its memories and made it so joyful a subject for the imagination of those who lived to hear these fresh echoes of its glory now in whilst these emotions still swayed the breast of the sons of those who had won the independence of the nation the same enemy was about to them the day that many had dreamed of was about to arrive and many a secret was breathed for a field to realize its hopes to this sentiment we may attribute in part that quick rising of the people in which but for the settlement of the difficulty would in a few months have converted the whole country into a camp foremost amongst the of this day was william we shall find him very soon absorbed in a scheme to raise a he was to be at the head of four of state troops with a chosen corps of officers and men whom he did not doubt were destined to become conspicuous in annals to posterity for the present we shall find him his in a song the fourth of july was to be celebrated in the neighbourhood of such an occasion of course no one could expect to pass without a full freight of those sentiments which were peculiarly inspired by the great topic now first in the universal mind judge was a poet as well as a kindred spirit he had witnessed the revolution at an age capable of observation and was deeply with all its passion i find this letter vol i � n fourth of july w to judge july mt dear sir how is your muse if in mounting mood how would you gratify me and enable me to gratify others on saturday by a song on the day embracing the late gallant of the come i know you can easily dash off such a piece it would be no more one of the ordinary of your spirit and rhyme says is merely a mechanical business to which when a man has served an there is no more labour of invention about it than mr exercises in making a pair of our excursion to morrow morning to the point of the which the market valley would fill you with the tion all the rest is mere could learn the song on saturday morning if you come into this idea as i suppose the is a mere matter of to you i would propose that in which the death of and the battle of are written lest you should not recollect these i will give you the only verse of the latter that i remember here it is our object was the band that d to fair freedom s land and quarter in that place great washington he led us on with streaming with renown which ne er had known disgrace by the bye it is the of the s daughter which i am sure you know let me hear whether you will do this thing � yea or nay will you let me have a copy of your song in honour of washington i heard it but once i think it goes to the tune of the death of it describes liberty as taking her flight from thi shores of and lighting here you will know by this which i mean very sincerely your friend and t servant wm the answer is given by the judge in the following in his own handwriting upon the outer page of this letter july i called on mr this morning and found this letter upon his table he said there is a letter for you i had in my pocket the lines written for the fourth of this month which i intended for him without any previous communication between ob and gave them to him xv preparation for war the lines furnished on this occasion breathe that spirit of bitter r of the war to which i have alluded heightened into still warmer by the audacity of the recent upon the happily these are now forgotten in the tranquillity by that sentiment of mutual respect and appreciation of national and individual worth which we will long distinguish the intercourse between the two countries at the date of the events above referred to the joy of the nation in the triumph of the war of independence had lost nothing of its whilst on the other side the sting of wounded pride had not yet been by time � not to open an old wound but to preserve a memorial of the times and of the spirit of defiance which was universally returned from this country to its and most powerful enemy i present my reader a copy of judge s verses which were sung at the alluded to in the text by a voice noted for its melody tyrant again we hear thy hostile voice again upon our thy cannon s roar again for peace thou us no choice again we defiance from our shore hast thou forgot the day when whilst around were sacrificed hast thou forgot thy captive led thy by a foe despised or think st thou forgot our brothers slain our aged fathers in their our mothers on their knees in vain their daughters fate our friends in prison ships and chained to summer s and winter s frost exposed insulted starved amidst disease detained till death the fatal scene of horrors closed our towns in ashes laid our fields on fire our wives and children flying from the foe i ourselves in battle ready to yet struggling still to strike another blow know then this day to us the whole and hear our solemn and determined voice in vain proud tyrant shall thy roll since once more death or victory s our choice preparation for war a short note to the progress of the war fever mr was at this time of the state the note to proceedings in his council july 