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are bound; all are here; eager to attest their reverence for the memory of one, whom statesmen and soldiers have conspired in pronouncing to have been first alike in peace and in war.
The Representatives of the People are here; and it is only as their organ that I have felt it incumbent on me, in the midst of cares and duties which would have formed an ample apology for declining any other service, to say a few words on this occasion. Coming here in no official capacity, I yet feel that I bring with me the sanction not merely of the Representatives of the people, but of the People themselves, for all that I can say, and for much more than I can say, in honor of Washington.
And, indeed, the People themselves are here; in masses such as never before were seen within the shadows of the Capitol—a cloud of witnesses—to bring their own heart-felt testimony to the occasion. From all the States of the Union; from all political parties; from all professions and occupations; men of all sorts and conditions, and those before whom men of all sorts and conditions bow, as lending the chief ornament and grace to every scene of life; the people,—as individual citizens, and in every variety of association, military and masonic, moral, collegiate, and charitable, Rechabites and Red Men, Sons of Temperance and Firemen, United Brothers and Odd Fellows,—the people have come up this day to the temple gates of a common and glorious republic, to fraternize with each other in a fresh act of homage to the memory of the man, who was, and is, and will forever be, "first in the hearts of his countrymen!" Welcome, welcome,
