
 diseases. 
 
Tlie national enthusiasm, or, if }'on please, I'est- 
 lessness, secures necessary recreation and variety. It 
 is (loul)tful wlietlier Americans, as a people, live 
 too fast. Instances of extremes, in one ^vay or 
 otlier, are ahvays to l^e expected. Great activit}' 
 and energy, however, are desirable characteristics in 
 nations. Our endeavor sliould l)e to have these 
 forces properly directed. 
 
 II. We are now advancing to the secret of the 
 foregoing providences. Why is there given to tliis 
 nation a position at once centnil and remote i 
 AVhy is the land unsurpassed in beauty, fertility 
 ,and health 1 
 
 The older portions of tlie world ^vere, in im- 
 })ortant respects, fjiilures. Small and slo^v advances 
 had been made in tlie love of truth and virtue. 
 May ^ve not think it was, therefore, said on high : 
 Let the experiment l)e again permitted and ordered 
 of forming a nation, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness ? Let a people be trained for G(^(l and placed as 
 the almoner of blessings to the world. A ne\\- 
 Eden was, therefore, chosen, and a new family A\-as 
 created among the nations. 
 
 Tliis family was not new in the blood which viui 
 in its veins. It was new in the ])olitical and reli- 
 gious ideas A\'hicli were its life. Nor -were these ideas 
 and principles themselves new. It was the manner 
 of their expression. It was the first national declara- 
 tion that a man was a man. A nation decreed 
 
that no king or petty despot slionld place the foot 
 of his might npon any guiltless brother man. It 
 ordered that in the great essentials of manhood 
 his lowly brother should be lield as his equal. 
 Instead of pushing him lower, he should encour- 
 age him to rise toward the perfection of his na- 
 ture. 
 
 This, indeed, was an old idea. It had been 
 whispered by individuals from time immemorial. 
 It was believed to be an article of the divine con- 
 stitution ^vliich the world should adopt. This, 
 however, was the iirst time a nation had undei-- 
 taken to declare and profess it. 
 
 To maintain this principle the Fathers of Ame- 
 rica pledged their lives, their fortunes, and tlieir 
 sacred honor. Their idea was Liberty, and Union 
 for the sake of Liberty. In the first place, their 
 national liberty among the adverse governments of 
 the earth, and then tlieir individual lil^erty as citi- 
 zens of the nation. 
 
 Lidividual liberty, wliich is so happily j)oised, 
 guarded, and cheered in our national politics, is 
 the distinctive mark and streno-th of the Amxlo- 
 Saxon and allied races. 
 
 In the dis2:>ersion of the human famil}' they took 
 it from their home in Asia. They did not lose 
 it in their migrations <jver the plains of Russia. 
 It became more and more a part of their nature 
 in the forests of Germany. Tliey still inlierited 
 
10 
 
 and claimed it along tlie shores of the Baltic and 
 in the island of Britain. 
 
 Christianity breathed a heavenly life into this 
 ])rinciple. It guided it to its ultimate and tnu^ 
 expression. Thus inspired, we believe this principle 
 will be mighty in disenthralling and elevating races 
 which have been sinking luide]* desjiotism. It will 
 give them life, quicken their sloth, make them rise 
 to the true standard of manhood. 
 
 The discovery has been made of using individ- 
 ual liberty as a power of national safety and de- 
 velopment. Let a nation be found with faith 
 enough in God and in the right. Let the speech 
 and the ballot of the people be free, and, in time, 
 they will arrive at the highest possible national 
 ])erfection. The doctrine to Avhich we are com- 
 mitted before heaven and the nations of the earth 
 is Vox 2^opuh\ vox Dei. The voice of the people 
 is the voice of God — not innnediately and at all 
 times, but idtimately. 
 
 They who advocate principles of national equity 
 or improvement may have a hard contest. Let 
 them not despond, hoAvever. Free sj^eech, free bal- 
 lot, the mind, and the conscience of the peojde are 
 theirs. If they persevere, ere long the shout of 
 victory aaiII be heard. 
 
