tor of the 2d Congregational Church in Worcester. Worcester. Charles Griffin. 1826.

3. Christian Patriotism; A Sermon, on Occasion of the Death of John Adams, preached in Chauncy Place, Boston, July 9th, 1826. By N. L. FROTHINGHAM, Minister of the First Church in Boston. Boston. Munroe & Francis. 1826.

4. A Eulogy on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, pronounced in Newburyport, July 15, 1826, at the request of the Municipal Authorities of the Town. By CALEB CUSHING. Cambridge. Hilliard & Metcalf. 1826.

5. Eulogy pronounced in Providence, July 17, 1826, upon the Character of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, Late Presidents of the United States. By request of the Municipal Authorities. By J. L. TILLINGHAST. Providence. Miller & Grattan. 1826.

6. An Oration delivered in Independence Square, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 24th July, 1826, in commemoration of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. By JOHN SERGEANT. Philadelphia. H. C. Carey & I. Lea. 1826. 7. Eulogy on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, pronounced in Hallowell, July 1826; at the request of the Committee of the towns of Hallowell, Augusta, and Gardiner. By PELEG SPRAGUE. Hallowell. Glazier & Co. 1826. 8. An Address Delivered at Charlestown August 1, 1826, in Commemoration of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. By EDWARD EVERETT. Boston. William L. Lewis.

1826.

9. An Address Delivered in Chauncy Place Church, before the Young Men of Boston, August 2, 1826, in Commemoration of the Death of Adams and Jefferson. By SAMUEL L. KNAPP. Boston. Ingraham & Hewes. 1826. 10. A Discourse in Commemoration of the Lives and Services of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826. By DANIEL WEBSTER. Boston. Cummings, Hilliard & Co. 1826.

WE had thought to have let the late solemn events which have so deeply interested the country, pass by without notice in our

pages. It has seemed to us as if these aroused and simultaneous feelings of a whole nation, were too vast for utterance, and too universal, if not too constantly discussed, to need it. Nor, indeed, do we now propose to attempt any expression of them. But we have felt, at last, that this extraordinary and moving concurrence of circumstances, this widely spread and most unusual excitement of national sympathy, this visitation of what can never come again, this voice of Providence which can never more be so heard in this land, requires at our hands some offering. The call of country, the claim of patriotism in circumstances like these, the remembrance of former days and deeds, the voice that speaketh from the graves of men such as Adams and Jefferson, the graves of men who are justly considered as among the most illustrious political patriarchs of this land, opened in one day, and opened while yet the shout of their country's jubilee was ringing in all its borders; these thoughts have been too strong with us, to permit us to be altogether silent. We have felt impelled, though a thousand other and abler pens are engaged, to bring our tribute, however humble, to this great national occasion.

We cannot help adverting for a moment, in passing, to the public testimonials with which this occasion has been solemnized. Since the death of Washington, there has not been, and we do not expect soon again, if ever, to witness any thing of a nature so peculiarly grave, dignified, and imposing. Though the labor and business of our cities has been suspended, and their whole population has been dismissed from its toils, to employ a day of leisure in the manner most agreeable to them, there has been no excess witnessed, nor any thing of holiday mirth. It may seem like a slander by implication, to mention this fact as worthy of note, and it may excite surprise in some, that we should do so; but we ask, where else upon the face of the earth a population could be turned loose from their occupations, on any similar occasion, and would hallow it as if it were a sabbath? The solemn processions have moved through silent streets, and when the solemnities of the day have passed, there has literally a sabbath-like quietness reigned over our land.

There is one circumstance attending these, and many other of our public celebrations, which is quite peculiar to this country. We mean the custom of delivering set and formal addresses to assemblies convened for that especial purpose. We

have been called an oration-making people; and we are given to understand, that our transatlantic brethren, look with some surprise, if not ridicule upon the practice, as boyish and frivolous. But in truth we can concieve of no more dignified manner, in which a people can give vent to their emotions either of joy or sorrow, than by calling upon the wise and eloquent among them, to rehearse the occasions, and to unfold and illustrate the topics, on which the public mind is interested, and to guide the public feeling to its proper results. It recalls and revives the glorious times of ancient freedom, and eloquence, and poetry. We must be allowed, then, to retort the charge of being frivolous and childish upon all that glaring pageantry of fetes and shows, with which royalty strives to amuse a populace not intelligent enough to be entertained with any thing better.

