Faneuil Hall rejoices this day over the rescue of that Union and Liberty of which it was the cradle. It is a moment for music, for singing" Hail, Columbia!" and the "Star-spangled Banner,”yes, and "Old Hundred," too. For, oh, my friends, let us not forget that it is a moment, above all other moments, for deep, devout, reverent thanksgivings to God, who hath at last given us this crowning victory. And I could almost have wished that instead of Old Faneuil Hall (glad as we always are to meet beneath its roof), it had been the Old South,-represented here to-day by one of its pastors, with all its mingled associations of piety and patriotism, which had been thrown open to us this afternoon, and that we had all gone there, not to listen to such rhetorical commonplaces as I am uttering, but to unite in solemn Te Deums and Jubilates, and to offer up on bended knees the homage of grateful hearts to the high and mighty Ruler of the universe. To Him, this day, our first, best thanks are due. To Him be all the glory! We may not, we cannot, indeed, forget, at such an hour, the human instruments of the great triumph which has been achieved. We cannot withhold our acknowledgments from the indomitable Grant, the modest but sturdy Meade, the dashing, heroic Sheridan, the incomparable and glorious Sherman, marching from point to point with a stride like that of destiny itself. We cannot forget the chivalrous Farragut and his noble. compeers, Porter and Rodgers, and others whose names are emblazoned on these walls.

Nor would we omit any just tribute to President Lincoln and his Cabinet, to Seward, or Stanton, or Welles. Still less would we withhold our heartfelt recognition of the toils and trials of the common soldiers, who have poured out their blood and perilled their lives in this terrible struggle. My friend in the corner cries, "Three cheers for the common soldiers!" With all my heart; and for the sailors, too. But no one can look back on the past four years, and remember how often the battle has wavered and fluctuated, and how long it has hung in suspense, without feeling that a higher than human Power has overruled all events, and has at length, in the fulness of time, vouchsafed to us this final success. I say final, my friends, for I can no longer doubt that the end of this great tragedy, the very last scene of the last

act, is close at hand. I have no fear - have any of you, my friends? that there are to be any more "Richmonds in the field" in our day and generation.

I cannot doubt that union and peace, and freedom, too, are at length certain to be secured. But I cannot attempt, my friends, either to review the past, or to speculate on the future. Let me only express the hope, in conclusion, that in all our rejoicings, now and hereafter, we shall exhibit a spirit worthy of those who recognize a Divine Hand in what has occurred. Let no boastful exultations mingle with our joy; no brutal vindictiveness tarnish our triumph. Let us indulge no spirit of vengeance or of extermination toward the conquered, nor breathe out threatenings and slaughter against foreign nations. The great work of war accomplished, the even greater work of peace will remain to be undertaken; and it will demand all our energies and all our endurance. Let us show our gratitude to God by doing all that we can to mitigate the sorrows and sufferings of those upon whom the calamities of war have fallen. Let us exert ourselves with fresh zeal in ministering to the sick and wounded, in binding up the broken hearts, in providing for widows and orphans, for refugees and freedmen, in re-uniting, as far and as fast as we can, the chords of friendship and good-will wherever they have been shattered or swept away, and thus exhibit our land in that noblest of all attitudes, the only attitude worthy of a Christian nation, that of seeking to restore and to maintain peace and brotherhood at home and abroad. Thus only can our triumph be worthily celebrated.

THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

REMARKS AT THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, APRIL 20, 1865.

