AN

ORATION

mwummw at mmsimgztmag.

ON THE FOURTH OF JULY,

1825.

BY CALEB STETSON.

l 

CAMBRIDGE.
PRINTED BY I-IILLIARD AND METCALF.

1825.

-Lexington, July 4, 1825.

Mr. CALEB STETSON,
Sir, A

Pursuant to a vote of the Committee of Arranlgements, wehave the
honor of expressing to you the high satisfactionwith which they this day heard
your eloquent and patriotic oration; and in their name request a copy for publication.

Accept, Sir, V
The assurances of our highest esteem,

SAMUEL FISK, V
NATHAN CHANDLER, Committee.
JOEL VILES, i l ,

Learington, July 5, 1825.
TO THE COMMITTEE or? ARRANGEMENTS FOR COMMEMORATING THE NA.-
TIONAL FESTIVAL AT LEXINGTON.
Gentlemen,

The peculiar circumstances attending the day and the place of our
celebration, have induced me to comply with your flattering request. I am sensible,
however, that I hazard something, in submitting to the impartial judgment of the
public a performance, written as this was, under the pressure of an employment sin»

p gularly laborious and depressing.

I am, Gentlemen,
h Most respectfully,
~ Your obedient servant,
\ C. STETSON.

oRATIoN.

9‘

IT is equally our duty and our pleasure to commemv
orate certain eras, to which peculiar circumstances and
associations have given unusual interest. It is good
for us sometimes to pause, and look back on the
ground we have passed over; to look around us on
the immediate eficects of our principles ;: or to look for-
ward to their probable influence on the destinies of
unborn generations. ‘Theremenibrance of events,
which have permanently affected the character and
condition of ourcountry,iis suited to awaken and

cherish our national feelings. The present is not a

solitary and insulated point. We are intimately con-
nected with the past and the futureiby innumerable

sympathies and ties of interest and of affection. These

periodical festivals have their value, asrembalrning the
memory of other days, and inspiring purer and loftier
purposes with regard to the future. The illustrious
dead, whose example speaks a powerful lesson__ to the
living, a are rescued from forgetfulness. At these hal-
lowed seasons we seem to hold communion with the
spirits of departed patriots, and catch some of the
sacred fire that glowed in their bosoms, and animated
them to live and to die for their country. ,Who can tread
the soil where genius and valor and patriotism are

4+
slumberingin glory, and feel no generous emotion I’.
There isan awful grandeur about the grave of depart-
ed ages, which addresses itself powerfully to our best
and holiest affections---admonishing us of our duties to
our own and succeeding generations, by impressing a
deep and earnest conviction of the value oi’ What We
have received "from our ancestors. But let us pass
from the associations which cluster round the dead, to”
the contemplation of our living springs of happiness.

If ever an event deserved the commemoration of a
grateful people, the declaration of American lndepens
dence--—--—for the manly and unyielding ,spirit« which d~ic--—
tated-it, the moral sublimity of itsgobject, and itsrm;o;—~
mentous consequences to human happiness--—-shoulcl be
sacred to everlasting remembrance. Standing, asvve
do, at the distance of nearly half a century from the
ever memorable day which gave our nation birth, 3.;
thousand interesting rgecolleetions; rush with all their
freshness and power upon the soul. But I abstain
from the grateful task of conducting you through the
much trodden though ever alluring fields of our nae»
tion’s history. I shallbe readily excused from attempt:-
ing vvhathas already been so often and «so well per»
formed by others. It has appeared to me not unsuited
to the present occasion, to invite your attention to some
of”tl1e principles of our political faith; and to the prose
pect of ultimate triumph to thoselprinciples.

We can never too often repeat,that self-«government
is the birthright of all mankind. Civil institutions,
lZt11i‘1’;“SS we honor mere lavvless forcetvvith thistitle, are
nothing more than voluntary associations; by which
we maize a temporary surrender of I some of our native,
itndividual rights, forour own advantage and security.

