After great exertions on the part of the Chief Marshal and his assistants, the streets were so far cleared of the multitude of people and vehicles, that the procession was put in motion. Moving down Main street, it countermarched at the Salem line, near the Great Tree, and on its return passed through Holten street, at the junction of which with Aborn street, it passed under a noble triumphal arch. Passing Aborn street into Washington street, it went through another beautiful arch, thrown over the latter street near the residence of David Elwell, Esq., and continued to the Monument, which was tastefully dressed with flags, and then passing up Main street, turned into Central street, marching the whole length of it, and countermarching, reached the Old South Church about noon. The School procession here turned up Lowell street, under direction of their marshals, and proceeded to a large tent provided for their accommodation. The remainder of the procession entered the Church, where the address was to be delivered. The Church. being filled and the assembly quieted, the exercises took place in the following order, viz. : 1. VOLUNTARY on the Organ. 2. INVOCATION, by Rev. James W. Putnam. 4. READING THE SCRIPTURES, by Rev. James Fletcher. FATHER! to Thee we raise We sing thy blessings sown, Where once the Indian trod, Its altar rears : We at its shrine appear, Whose Fathers worshipped here, In faith and holy fear, These Hundred Years. Upon this native soil Our fathers erst did toil We love their pleasant vales, We love our verdant hills, We love the blood that runs How many a stricken heart In his cold arms have slept The friends our hearts have kept, Oh, God! we know how brief Compared with Thy FOREVER! -A Hundred Years. Our Father! may thine hand 7. ADDRESS, by John W. Proctor. 9. POEM, by Andrew Nichols. 10. PSALM, selected from a collection in use 100 years ago, "Faith fully translated into English Metre; For the Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints in Publick and Private, especially in New England." PSALM LXVII. To the Musician, Neginoth. A Psalm or Song. OD gracious be to us, and give G His blessing us unto; Let him upon us make to shine His countenance also. Selah. 2 That there may be the knowledge of Thy way the earth upon : And also of thy saving health In every nation. 3 O God let thee the people praise, Let people all praise thee; 4 O let the nations rejoyce, For judgment thou with righteousness The nations that are on the earth, 5 O God, let thee the people praise, 6 Her fruit abundant by the earth 7 God ev'n our own God shall us bless, And of the earth the utmost coasts 11. PRAYER, by Rev. F. A. Willard. 13. BENEDICTION. The extreme and oppressive heat of the weather and the lateness of the hour, (nearly 3 o'clock,) rendered it expedient, in the opinion of the Committee of Arrangements, to omit a part of the Address, which had already occupied about an hour and three quarters. The Poem of Dr. Nichols was also omitted. This was a subject of general regret, and the inhabitants subsequently, at a full town meeting, unanimously and with much enthusiasm requested Dr. Nichols to read his poem publicly, at some convenient time. To this request he kindly acceded, and the poem was accordingly delivered by him, at the Universalist Church in the South Parish, to a large and highly interested audience. The vocal music at the Church was of a very high order, being performed by a large and efficient choir of nearly two hundred voices, under the direction of Mr. Benj. Lang. After the conclusion of the exercises at the Church, the procession of ticket holders to the Dinner was formed, and proceeded to a large canvas pavilion, which was erected on the Crowninshield estate, in a fine airy position, near Buxton's Hill. This spot was kindly tendered to the use of the Committee by Hon. F. B. Crowninshield. EXERCISES AT THE TABLE. The procession, which had entered the pavilion under escort of the Military and Firemen, soon occupied the tables, which had been spread for 1200 persons. After the guests had taken their places, the fact was formally announced by the Chief Marshal to the President of the day, Rev. MILTON P. BRAMAN. The President then called upon the Chaplain, Rev. Israel W. Putnam, of Middleborough, a native citizen of Danvers, who invoked a blessing. The feast of good things on the table having ended, the intellectual repast was commenced by the PRESIDENT, whose introductory remarks * The speeches at the table are not given in the precise order in which they were delivered, and in some instances remarks, intended to be made, have been furnished at the request of the Committee, by guests who were prevented from speaking by want of time. were exceedingly brilliant and happy, and were received with great enthusiasm. To be fully appreciated they should have been heard. After calling the assembly to order, Mr. BRAMAN said : The inhabitants of Danvers have, for a considerable period, looked forward to this day with pleasant anticipations; and as the time approached and they became more engaged in preparation for the event, it acquired in their view a more absorbing interest. It is the first Centennial which Danvers has witnessed; it is the last which the present inhabitants will be permitted to enjoy. They have not spared pains to contribute to the interest of the occasion. They are anxious that it should gratify all whose hearts beat with emotions of regard for their native town, and all who have been pleased to assemble from other places to unite with them in the entertainments of the day. They hope that it will be long remembered by those in younger life with pleasure and benefit; and that those who are now children