Venerable object! we
delight to gather round its trunk, while yet it stands, and to dwell
beneath its shadow. Sole survivor of an assembly of as great men as the
world has witnessed, in a transaction one of the most important that
history records, what thoughts, what interesting reflections, must fill
his elevated and devout soul! If he dwell on the past, how touching its
recollections; if he survey the present, how happy, how joyous, how full
of the fruition of that hope, which his ardent patriotism indulged;
if he glance at the future, how does the prospect of his country's
advancement almost bewilder his weakened conception! Fortunate,
distinguished patriot! Interesting relic of the past! Let him know that,
while we honor the dead, we do not forget the living; and that there is
not a heart here which does not fervently pray that Heaven may keep him
yet back from the society of his companions.
And now, fellow-citizens, let us not retire from this occasion without
a deep and solemn conviction of the duties which have devolved upon us.
This lovely land, this glorious liberty, these benign institutions, the
dear purchase of our fathers, are ours; ours to enjoy, ours to preserve,
ours to transmit. Generations past and generations to come hold us
responsible for this sacred trust.
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