The Nevada journal., 1857-07-03
THE FOURTH.


THE FOURTH.
T0-morrow's dawn ushers in the sew
enty first anniversary of American indie
pandence Ere morn shall break over
tha erosts Of the Sierras upon the COL
dso mountains and fertile valleys of the
Pacific State, twenty millions of free
lnea IN the homes of our boyhood will
haze joined in the general jubilee. IT'S
Ia5oriy's baptismal day. American
A5arts beat high in American bosoms at
tn remembrance of the holy christen-
ing, when heroic ancestry stood god
parents at the suspicious event. The
great Sabbath Of the nation is hailed
with delight by e millions Of devotees
at the shrine of freedom who dwell in
the embraces of a glorious union of
States, stretching from the chilling re-
gions cf winter to the climes of eternal
spring, and from ocean to ocean. They
call up the past, the sublime epoch in
their country's history, recount the
deeds of that chivaIrous period, and
their bosoms heave with thankful, vet
proud emotions.
Within the memory of men still liv-
ing, the link which bound this Repub-
lie to the mother country was severed.
Seventy-One years ago was presented to
the world its sublimest spectacle. 1t
was then the Continental Congress. COM
posed Of those sterling old patriots
whose names fall upon the heart like
the gladdcst tidings, declared and struck
for independence, resolved to be free or
perish in the attempt There was dis
played patriotism, far-secing wisdom
and frmness never excelled. The glo-
rious qualities of the human heart which
there shone forth in unexampled lustre
can never be properly appreciated, new
er over-estinated See on the one
hand, the marshalled hosts of great
king veterans old and firm welded
to the sovereign by every association.
envious Of fame and bearing in their
ranks the prestige of never-failing vic
tory. See their plumed commanders.
conquerors of many a well-fought field,
with military reputation unsurpassed.
and still greedy for more. See every
appliance of war that wealth or con-
quest can furnish "a powerful nation.
4 lnvincible on land, and the triumphant
z mistress of the ocean. Then look on
~ the other. Here are the scattered few
but undismayed sons of freedom. With
out discipline, without arms, clad in the
habiliments ofevery-day life, poor in all
the elements of war but the loftiest and
most determined spirit. Track them
over the frozen ground by the blood of
naked feet, see the torch of discord and
treason lighted up in their midst, and
behold the contrast! On one side are
power and loyalty, on the other patriot
ism and determination. What dreadful
responsibilities rested upon our fathers
then Who can sufficiently admire
and cherish such heroism When we
scan with retrospective eye the cloudy
morning of our national history, and
compare it with the efulgent noon Of
now, what bosom does not swell with
pride of his ancestral origin, and revere
the memory of the founders of Ameri-
can liberty Eternal honor to their
names. Emulate their virtues, We rising
generations, and hallow their fame
Let the iron lips of cannon tell how lib
erty was purchased and how well. Let
thousand orators repeat throughout a
continent, as now, forever, the epic Of
our history. Let children lisp the name
of Washington till the last syllable Of
recorded time.
May the day never arrive when a
great nation shall forget to celebrate
with sounds Of joy, with pomp and GER
emony, Thanksgiving and prayer, and
with Intellectual effort, its natal day
May the prediction of him who first
pronounced for independence in the
halls Of Congress be fully verified, and
our children's children, to the latest gen
Grafton, illumine the land with bonfires
and shout liberty's hozannas from the
fullness of their Joyful hearts.
The patriotic illusions of tomorrow
the booming of cannon, and the varied
insignia of gladness every where dis
played, are worth to the confederacv all
the political Union-sayers that ever ex.
listed, multiplied by their acts of insin-
cerity. The day binds the States to-
gether in indissoluble bonds. May il
ever be remembered that nothing may
rend those bonds ssunder.