Excerpt from An Oration Delivered at Keene, N. H., February 22, 1832: Being the Centennial Anniversary of the Birth-Day of Washington It is good for us, my fellow-citizens, to be gathered together on an occasion like the present. We meet here on common ground. We have come together to do honor to the memory of a man, dear to us all - a benefactor of the Nation - one of the founders of our Republic - the contemplation of whose character and actions must suppress every rancorous passion, and cherish and strengthen those feelings which improve and exalt human nature. We have come together to review events effected by unshaken resolution, heroic fortitude, and sober, considerate, all-absorbing devotion to the rights of man - events to which we owe the happiness we enjoy, and which gather interest as they recede from us. Fortunate, indeed, is it for that nation which can look back with pride and delight upon the past; whose history presents epochs that all can contemplate with kindling enthusiasm; whose roll of patriots and heroes is inscribed with names, white for their virtues and splendid for their deeds, and which can be displayed, with honest exultation, to an admiring world. Of such a nation it may, with confidence, be predicted, that, as the future ever bears an impress of the past, her career will be long and glorious. 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.