The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-04-18
me Dax we celebrate.


This day there is as lively movement OF
patriots in the neighborhood Of two OF the
holy places Of Middlesex county, Massachu-
sets, as there was this day one hundred years
ago; and tomorrow the event TO which those
movements led viii be appropriately appreci-
a,ed by orators and poets, and the gratitude
of free people will be freshly registered in
bronze. One Of the natural results OF this
sort OF glorying in good deeds is apparently
to provoke o comparison Of dates on the part
of the uncelebrating sections of the country.
just as Massachusetts, brings out the guns
and drums and begins to burn the powder Of
glorifcation some other States brush up their
old almanacs and dispute the precedence Of
the Bay State. North Carolina claims her
day Virginia has an event Of the same date
with that in Massachusetts,, and there are, in
fact, bright spots in the calendar for all of
us-as we shall find if we consider the cal
endar curiously enough. But there is one
point in which Massachusetts, leads all. She
celebrates her days. Ii any man dies for that
Commonwealth or strikes a stout blow
for her honor or her rights, her people have
the habit Of remembering it, of chronicling
and treasuring up the fact and taking care
that the world shall know the circumstances
of the case as recorded in orations and poems
or in granite or bronze. Alexander is said
to have observed that the happiness Of
Achilles, as compared with other heroes, was
that he had Homer. Virere fortes ante Agd-
memnonen; but they had no Homer, and that
is why comparison goes no further Than Aga
memnon in its retrospections. Every man
who has done good service for Massachusetts
has found this rule apply. There are lots of
little Homers down there who keep the story
adoat and spread good seed. Who would not
be Paul Revere? And as the hundred farm
ers from Acton who stood by the old North
Bridge Eat the right of the line" have all
been dead this many day, it requires no
special perception to see that the three
who were killed and whose names are
on the monument had the better of their
comrades who went away and died in OBJ
security and perhaps in peace. The prizes Of
that day were bloody deaths, and all be-
cause of the chroniclers and the poets; but
what has the world heard of the men who
were slain in North Carolina-and has not
half the history of the great conflict dropped
out by the way in other States from mere neg
lect? There is q fashion of arguing that
other States are more modest and lees
inspired with the spirit of selfassertion, but
the line may be sharply drawn between vain
glory and neglect of the memory Of men who
died in the public cause, and we believe the
latter offence is the more common with us.
Perhaps the occurrence of our Centennial
dates may change this and may instruct the
people very largely in the achievements of
their ancestors. From now till 1888 we shall
have the recurrence OF the sequence of revo-
lutonary dates in due order, and ii is o con-
venent time for the people TO brush up their
local heroes and celebrate the glories OF their
neighborhood and the occasion should not
be lost