 The state invests citizens with the right of seek- 
 ing for the popular ado])tion of any measure, even to 
 the chanfye of the fundamental law. If what is 
 pro2^osed is just and good, it will eventually tri- 
 
11 
 
 iimpli over tlie most formidable oj)2:)osition. Cliild- 
 reii will tlien build n mouumeiit, praisiug the vir- 
 tues of tliose whom tlieir fathers derided. Be it 
 talse in principle or practically useless — though it 
 mav be o-alvanized into seemino- life for an hour— 
 it will and should perish. 
 
 This, then, is the soul of the nation, this is its 
 political life and strength — Liberty ; inspired, chas- 
 tened, exalted by Christianity. Its iniluence was 
 felt to the remotest extremities of tlie national 
 system. 
 
 We must not omit to notice here the evil in 
 the body politic. While yet under a foreign yoke, 
 a system with which we have become painfully fa- 
 miliar was entailed u2:>on the people. An uncivil- 
 ized portion of the human family was im2:)orted 
 from a distant continent and enslaved. Not with- 
 out revulsion and protestation, however. From 
 parts of tlie sunny South came a voice, strong 
 and decided, declaring that slavery should never be 
 tolerated among them. May the virtue of the fa- 
 thers atone in our eyes for the grievous errors of 
 their children ! 
 
 The Constitution was formed, declaring freedom, 
 yet recognizing slavery as an institution, to be pro- 
 tected within cei'tain limits and in certain ways. 
 The j^eople enjoyed and professed the fairest i^rin^^ 
 ciples of liberty. At the same time they were al- 
 lied to a gross system of oppression and wrong\ 
 In strange association, American freedom was con- 
 
12 
 
 joined witli American slavery. Tlie antagonism was 
 absolute and irreconcilable. Could the two be per- 
 l)etuated together? Impossible. The idea of the 
 Anglo-Saxon and sister races, that of individual 
 liberty, forbid. Tlie elevating and merciful spirit 
 of the Cliristian religion forT)id. The institutions, 
 the genius, and sj)irit of the nation springing from 
 these germs of political and religious life, forbid. 
 AVe may ask the historian, or the student of hu- 
 man nature, if it is strange, in view of these things, 
 that our country has fallen into its present perils i 
 Could there be peace with these elements in tlie 
 nation ? As Avell might you expect to place an 
 icebero: in the o-lowins; crater of Vesuvius, and 
 not produce commotion. 
 
 The portents were not wanting. Murmurings 
 Avere heard ; flying clouds were seen in the na- 
 tional horizon. Patriots beheld, and looked upon one 
 another. Some said, these clouds will j^ass away : 
 this trembling will subside, and be succeeded by a 
 calm ; fears arise from illusions of the mind — all 
 is well. 
 
 Again, deeper rund dings of passion shook the 
 continent. A host of orators arose, and each one, 
 in his own way, showed how to allay the commo- 
 tion. Human wisdom exhausted its resources, 
 ^'('t more profound and violent A\'as the rolling 
 tide of national feeling. 
 
 The immortal Clay and Webster, who spake and 
 nations heard, saw the time a])pr()aching. AYhat 
 
13 
 
 would he tlie final issue tliey could not discover. 
 They feared the temple of American nationality 
 would be razed to its foundations, and not one 
 fair stone left uj^on another. In imagination, they 
 saw the eagle of American liberty rise in tlie 
 heavens, and, forsaking forever the land of promise, 
 Avend its uncertain flitrht to distant climes and aires 
 of the world. As they peered into the unknown 
 years, they prayed that the fearful day might not 
 (hxAvn upon their eyes. Their petition -was an- 
 swered. They were removed from witnessing the 
 disaster, their eloquence and statesmanship could 
 not avert. 
 
