calmness has the power of stunning, when it opens too instantly upon
us. The long and raging hurricane that should cease in a moment, would
leave us in a state rather of wonder than enjoyment; and some
moments of recollection must pass, before we could be capable of
tasting the felicity of repose. There are but few instances, in
which the mind is fitted for sudden transitions: it takes in its
pleasures by reflection and comparison and those must have time to
act, before the relish for new scenes is complete.

  In the present case- the mighty magnitude of the object- the various
uncertainties of fate it has undergone- the numerous and complicated
dangers we have suffered or escaped- the eminence we now stand on, and
the vast prospect before us, must all conspire to impress us with
contemplation.

  To see it in our power to make a world happy- to teach mankind the
art of being so- to exhibit, on the theatre of the universe a
character hitherto unknown- and to have, as it were, a new creation
intrusted to our hands, are honors that command reflection, and can
neither be too highly estimated, nor too gratefully received.

  In this pause then of recollection- while the storm is ceasing,
and the long agitated mind vibrating to a rest, let us look back on
the scenes we have passed, and learn from experience what is yet to be
done.

  Never, I say, had a country so many openings to happiness as this.
Her setting out in life, like the rising of a fair morning, was
unclouded and promising. Her cause was good. Her principles just and
liberal. Her temper serene and firm. Her conduct regulated by the
nicest steps, and everything about her wore the mark of honor. It is
not every country (perhaps there is not another in the world) that can
boast so fair an origin. Even the first settlement of America
corresponds with the character of the revolution. Rome, once the proud
mistress of the universe, was originally a band of ruffians. Plunder
and rapine made her rich, and her oppression of millions made her
great. But America need never be ashamed to tell her birth, nor relate
the stages by which she rose to empire.

  The remembrance, then, of what is past, if it operates rightly, must
inspire her with the most laudable of all ambition, that of adding
to the fair fame she began with. The world has seen her great in
adversity; struggling, without a thought of yielding, beneath
accumulated difficulties, bravely, nay proudly, encountering distress,
and rising in resolution as the storm increased. All this is justly
due to her, for her fortitude has merited the character. Let, then,
the world see that she can bear prosperity: and that her honest virtue
in time of peace, is equal to the bravest virtue in time of war.

  She is now descending to the scenes of quiet and domestic life.
Not beneath the cypress shade of disappointment, but to enjoy in her
own land, and under her own vine, the sweet of her labors, and the
reward of her toil.- In this situation, may she never forget that a
fair national reputation is of as much importance as independence.
That it possesses a charm that wins upon the world, and makes even
enemies civil. That it gives a dignity which is often superior to
power, and commands reverence where pomp and splendor fail.

  It would be a circumstance ever to be lamented and never to be
forgotten, were a single blot, from any cause whatever, suffered to
fall on a revolution, which to the end of time must be an honor to the
age that accomplished it: and which has contributed more to
enlighten the world, and diffuse a spirit of freedom and liberality
among mankind, than any human event (if this may be called one) that
ever preceded it.

  It is not among the least of the calamities of a long continued war,
that it unhinges the mind from those nice sensations which at other
times appear so amiable. The continual spectacle of woe blunts the
finer feelings, and the necessity of bearing with the sight, renders
it familiar. In like manner, are many of the moral obligations of
society weakened, till the custom of acting by necessity becomes an
apology, where it is truly a crime. Yet let but a nation conceive
rightly of its character, and it will be chastely just in protecting
it. None ever began with a fairer than America and none can be under a
greater obligation to preserve it.

  The debt which America has contracted, compared with the cause she
has gained, and the advantages to flow from it, ought scarcely to be
mentioned. She has it in her choice to do, and to live as happily as
she pleases. The world is in her hands. She has no foreign power to
monopolize her commerce, perplex her legislation, or control her
prosperity. The struggle is over, which must one day have happened,
and, perhaps, never could have happened at a better time.* And instead
of a domineering master, she has gained an ally whose exemplary
greatness, and universal liberality, have extorted a confession even
from her enemies.

  * That the revolution began at the exact period of time best
fitted to the purpose, is sufficiently proved by the event.- But the
great hinge on which the whole machine turned, is the Union of the
States: and this union was naturally produced by the inability of
any one state to support itself against any foreign enemy without
the assistance of the rest.

  Had the states severally been less able than they were when the
war began, their united strength would not have been equal to the
undertaking, and they must in all human probability have failed.- And,
on the other hand, had they severally been more able, they might not
have seen, or, what is more, might not have felt, the necessity of