Excerpt from An Oration Delivered Before the Washington Benevolent Society: Of Massachusetts of the Thirtieth Day of April, 1812, Being the Anniversary of the First Inauguration of President Washington A disposition to inquire into the character and con duct Of washington, and to appreciate his ser vices and virtues, has been generally awakened. The design Of erecting monuments to his memory, too long delayed, has been revived with zeal. This design is worthy Of his countrymen. But it will be in vain that We fashion bronze and marble to preserve his figure for posterity, if we fail to prove by our lives and con duct, that we have raised more durable monuments in our hearts. If we fail to cherish and transmit the feelings which his acts inspire, the works which we raise in honor and gratitude, will change to monuments of reproach to our descendants, and to the memory of their fathers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.