5

They have grown out of our wants as social beings.
They may be modified or annulled at the pleasure of

those who live under them. The relations existing

between government and people imply reciprocal obli~
gations. ‘ The obedience of the latter is a duty so far
only as the former secures to the community the ob-
jects for which 4 alone. social institutions are valuable.
We feel no respect for the pretentled divine authority
of kings, which denies a people a right to reform the
abuses under which they groan; and subjects them t.o
the absolute control of a merciless despotism. It is a
system of wrong and outrage-—-mfouticled on ambition
and violence; perpetuated by crime and slaughter. It
is a bitter insult to. the unclerstancling of men to tell
tllem they need a race of hereditary masters. We
spurn the slavish and. degratlitxg sentiment. The con»
sciousness of intellectual power---—--an emanation from the
all-pervading mind of the Deity----is our Witness that
we have the ability and the right; to govern ourselves. If
republicans may change at pleasure the government of
their choice, how much less are the “subjects of men-
archy under moral obligation to submit to oppression
frorn a power, which they had no agency in establish»-
~ing-----to which accident or usurpation has enslaved
them its a ' by A’

These are some of the broad principles on which
our free institutions are founded. They are natural
and ittalienable rights of man, They rlepentl on no
vt*rit.t;;en charters. They are what man can neither give
nor take aWay-——--u11c:ha1igealJle as the throne of their
eteru2~1l.Autltor', They have been transmittetl to us un-
‘impairetl, tltt'ough the valor andcsonstaucy and suffer‘-
ings,olr‘= 0l.II"f::I‘£l'l.(:‘I‘:.§:. , ‘l'lr"s«;:y, loudly cherish and proudly

6

assert them, as our noblest inheritance, and the bulvvark

of our liberties. We believe they will not only give
permanence to our institutions, but are destined to ulti»
mate triumph in the World. i

We are encouraged in this hope by the spirit of the
age in which We live. It is an age of strong excite-
ment; of Vigorous and persevering exertion ; of manly
and fearless enterprise. At no former period has
the action of mind upon mind been so direct and pow-—
erful. Newand extraordinary facilities of communi-
cation are breaking down the barriers between nations.
The rapid advance of the sciences has extended the
range of intellect and given it an immense moral poW-
er. Old theories and systems are now examined with
the severity of enlightened reason; and brought to the
test of practical utility. Ancient. and venerable er-
rors, in religion, in philosophy, and in politics, are root-
ed out with a bold and unsparing hand. The active
mind, th1'o\vit1g off the tramtnels ofinveterate and deep»
rooted prejudice, has gone forth in search of improve-~
ment and reform. In nothing has the spirit of the
times been more active than in the science of govern-r
meut. Men are no longer the tame and willing slaves
of despotic rule. A free and daring spirit of inquiry,
formerly limited to a few privileged minds, has descendm
ed, and animated the countless multitudes that form
the solid foundations of society. It has passed through
vast continents, conimunicating itself, with a thrilling
power, from heart to heart. The flame of liberty,

lzgindled by the American revolution, has cast a strong  

light on the nations of both hemispheres. It has flash-
ed alcong tiheshores of the Pacific‘-—-ovel” the broad vale
of the Amazon»---on the rocks and r mountains of

Greece.

