6 ORATION to be kept, not by adorning the tombs of the dead, but by taking such counsel as is fitted to guard the homes of the living and the heritage of their children, yet even now we shall do well to glance for a moment at the stirring scenes which immediately preceded the Declaration, asking always what is the lesson which those days teach to curs'? It is good to tread, in imagination, the courts of the Old State House, and to hear James Otis pleading against Writs of Assistance, breathing into Independence the breath of life, founding his argument upon those principles of natural right, which would strike every fetter from human limbs. We enter Faneuil Hall and the Old South Church, and learn at thronged town meetings how cheap our fathers held trade, wrealth, comfort, life, when their rights as men were at stake. We hear the pulpits resounding with appeals to patriotism and denunciations of oppression. We see the women of America denying themselves the choicest luxury of their daily meals, wearing homespun garments, weaving homespun garments, rejoicing that in any way they could contribute to the greatness of their country. We feel the thrill that runs through all the colonies ; we hear the word that trembles on every lip. The thrill is an instinct for Union, and the word is “join or die.” We learn that American Independence could only be achieved through Union, and we
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=