The civic exercises in observance of the Fourth of July took place in the Boston Theatre at 10 o'clock. After an overture by the Boston Cadet Band, Rev. CHARLES FOLLEN LEE, pastor of the First Universalist Church, Charlestown District, offered prayer as follows: PRAYER. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we look up to Thee as the source whence all our blessings flow, and praise Thee for Thy wonderful works unto the children of men. We believe that Thou reignest in heaven and on earth, and that our times are in Thy hand. Full of gratitude, then, for Thy loving favor, we rejoice in Thy mercies to us and to all men, although our hearts are heavy with a great national sorrow, and thank Thee for the numberless blessings which Thou hast showered upon us. We praise Thee that Thou hast endowed us with rational souls, and vouchsafed unto us the high privilege of calling City Council and Citizens of Boston, IN THE BOSTON THEATRE, ON THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION ourselves Thy children. We thank Thee for the religion of Jesus Christ and for the comfort which it gives us in days of trouble and sorrow. We thank Thee for our beloved country and the various institutions which make it so dear to our hearts. We glorify Thy name, that Thou didst guide our fathers over the sea and establish them on these shores; that Thou wast with them in the time of peril and need, and madest them to prevail in their struggle to be free, and that during all these years since our nation was founded Thou hast watched over and blessed this land, making it so prosperous and great. But, O God, we are sensible of our ignorance and weakness; we can do nothing without Thee; and therefore, confessing our sins both private and public, and asking Thy forgiveness, we beseech Thee for the continuance of Thy favor. O God, be pleased to hear the prayers of Thy people as they pray for the life of the Chief Magistrate of this nation. Spare him in his extremity, that he may still rule over us. Comfort Thou his family his aged mother, his devoted wife, and his sorrowful children. Grant that their strength may be sufficient unto the hour of their trial. And if Thou takest him away in the flower of his manhood and the fulness of his fame, may we be able to bow in submission, and say, Thy will be done. Bless Thou the people of these United States. May ours ever be a free country, a Christian country, -one whose God is the Lord. Soften, we pray Thee, the asperities of sectional and party strife. May there be no North, no South, no East, and no West, |