7

The diffusion of more liberal maxims of policy has
Wrought a change in the sentiments of the civilized
world. The humbling doctrine of passive obedience

to absolute power has been rtj(3Ct(?(l with scorn.. The

veneration for the authority ofhereditary princes,»-—
hallowed as it was by the associations and the prejudi-

lces of centuries, and identified with the religious and

moral feeling ‘of nations,--—~—has been banished to the
stern retreats of despotism and bigotry. American has
theglorious distinction «of teaelxing manl~:.ind, that all
political power rests on public opinion. When a na-
tion rises, with one voice and one arm, to demand its
rights, that voice will be heartl——--—that_ arm will prevail.
A government, founded on the unrighteot.ts monopoly
of power, must yield to the torrent of popular feeling.
If the nations of the eastern continent are still grovel-
ling inignominious bondage, it is because they have
been divided, baflied, defrauded of their rights. They
have never met: the confl.ict with the concentrated force
and unconquerable enthusiasm of men resolved to be

free. The struggles of ‘expiring tyranny may incleecl
‘check; and embarrass the progress of freedom ; but they

will render its triumph ultimately more glorious.
When the immense masses of society are p1't)ft>t1r1clly*agi-
tated, and are moving onward to liberty, it is the mttI't:l't
ofdestiny. Hereditary power and privilege must quail

before it, or rush madly and desperately on (lestruction.

These principles,—--spurned, trampled upon, persecuted

as they have been,----are still. silently and povverfully‘

Working in the heart ofthe old continent. . Though
checked and kept down in every tlirection by the ac»
tion of unprincipled power, they are spreading wider,
and penetrating deeper into the foundations oficivilized

,8

society, and preparing amighty convulsion for thrones
and dynasties. We cannot, We will not believe that
man canutterly ‘root out What God, has planted, The
spirit of the age, strongly excited as it is, will regette-—
rate the eastern, as it has blessed the western vvorld. t
Another reason. for believing in the ultimate triumph
of American principles, is founded in the dismay of

absolute monarchs at their progress. The formidable

combination in Europe against the advance of more
liberal political sentiments, seems, indeed, at first view,
fearfully ominous to freedom. It has certainly tpalsied
the strength of every arm lately raised in its cause.
Bntthis .effect must be temporary. Therewill be a
reaction, and tile throne of despotism will be hurled
from its strong foundations. The tranquillity of Europe,
after the fall of o Bonaparte, gave the revolutionary
spirit of the age opportunity to unfold itself. The
rights of , man were too well understo‘od:,, and too deep-
ly felt for tame submission. The people, with a voice
of thunder, began to make thetnselves heard. Despots
saw with alarm the foundations of their power crum-
-bling rapidly away, They tremtbled at the tide of
revolution, which, rolling onward and, I gathering
strengtli as it advanced, threatened to sweep away all
they most valued, among the wrecks of darker ages.
They falsely supposed that the grandeur of the throne
consisted in unlimited sway ;, and the proud systems of
oppression, on which this rested, were fast falling

around them. A dark and portentous cloud brooded

ominously over their horizon---th1'eatening to burst; on
their heads in tempest and ruin, Under these apprec-

hensions, they formed that atrocious confederacy against '

human freedom and human happiness--+--to crush the

9
spirit of reform before example should give a similar im-
pulse to popular feeling in their own dominions. Unit‘-

ing an impious hypocrisy iwiitth the most detestable politi-—

cal selfishness, theyhave trampled on the clearest rightls
of man inthe holy name of God, who gave thern."
Such is the Holy Alliance--—--fo‘1'mecl to maintain the

strong “llOlClS. of oppression against an in_jnred and in-
sulted world; But the very atrocity of this combina-
tion will defeat its own objects ; it has already opened
the eyes of millions who oncejoined in the praise of p

Alexarlcler-——~tlie head and soul of it. t The overthrow
of Napoleonds gigantic power, for a time threw a veil
over the dark and selfisli Cl(?Slf1;lflS ol" his grmtit E3116-;.‘myi.
The world had lo1'1g l()(')lU:3(Tl with awe and clistriay on the
mighty genius, that combined and Wieltlecl the resouré
cos of Europe, and laid the tfoLrnclatuito1‘1-of universal
empire. There was in it something of the moral suh"--

rlime. Men gazed with 2-l(lI}')ll"1;li.'lt')1’l at a power wliich
‘scenied more than mortal 5 but with that awful feeling
of insecurity, with which they look upWarcl,wl1ei"1 the i
electric “fluid is flashing in Fearful glances from the

bosom of the frowning heavens. No wcinder then
that he, who rescued them from thisappalling n'iilitary
despotism, was hailed as a delivercr by the mistaken
gratitude of nations. We are unwilling to doubt the
rectitude of a prince Whose seeming piety and Virtuous

‘have shed a holy charm around him. We dwell with

delight on arvision of moral loveliness, shining with ‘a

purer because rarer brightness from a throne. It is

with a feeling of disappointment and bitterness, ~tha"1.

