Valley Forge.Extract from an oration delivered upon the occasion of the first Centenary Anniversary of the Encampment at Valley Forge.My countrymen, the century that has gone by[999]has changed the face of nature and wrought a revolution in the habits of mankind. We stand to-day at the dawn[1000]of an extraordinary age. Freed[1001]from the chains of ancient thought and superstition, man has begun to win the most extraordinary victories in the domain of science. One by one he has dispelled[1002]the doubts of the ancient world. Nothing is too difficult for his hand to attempt—no region too remote[1003]—no place too sacred[1004]for his daring eye to penetrate. He has robbed the earth[1005]of her secrets and sought to solve the mysteries of the heavens![1006]He has secured and chained[1007]to his service the elemental forces of nature—he has made the fire[1008]his steed—the winds[1009]his ministers—the seas[1010]his pathway—the lightning[1011]his messenger. He has descended into the bowels[1012]of the earth, and walked in safety on the bottom[1013]of the sea. He has raised his head above the clouds,[1014]and made the impalpable air[1015]his resting-place. He has tried to analyze the stars, count[1016]the constellations, and weigh the sun. He hasadvanced with such astounding speed[1017]that, breathless, we have reached a moment when it seems as if distance had been annihilated,[1018]time made as naught, the invisible seen, the inaudible heard, the unspeakable spoken, the intangible felt, the impossible accomplished.[1019]And already we knock at the door of a new century[1020]which promises to be infinitely brighter[1021]and more enlightened and happier than this. But in all this blaze of light which illuminates the present and casts its reflection into the distant recesses of the past, there is not a single ray which shoots into the future.[1022]Not one step have we taken toward the solution of the mystery of life. That remains as dark and unfathomable[1023]as it was ten thousand years ago.We know[1024]that we are more fortunate than our fathers. We believe[1025]that our children shall be happier than we. We know[1026]that this century is more enlightened than the last. We believe that the time to come[1027]will be better and more glorious than this. We think, we believe, we hope, but we do not know.[1028]Across that threshold[1029]we may not pass; behind that veil we may not penetrate. Into that country it may not be for us to go. It may be vouchsafed to us to behold[1030]it, wonderingly, from afar, but never to enter in. It matters not. The age in which we live is but a link in the endless and eternal chain. Our lives are like the sands upon the shore;[1031]our voices like the breath of this summer breeze[1032]that stirs the leaf for a moment and is forgotten. Whence we have come and whither we shall go, not one[1033]of us can tell. And the last survivor of this mighty multitude shall stay but a little while.But in the impenetrable To Be, the endless generations are advancing[1034]to take our places as we fall. For them as for us shall the earth roll on[1035]and the seasons come and go, the snowflakes fall, the flowers bloom, and the harvests be gathered in. For them as for us shall the sun, like the life of man, rise out[1036]of darkness in the morning and sink[1037]into darkness in the night. For them as for us shall the years march by[1038]in the sublime procession of the ages. And here,[1039]in this place of sacrifice, in this vale of humiliation, in this valley of the shadow[1040]of that Death out of which the life of America arose, regenerate and free, let us believe with an abiding faith[1041]that, to them, Union will seem as dear,[1042]and Liberty as sweet,[1043]and Progress as glorious,[1044]as they were to our fathers and are to you[1045]and me, and that the institutions which have made us happy, preserved by the virtue of our children, shall bless the remotest generations of the time to come.[1046]And unto Him[1047]who holds in the hollow of His hand the fate of nations, and yet marks[1048]the sparrow’s fall, let us lift up our hearts this day, and into His eternal care[1049]commend ourselves, our children, and our country.—H. A. Brown.Gestures.[999]H. Sw.[1000]H. F.[1001]H. O.[1002]V. H. O.[1003]H. B.[1004]A. O.[1005]D. F.[1006]A. O.[1007]P. H. F.[1008]H. O.[1009]A. O.[1010]H. L.[1011]Ind. A. O.[1012]D. F.[1013]P. D. Sw.[1014]A. O.[1015]V. A. O.[1016]Ind. imps.[1017]H. F. strong.[1018]B. V. H. O.[1019]D. F.[1020]H. F.[1021]H. Sw.[1022]H. F.[1023]P. D. O.[1024]-[1025]-[1026]H. O.[1027]H. F.[1028]D. L.[1029]P. D. F.[1030]H. F.[1031]H. L.[1032]A. O.[1033]D. L.[1034]H. F.[1035]P. H. Sw.[1036]Raise P. F.[1037]Drop P. L.[1038]H. Sw.[1039]H. F.[1040]P. D. O.[1041]A. O.[1042]-[1043]H. O.[1044]A. O.[1045]H. O.[1046]H. F.[1047]A. F.[1048]Ind. H. O.[1049]A. F.