In this connexion, we must add, that we have taken great satisfaction in the simple, the truly republican, nay, we will venture to say, the truly intellectual character of the late obsequies. There has been no pomp nor parade; there has been no lying in state of those remains, which were sacred to private and domestic grief; there has been no procession of empty mourning coaches; there has been no court preacher to do the hireling work of praise; but there has been a procession of reverent and christian men, cherishing in unfeigned remembrance and admiration the mighty dead; the solemn prayer, the eulogy and eloquence of the heart, the crowded and listening assembly, the serious and thoughtful retiring of those who had paid an intellectual and spiritual homage, the quiet village, the silent city; and the sun has gone down upon a day worthy of the great occasion to which it was consecrated.

But it is time that we proceed to some of those reflections, which this occasion has suggested to us. In doing so, we shall enter into no competition with the productions placed at the head of this article, some of which are truly eloquent. These need no praises at our hands to exalt them, and no quotations in our pages to make them known.

After all that has been said and written in so much better terms than we can use, we think it quite unnecessary for us to enter into the lives of the two Illustrious Patriots, or the memorable scenes and glorious results of their political conduct. But there seem to us to be some paths of reflection left open to us,

as Christians; paths, indeed, which will lead us aside from the excitement that has attended the recent public solemnities; but we hope that our readers, exhausted with feeling and satiated with eloquence, may be not unwilling to retire from more awakening themes, and will have patience to follow us in the way of calmer reflection.

In the first place, then, from the grave nature of the occasion, and the association into which it has brought the sentiments of patriotism with the solemnities of religion, we have been lead to reflect more at large, on the connexion there is between patriotism and religion; and to this point we will first direct our observations.

The love of country, let us simply remark before proceeding to these observations, is one of the most comprehensive and complex of the affections. It embraces the past and future with the present, and it includes all the regards which we pay to the beings and objects around us; to our families and friends, and fellow citizens; to all the sources of improvement and happiness; to the means of education and the institutions of religion. And it is with religion, particularly, we may add, that patriotism seems to be most naturally and strongly associated. The vast interests which are involved in a nation's welfare, the solemn and reverent feeling with which we trace its history through the past periods of its existence, the mighty stake which it has in the fortunes of ages to come, all naturally lead our minds upward, to an almighty and eternal Power and Providence. Now it has resulted from several causes, we believe, that in this country, religion is entering less and less, we should go so far indeed as to say, that it enters remarkably little into the general patriotic feeling that pervades it, and the reflections we have to offer, will take their form from this fact. It shall be our business to point out this separation of religion from patriotism, to state the causes of it, and to show its impropriety and evil consequences. In other words, we would insist upon the connexion there is between religion and the love of our country; but we would do so, in the form best adapted to the actual state of feeling among us.

The death of two of the most distinguished leaders in our revolution, who have subsequently held the highest stations in the government, and have grown old amidst the increasing veneration and gratitude of their country, has naturally brought

subjects of great national interest into our pulpits, and ceremonies and discussions of a political nature have been associated with the services of religion. Now we ask, if it has not been felt that these subjects were unusual, not to say out of place, in the pulpit; if it has not been felt that this connexion of patriotism with religion is suitable for some rare occasions only, and that these subjects are to resume their separate places again when the occasion has passed by. We are certain that a feeling of this kind has been gaining ground in this country; that patriotism is looked upon by multitudes as but a romantic, and at most, an unhallowed principle, which it is improper to bring into our holy seasons and solemnities; which it is improper in our sermons or on the Sabbath days, to discuss, or direct, or enforce. If this were done, though we are seriously persuaded that nothing could be more properly done, if the wide and multiplied applications of Christianity to civil society, to law, to government, and to national welfare, were clearly pointed out in our pulpits, we fear that the mass of the people would be found saying, this is political, or polite preaching; there is no religion in it.'

6

The relation of country seems to us, also, to be more and more slightly acknowledged in the prayers of the sanctuary. The subject is either passed over entirely, or is introduced in a very formal and mechanical way, and, even then, is treated in the most brief and general manner that is compatible with any mention of it at all. There seems to be, at least we fear there is, but little of that affectionate praying for fellow citizens, or of that comprehensive petition for all orders and classes of persons, or of that earnest and particular intercession for our magistrates and governors, which would become us. There seems to be, at least we fear there is, but little of that anxious commending of our country to the divine favor and protection, which has made a part of the religion of most other nations, and which in former days, so strongly characterized the religion of this.

In treating of what we consider to be this increasing deficiency of religious feeling in our patriotism, we shall refer, first, to some of the causes of it, which have existed in the religious character and history of this country; and then, to the exposures to it which are found in our institutions.

On entering upon the subject of our religious character and