‘we unveil what is false---disrobe such -a character of
what is specious andimposing, and expose its in all the

deformity of guilt and ambition. t l
52.

10

But truth has dispelled the false and dazzling radi-
iance that surrounded the brow of the once Welcome
“‘ deliverer.” Time has proved him a more determin-
ed and dangerous foe to man’s best hopes and interests
that ever was the prostrate hero. Under pretence of
protecting legitimate government, he has laid an iron
hand on all the nations within the grasp of his power.
As republicans, as citizens of an independent nation,
we cannot forbear to express our reprobation of that
system of foreign interference, which strikes at the
foundations of all political independence. Wt? shall
not deserve the freedom, of which vvejustly boast, if
we tannely see it wrestod front the struggling victims

a of power; and feel no sympathy for the sufferers----no

abhorrence of their remorseless oppressors.

If political morality allows them to interpose in the
domestic. policy of nations in behalf of legitimate govern-
ment, they have a right to define the institutions which
constitute legitimate government. The strong then
can never want a pretence for invading the quiet, or
occupying the territory of a Weaker neighbour. Occa-»
sions for interposition will always grow out of differ-
ent political views and local circumstances. As prop-

erty is an .important elernent of civil power, the prin-

ciples of its descent and tlistribution will determine in

fact the essential character of the government. The

regulat.ions of commerce and property, therefore, as

affecting public wealth,.political aspects, or internation-

al relatiotts, are to be dictated at the cannon’s mouth, t

by insolent and imperious strangers. The principle

may be extended to all the objects of legislation——---cor-
rupting and poisoning the very fountains of public

A ‘prosperity and private happiness. Thanks be to

11

Heaven! a broad ocean rolls as a barrier between us
and this lawless power; we might else be called to
defend our principles with our swords against the
million bayonets of the great northern Autocrat.

I am not, fellow citizens, indulging in idle and aimii~
less declamation on European politics. We have a.-
deep interest in the great question between freedoni
and slavery. Our own destinies as a nation are inti-
mately connected with the pro,9;ress of liberaliprinci-
ples of government. We stand on a proud eminence,
as .a beacon light in the broad pathway of nations---»-by
our example, giving lessons of freedom to the world;
but car1'yin§g; dismay and rebuke to the bosom of (l(~?S-
potism. We can never be objects of its favour, unless
we become recreant to those principles Which we have
been fifty years teaching to mank.ind. We owe it to
our position and the prowess of our arms, that We are
yet in the peaceful enjoyment of that liberty for which

Europe sighs in vain. Were the force of Alexander»

as measureless as his ambition, the stern and gloomy
regions of the North would be pouring their concentrat-«
ed hordes of barbarians on our shores with the disas-
trous sweep of the pestilence-———--trampling our Indepen-
dence in the dust. We might be called, we may yet
be called, to the agony of mortal strife in defence of
all we hold most dear, with the same powers that mark-

ed devoted Poland with the footsteps of havock and A

desolation, and blotted her from the map of Europe.
A deputation of Cossacks and slaves, novti cringi-ng
round the throne of the czar, might be sent to revise
our representative system, and render it agreeable to
imperial views of legitimate government.

