A NATIONAL HYMN Our past is bright and grand And 'tis ours to lead the van Of the moving hosts of man. Yes, the starry flag alone shall wave above the van Of the nations marching on,- of the moving hosts of man. We are sprung from noble sires On us are freely showered The gifts of every clime, And we're the richest dowered Brothers, then, in union strong, we shall ever lead the van, As the nations sweep along to fulfil the hopes of man. We are brothers, and we know And the darkest tempests lower. BIOGRAPHICAL EULOGIES FRANKLIN (d. 1790) FRANKLIN was the greatest diplomatist of the eighteenth century. He never spoke a word too soon; he never spoke a word too late; he never spoke a word too much; he never failed to speak the right word in the right place. ALEXANDER HAMILTON (d. 1804) Bancroft He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth; he touched the dead corpse of the public credit, and it sprung upon its feet. The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jove was hardly more sudden or more perfect than the financial system of the United States, as it burst forth from the conceptions of Alexander Hamilton. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS (d. 1848) Webster In the history of American statesmen, none lived a life so long in the public service; none had trusts so numerous confided to their care; none died a death so glorious. Beneath the dome of the nation's Capitol, in the midst of the field of his highest usefulness, where he had won fadeless laurels of renown; equipped with the armor in which he had fought so many battles for truth and freedom, he fell beneath the shaft of the King of Terrors. And how bright, how enviable, the reputation he left behind! The sun of his life, in its lengthened course through the political heavens, was unobscured by a spot, undimmed by a cloud; and when, at the close of the long day, it sank beneath the horizon, the whole firmament glowed with the brilliancy of its reflected glories. Rulers, statesmen, legislators! study and emulate such a life; seek after a character so beloved, a death so honorable, a fame so immortal. GEORGE WASHINGTON (d. 1799) Seward In moral qualities, the character of Washington is the most truly dignified that was ever presented to the respect and admiration of mankind. He was one of the few entirely good men in whom goodness has no touch of weakness. In all things admirable, in all things to be imitated; in some things scarce imitable, and only to to be admired. Horace B. Wallace ON WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 22, 1732) A hundred years hence, other disciples of Washington will celebrate his birth with no less of sincere admiration than we commemorate it. When they shall meet to do themselves and him the honor, so surely as they shall behold the river on whose banks he lived, and on whose banks he rests, still flowing on towards the sea; so surely may they see, as we now see, the flag of the Union floating on the top of the Capitol; and then, as now, may the sun in its course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country. Webster JOHN ADAMS AND THOMAS JEFFERSON (d. JULY 4, 1826) No men ever served their country with more entire exemption from every imputation of selfish and mercenary motive. No suspicion of any disposition to profit by their public employments ever rested on either. No sordid motive approached them. The inheritance which they have left to their children is of their character and their fame. Their highest, their best praise, is your deep conviction of their merits, your affectionate gratitude for their labors and their services. Their fame henceforth is safe. It is now treasured up beyond the reach of accident. Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored. Marble columns may, indeed, moulder into dust, time may erase all impress from the crumbling stone; but their fame remains, for with AMERICAN LIBERTY it rose, and with AMERICAN LIBERTY ONLY can it perish. It was |