LIX. To Thee, beneath whose eye Our nation in its prime Looked with a faith sublime, And trusted in the time That tried men's souls. There, like an angel form Sent down to still the storm, Clouds broke and rolled away; Foes fled in wild dismay, Wreathed were his brows with bay, -John Pierpont. LX. No man has come to true greatness who has not felt in some degree that his life belongs to his race, and that what God gives him he gives him for mankind.-Phillips Brooks. Greatness is a spiritual condition worthy to excite love, interest and admiration; and the outward proof of possessing greatness is that we excite love, interest and admiration.-Matthew Arnold. LXI. The name of Benjamin Franklin will ever be a precious memory in the hearts of American patriots. He was born in Boston in 1706, and died in 1790. The poverty of his parents forbade his enjoying the advantages of education. By exercising great frugality he managed to buy a few books which he studied diligently. Being induced by false representations to go to England, he found himself almost penniless in a strange land. By the display of singular industry he soon made friends and a successful living. LXII. Franklin made a brilliant business career in Philadelphia. His leisure hours were devoted to science. His discoveries in electricity are world-renowned. He was an unflinching patriot. He helped to draught the Declaration of Independence and was one of its signers. As Ambassador to the court of France, he was revered for his wit, his genius, his dignity, and his charming conversation. LXIII. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry; then plow deep while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to sell and to keep. Little strokes fell great oaks. A little neglect may breed mischief; for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost. He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing.-Benjamin Franklin. LXIV. Our constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes. Laziness travels so siowly that Poverty soon overtakes him. We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately. Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt. Pride breakfasted with Plenty, dined with Poverty, and supped with Infamy.-Franklin. LXV. New England and village life in the 18th century presented a strange contrast to that with which we are familiar. The house of the settler was built of logs, the chinks daubed with clay, and the roof thatched with long grass. In the later and better class of dwellings, the logs were hewn square, so as to need no chinking; or a frame was made of heavy oak timbers, some of them eighteen inches in diameter, and all mortised and braced together in a manner that would be bewildering enough to a car. penter of to-day. LXVI. The sides were covered with split-oak clapboards, and the roof with split - cedar shingles, fastened by large, wrought iron nails. The windows consisted of two small lead frames set with a few tiny diamond-shaped panes of glass, and hinged so as to open outward against the house. The doors were of oak plank, doubled and nailed together. They were often hung on wooden hinges and were se curely fastened at night by heavy wooden cross bars. In the center of the house rose a stone or brick chimney, about twelve feet square at the base, affording a fireplace large enough for seats to be placed at the side, where the children could sit in the winter evening and look up at the stars.-Barnes' History. LXVII. On July 4, 1776, John Hancock, president of Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. There was great rejoicing throughout the thirteen colonies. On Christmas night of the same year, Washington surprised a body of Hessian soldiers at Trenton and captured a thousand prisoners and a large quantity of arms and ammunition. On January 3, 1777, General Washington fiercely attacked Lord Cornwallis at Princeton and gained a decisive victory. General Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, October 17, 1777. LXVIII. The winter of 1777 and '78 found the American army at Valley Forge in great distress. The apparently wretched condition of the American cause was relieved in the spring by the news that France had acknowledged the independence of the United States, and that a fleet was on its way to render assistance. At the battle of Monmouth, the brilliant courage of Washington rescued the army from disgrace. It was here that the commander-in-chief indignantly rebuked Lee, whose cowardice and disloyalty at length found their appropriate reward. LXIX. The most startling, and one of the saddest events of the Revolution was the treason of Arnold and the untimely death of General André. Arnold, having been reprimanded for unworthy conduct, resolved to gratify his desire for revenge and his avarice by turning traitor and delivering West Point into the hands of the British. The gloom which followed this act of treason was soon suc ceeded by victories in the South, which gave courage to the American army. The decisive victory at Yorktown practically ended the war. LXX. The Americans were drawn up in a line on the right side of the road, and the French occupied the left. At the head of the former, the great American commander, mounted on his noble courser, took his station. At the head of the latter was posted the excellent Count Rochambeau. The French troops, in complete uniform, displayed a martial and noble appearance. The Americans, though not all in uniform, nor their dress so neat, yet exhibited an erect, soldierly air, and every countenance beamed with satisfaction and joy. LXXI. When Lafayette was about to return to his native land at the close of the war, he said, in reply to a committee of the American Congress, appointed to present him with a letter addressed to the king, expressive of their high appreciation of the services he had rendered: "May this immense Temple of Freedom ever stand, a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the rights of mankind! And may these happy United States attain that complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessings of their government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of the founders."-Levi P. Morton. LXXII. The American Revolution had its origin neither in ambition, nor avarice, nor envy, nor any gross passion; but |