sustained with fidelity the measures of non-
intercourse, of resistance and of war; which gave a generous,
affectionate, intelligent support to the leaders of the Revolution,
must have been liberal, sagacious and honest. The common-school system
had been in operation more than a century and a quarter, and under its
influence the patriotism of the Revolution was highly intelligent.

The clergy generally were warm supporters of the war. Most of them
were graduates of Harvard College, whose influence was always on the
patriot side. The influence of the clergy was very great in New
England; hence the two most powerful springs of human action, religious
and political enthusiasm, were blended in the breasts of our fathers.
Some of the clergy, like Emerson of Concord, gave their personal
services to the American cause; while others, like Adams and Clark,
made the points in controversy with the mother country themes of
religious discourse. The religion of Massachusetts was patriotic.

The Rev. Zabdiel Adams, of Lunenburg, in a sermon preached during the
war, uttered these prophetic words: "To encourage us to persevere, let
us anticipate the rising glory of America. Behold her seas whitened
with commerce, her capitals filled with inhabitants, and resounding
with the din of industry. See her rising to independence and glory.
Contemplate the respectable figure she will one day make among the
nations of the earth; behold her venerable for wisdom, for counsel,
for might; flourishing in science, in agriculture and navigation, and
in the arts of peace. Figure to yourselves that this your native
country will ere long become the permanent seat of liberty, the retreat
of philosophers, the asylum of the oppressed, the umpire of contending
nations, and we would hope the glory of Christ."

In the Revolution a large portion of the people were land-holders,--men
who answer to the old Saxon term yeoman. Of course it is not possible
for every man to own land, nor is it essential that every man should be
a land-holder, yet it is evident that a community loses nothing by an
increase of proprietors.

When a man owns land, even though his acres be not broad, he feels a
new interest in the welfare and freedom of the state. The possession
of land creates a certain and desirable independence. Inducements
should therefore be held out to every branch of society, that the
ennobling idea of home may be realized in every bosom. Even to this