d with singular
brevity, and sitting down he helped himself from a plate of chicken
that stood before him, and at the same time turning to Mr. Pierpont he
said: "The listened very well, 'till you got to Greece. They didn't
care anything about Greece."

In the preparation of my address I found from the records that the town
of Acton had as early as the year 1774 declared, by resolution in town
meeting, in favor of an American Republic, adding: "This is the only
form of government we wish to see established." Upon my own
investigation and upon the opinion of Mr. Webster, whom I consulted,
I ventured to say that this was the earliest declaration in favor of a
republic that was officially made in the American colonies.

My address ran as follows:

ADDRESS ON THE ACTON MONUMENT

The events of the American Revolution can never fail to interest
Americans. This assemblage, men of Middlesex, is an assurance that
you cherish the Revolutionary character of your county, and that you
will be true to the obligations and duties which it imposes.

The event we commemorate is not of local interest only. It has,
however, little value on account of the number of men who fought or
fell; but it lives as the opening scene of a great revolution based
on principle, and destined to change the character of human
governments and the condition of the human race. The 19th of April,
1775, is not immortal because men fell in battle, but because they
fell choosing death rather than servitude. The mere soldier who fights
without a cause is unworthy our respect, but he who falls in defence
of sound principles or valued rights deserves a nation's gratitude.
Hence the battlefields of the Revolution shall gain new lustre, while
Austerlitz and Waterloo shall be dimmed by the lapse of ages. Each
nation cherishes and recurs to the leading events in its history.
Time increases the importance of some of them and diminishes the
magnitude of others. Many of them are eras in the history of countries
and the world. Such are the lives of great men--philosophers, poets,
orators, and statesmen. Such are battles and conquests, the foundation
of new empires and the fall of old ones, changes in governments, and
the administrations of renowned monarchs. Such were the conquest of
Greece, the division of the Macedonian empire, the rise and fall of
Rome, the discovery and settlement of this continent, the English
commonwealth, the accession of William and