Or droop o'er the sod where the long grasses nod,— So I came by the name of Old Glory. qu'-di-ble-loud enough to be heard. sym'-bol—a sign; anything which suggests an idea or thing. WORDS AND PHRASES: "rapturous air' "scars of all wars'' "fame so becoming to you" "a tang to the spirit" "square heaven of blue' "a blur in the eye" "skyward cast" "vague lisps" "aching to live for you "conjoined of them all' "skyward cast'' "droop o'er the sod" "long grasses nod' THE LAND OF LIBERTY (AUTHOR UNKNOWN) 1 I LOVE my country's pine-clad hills, Her rough and rugged rocks, that rear 2 I love her rivers, deep and wide, Those mighty streams that seaward glide To seek the ocean's breast; Her smiling fields, her pleasant vales, 3 I love her forests, dark and lone, And there are lovelier flowers, I ween, 4 Her forests and her valleys fair, Her flowers that scent the morning air, "The Land of Liberty." Rufus Choate (1799-1859), an American orator, was a native of Essex, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dartmouth College. He and Daniel Webster were the greatest orators of their time. THE birthday of the "Father of his Country!" May it ever be freshly remembered by American hearts! His memory is first and most sacred in our love; and ever *From one of Choate's orations. hereafter, till the last drop of blood shall freeze in the last American heart, his name shall be a spell of power and of might. It was the daily beauty and towering and matchless glory 5 of his life which enabled him to create his country, and at the same time secure an undying love and regard from the whole American people. "The first in the hearts of his countrymen !" Undoubtedly there were brave and wise and good men, before his day, in every colony. But the American nation, as a nation, I do not reckon to have begun before 1774. And the first love of that. Young America was Washington. HELPS TO STUDY Historical: The words, "First in the hearts of his countrymen," were first used by Colonel Henry Lee in the Resolutions which were presented in the House of Representatives on the death of Washington, December, 1799, "to the memory of the Man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.' The date 1774, mentioned in this oration, was the year in which the First Continental Congress met. Notes and Questions Read the line that tells the place which the memory of Washington holds in the love of the American people. What enabled Washington to "create his country''? What secured for him the love of the American people? When was the expression "The first in the hearts of his countrymen' first used? Who said it? INDEPENDENCE BELL 1 THERE was a tumult in the city, Where they whispered each to each, 2 As the bleak Atlantic currents Lash the wild Newfoundland shore, 3 "Will they do it?" "Dare they do it?" "Who is speaking?" "What's the news?" "What of Adams ?" "What of Sherman ?" "Oh, God grant they won't refuse !" "Make some way, there!" "Let me nearer !" "I am stifling!" "Stifle, then! When a nation's life's at hazard, We've no time to think of men!" 4 So they beat against the portal, On the scene looked down and smiled. |