and youth, when they shall become old, shall revert to it as one of the bright spots of their early years. Allow me to congratulate the assembly, on this beautiful and brilliant June day, on the interesting exhibition which has been witnessed; on the instructive performance to which we have listened in the house of worship. Permit me to extend a cordial greeting to numerous strangers who have honored us with their presence, and to thank those distinguished visiters who have so kindly responded to our invitations, and from whom we expect such rich additions to the pleasures and advantages of the celebration. When men high in office and eminent for talent are willing to turn aside from public and important engagements to afford their presence and speak words of wisdom and sympathy on such occasions, they are not acting inappropriately to their distinguished position in the community. It is one of the ways in which they may very much promote the public, patriotic and useful ends for which talent and station are conferred upon them. The importance of such celebrations can hardly be overrated. They tend to supply materials for the general history of the country. The history of a nation is the collected result of the account of its several component parts; and the more minute and graphic the delineation of the incidents which compose them, the wider basis they afford for general history, and the more freshness, spirit and fidelity do they breathe into its pages. What is it that gives Macaulay's history so much of its wonderful fascination and value? It is not merely the brilliant and glowing style with which he clothes his ideas, but the industry with which he has explored ancient and local records, and transferred their smallest details to his own narrative; the manner in which he has caught the spirit of the times on which he writes, and reflected their very "form and pressure." He has reproduced the past by the clearest illustrations, and caused its characters and transactions to pass before us as in dramatic representation. He is greatly indebted to such records as correspond with those productions which owe their origin to our centennial occasions. So are all good historians. Many years ago, the library of a celebrated German Professor was procured for Harvard University. He had been employed on a history of the United States, which was left unfinished at his death. With German industry he had made a large collection of American authorities to assist him in his work. I have seen in that library centennial discourses of some of the most inconsiderable towns of New England ; discourses in the form of old sermons, smoked and dried, as if the better to preserve the facts which they contained. It has been the fault of general histories that they have been too general. They have been too formal, stately, grave. They have not descended enough among facts of less notoriety and magnitude. They have not gone down into the depths of private life, and "caught the manners living as they rise." They have therefore been less faithful representations of past ages, and much less extensively read. We want occasions that shall give birth to such performances as those to which I have alluded. They turn the attention of municipalities to their own history. They seize facts that are passing into oblivion. They transcribe recollections of those aged persons whose memories will soon cease to retain their impressions. The history of New England has been greatly enriched by these commemorations. They realize a grand idea of Political Economy-the subdivision of labor. Towns, districts, and individuals are employed in collecting materials. It requires time, industry and .esearch to prepare historical notices of quite limited subjects. To recover ancient dates, to obtain an exact statement of facts long since transpired, to gather up from various sources the detached and scattered items that belong to any one topic, is a work of plodding toil. I recently asked Mr. Savage whether he had completed his preparation of a new edition of Farmer's Genealogy, a work of three or four hundred pages, which I knew he had been engaged some time in revising. "Oh no," he replied, "it is only seven years since I began." 66 History," it has been said, "is philosophy teaching by example." Our history is much more than that. It is Christianity teaching by example. It is the theory of the Rights of Conscience teaching by example. It is high-souled Patriotism teaching by example. It is the idea of Social Advancement teaching by example. It is the spirit of Republican Liberty and Equality teaching by example. It is the theory of an approaching day of Millennial Happiness and Glory for the race teaching by example. With the exception of the history of revealed religion and the introduction of Christianity, ours is the most important and encouraging that ever unrolled its pages to the eyes of oppressed and suffering humanity. It holds out the light of hope to every other nation under heaven; it is to the political world what a sun rising in the West would be to the natural world, before which the light of the present sun should grow dim, and whose broad disk should fill the concave of the heavens. The history of this town has its importance and interest as a portion of that of New England. It is connected with the earlier history of Massachusetts, and with that great struggle by which our Independence was achieved. We believe that the inhabitants have not lost those traits which distinguished their ancestry; that some of the old Puritan love of religion and religious liberty lingers here; that the same patriotic blood flows in their veins which was poured out so freely in the |