 Now there came a sound from the Southern At- 
 lantic coasts — from the embattled avails of Sumter. 
 Its eclioes spread over the savannahs of the South, 
 through the valleys and across the praii'ies of the 
 North. For a moment the millions held their 
 breath. Clearly, distinctly, the momentous issue 
 was presented. In one day it was understood and 
 accepted — A. natioii's ruin or regeneration. 
 
 Let it not be said that Christian repu])lics fos- 
 ter selfishness and not patriotism. The life-strug- 
 gle of our people should silence forever the in- 
 sinuation of malignant and decrepid monarch}^ 
 
 Through divine mercy, the faith and virtue of 
 the people has saved the country from destruc- 
 tion. The perilous crisis of the danger is, we be- 
 lieve, nearly overriden. Like tempest-tost mariners, 
 that have doubled Cape Horn, we see sufficient 
 
14 
 
 light before us to hope that we shall soou sail 
 in the mild waters of tlie boundless Pacific. 
 
 Perchance, it could not have been otherwise. In 
 a condition of affairs anomalous as that which has 
 marked American history, the wisest men luay have 
 wisely differed. IMay it not be said that the difii- 
 culty was uot incalculably more in the men than 
 in the jx'culiar circumstances of the period in Avhicli 
 they lived 't 
 
 We are here reminded ^ve can not be mere sjx'c- 
 tators of this national drama. We are actors in 
 these scenes. There are things for us to deter- 
 mine and to do. Present duty demands our atten- 
 tion. Let us attempt to follow its direction. 
 
 As a nation, we are evidently entering upon a 
 new era. The time has, therefore, come when those 
 ■\vlio have been opposites as to governmental policy 
 should be reconciled, and mutually forgive. Let, 
 therefore, the past be past. Let the bitterness, the 
 partisanship, and the sectional feeling which have 
 arisen sink forever in the depth of generous forget- 
 fulness. 
 
 First, I call for forgiveness in respect to those 
 -who have favored emancipation policies. A¥e nui}' 
 view them as agreeing upon the evil of slavery, 
 and in some form of oi)positiou. Ho^^'ever bitter 
 or radical any of them may have l)een, ^vho will 
 say there was no occasion i When the i)eriod 
 comes, of the deliverance of inankind from thral- 
 dom of soul an<l body, will not men justify them 
 
15 
 
 for earnestly pressing tlieir principles ? That pe- 
 riod we believe is steadily ajjproacbing. In a few 
 years it Avill be the Ijoast of Americans that no 
 slave can land npon onr shores without being 
 thenceforth forever free. Whatever these men may 
 have wrongly done, we crave for them forgive- 
 ness. Alas ! there was a fearful, Ijitter occasion. 
 
 Again we plead for the pardon of those who 
 have ranged themselves against the advocates of 
 freedom. We know the view they have been led 
 to entertain of our affairs. 
 
 The nation's faith was pledged in a certain wa}- 
 in regard to slavery. The minds of multitudes 
 seized upon this fact. They were easily convinced 
 that emancipation tendencies were against the spirit 
 of national pledges. The idea of liberty was fought 
 as if it was a demon. 
 
 The influence of slavery on those to whom it 
 came as an inheritance, is to be remembered. It 
 came from their fathers an institution of the world, 
 and they supposed it was an institution of God. 
 They found it existing in all ages, and contempo- 
 raneously with them in other portions of the world. 
 The divine regulation of its evils, they were per- 
 suaded was intended to give it the sanction of 
 Heaven. Moreover, they regarded it as a matter 
 to be adjusted solely by the States by Avhom it 
 Avas adopted. Every address favorable to liberty, 
 from persons in the free States, was resented as 
 an incursion upon their rights. 
 
16 
 
 It was claimed to be an impossilnlity to remove 
 the system, extended and fixed as it was. There 
 A\'as an irrepressible revulsion from the great so- 
 cial changes and pecuniary loss, it was thought 
 emancipation ^vould bring. 
 
