armies of the cursed rebellion. There are our hearts " and hopes. The rest is all but show, and we have "that within that passeth show. God defend aud 66 prosper the armies of the Republic!" The Tribune drew a more practical lesson from the day in these words : 66 66 Eighty-six years ago this day, the representatives of our fathers, in Congress assembled at Philadelphia, "united in that immortal Declaration of Independence "of the United States of America, which they delibe"rately placed on this immutable basis: We hold "these truths to be self-evident: That all men are "created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator "with certain unalienable rights; that among these are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of "the governed,' So broad and solid a basis 66 66 66 was never before laid by the founders of a new politi“cal fabric; hence no predecessor ever exerted so wide "and beneficent a sway over the destinies of mankind. "The American Revolution derives its chief significance "and glory from its clear and hearty recognition of the equal and inalienable Rights of Man as Man. Had 66 66 our country been uniformly faithful to the principles "thus boldly enunciated, her career would have been "the grandest, her people the happiest on the globe. Unfortunately, she soon faltered, and ultimately fell. 66 "Her revolutionary patriot-statesmen, with scarcely "an honourable exception, perceived and maintained "that she was bound by her fundamental principle to "achieve and secure the liberty of every one, even "of the humblest and most despised of her people. "Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Madison, all held "that slavery was condemned by our struggle for "Liberty and Independence, and that we must abolish "it at the earliest practicable moment. Fatal qualifi"cation! Soon peace, security, sloth, ease, luxury, "the greed of power and of gold, weaned us from "the grand truth asserted by the fathers: 'Another "king arose, who knew not Joseph.' Vainly did the philanthropist remonstrate, the patriot plead, and the "slave hold up appealingly his galling shackles. Our "Scribes and Pharisees have too long wrested Law and Gospel to the cruel ends of oppression; and this "nation, which was born amid the expectant shouts of "the scourged and down-trodden, has for two genera"tions been the accomplice of man-thieves, the stay of "the tyrant and oppressor. The long forborne punish"ment of our national sin is at length upon us. A "nation distracted and convulsed by treason-a country 66 66 devastated, a people decimated by furious civil war— "the vultures of aristocracy and despotism gathering "and circling impatiently for the expected feast on the "remains of what was once their chief terror; such are "the aspects that greet the eighty-second anniversary of "our Independence. The clouds are heavy and dark, "but the heavens are clear and bright above them. Let "us struggle and trust. God save the Republic!" These quotations will serve to show what the tone of the press was on this occasion. As to the day itself, it was a glorious one, with a sky bright and clear as that of Italy. The city was again gay with flags, and its shops were closed, and the streets were filled with holiday people, and the bells rang, and the cannon fired, and what was better than all, the news from the Peninsula was more encouraging; but still there was no spirit in the day, the life of the festival was gone. The one stock amusement of Independence-day consists in making as much noise as possible. From twelve o'clock on the previous night to midnight on the Fourth, the whole energies of the children and boys of New York are devoted to letting off as many crackers, firing as many pocket-pistols, and pelting passers-by with as many detonating balls as their own or their friends' purses can afford. All day long, in every street from Fifth Avenue down to Bowery, there is a never-ending discharge of this mimic artillery. You are lucky if you pass through the day without getting your hair singed, or your face scorched, or holes burnt in your clothes; and in fact prudent people keep much at home during the Fourth. Anybody who ever passed a Christmas at Naples, and has run the gauntlet of its squibs, and rockets, and pistols, will sympathize with me when I say, that it was some consolation for the national calamity to find that it checked the discharge of fireworks. It was bad enough as it was, but if McClellan had won a victory instead of being defeated, half the city would have been maimed and deafened. Some thirty people were taken to the hospitals in the course of the day from injuries inflicted by the fireworks. Like Oyster Day too in London, this annual Saturnalia, though professedly coming only once a year, lingers on in practice for days afterwards. This discharge of fireworks was the one genuine exhibition of popular rejoicing throughout the day. Things must be very bad indeed before boys leave off throwing crackers in consequence of a national disaster; but with the grown-up population it was little of a holiday time. In the cool of the morning what few troops there were left in the city marched down Broadway; but most of them were boys, or old men, or raw recruits, and the show, in a military point of view, was a very poor one, and excited little interest. At ten o'clock there was a meeting in celebration of the anniversary held by the Common Council in the Cooper Institute. The meeting was announced for ten, but the proceedings did not begin till near eleven. The great hall, which I should say could hold between two and three thousand people, was never a quarter full, and a third of what crowd there was stood on the speakers' platform. The Mayor, Mr. Opdyke, was in the chair, and delivered a short address, in which he stated, amongst other things, that "with the loyal people of America, come what may, be "the nations banded in arms against us, nothing shall "be successful in overthrowing our cherished institu❝tions." A long prayer was offered up by the select preacher to the Corporation, containing a statement novel to a New York audience as coming from such lips: "That this rebellion had been inflicted by Heaven on the people of America on account of their sins, "because they had fallen away from the faith of their "fathers, and had extended, protected, and perpetuated "by their legislation, the abominable sin of slavery." An oration was next spoken by a Mr. Hiram Walbridge, more calm and dignified in its language than American declamations are wont to be. After dwelling on the popular resolution to do all and suffer all, rather than succumb, he gave vent to the grievances of the people in words such as these:-"Our lives, our money, 66 our hopes, our destiny, our all, are at the service of "the Government in upholding the Constitution and "the Union. We, however, feel that we have the right "to know every incident which marks the varying for"tunes of the struggle, for it is our own chosen sons "who are falling in defence of liberty. We also ear nestly desire, if any foreign mediation is meditated, it "may be met with firmness and without complaint." Then followed a patriotic poem of interminable length and fatal fluency, some verses of which, perhaps, are |