Excerpt from An Eulogy: Pronounced at Wiscasset, in the Afternoon of the State Fast, April 22d, 1841, on William Henry Harrison, Late President of the U. S There is an instinct in the human mind, which has in all ages attracted the attention of the philosopher, as an internal evidence of a future existence, like a forerunner shadowing forth another world, before life and immortality were brought to light. It is our fondness of calling up to memory our departed friends, and retracing their looks and movements and conversation, years and years after they have gone, and then casting our eye forward to that time and place, we cannot say when nor where, in which we hope to meet and know each other again. Some degree of this belief has been found, wherever mind has been discovered; and its strength and intensity have advanced with civilization, until our blessed religion made known the path of life. Without such enduring hope, what would this world be, with all its riches, honors and enjoyments, but the dream of a shadow; for, one short hour may sever the tenderest connexions, break up friendships of long duration and leave the mourner solitary as a tree in the desert. - How often has the sun risen on our prospects in all the splendor of the morning, and gone down in the evening on sorrows, that left us desolate. The belief of meeting again in another world, softens the despair of the poor Heathen - alarms the midnight wakefulness of the murderer - and invigorates the soul of the faithful. It binds us to the past, for we love to dwell on the memory of those dear to us - it connects us with the future, for we fondly hope to see our lost friends once more; and there are times, when our thoughts touch so intensely on an unseen world above, and beyond us, that we cannot then doubt the reality. But not on our deceased friends alone, do we love to meditate. 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.