It has been reserved for -this age of novelty and

12

wonders, to see a Confederacy of hereditary sovereigns.
waging dire and ruthless war against the rights and
happiness of mankind. History furnishes numherless
instances of the tyranny of power over its own sub-
jects ; hut not one in vvhich even well prilneiplecl mon-
archs have united in such a broad and rnerciless system
of tlespcatisitl. It is the inherent curse of liereditary
p"ow‘<~2r, that the virtues of the prince afford no se(::.u1'ity
to the happiness of the subject. When the people are
said tohave no rights, there can belittle scruple in do-
ing; them‘ wrong. "flue lofty and genermzs spirit, that
struggles to break away f1'onia‘debasir1g servitude, is
branded as political heresy. The dating and high-
niinded assertors of Nature’s proudest prerogatives,
are stigrnatized as the lawless invaders of social order.
This “ holy inquisition” of monarchsv have taken a

stated zzgztinst the influeriee of American ezsaniple mani-

festecl in the active spirit of reform---a stream, at first
small and feeble, bat vvlltieh, grotving wider antlttleeper
and more rapid in itscourse, is destined to overwhelm
the proud fabrics of ancient (lt:3Spt.1+ti.‘5t1fl.

This unhallowed combination has grown out of the
Wt3£l~l§.IzitBE5S of their tottering thrones. The strength of
these old and crmnbling dynasties was giving way be-—
fore the energy of nations, exasperatedl by oppression-—--—~
rising in their nxajesty to ernancipate themselves from»
the bondage of ages, It was a last desperate effort to
rivet the chains which must soon be broken by the
might of popular opinion. . It affords us the strongest
assurance of the ultimate triumph of liberty. There is
a redeeming spirit, which ‘cannot always slumber under
outrage--—-it will avvalte, and excite and agitate the im-

niensetrriassyof humarrityi. x We feel aproud conscious-y

18

ness of the moral power and dignity of our free prin-

ciples. r We cling closer and closer to those eternal and

immutable maxims of justice which secure to us the
right of believing, thinking, acting for ourselves. The
profoundest elements of our moral nature are roused
against the pretensions of despotism. The blood of
the bravest and noblest has often hallowed---tl‘1e provi-
dence of God has blessed and sanctioned the fearful
struggle for man’s best birthright.

The recent success of republican principles abroad
is an omen of their ultimate triumph. The immense
regions of South America have burst the fetters of an
iron despotism, and are taking a distinguished rank
among independent nations. The dominion of Europe
on this continent is broken forever. Spain has no
longer laud entitigli, in these scenes of her former out-—
1'z1ge and atrocity, to bury her slaughtered soldiers.
The light of freedom and science is breaking upon:
them, and clispellinlg at long night of withering oppress-
ion and bigotry. The whole history of Spanish miss
rule in the Western hemisphe1'e is one picture of foul
and darl; tleptavity. The annals of hurnan crime and
surlfering present no parallel, for insolent and grasping
tyraun y on the one hand, and bit1'e1' and hopeless tnise-
zry on the other. Deigraded and depressed as they have

been under such a governtnent-—---vvith sorrow and an-_

guishraround them , a c1\}(.?(E}'1‘I"‘(?SS and desolate prospect be»
fore tl1em,---intellectual and moral cultivation was not
to be expected. It" then their character has not qiuali-t

fied them to do all that We could wish, they have done

much more than We could hope, towards establishing
Wise and liberalinstitutions. ‘ These. new-bo1'n repuh-i
lies are taltinglessoris of Wisdom from our exan1_ple.,

I «'-It

They are proud to claim ltindretl with us. Already
the names of our heroes, joined with that of their own
Bolivar,----the Washington of the southern hemisphere,
---are re-echoing from the Cordilleras of Mexico, along
the whole sweep of continent, till they are lost in the
dash of the Southern Ocean.

