the preface of his life of Julius Cæsar says: "If the precepts of faith raise our soul above the interests of this world, the lessons of history in their turn inspire us with the love of the beautiful and the just, and the hatred of whatever presents an obstacle to the progress of humanity." This elevated sentiment with which the policy of the late French Emperor but ill accorded, contains the true philosophy of history.

It will be seen that in the appendix I have endeavored to bring the history of liberty down to the present time by means of historical notes concerning the progress of freedom in Europe, and in this country since the rebellion. The other notes which I have gathered and which are mostly selected, may be considered as explanatory and supplementary.

It has been my desire to collect together in the appendix such items of interest, and such wholesome sentiments as would stimulate a true patriotism and afford information of an agreeable and suggestive nature, and especially of a practical value to the lover of his country and of human progress, thus bringing the history of liberty home to the hearts and consciences of men.

The selections are all marked as quotations. The articles containing information obtained by me from some reliable source have the authority beneath. I have ventured to insert, in most ex

cellent companionship, as the reader will observe, an article of my own, concerning the late meeting of the Evangelical Alliance, in the form of letters published in the Vermont Chronicle. May not the Evangelical Alliance and the Centennial Exposition, those two national events of such universal interest though so entirely unlike, be regarded as commemorative, the first of religious and the last of civil liberty, while the second Peace Jubilee was a grand international rejoicing over the triumph of freedom in America. In treating a subject so vast and comprehensive and so soul-inspiring as the progress of freedom, it seemed to me not inappropriate to make use of the oratorical rather than the essay style.

With the hope that our republic, now one hundred years old, may exist for centuries, and that all the bright dreams and anticipations concerning its future prosperity and greatness may be realized, but feeling that this will depend much upon us of the present generation, I send forth this humble tribute to the priceless value of liberty, hoping that it may help in some slight degree to perpetuate our free institutions.

Pawlet, Vermont.

J. F. A.

HISTORY OF LIBERTY.

WHAT is Liberty? Is it an ideal state of being, of a purely ethereal and intangible nature, to be reasoned about and imagined, but never to be enjoyed? Is it some merely practical and material thing, to be obtained by the labor of the hands, and the ordinary workings of the mind? No! It is an elevated condition, the offspring of a sublime principle implanted in the human breast, which being cultivated and fostered, renders man capable of selfgovernment, and makes a state, which is but an aggregate of individuals, able to endure perils from without and from within.

Behold yonder temple as it slowly rises in beauty and majesty. Long has it been in building. Stone after stone of marble hewn from the quarry, transported from a distance, chiseled with great labor, has been laid on the wall with the nicest care. Stone after stone has been set in its appropriate place without effecting any perceptible change either in the

height or beauty of the structure.

grows in symmetry with every stone.

Still it rises, and

So it is with the temple of liberty in the hearts of men. Every noble deed for the welfare of the human race, every generous action toward the downtrodden and oppressed, every just decision in favor of the natural and inalienable rights of man, is a polished stone, set in its appropriate place, and contributing to the height and beauty of that lofty and glorious edifice. To the student of history what can be more instructive than to trace the progress of liberty; to the historian and orator what more beneficial than to exhibit it to the admiration of their

fellow men; to the philosopher what more elevating than to meditate upon and inquire into its relations to the onward march of civilization; to the poet what more inspiring than to drink from so pure a fountain, what more ennobling than to sing of such a theme; to the patriot what more interesting than to witness its struggles, what more satisfying than to behold its triumphs?

As the Vestal fire in Ancient Rome was by careful watchfulness kept ever burning, so this heavenborn flame of liberty descending to us from our fathers, through many a scene of conflict, from many a hardship and distress, and defended by their de scendants of the present generation on hundreds of

battle-fields yet moist with their blood, should be fostered in our hearts by knowledge and by meditation.

Thus shall we be better able to appreciate in some degree, its value to ourselves, to our country and to the world, and thus shall we be better able to understand its elevated and its elevating nature.*

In the Declaration of Independence our patriotic ancestors thus expressed their views, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness : to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

It would seem as if no truths ought to be more apparent to the mind than these, and yet nearly eighteen centuries have elapsed since the light of Christianity dawned upon the world, and two-thirds of the human race still remain without any knowledge of freedom, while even in some of the most enlightened nations liberty has been of slow growth, and in none has it reached its maturity.

* On the Thursday evening previous to the reading of this paper, Rev. Dr. Samuel Osgood read a valuable paper upon the character and influence of Washington.