The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1877-07-11
The 4th at Featherstone.

snip nave, tor several years, made u
practice Of celebrating the national an
nlversary in their own locality, ami uni
formly succeed in havin: u pleasant
time and enjoying themselves sensibly
without any risk OF headaches or re-
grets for time ill-spcrt. O., last Wed.
nesday they followed their usu Il castom
and had Il truly happy picn'c in tn e
grove surrounding the residence Of Mr..
Thomas Feathe:stonc. There WAS IL
goodly number in attaal,ncc and the
exercises were vlrict so rs to interest
all. The committee Of arrangements
were, Messrs. Thomas Fc.thersvone, L.
J. Taylor, D. l.. Billingsly, G. p. Side
ner and - johnson.
The company began to assemble
about nine o'clock, and the first thing
lone was to lay on: four or five rroouet
grounds and set up the posts and wick
cts, the committee previously provided
IN ample supply Of iccwater and made
ready FOR an adequate quantity Of lem
onade. They had likewise arranged
tables in the grove on which to spread
the dinner, and stand for speakers
and seats for the audience occupied the
end Of the grounds nearest the road
BY half past zen O'clock there was u
large number present including several
invited guests from this city and other
neighborhoods. The Feather>tone brass
band then made its appearance in y
four horse wagon, bringing with it :.
handsome flag anu waking up the
neighbors with excellent and APP
propriate music. "'..
At II o'clock the meeting was called
to order and Rev: S. G.. johnson offered
an appropriate prayer. This was fol-
lowed by a song, "America," sung by
choir selected from those in attend
ance and led by Mr.. John Sidener.
Thomas Featherstone, Esq, was then,
on motion, chosen chairman and, on
taking the chair, made IL brief and &C.
ceptable address. :. The band then
treated the company to a national air
performed skillfully and in IL spirited
manner.
The next thing on the programme
was an Grafton by the editor of the AID,
VANCE, and We are happy to be able to
say that the company bore the infection
so patiently that we had not the hear,
to 90 over more than one-third of the
notes we had prepared for the occasion
concluding that we had better do, Il:
they do in Congress, print the remain
der at some future convenient season
At the request Of some Of those VIII
heard us and who think it no more thar
fair that our readers generally should
share with them in this only grievous
part Of the performance, We give below
synopsis Of what we did say, and viii
hereafter draw upon what we left unsaid
We began by informing our hearer
that the Fourth of July is u gala day
when people are expected to don thei
best clothes, associate together in pic
mic parties and 50 forth and devot
themselves to festivity, and that ora
tons for such occasions ought to b.
glittering, grandiloquent and gay, rath
or than solid and instructive. The or
:,tor should tell his hearers all about tn
Matching Of the American eagle, Of it
first bold efforts to leave the nest of tn
parent birds, of its early successful
flights, and finally describe it, full
grown, poised in the upper air midwa
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
with outstretched wings extending
across the entire continent, screaming
defiance to the lions, bulls, ROSTERS
bears, vultures, snakes, etc, adopte
as symbols by other nations. The ora
ton should be Of decidedly sprea
eagle character, with Dlu,i1us uaun'
D;eu ct mon droit, ne plus ultra, san
qua non, multum nparvo, sic sempe
tyran~is, eureka, excelsior and varie
ty of other Greek, Latin and Frenc
phrases scattered through it, withou
regard to their appropriateness Q
meaning.
This, we maintained, ought to be tn
character Of 4th Of July speech, fo
the reason that people should not be ey
pected to think on festive occasion
especially when the weather is prop
tious. But, unfortunately for our aud
epce, we were not speaker Of ii,
spread.eagle order, and the older "
grow the less are we inclined to indulg
in flights of fancy. Our Pegasus ha
grown timid with age and prefer