Greece, too, the land of classic associations,--—-the
home of all that was great and rcfirmtl and heroic in
ant.iquity,—-—--ltas awaltecl from a slumber of centuries.
The modern Grreelts had not, as We have, the glorious
example of their itntrtetliate ancestors to animate them;
but they have looked baol»; along the Waste of history
to the (l(:‘eClS of other times. They have stood Witlt
intense and thrilling? interest amongst the tombs of de-
parted generations. The soil itself, where the Vast
conceptions of Ptericles, and the inspirations of Phidias
have left their traces-‘—-where the shades of Homer
and Plato and Demosthenes still seem to linger, ad»-
dressed them with an eloquence of poetry and passion
which never found utterance in language——the elo-
qutmce of God and Nature silently appealing to the
heart amidst associations of beauty and grandeur.   A
voice from the prostrate monuments of genius has
made itself audible to them through the mighty void of
ages, p1'oolain1ing;, in the midst ol' surrounding desola-
tion, tlreir affinity with the intrepid spirits of their an-~

‘cestors. The memory of Marathon and Platea and

Thermopylae has kindled their martial enthusiasm, and
roused them to the desperate contest with barbarian
power. They havegloriously triumphed over their

remorseless oppresso'rs.7' The brutal Moslern no longer

tramples on the altars of their God and the mouldering
ruins of their ancient splendor. The crescent no lon-—»

15

get floats in barbarous pride over the fallen glory of
Athens. , ,

Such are some of the external ci1'curnstant:‘es which» i
assure us of the ultimate triumph of American princi-—
ples. When we look around us in our own country,
we find still stronger reasons for believing that our in-
stitutions, founded, as they are, on wisdom and virtue
and patriotism, will endure to the remotest ages. Time
will not allow me to enter into a lengthened develop»
ment of these grounds of confidence; they may be
found in our own bosoms, andiat our own firesides; in
the unexampled prosperity and happiness which we
enjoy; and in the strong and constantly growing at-
tachment of all classes to our government. The do-—
mestic charities, which sooth and heal and bless, are
here disturbecl by no fear of the midnight invader. The
influences of our free system are felt in a continual
stream of blessings, flowing in rich and varied forms
upon the soul. They are hidden fountains, pouring
their waters in silence and secresy from the bosom of
the earth, cherishing and invigorating all in their pro-i
gress, diffusing beauty and gladness over the face of
nature, and supplying streams which flow onward,
pure, constant, unfailing. Our commerce is iwaftedi on
the wings of all the winds; bringing home to us the
treasures of every soil and every clime. Industry, en--
Iightened by science, is extending its operations in eve»
ry direction ; seeking new channels of enterprise,
developing the immense internal resources of our coun-
try, and carrying the blessings of social life and social
joy through the measureless solitudes of a latehowling
»wilde1'ness. A tide of emigration, wave after Wave,
is flowing to the West. Theinspiring sound of a nu»

16

merous anidaactive population will soon be heard, rising
from behind t.he Rocky Mountains, where the Oregon

now rolls in sullen and lonely majesty.
The vast extent of our territory, and the admission

of new states, have been regarded by many with pain-
“ful apprehension, as the elementstof future-tconvulsion

and ruin. These circumstances are no longer consid-
ered as causes of alarm. A longer experience, and
better understanding of the hidden sources of our

strength and happiness, have taught us to rank them
among the most powerful principles of political union.

All the members of our confederation have an incalcu-

lable interest in preserving its integrity. While this

interest is understood and felt, the union can never be
dissolved. The “ causes then of the durability of our
institutions lie deep in the intellectual and moral char-
acter of the nation. The great variety of local inter-
ests, growing up in the north, in the south, in the east,
and in the west, will neutralize each other’s disorgan-
izing tendencies. Our federal system is a magnificent
triunnphal arch, erected on a firm and imperishable
foundation. The various parts of the superstructure,
bound together by a common relation to the key-
stone, are more closely compacted by additional press-
ure. They can never be dismembered, except by a
‘povver capable of crushing, and grinding to powder,
the strong materials of which they are composed.

