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EXERCISES AT

OLD STATE HOUSE

PRAYER.

We have assembled at the invitation of our honorable Mayor to unveil a bronze tablet commemorative of the centenary year of the inauguration of our beloved Boston as a chartered city. It is but meet and right that we should first of all render sincere and heartfelt thanks to the omniscient, omnipresent and eternal God whom angels worship and all Christian men justly revere, for His fatherly protection and heavenly blessings showered upon us. When asked by men while He dwelt upon earth how they should pray, He answered them in the words of the old but beautiful prayer that we have all been taught at the knee of our ever to be revered and beloved mother. This prayer is called the "Lord's Prayer." In this prayer, then, we shall address Him today:

'Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.

O Lord of Hosts, Father of Light, our supplications hear! Thou Covenant God, Thy promises we claim. We plead no merit, but we fearless come today, and ask a continuance of Thy blessings through our Saviour's name. We one and all beseech Thee: "Sicut patribus, sit Deus nobis." Amen.

ESSAY

INAUGURATION DAY.

What a memorable day that was in the history of Boston! After an After an agitation which had lasted for over a hundred years, the incorporation of Boston as a city was voted for and became a fact in 1821. Her first Mayor was inaugurated in Faneuil Hall May 1, 1822. If such an event rouses our interest, let us peep for a few minutes into the diary of a gentleman of that period who visited Boston for the first time. on the very day of this historic event. He is by name Thomas Hutchinson, and his companion, mentioned in the diary as Dick, is Richard De Witt of New York.

"Rose betimes. Dick and myself decided to take a stroll before breakfast, and dine at one of the town inns on our return. Knowing naught of the streets of Boston we followed our noses through an intricate maze of narrow, crooked lanes till we found we had been led just where we most desired to go. Before us was the busy market place, the center of which is Faneuil Hall, serving as both market and assembly hall. At that hour, scarce five o'clock, the square was thronged with tradesmen, farmers, and merchants who were busily employed in setting out their wares, before the day's customers began to arrive. From fragments of conversation about us, we gathered that some political event was to take place this day, and upon inquiring as to the nature of the forthcoming event, from a round-faced, good-natured farmer, he looked us up and down and then scratched his head reflectively.

"Not Boston folk, be ye?' he asked, gazing upon us as if undecided about the balance of our minds. I assured him with some asperity that we could not claim that honor, whereupon his face assumed its natural expression, and he hastened to explain.

"No offence intended, sir, but that ye should be

of Boston, and know naught of the oath of office to be given our Mayor this day, seemed past belief. 'Tis to be done over yonder this afternoon,' and he pointed toward Faneuil Hall. As we gazed at the building for a moment my eyes encountered the form of my old friend Adrian Barkus hastening toward us through the crowd. After greeting each other to our mutual satisfaction, we proceeded to the 'Inn of the Green Dragon,' there to breakfast. While partaking with satisfaction of a good meal my friend reminded us of the historic events connected with the inn. 'Here during the days just preceding the Revolution were held numerous political gatherings. During the siege of Boston it was used as a hospital. Here, too, were hatched some of the most successful plots of the patriots. Several of the inmates of the Green Dragon were proven to have taken part in the Boston tea party, and here under this same roof,' added our friend, 'Paul Revere met with a committee of some thirty odd, to report on the doings of the tories and the British soldiery.' After the war another notable gathering took place under this roof to discuss the question of the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 'Tis true that 'Once in politics never easy,' for the innkeepers of the Green Dragon for decades have shared with their customers the vicissitudes of the times. The present keeper, a burly, round-faced individual, appeared to serve the breakfast with his head done up like a Turk, having been the victim of some dissatisfied voters some weeks before. Having satisfied our appetites to the full, we proceeded to view the wharves under the guidance of our friend. What a bewildering scene was there presented! Vessels loading and unloading quantities of foreign material and home-grown produce. There were piles of grain in sacks waiting to be slung into the holds of outgoing ships by numerous lusty dock men; quantities of fine stuffs from several foreign looking ships which were rocking at their ease near the wharves. Men ran hither and thither, on errands of great import, while we three alone stood watching, the only spectators in the company. We visited the historic

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