National Republican., 1878-05-31
THEIR SILENT TENTS.
ConLinnfd from Elr,l Hdac.

MoulucflHE ullucr INC SOU
Leaving their gardens Of beauty,
Nobythey sank by the way;
Tell them, bright messengers softly,
We arc their debtors to-day
Debtors for happier th.stones,
Debtors for lberty's dover.
Debtors for households united,
Debtors for union and power;
Debtors for peace at our r,tnrs,
Debtors for thrit In Our l9nd-
These did their sacrifice yield us,
Led by Gods conquering hand.
The choir then sang patriotic song, en-
titled Bright Sword of Liberty" at the con.
ciusion of which Mr. Trucll introduced tho
orator of the day, Comrade c. G. Royce.
THE GRAFTON.
FELLOW. CITIZENS AND COMRADES: The
doubt has been expressed by more than one
eminent writer whether there is any such dis
tinct virtue MS patriotism.
One of our eminent divincs has said that
there is n sliding scale Of judgments rs 10 its
legitimacy aud wOrthiness, from the dcclara-
tion of DIR. johnson that Patriotism is the
last refuge Of n scoundrcl," to that of Cicero,
that ut Is duty more sacred than the filial
tic.'
II II Is fact, as Is almost universally re-
corded In the annals of the worlds great
travellers, that the people Of almost every
country under the sun regard the national re-
sources aud beauties Of their native regions as
unsurpassed and unsurpassable, and that
though circumstances Of varied character may
have contributed to seducc them from the
homes of their childhood, their minds always
revert to its scenes and scenery with ycarn-
ing Of soul and depth Of affection that time,
nor travel, nor temporal prosperity can eradi-
cate.
If to the American the spectacle of our
~ -. A.. 81, ~,
among strangers and In strange land, strikes
chords Of sympathy that quicken the
pulse and moisten the eyes II the
humblest citizen feels that he has a
lifc-estato In the noble actions and heroic
achievements that illuminate the pages Of his
country's history, we must acknowledge that
there is something IN the mental organization
Of man that renders it almost moral impossi-
bility that lie should not feel a special love for
the great lakes, beautiful rivers, and broad
stretching savannali-, as well as the ties OF
kindred and the patriarchal traditions Of the
land Of his birth, and that where the love of
county Is not deep and abiding sentiment
In the hearts of a people, virtues decay, in
trigues flourish. and treason, like q dry-rOt,
permeates and de6les its entire political sys-
TEN.
The man who is not grateful that he was
born an American is unworthy the enjoyment
Of free institutions, and the American who
cannot boast that he some Of his blood have
done duty, endured fatigues, encountered pri-
vations, and kept step to the music Of his coun-
try's salvation is stricken with poverty of
patriotism that no proiusion Of Mammon can
alleviate.
The desire to be remembered Is inherent in
our being. Mankind Graves immortality. The
pyramids and sarcophugi of Egypt; the tombs
and mausOlcums Of Greece and Rome, the
monuments and cemeteries of later days, at
test the desire to porpetuate the memory OF
those who have been distinguished In war and
statcsmanship, art and literature, science aud
religion.
For this reason arc we here to-day. "As we
would that others should do unto us, do we
even so unto them" The flowers which we
are to softly lay upon the grassy sepulchrcs OF
the fallen brave will fade and decay; the
monumental shafts which have been reared
will crumlc as the remOrsclesS Juggcrnaut OF
time rolls on; but the great work in the cause
of liberty, the deeds of heroIsm upon the CORY
fields, can never he erased or forgotten. As for
centuries the motto was legiblc on the rocky
cliffs of Thcrmopylp, 1--WE lie here In obedience
to Sparta" so the motto taught us by these
slabs and by the waving grass above these
graves reads to all, ave lie here in obedience
to our country" and as on this summer day
the sun draws this whole green world to look
up and drink In his light and fire, so the glory
that burns and shines in the deeds of the men
who are resting here ard all over the land,
and in the sea, draws us as the sun draws the
world. And as these mcu wCrc made one in
that cause for which they gave their lives, we
are made one IN our loyalty to their very dust
The feelings and sentiments of soldiers to-
ward their dead comrades are such as no
civilian can fully appreciate. Tho ties OI
memory and affection that arc recalled as We
pass around and among these long rows OF
gently rising mounds, with their cappimgS OF
white marble are so profound that the soul
cannot fully grasp and the tongue refuses Ia
portray them.
And for what were all these privations en-.
durcd, these dangers encountered, these OBJ
slaclcs surmOuntca, this martyrdom suffered Z
What human passion was strong enough to
burst the bonds of common fraternity, Ia
paralyze the chords Of
A COMMON FEALTY AND CITIZENSHIP,
to array the youth and manhood of a common
country in deadly combat with each other for
the mastery?
1t was the love of power and mammon as
evinced IN the institution of African slavery
q love for which our ancestors were primarily
responsible, and which had so long nurscd and
fed upon itself with increasing time that its
arrogant assumptions Of power and dictatUrial
manners became the cankcr- worm of our ma
tional existence. And when at last the in.
hercnt sense oi Justice, the slumbering Gevo-
tiOn of the loyal people of the country un.
tainted by the virus Of human slavery, became
aroused, this same spirit of sclfshIcss and op,
preston, which for three score and ten years
has branded yOn starry banner as Haunting
lie" raised the hydra head Of secession and re.
bellion.
The source of the calumities which befe tho
Grccans in the Trojan war Is thus recited In
the opening lines Of the lliad
Achilles wrath to Greece the dircnI spring
OtwocS unnumbercd, heavenly goddess, sing
What Achilles wrath was to.Grccce; human
slavery was to our own cOuntry-the prolific
spring Of woes unnumbcrcd.
Among the early fathers of the Republic
slavery was acknowledged by ALL in the slave
no less than In the free States, to he an evil
social, moral, and political; n wrong to tho
slave, dGtrimcnt to the master and blight
upon the soil. II was regarded us the relic OF
u barbarOus age, which must disappear befo {
the advancing civilization of succeeding gen.
erations.
But as time wore on these emincntly wise
humane, and patriotic predictions and scnti,
ments were found to bc dclusiOn and snare
and in lieu of offering excuses and apologies
for its lingering existence, slavery grew bold
defiant, and impudent. 1t claimed tho right
to p0llute the Territories with its slimy foot
sleeps, to annihiatc the free schools, to
hamper free pIcss to dciilc the pulpit, ia
corrupt religion, to silu free thought and
speech, and to transform the free aborcr by