It is a circumstance highly auspicious to our politi-
cal vvellbeing, that the rancour of party controversy
has been softened away. The exasperated opposition,
growing out of difference of opinion on great political
questions, has become a matter of history. It exists
no longer as a cause of personal bitterness and hostili-

l’7

ty. It can no more embarrass the operations of gov-

ernment, nor pollute the springs of socialhappiness.

Our liberal and generous feelings are centring about
so many important points, on which we are all agreed,
that angry excitement and contention are not likely to
be again awakened. Why then should We cherish the
names of party,—--as Watchwords to rouse the long
slurnbering elements of Wrath and strife,-—--when the
real causes of division are removed or forgotten P It
is time to abandon at once all retnembrance of obso-
lete feuds, which originated perhaps in the mistakes
of an age, when our institutions were new and want-
ed the test of experiment. The c:tperien‘ce of our
fzetthers, as well as our own, has thrown a broader and
l)x‘igl‘1te1* light on our path. We have all felt and ac-
Il<ri1on~'lc(;lged the value of our representative system,
under a wise and virtuous adnninistration. l speak in
the name of all Who love our country--who enjoy
quiet and happiness under its _-mild and protecting‘
shade--—-vrhenl say, we are all brothers of one great
political family-----tve are all republirans of one great
national party. While we cherish these .generous and
rnanly sentiments, neither the rancorons passions of
dornestic dissension, northe strong arm of foreign pow-
er, can ever shaltc the fabric of our.freedorn. We
press eagerly round the banner of our country, eX—
claiming, with the patriotic inspirationof our own
poet,
“ Hail to the land whereon we tread,
Our fonclest boast ;
The sepulchre of mighty dead,
The truest hearts that ever bled,
Who sleep on Glory"s brightest bed,
A fearless host.

0‘
ti)

18

No slave is here ;--—our unchained feet
Walk proudly, as the waves tlmt beat
Our coast.

There is no other land like thee,
No dearer shore ; .

Thou art the shelter of the free;

The home, the “port of L'iherty

Thou lmst been and slmlt ever be
Till time is o’(3r.7’

Tllfiflfly we are aSS€l'I1l)lt‘("l to commemorate, fellow
Cll’lZt:‘.ll1~’%, aclh;;<)11isl%1es us to 1‘t‘l1Clt-—.‘1‘S0mt~3S.ll;?;l}t’[l‘ll‘)tItB
of ;3:1"atittlde ft) the i;'1lleXil)le pl-lll‘l()lS, wlm t:olrn11elm.:tl
our 1't-at*t>lullm'1ar‘y* (:m1test, at the lmz;iu'd  all l"m‘
which life is wortlt pt'ese1‘t*ing. In the midst pl’ sLtffer——
Ling ant! SZl(.'l‘lfi(3t‘, tlwy lweastctl tl'1<—.>fie1'(5e storm of warm
In the tnltlst ()l"lW'(*3'd.l~ll"lt’SS amt! [)()V(‘l'l_y', Wlllttli tfemlet
the l'mm;>t*:a of war tetnlblcl more E'l§)}.)1~llvllllg, tAlmy <.;l<—~t.:l2l1%1'~
ml the ‘lll('lL’§it_.’l'l(.lt?l‘lL'(1‘ ml‘ this <'0tmt1‘y; 21llClS(‘ltl‘lt?lI]-
Selvesin tle~spex'21tt2tllefizuxcte of tlm l3x'itisln power. A
pmte zmzil e:m.ltt>tl p:»1t1'iotis.;.I1 tllrilled Illl'(")tlgl'1 <;:vm'y
lmemn. Nev:-*1‘ was tllnere so cm'n[)l(~:te a. SUl'l'ell(‘.lt*:‘I‘ of
Self, ell" life, 2-llltll all the joys amll llopes of life, tu (me
gt't:*frll alul :s;<>tll~irz:z§>iz'ia1g__.{ cause. It Wm; this uxt1l)<+aln%tlti;;zg

slpirlt 0'l.l"1‘t3€-*3(l()l1), Wlllttll, in 1.'l"l(‘)>3€3 tlltl‘l'E3S 01t"uli.#.3mster

{cm-cl tlist1'my, 1‘z1lllfe.(l ever_y lmlu"e heart and every stmhg

tarzn zr.mtxl‘1<l

the sin '1-‘1t‘l:jt1‘t"l of Wla:3l1it1g't01“1.