 Plereafter, these difficulties will doubtlessly l)e 
 appreciated. Men in the future will look lenient- 
 ly on many who are now condemned. Let us fore- 
 stall their judgment. Let us not reprobate alto- 
 gether those who have felt constrained to oj^pose 
 the views of lil)ertv which have stained control. 
 Nay, rather let them be forgiven. 
 
 We wish to Ije included in the general amnes- 
 ty of the heart those who, in the mighty ferment 
 of our people, were apparently unmoved. Their 
 course was taken not because the moral and po- 
 litical aspects of the question w^ere not appre- 
 ciated. Their decision was made after Iouq; and cai-e- 
 ful consideration. If they erred, it was not for want 
 of thought. " We may be reproached," said the}', 
 " for not taking our position as men in a great 
 moral conflict. We will bear the burden. We 
 Avill lighten it by this reflection. We can not be 
 charged with the stirring up of passion which only 
 blood could satisfy. Our part shall be to allay 
 the frenzy of the hour. AVhen the great contest 
 comes, and after it has passed into history, it will 
 not be said that w^e added to the leno-th or se- 
 verity of the strife." 
 
 And now we make a final plea. The existence 
 
17 
 
 of a divine principle in onr hearts will now 1)e 
 tested. We speak for tliose avIio pas.sed th(^ 
 bounds of legal disputation, who in an hour of 
 disap2:)ointment plunged into revolution. The (tov- 
 ernnient is restoring them from the al)yss into 
 which they would draw themselves and their coun- 
 try. As this is being accomplished, let us imitate 
 the divine magnanimity. Let us welcome them, 
 ^vith our reproaches forever buried, 1)ack again to 
 their home, to the sisterhood of States. We have 
 tasted earthly bitterness in our discipline. May wc 
 hasten to enjoy the sweetness of celestial nectar ■ — 
 that the bitterness may die. 
 
 " To ovr is human, to forgive divine." 
 
 We have been taught the' trutli of the former 
 part of this apothegm in a way A\^e can not foi'o-et. 
 May we so practice the virtue commended, that the 
 w^orld will remember it forever. 
 
 Let the opening of a new er^a be thus cele- 
 brated. Then as a people honored and blessed, 
 ^ve may rise to tlie more perfect realization of 
 
 " A liberty unsung 
 By poets, by senators unpraiscd." 
 
 III. We are thus introduced to the noblest and 
 most interesting phase of American life. It is no 
 longer esteemed a cant to refer to the intervention 
 of the supernatural and divine as an im2:)ortant 
 element in the aftairs of men. Nor need one hesi- 
 
 9 
 
18 
 
 tate to assert tliat x\merica is remarkably favored 
 in tliis respect. A peculiar necessity exists for this 
 influence. In religion men are free. There is no 
 obstruction between the soul and God. One feel- 
 ing and asserting with others this freedom should 
 be impressed with divine ideas. He should have 
 a sense of his immediate accountability to the in- 
 finitely Wise and Good. The motives arising from 
 his immortal existence shoidd constantly affect liis 
 mind. The distinguishing mercy of heaven is here- 
 in reflected. This land is not only most thoroughly 
 permeated with the true principle of civil libert}-. 
 It is also most highly Idessed with the inspirations 
 of relisrion. 
 
 The souls of men are guided and taught from 
 on hiirh. Wherever ' divine truth is known, and 
 there is found a circle of praying hearts, the Holy 
 Spirit draws those of every age and condition to 
 the path of " glory and virtue." Vast and increas- 
 ino' multitudes walk forth daily with God as their 
 Father, Jesus as their Saviour and Friend, and 
 heaven as their home. 
 
