t in the battle-line of duty, proud of the
privilege of defending the glory, honor, and prestige of our country,
presenting under the folds of our national ensign an unbroken phalanx of
united hearts--an impregnable bulwark of defence against any power that
may arise against us.

EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE

CHINA EMERGING FROM HER ISOLATION

[Speech of Edwin P. Whipple at the banquet given by the City of
Boston, August 21, 1868, to the Hon. Anson Burlingame, Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from China, and his
associates, Chih Ta-jin and Sun Ta-jin, of the Chinese Embassy to
the United States and the European powers. Mr. Whipple responded to
the toast, "The Press."]

MR. MAYOR:--One cannot attempt to respond here for the Press,
without being reminded that the Press and the Chinese Embassy have been
on singularly good terms from the start. To record the progress, applaud
the object, extend the influence, and cordially eulogize the members of
that Embassy, have been for months no inconsiderable part of the
business of all newspapers; and if China anticipated us, by some five
hundred years, in the invention of printing, our Chinese guests will
still admit that, in the minute account we have given both of what they
have, and of what they have not, said and done, since they arrived in
the country, we have carried the invention to a perfection of which they
never dreamed--having not only invented printing, but invented a great
deal of what we print.

But, apart from the rich material they have furnished the press in the
way of news, there is something strangely alluring and inspiring to the
editorial imagination in the comprehensive purpose which has prompted
their mission to the civilized nations of the West. That purpose is
doubly peaceful, for it includes a two-fold commerce of material
products and of immaterial ideas. Probably the vastest conception which
ever entered into the mind of a conqueror was that which was profoundly
meditated, and, in its initial steps, practically carried out, by
Alexander the Great. He was engaged in a clearly defined project of
assimilating the populations of Europe and Asia, when, at the early age
of thirty-three, he was killed--I tremble to state it here--by a too
eager indulgence in an altogether too munificent public dinner!
Alexander's weapon was force, but it was at least the force of genius,
and it was exerted in the service of a