Will lead thee safe through watch and ward, FROM SCOTT. CCL-BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.-No. I. THE Battle of Bunker Hill, the first of importance in the Revolutionary war, was fought June 17th, 1775. This and the succeeding exercise are extracts from a speech delivered by Webster on laying the corner stone of the monument, designed to commemorate that event. They can be spoken in connection or separately. THE Society, whose organ I am, was formed for the purpose of rearing some honorable and durable monument to the memory of the early friends of American Independence. They have thought, that, for this object, no time could be more propitious than the present prosperous and peaceful period; that no place could claim preference over this memorable spot; and that no day could be more auspicious to the undertaking than the anniversary of the battle which was here fought. The foundation of that monument we have now laid. With solemnities suited to the occasion, with prayers to Almighty God for his blessing, and in the midst of this cloud of witnesses, we have begun the work. We trust it will be prosecuted; and, that, springing from a broad foundation, rising high in massive solidity and unadorned grandeur, it may remain, as long as Heaven permits the works of man to last, a fit emblem, both of the events in memory of which it is raised, and of the gratitude of those who have reared it. We know, indeed, that the record of illustrious actions is most safely deposited in the universal remembrance of mankind. We know, that, if we could cause this structure to ascend, not only till it reached the skies, but till it pierced them, its broad surfaces could still contain but part of that, which, in an age of knowledge, hath already been spread over the earth, and which history charges itself with making known to all future times. We know that no inscription, on entablatures less broad than the earth itself, can carry information of the events we commemorate where it has not already gone; and that no structure, which shall not outlive the duration of letters and know!edge among men, can prolong the memorial. But our object is, by this edifice, to show our own deep sense of the value and importance of the achievements of our ancestors; and, by presenting this work of gratitude to the eye, to keep alive similar sentiments, and to foster a constant regard for the principles of the revolution. Human beings are composed, not of reason only, but of imagination, also, and sentiment; and that is neither wasted nor misapplied, which is appropriated to the purpose of giving right direction to sentiments, and opening proper springs of feeling in the heart. FROM WEBSTER. CCLI.-BUNKER HILL MONUMENT.-No. II. LET it not be supposed that our object, in erecting this monument, is to perpetuate national hostility, or even to cherish a mere military spirit. It is higher, purer, nobler. We consecrate our work to the spirit of national independence, and we wish that the light of peace may rest upon it forever. We rear a memorial of our conviction of that unmeasured benefit, which has been conferred on our own land, and of the happy influences, which have been produced, by the same events, on the general interests of mankind. We come, as Americans, to mark a spot, which must forever be dear to us and our posterity. We wish, that whosoever, in all coming time, shall turn his eye hither, may behold that the place is not undistinguished, where the first great battle of the revolution was fought. We wish, that this structure may proclaim the magnitude and importance of that event to every class and every age. We wish, that infancy may learn the purpose of its erec tion from maternal lips, and that weary and withered age may behold it, and be solaced by the recollections which it suggests. We wish, that labor may look up here, and be proud, in the midst of its toil. We wish, that, in those days of disaster, which, as they come on all nations, must be expected to come on us also, desponding patriotism may turn its eyes hitherward, and be assured that the foundations of our national power still stand strong. We wish, that this column, rising toward heaven among the pointed spires of so many temples dedicated to God, may contribute, also, to produce, in all minds, a pious feeling of dependence and gratitude. We wish, finally, that the last object on the sight of him who leaves his native shore, and the first to gladden his who revisits it, may be something which shall remind him of the liberty and the glory of his country. Let it rise, till it meets the sun in his coming; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play on its summit. FROM WEBSTER. CCLII.-MONUMENT TO WASHINGTON. I AM met with the great objection, What good will the Monument to Washington do? I beg leave to exercise my birthright as a Yankee, and answer this question by asking two or three more, to which, I believe it will be quite as difficult to furnish a satisfactory reply. I am asked, What good will the monument do? And I ask, what good does anything do? What is good? Does anything do good? The persons who suggest this objection, of course, think that there are some projects and undertakings that do good; and I should therefore like to have the idea of good explained, and analyzed, and run out to its elements. When this is done, if I do not demonstrate, that the monument does the same kind of good that anything else does, I shall consent that the huge blocks of granite, already laid, should be reduced to gravel, and carted off to fill up the mill pond; for that, I suppose, is one of the good things. Does a railroad or canal do good? You answer, yes. And how? It facilitates intercourse, opens markets, and increases the wealth of the country. But what is this good for? Why, individuals prosper and get rich. And what good does that do? Is mere wealth, as an ultimate end, gold and silver, without an inquiry as to their use, are these a good? Certainly not. I should insult this audience by attempting to prove that a rich man, as such, is neither better nor happier than a poor one. But, as men grow rich, they live better. Is there any good in this, stopping here? Is mere animal life, feeding, working, and sleeping like an ox, entitled to be called good? Certainly not. But these improvements increase the population. And what good does that do? Where is the good in counting twelve millions, instead of six, of mere feeding,.working, sleeping animals? There is, then, no good in the mere animal life, except that it is the physical basis of that higher moral existence, which resides in the soul, the heart, the mind, the conscience; in good principles, good feelings, and the good actions which flow from them. Now I say that generous and patriotic sentiments, sentiments which prepare us to serve our country, to live for our country, to die for our country; feelings like those which carried Prescott, and Warren, and Putnam to the battle-field, are good; good, humanly speaking, of the highest order. It is good to have them, good to encourage them, good to honor them, good to commemorate them. And whatever tends to animate and strengthen such feelings, does as much practical good, as filling up low grounds and building railroads. This is my demonstration. FROM EVERETT. CCLIII.-SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION. THE present provision for the soldiers of the revolution is not sufficient. In the practical execution of the laws, also, the whole beneficent spirit of our institutions seem to have been reversed. Instead of bestowing these hardearned rewards with alacrity, they appear to have been refused, or yielded with reluctance. To send away the war-worn veteran, bowed down with the infirmities of age, empty from your door, seems to have been deemed an act of merit. They would take back So rigid has been the construction and application of the existing law, that cases most strictly within its provisions, of meritorious service and abject poverty, have been excluded from its benefits. Yet gentlemen tell us, that this law, so administered, is too liberal; that it goes too far, and they would repeal it. even the little which they have given! And is this possible? Look abroad upon this wide extended land, upon its wealth, its happiness, its hopes; and then turn to the aged soldier, who gave you all, and see him descend in poverty to the tomb! The time is short. A few years and these remnants of a former age will no longer be seen. Then we shall indulge unavailing regrets for our present apathy: for, how can the ingenuous mind look upon the grave of an injured benefactor? How poignant the reflection, that the time for reparation and atonement has gone forever! In what bitterness of soul we look back upon the infatuation, which shall have cast aside an opportunity, which never can return, to give peace to our consciences ! We shall then endeavor to stifle our convictions, by empty honors to their bones. We shall raise high the monument, and trumpet loud their deeds, but it will be all in vain. It can not warm the hearts, which shall have sunk cold and comfortless to the earth. This is no illusion. How often do we see, in our public gazettes, a |