 Christians from abroad see and rejoice in the 
 goodly religion of America, its simplicity, its devo- 
 tion, its generosity. AVe listen to their words witli 
 some surprise, since here is no constraint. All is 
 natural — the soul being simply and alone influ- 
 enced l)y divine motives. Faith seems natural since 
 we are not driven to it, but attracted toward it 
 T)y God himself. Freedom of religion has a ]K>si- 
 
19 
 
 five power and liold upon tlie peo])le. We have 
 little fear of ftilse Inerarclial systems. The priest- 
 ly anathema in other lands is an instantaneous 
 l)light to all that is dear in life. It has no terror 
 on this side of the Atlantic. A system counte- 
 nancing such an act soon falls to decay. It may 
 not sink beneath the power of denunciation. It 
 will be as with the icy castles of the queen of 
 Russia, which are Iniilt in winter, and melt away 
 in sj^ring. Those systems ^vliich are erected in the 
 freezing, cheerless winter of error, will sink from 
 view in the genial sunlight and atmosphere of 
 truth. 
 
 America is blessed with a ministry in the main 
 apostolic in spirit and doctrine, a church with lit- 
 tle suj)erstition, with clearness in conviction of 
 truth, with active and growing benevolence. 
 
 Our 2:)eople love their churches. They do not 
 fear them as symbols of terror. Their churches 
 are their homes, their feasting-places, the gate of 
 heaven to their souls. 
 
 A distinctive feature of American life is the Sab- 
 bath. This sacred institution is better understood 
 here than in any other portion of the world. In 
 Asia and Africa, it is unknown. In Europe, with 
 limited exception, it is a day of tiresome formal- 
 ism, with a sequel of worldly amusement, without 
 any rest for soul or body. 
 
 In America, we have a Sabbath. Its morning's 
 dawn is a holy calm. Through all our States, in 
 
20' 
 
 oiir I'liral regions, iu our village.s, towns, and cities, 
 tlie music of thousands of cliiming Lells calls a 
 nation to their temple-gates. Thronging multitudes 
 ])()Ui' forth from the abodes of wealth and from 
 cu)ttage homes. They meet around their altars and 
 listen to the word of life. 
 
 On this their day, as stars of holy light, with 
 messages of truth, with unfoldings of spiritual and 
 eternal things, with appeals to tlie conscience and 
 the heart, with winnings to the love, and warn- 
 ings of the wrath, stand the ministers of God, 
 the ambassadors of heaven. 
 
 Another multitude, with shining feces and beam- 
 ing eyes, in the elasticity and joy of childhood's 
 day, gathers in many earnest circles, and ponders 
 tlie teachings of Him who S2)alve on earth as man 
 has never spoken. 
 
 From these great assemblages, from all these 
 s^velling hearts, rise the songs and prayers of the 
 spirit into the ear of God. The Father's blessing- 
 descends. He whispers of hope to the hearts of 
 his children. Sorrow is driven from their eyes. 
 Tliey go forth strengthened against temptations, 
 prepared for life's duty, ready to receive and 
 sweeten the joys of earth. 
 
 The birthrio'lit which the American claims is 
 the Bible. He demands it as his own, as a free 
 man on the footstool of God. No pretended pre- 
 I'ogative, human or divine, can take it tVom him. 
 Its heavenly pages will be his instruction. He 
 
21 
 
 A\ill ^valk with it through the Moi'hl, and 1»y it 
 apj)roYe or coiideniii. Its truth is the, rest, of his 
 soul. He will not i)ai't with it until, with his 
 last hreath, he deposits it as his guide upon the 
 threshold of heaven. We trust this ideal lias 
 al )Ounding examples. 
 
 Under the divine hand, the varied elements of 
 humanity are here assimilated, and, as it were, a 
 new man made. This new world has produced, 
 Ave believe, a purer, nolder, freer man than can he 
 found anywhere else on the earth. 
 
 The x\lmighty band has hrought us to this 
 ])rincely land. It has blessed us here, causing 
 man}' clouds to pass, and giving us brightness 
 afterward. As to the future, our prayer and faith 
 unite. That Hand will still be . with us, fulfilling 
 our ardent hopes, cementing our Union, making us 
 a virtuous, free, and happy people, whose God is 
 the LoKD. 
 
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