C. Edwards Lester, Life and public services of Charles Sumner: Born Jan. 6, 1811. Died March 11, 1874.

[50] the majestic forms of those civil heroes, whose firmness in council was equalled only by the firmness of Washington in war. Let us listen again to the eloquence of the elder Adams, animating his associates in Congress to independence; let us hang anew upon the sententious wisdom of Franklin; let us be enkindled, as were the men of other days, by the fervid devotion to Freedom, which flamed from the heart of Jefferson.

Deriving instruction from our enemies, let us also be taught by the Slave Power. The two hundred thousand slaveholders are always united in purpose. Hence their strength. Like arrows in a quiver, they cannot be broken. The friends of Freedom have thus far been divided. Union, then, must be our watchword,—union among men of all parties. By such a union we shall consolidate an opposition which must prevail.

Let Massachusetts—nurse of the men and principles which made our earliest revolution—vow herself anew to her early faith. Let her elevate once more the torch, which she first held aloft. Let us, if need be, pluck some fresh coals from the living altars of France. Let us, too, proclaim ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,’—Liberty to the captive —Equality between the master and his slave—Fraternity with all men, the whole comprehended in that sublime revelation of Christianity, the Brotherhood of Mankind.

In the contemplation of these great interests, the intrigues of party, the machinations of politicians, the combinations of office-seekers, seem all to pass from our sight. Politics and morals, no longer divorced from each other, become one and inseparable in the holy wedlock of Christian sentiment. Such a union elevates politics, while it gives a new sphere to morals. Political discussions have a grandeur which they have never before assumed. Released from those topics, which concern only the selfish strife for gain, and which are perhaps independent of morals, they come home to the hearts and consciences of men. A novel force passes into the contests of party, breathing into them the breath of a new life, of Hope, of Progress, of Justice, of Humanity.

It is easy to see from this demonstration to-day, and from the glad tidings that swell upon us from all the Free States, that this great cause of Freedom, to which we now dedicate ourselves, will sweep the heartstrings of the people! It will smite all the chords with a might to draw forth emotions, such as no political struggle has ever caused before. It will move the young, the middle-aged, and the old. It will find a place in the family circle, and mingle with the flame of the household hearth. It will touch the souls of mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, until