Extract from an oration delivered upon the occasion of the first Centenary Anniversary of the Encampment at Valley Forge.
My countrymen, the century that has gone by[999]has changed the face of nature and wrought a revolution in the habits of mankind. We stand to-day at the dawn[1000]of an extraordinary age. Freed[1001]from the chains of ancient thought and superstition, man has begun to win the most extraordinary victories in the domain of science. One by one he has dispelled[1002]the doubts of the ancient world. Nothing is too difficult for his hand to attempt—no region too remote[1003]—no place too sacred[1004]for his daring eye to penetrate. He has robbed the earth[1005]of her secrets and sought to solve the mysteries of the heavens![1006]He has secured and chained[1007]to his service the elemental forces of nature—he has made the fire[1008]his steed—the winds[1009]his ministers—the seas[1010]his pathway—the lightning[1011]his messenger. He has descended into the bowels[1012]of the earth, and walked in safety on the bottom[1013]of the sea. He has raised his head above the clouds,[1014]and made the impalpable air[1015]his resting-place. He has tried to analyze the stars, count[1016]the constellations, and weigh the sun. He hasadvanced with such astounding speed[1017]that, breathless, we have reached a moment when it seems as if distance had been annihilated,[1018]time made as naught, the invisible seen, the inaudible heard, the unspeakable spoken, the intangible felt, the impossible accomplished.[1019]And already we knock at the door of a new century[1020]which promises to be infinitely brighter[1021]and more enlightened and happier than this. But in all this blaze of light which illuminates the present and casts its reflection into the distant recesses of the past, there is not a single ray which shoots into the future.[1022]Not one step have we taken toward the solution of the mystery of life. That remains as dark and unfathomable[1023]as it was ten thousand years ago.
We know[1024]that we are more fortunate than our fathers. We believe[1025]that our children shall be happier than we. We know[1026]that this century is more enlightened than the last. We believe that the time to come[1027]will be better and more glorious than this. We think, we believe, we hope, but we do not know.[1028]Across that threshold[1029]we may not pass; behind that veil we may not penetrate. Into that country it may not be for us to go. It may be vouchsafed to us to behold[1030]it, wonderingly, from afar, but never to enter in. It matters not. The age in which we live is but a link in the endless and eternal chain. Our lives are like the sands upon the shore;[1031]our voices like the breath of this summer breeze[1032]that stirs the leaf for a moment and is forgotten. Whence we have come and whither we shall go, not one[1033]of us can tell. And the last survivor of this mighty multitude shall stay but a little while.
But in the impenetrable To Be, the endless generations are advancing[1034]to take our places as we fall. For them as for us shall the earth roll on[1035]and the seasons come and go, the snowflakes fall, the flowers bloom, and the harvests be gathered in. For them as for us shall the sun, like the life of man, rise out[1036]of darkness in the morning and sink[1037]into darkness in the night. For them as for us shall the years march by[1038]in the sublime procession of the ages. And here,[1039]in this place of sacrifice, in this vale of humiliation, in this valley of the shadow[1040]of that Death out of which the life of America arose, regenerate and free, let us believe with an abiding faith[1041]that, to them, Union will seem as dear,[1042]and Liberty as sweet,[1043]and Progress as glorious,[1044]as they were to our fathers and are to you[1045]and me, and that the institutions which have made us happy, preserved by the virtue of our children, shall bless the remotest generations of the time to come.[1046]And unto Him[1047]who holds in the hollow of His hand the fate of nations, and yet marks[1048]the sparrow’s fall, let us lift up our hearts this day, and into His eternal care[1049]commend ourselves, our children, and our country.
—H. A. Brown.
Gestures.