Land of Refuge-Land of Benedictions! Those prayers still arise, and they still are heard: "May peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces!" "May there be no decay, no leading into captivity, and no complaining in thy streets!" "May truth flourish out of the earth, and righteousness look down from Heaven."

EXAMPLES OF PATRIOTISM IN OUR OWN HISTORY.

EVERETT.

THE national character, in some of its most important elements, must be formed, elevated, and strengthened from the materials which history presents. Are we to be eternally ringing the changes upon Marathon and Thermopyla; and going back to find in obscure texts of Greek and Latin the great exemplars of patriotic virtue? I rejoice that we can find them nearer home, in our own country, on our own soil ;—that strains of the noblest sentiment that ever swelled in the breast of man are breathing to us out of every page of our country's history, in the native eloquence of our mother tongue;-that the colonial and the provincial councils of America exhibit to us models of the spirit and character which gave Greece and Rome their name and their praise among the nations. Here we ought to go for our instruction; the lesson is plain, it is clear, it is applicable. When we go to ancient history, we are bewildered with the difference of manners and institutions. We are willing to pay our tribute of applause to the memory of Leonidas, who fell nobly for his country, in the face of the foe. But when we trace him to his home, we are confounded at the reflection, that the same Spartan heroism to which he sacrificed himself at Thermopyle, would have led him to tear his only child, if it happened to be a sickly babe,-the very object for which all that is kind and good in man rises up to plead,-from the bosom of its mother, and carry it out to be eaten by the wolves of Taygetus. We feel a glow of admiration at the heroism displayed

at Marathon by the ten thousand champions of invaded Greece; but we cannot forget that the tenth part of the number were slaves, unchained from the workshops and door-posts of their masters, to go and fight the battles of freedom. I do not mean that these examples are to destroy the interest with which we read the history of ancient times; they possibly increase that interest, by the singular contrast they exhibit. But they do warn us, if we need the warning, to seek our great practical lessons of patriotism at home; out of the exploits and sacrifices of which our own country is the theatre; out of the characters of our own fathers. Them we know, the high-souled, natural, unaffected, the citizen heroes. We know what happy firesides We know with what pacific

they left for the cheerless camp. habits they dared the perils of the field. There is no mystery, no romance, no madness, under the name of chivalry, about them. It is all resolute, manly resistance-for conscience' and liberty's sake-not merely of an overwhelming power, but of all the force of long-rooted habits, and the native love of order and peace.

FORMATION OF CHARACTER.-J. HAWES.

It is ever to be kept in mind that a good name is, in all cases, the fruit of personal exertion. It is not inherited from parents; it is not created by external advantages; it is no necessary appendage of birth, or wealth, or talents, or station; but the result of one's own endeavors the fruit and reward of good principles, manifested in a course of virtuous and honorable action. This is the more important to be remarked, because it shows that the attainment of a good name, whatever be your external circumstances, is entirely within your power.

No young man, however humble his birth, or obscure his condition, is excluded from the invaluable boon. He has only to fix his eye upon the prize, and press toward it, in a course of virtuous and useful conduct, and it is his And it is interesting to notice how many of our worthiest and best citizens have risen

to honor and usefulness by dint of their own persevering exertions. They are to be found, in great numbers, in each of the learned professions, and in every department of business; and they stand forth, bright and animating examples of what can be accomplished by resolution and effort.

Indeed, my friends, in the formation of character, personal exertion is the first, the second, and the third virtue. Nothing great or excellent can be acquired without it. A good name will not come without being sought. All the virtues of which it is composed are the result of untiring application and industry. Nothing can be more fatal to the attainment of a good character than a treacherous confidence in external advantages. These, if not seconded by your endeavors, "will drop you midway; or, perhaps you will not have started, when the diligent traveller will have won the race."

To the formation of a good character, it is of the highest importance that you have a commanding object in view, and that your aim in life be elevated. To this cause, perhaps more than to any other, is to be ascribed the great difference which appears in the characters of men. Some start in life with an object in view, and are determined to attain it; while others live without plan, and reach not for the prize set before them. The energies of the one are called into vigorous action, and they rise to eminence; while the others are left to slumber in ignoble ease, and sink into obscurity.

It is an old proverb, that he who aims at the sun, to be sure will not reach it, but his arrow will fly higher than if he aimed at an object on a level with himself. Just so in the formation of character. Set your standard high; and, though you may not reach it, you can hardly fail to rise higher than if you aimed at some inferior excellence. Young men are not, in general, conscious of what they are capable of doing.

They do not task their faculties, or improve their powers, or attempt, as they ought, to rise to superior excellence. They have no high, commanding object at which to aim, but often seem to be passing away life without object and without aim. The consequence is, their efforts are few and feeble; they are

not waked up to anything great or distinguished, and, therefore, fail to acquire a character of decided worth.

My friends, you may be whatever you resolve to be. Resolution is omnipotent. Determine that you will be something in the world, and you shall be something. Aim at excellence, and excellence will be attained. This is the great secret of effort and eminence. I cannot do it, never accomplished anything; I will try, has wrought wonders.

A young man who sets out in life with a determination to excel, can hardly fail of his purpose. There is, in his case, a steadiness of aim, a concentration of feeling and effort, which bear him onward to his object with irresistible energy, and render success, in whatever he undertakes, certain.

NATIONAL GREATNESS.-JOHN Bright.

I BELIEVE there is no permanent greatness to a nation except it be based upon morality. I do not care for military greatness or military renown. I care for the condition of the people among whom I live. There is no man in England who is less likely to speak irreverently of the crown and monarchy of England than I am; but crowns, coronets, mitres, military display, the pomp of war, wide colonies, and a huge empire are, in my view, all trifles light as air, and not worth considering, unless with them you can have a fair share of comfort, contentment, and happiness among the great body of the people. Palaces, baronial castles, great halls, stately mansions, do not make a nation. The nation, in every country, dwells in the cottage; and unless the light of your constitution can shine there, unless the beauty of your legislation and excellence of your statesmanship are impressed there in the feelings and condition of the people, rely upon it you have yet to learn the duties of government.

THE NATION'S SURE DEFENCE.

INTELLIGENT free laborers are working out the great problem of civilizing this continent; intelligent fighting men are consolidating its government; and, underlying all, the public schools. are silently forming a sound national character. Free as air, vital as electricity, and vivifying as the sunlight, they act on the organic forces of the nation, as these three physical agents build the life of the globe out of inorganic matter.

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The insurrection will be put down by the sword and the bayonet; treason will be rooted out by armed men; but even then the only strength of the Union will be in a public opinion based on an intelligent comprehension of national affairs by the people of the whole nation. Unless the laws of the several states are administered by rulers chosen by electors whose ballots fall vitalized by intelligence, no standing armies, no constitutions, can hold them in harmonious spheres around the central sun of a representative government. They will shoot off in eccentric orbits into the unfathomable darkness of dissolution and chaos, never to return.

It is a Prussian maxim, 66 Whatever you would have appear in the life of the nation you must put into the schools." If the schools inculcate, with intellectual training, love of country, cordial submission to lawful authority, moral rectitude, some knowledge of the theory and organic structure of our government, and a true spirit of patriotism, then shall our citizens be truly men, and our electors princes indeed.

When I consider the power of the public schools, how they have disseminated intelligence in every village and hamlet and log house in the nation, how they are moulding the plastic elements of the next generation into the symmetry of modern civilization, I cannot think that our country is to be included in the long list

"Of nations scattered like the chaff

Blown from the threshing-floor of God."