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that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye
have no part in the Lord.”

The reader added no comment to this well-chosen scripture—al-
ready every heart was full. For those first spoken words ex-
pressed the thought of all, that not in malice or in mischief, not in
rebellion or in disaffection had we come together beneath the blue
sky; that so far from rearing an Altar of discontent, we had met
with a just pride in our common heritage, with an abiding devotion
to our common faith, with more than a brother’s love to the tribes
more numerous and more favored than ourselves, separated from
us by the hills and streams of our common home.

Such thoughts as these found their utterance in the Te Deum
which was next sung by the assembly; for St. Ambrose’ {sic} words be-
come us well when we realize that the communion of the Saints. Pray-
ers were then offered by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Cobbs, of Alabama,
and the Gloria in excelsis was chanted by the company.

The Hon. G. B. Duncan next took the stand, and after some in {sic}
troductary remarks, proceeded to read the Declaration of Inde-
pencence. He also gave, by request, a history of the flag used on
the occasion.

The flag was made, he said, by ladies of that city where our in-
depencence had its birth. The staff was cut by Millard Fillmore
when President of the United States, from near the grave of Wash-
ington, and presented, at his request, to the owner by Lieut. Gen.
Scott. This flag had been borne at the mast of one of our national
vessels, it had waved upon the breezes of Europe and of Asian, of
the Mediterranean and the Nile; its folds had been displayed upon
the lonely Sinai, and amid the sacred locations of Jerusalem.

Such was the banner under which we rallied. At the conclusion
of these remarks, “The Star Spangled Banner” was played by the
band.

The Rt. Rev. James H. Otey, D. D., Bishop of Tennessee, then
stood forth as the Orator of the day; his address appears upon
these pages, and forms the most valuable portion of this record.

Various emotions were stirred as the Rt. Rev. Speaker uttered
his earnest words. The reference, with which he happily began, to
St. Paul’s claim to Roman citizenship, reminded us all that the
Patriot was not of necessity lost in the Christian; that holding
aloft the cross of Christ, we need not blush to place beneath it the
Stars and Stripes; that after the echoes of the hills had been
awaked with the loftiest strains of christian {sic} praise, it is not unfit-

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ting to bid them presently give back the animating notes of free-
dom’s songs.

No christian {sic} could fail to sympathize with the speaker in his po-
sitions, that ours is a government intended fro christian people, not
for Mormons and Athiests, and that beneath all law must lie the
great foundation of public virtue and the fear of God. None could
fail to catch somewhat of his enthusiasm, as he not so much boast-
ed, as confessed with words and gestures of humblest gratitude,
the benign and conservative influence which the Church, whose
vows are upon us, has always exercised in our land’; as he spoke of
the work to be done in this nation, and of the members of the Pro-
testant Episcopal Church as the men to do it.

This far the flag hung idly from its staff; but when the Bishop
began to speak of our Country and the love all good men bearit, a
breeze came to stir the Stars and Stripes; and still, as he proceeded
to denounce the thought, that we would come with holy words
upon our lips to plot mischief against our brethren, the flag waved
more proudly than before, seeking the person of the speaker and
causing his words to come as it were from the midst of its folds.
As the oration progressed, warm tears filled many an eye, and
would not be repressed. At is close, the band struck up “Hail
Columbia,” and the company rose to their feet. Many hastened to
thank the orator for the just expression he had given to their senti-
ments, then all dispersed, and might be seen in friendly groups
still prolonging the pleasant theme.

Upon the succeeding day, the day of rest, the hours passed most
pleasantly. A few of the company, including the Bishops of Miss-
issippi and Florida, consented to hold services in Chattanooga at the
request of the several congregations of that town, and thus the
circle was incomplete. The other Trustees and visitors, however,
joined in common prayers; a candidate was admitted Deacon by
the Bishop of the diocese, and the Holy Communion was adminis-
tered.

The service was held in a common room, and with few of the
ordinary appliances of the church; necessary as those are, where
they may be had, their absence was scarcely noted; there were
warm hearts and a full response, and (thanks to the ladies who had
come up with their husbands and fathers) good old fashioned tunes
were used, which everyone loves to sing.

The themes of discourse upon this day deserve to be put on record
as illustrating the spirit that prevailed.

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Cobbs preached in the morning upon the