THE annual meeting of our Society, as some of you doubtless may have remembered, should have taken place in regular course on Thursday last, that having been the second Thursday in the month. But, as that day had been designated by His Excellency the Governor as a day of fasting and prayer, the Standing Committee, under the authority conferred upon them in our By-laws, postponed our meeting until to-day. Had we met a week ago, gentlemen, we should have come here with feelings of unmingled joy and exultation at the recent and glorious successes of the Union armies, and should have exchanged heartfelt congratulations on the cheering prospect of an early restoration of Union and Peace to our beloved country. Nor can we fail to remember most gratefully to-day, even amid all the clouds and darkness which surround us, that such successes have been achieved, and that such prospects have indeed opened upon us. But an event has since occurred which has turned all our joy into mourning, and we meet under circumstances which almost unfit us for the ordinary routine of business. The awful crime which was perpetrated at Washington on Friday last would have filled all our hearts with horror, even had it only involved the life of any of the humblest of our fellow-citizens. But it has taken from us the chosen Chief Magistrate of the nation, the man who, of all other men, could least be spared to the administration of our Government,the man who was most trusted, most relied on, most beloved by the loyal people of the Union. Beyond all doubt, the life of President Lincoln was a thousand-fold the most precious life in our

whole land; and there are few of us, I think, who would not willingly have rescued it at the risk, or even at the sacrifice, of our Own. The cheerful courage, the shrewd sagacity, the earnest zeal, the imperturbable good-nature, the untiring fidelity to duty, the ardent devotion to the Union, the firm reliance upon God, which he has displayed during his whole administration; and the eminent moderation and magnanimity, both towards political opponents and public enemies, which he has manifested since his recent and triumphant re-election, have won for him a measure of regard, of respect, and of affection, such as no other man of our age has ever enjoyed. The appalling and atrocious crime, of which he has been the victim, will only deepen the impression of his virtues and his excellences, and he will go down to history with the double crown of the foremost Patriot and the foremost Martyr of this great struggle against treason and rebellion.

With the concurrence of the Standing Committee, I submit for your adoption the following resolutions:

Resolved, By the Massachusetts Historical Society, that we are unwilling to enter upon the business of our annual meeting this day without having placed upon record some formal expression of the profound emotions which have been excited in all our minds and in all our hearts, by the tidings which have reached us during the last few weeks, and more particularly during the last few days; tidings which at one moment have thrilled us with delight by the glorious assurance that an urnatural and abhorrent rebellion was on the point of being triumphantly suppressed, and which at the next moment have overwhelmed us with grief for the loss of the most valued and most important life in our whole land by a foul and wicked assassination.

Resolved, That the fall of the rebel capital, which had so long defied the strenuous assaults of the Union army, followed as it has been by successive surrenders of the rebel forces, calls for the most grateful acknowledgments of every American patriot; first, to the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, who in his good time has vouchsafed us these decisive successes; and, next, to Lieutenant-General Grant and the officers and soldiers under his command for their persevering and heroic conduct and courage; but that we cannot forget how much we are indebted also for these glorious results to President Lincoln and his Cabinet, who have superintended the military as well as the civil policy of the Government during our great struggle for maintaining the American Union.

Resolved, That in the assassination of President Lincoln we recognize as atrocious and dreadful a crime as ever stained the annals of any age or any land; that his loss to our country is the heaviest which could have befallen it; that his integrity, fidelity, and patriotism, his moderation and magnanimity, and his untiring and successful devotion to the cause of Union and Liberty, followed as they have been by a murder so cruel and so wicked, have secured for him a place in American history, and a place in every loyal heart throughout the land, such as has hitherto been held only by the Father of his Country.

Resolved, That our cordial sympathies are hereby tendered to the Hon. William H. Seward in his sufferings from the inhuman and fiendish assault which has been made upon him and his family; that we pray God that he may live to witness the final re-establishment of the Union for which he has labored so ably and so devotedly; and that, as a humble tribute of our regard and respect, we unanimously enroll him among the honorary members of our Society.

Resolved, That we recognize the duty and the privilege of all good citizens to uphold the constituted authorities of the land in an hour like this; and that we hereby offer to President Andrew Johnson, who has succeeded to the Chief Magistracy under circumstances so impressive and so trying, the most respectful assurance of our sympathy and confidence, with our best wishes for his personal welfare and for the success of his administration.