But tlume {mg luc.-ul associations, (:0[_I‘1ill},*f___’§ home to our

lmart:g=,;...¢zm*ztl-;ex:limg an intense zmtlw ahVso%1l'lJin;_};' interest.
Vl7e t-an never forget tlmt in this villz1ge:,——it1 lillf;-3 little
banal ll‘iE'llT. S‘{()«{2t“l in _l't;“£ll‘lt?SS f;1l't'£1y with the gallntlt l;’z11*-

lml‘,-—-l:lte :s;.>irEt 0l'l'et-3lSt:«ul1t:e tn; Bx‘lti.~::lf1 oppressiml, wash

fi1‘st:'tms;t‘tl ta) action. ,l}lez'e wuss shed their hlnocl, in
Wl1i=t:l'1 the De:~(*l2tr2tti0h ml’ cur luclvepenclemse was writ-
ten. That blood, sp1*ihl§.lecl on our soil, produced a

19

host, who pursued the armed and disciplined hirelings
of a great empire “ with the SWm'cl of the. Lord and of
Gideon.” The Lion of England covverecl before the
-undaunted farmers of MiddleseX.*

The history of that ever glorious n1o1'ning has been
a theme for the eloquence of Everett. I dare not
break the charm so recenitly thrown over the subject
by the inspiration of genius. It is Sllfi'l('.l€nt for me to
say, that the intrepid yeomen of Lexington were the
first who stood in “ the imminent deadly breat-ll,” and
braved the fi1'e~l>reatl1ing‘ engines of slaughter in the
sacred cause of Liberty. On this consecratetl ground
We have seen the veteran Lat'ayette,--vvi.tl‘1 the glow-
ing emot.ious of the yout.hful hero, um-.hil.led liiy agta,
and 21riig“t1ish, antl persecution,-—---~With one hantl raised
towards the God of battles, and pointing with the
other to the nauies of the martyrs, who fell on the
Nineteenth of .Ap1'il.

Their rnemory is the legztcy of mankind. It will
destrentl with power and pathos to the bosoztns of dis-
tant posterity. No s;1tr1'ileg'it>tis hand shall ever erase
from the [mart-3 of history the record of their deeds.
No envious l;)l‘(.32li.l’l shall ever wither a leaf" of their
laurels. 'll‘l’1t*y shall bloom in never dying fresliriess
on the liallowetl spot t«vlren» their ashes repose. l Their
names are rising on the blast above the storm-clouds
of the Antles. The l'€?§;t:?l‘1(fil‘2lte(l Greeks will inscribe
them on the tornb of Leonidas. Yonder monument is
but an iileitleqiizite and perishing memorial of their glo--

,, ..... - «awn-M ........... ............ .._ ...... ...-..., .. . ........j._........

*  Everett"s Or-atiou at Concord, and E. Phinney’s Account
of Lexing'tt:)n Lllattle, for a. complete history of the events of the

V 19th of April, 1775, which every American should read again

and agziin.

220 %

ry; but the seal of immortality is already stamped
upon it; We carry forward our vision through the
shadowy range of coming generations, and see it grow
brighter and brighter in the dimness of distance. And
it shall live in every heart that beats in freedom’s
cause, when the mausoleums of departed greatness,

and the rnonuments of pride and power, shall have
mouldered to oblivion. ‘