Excerpt from An Oration Delivered Before the Municipal Authorities and Citizens of Providence, July 4, 1863 The day which invites us to assemble here, is one of the most eventful in human history. Familiar as it may have become to us, its solemn significance to our nation and to our race can know no diminution. Espe cially significant is its coming now; as it finds us, not in the sunshine of sweet peace, and the uninterrupted enjoyment of our industrial vocations; but overshad owed by the heavy clouds Of war 3 our land darkened with armed hosts, who have gone out from quiet homes and places of labor, to do their duty as defenders of our nation in the field of exhaustive and sanguinary strife. If we meet as civilians here, it is a martial atmosphere that we breathe, and the stirring trumpebnotes of the encampment or battle-ground seem to be calling us to the Observances of this occasion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.