BY REV. A. A. MINER, D. D.

REV. DR. MINER was then introduced by President Nash, who graduated under him, as the man of whose criticisms upon his recitations for three long years he was in constant apprehension. He would now in turn call upon Dr. Miner to recite, and no doubt he will be found ready. Responding to the call thus made upon him without any previous intimation, Dr. Miner said: President Nash, besides being an apt scholar, had at least one advantage over me in my present circumstances: he always knew the hour at which his recitation was due.

Continuing, Dr. Miner said he deemed it an honor to be permitted to witness the ceremonies of this most important and interesting occasion. It has been said that he who makes two blades of grass grow where but one grew before is a public benefactor. Much more is he a benefactor who finds means to quicken the imagination, warm the affections, instruct the conscience, and deepen the sensibilities of even a single individual. What shall we not say then of one who opens a life-giving fountain whose waters carry health to a whole community, and which shall flow on from generation to generation?

In the thousands of well-selected volumes with which your munificent benefactor has stored this tasteful memorial edifice, the youth of your town will find constant inspiration to a higher and nobler type and style of living. They will form "History Clubs," "Browning Clubs," "Tennyson Clubs," "Whittier Clubs," and the like, through whose attrition of mind upon mind there will be evolved more definite thinking, a clearer view of the true ends of life, and a broader grasp of the experiences of the past, the realities of the present, and the possibilities of the future.

A wide survey of history will guard us equally against too slight an appreciation of the achievements of past ages, on the one hand, and against a too unreserved laudation of

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the heroes who made these achievements, on the other hand. Next to the Bible, nothing so clearly manifests the footprints of the Almighty along the pathway of human progress as does a wide survey of the doings of individuals and of nations, and noting what has come of those doings in the modification of personal and public well-being.

In a like manner, familiarity with the literature of the world, especially with the figures, allegories, and metaphors of the poets, makes relatively easy the solution of many of the darker problems presented in the Holy Scriptures. The broadening of the understanding is always an increase in the power of faith, out of which flow the inner currents of life. To the furtherance of such a work,— the highest that can be achieved in and for a people, will the large-hearted gift consummated to-day most assuredly contribute. That it may be perennial in its wholesome influence, you will not omit to emphasize its value in the minds of the young from generation to generation.

The eloquent periods of the orator suggest another thought. He fittingly eulogizes the martyrs of April 19, 1775, and the more recent heroes of 1861-65; the former, commemorated by yonder granite shaft, the latter by these bronze tablets. Let me not detract one iota from the laurels they so richly earned. Their personal merit surpasses our power of statement. It was no fault of theirs that the nations had not risen superior to the brutal arbitrament of war. But, on an occasion like this, may we not properly lay special stress upon the instrumentalities of peace; upon those influences which tend to lift the nations out of the deeps of vengeful hatreds, and elevate them to the plane of reason and of Christian methods. To this class of influences belongs the noble benefaction you have to-day received. I cannot close without expressing to you, my long cherished friend [turning to Mr. Wilde and grasping warmly his hand], my high appreciation of your wise munificence, and my recognition of the debt of gratitude which is your due from these young people, from this whole community, and from generations yet unborn.

BY REV. ALEXANDER BLACKBURN.

Pastor of the First Baptist Church, Lowell, and Department Chaplain of the Massachusetts G. A. R.

Mr. President, I suppose I am the only one present who does not claim an ancestry among the Puritans, those grand men who led in the days of the Revolution, and were at the front in the struggle for the preservation of the Union. I come from what is known in New England as the West. Most of my life has been spent in the State that furnished to the nation, in the days of her need, men whom you have delighted to honor: John A. Logan, the gallant leader in war, and the soldier's friend in peace; Gen. U. S. Grant, the intrepid, brave, and successful commander of all the great armies; and Abraham Lincoln, whose name is worthy the place it holds beside that of George Washington. Our country is one, and I shake hands with this historic company in sincere congratulations.

Not only is the munificence of the gift to be commended, but the form of it is as wise, as the expenditure is generous. A meeting and trysting place for the veterans, and their sons after them, and a library for the education of the people. At first thought, there might seem to be some incongruity between a war memorial and a public library; but to us Americans, these belong together. Our war was the result of intelligence, the schoolhouse was the recruiting station, and the newspaper and the book went before the soldier in preparing the way for freedom.

I notice that you have but few books on the shelves.

I have not yet seen a catalogue. Allow me to suggest that the tablets, which we dedicate to-day, forever bear the place of Number One in the library, for they make an open book, which no one can shut, and they tell a story of patriotic selfsacrifice, that no elaborate volume can ever surpass. Let each boy and girl of historic old Acton become familiar with these pages, between which they pass into the beautiful

rooms.

We stand on historic ground, and it may be well, my comrades, that we should remember, and for you, my friends, to remember, that the stars and stripes stand for more than national unity or political liberty. They represent intelligent citizenship. They have been recently unfurled from the schoolhouses, and they say in plainest language to all comers, "When you touch the schoolhouse, you endanger the flag."

The men who preserved the Union, won a victory for the public school and the public library. They joined citizenship and intelligence in a marriage bond that is not to be broken. "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

Mr. President, allow me again to thank you for the honor, stranger though I be, of having an humble part in this delightful and profitable celebration.

Benediction.

REV. MR. HEATH.

Dedication of Tablets.

The dedication of the Memorial Tablets in honor of those from Acton who died in the service of their country, and of those who at any time served in the army or navy during the civil war.

These Tablets on the right and left of the arched vestibule of the Memorial Library building were the gift of Hon. William A. Wilde, of Malden, Mass.

The Isaac Davis Post of the Grand Army, the invited guests of the day-seventy-five in number- after a bountiful collation at the church vestry, formed in line, with Delette H. Hall, commander, and the Isaac Davis drum corps, in full rank, furnishing the music, marched to the Town Hall.

This hall, used as the reception room, had been carefully decorated, and presented a thrilling scene when filled with the honored guests from far and near, and the many sons and daughters of Acton who had gathered, some of them after long absence, to drop a tear over their first love, and share in the felicities of their birth town.

Dr. Isaiah Hutchins, the chief marshal, promptly formed the line, headed by His Excellency J. Q. A. Brackett, and the other invited guests, the authorities of the town, the trustees, and with the Grand Army Post as escort, marched down the common, and returning to the library building, arranged for the service of dedication.

The Post stood in half hollow square, the Women's Relief Corps forming the other wing. The guests gathered around in the rear on all sides. The governor and the donor, Mr. Wilde, stood at the head in front.

The president of the day, F. C. Nash, Esq., in a few fitting words, addressing the commander of the Post, said, "I have been authorized, at the hands of accredited representatives, to surrender these Memorial Tablets to the Post, and to request that they may