s existence. To see them in advance, to guard against them by all
the suggestions of prudence, to meet them with the composure of
unyielding resistance, and to abide with firm resignation the final
dispensation of Him who rules the ball,--these are the dictates of
philosophy--these are the precepts of religion--these are the principles
and consolations of patriotism; these remain when all is lost--and of
these is composed the spirit of independence--the spirit embodied in
that beautiful personification of the poet, which may each of you, my
countrymen, to the last hour of his life, apply to himself:--

"Thy spirit, Independence, let me share,
Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye!
Thy steps I follow, with my bosom bare,
Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky."

In the course of nature, the voice which now addresses you must soon
cease to be heard upon earth. Life and all which it inherits, lose of
their value as it draws toward its close. But for most of you, my
friends and neighbors, long and many years of futurity are yet in store.
May they be years of freedom--years of prosperity--years of happiness,
ripening for immortality! But, were the breath which now gives utterance
to my feelings, the last vital air I should draw, my expiring words to
you and your children should be, INDEPENDENCE AND UNION FOREVER!

SARAH FLOWER ADAMS

(1805--1848)

This English poet, whose hymn, 'Nearer, my God, to Thee,' is known
wherever the English language is spoken, was born at Great Harlow,
Essex, England, in 1805. She was the daughter of Benjamin Flower, who in
1799 was prosecuted for plain speaking in his paper, the Cambridge
Intelligencer. From the outcome of his trial is to be dated the liberty
of political discussion in England. Her mother was Eliza Gould, who
first met her future husband in jail, whither she had gone on a visit to
assure him of her sympathy. She also had suffered for liberal opinions.
From their parents two daughters inherited a distinguished nobility and
purity of character. Eliza excelled in the composition of music for
congregational worship, and arranged a musical service for the Unitarian
South Place Chapel, London. Sarah contributed first to the Monthly
Repository, conducted by W.J. Fox, her Unitarian pastor, in whose family
she lived after her father's death. In 1834 she married William Bridges
Adams. Her delicate health gave way under the shock of her sister's
deat