In those days of multiplied and harassing labors Mr. Beecher did not lose his hope, his cheerfulness, nor even his mirthfulness. He had a refuge to which he constantly fled when the pressure became too heavy. He had also the power of seeing the humorous side of many common or even tragic events, and drawing from them laughter as well as tears. The flowers, too, and the clouds had their message for him. He kept the channels of his soul wide open on every side to receive, and became a fountain of perpetual inspiration to others. At this time, while the route through Baltimore was closed against our troops on their way to Washington, he preached to the “Brooklyn Fourteenth,” on the eve of their departure to the front, upon “Our National Flag.” After giving the history of our banner he more particularly addressed the soldiers before him: “And now God speaks by the voice of His providence, saying, ‘Lift again that banner! Advance it full and high!’ To your hands God and your country commit that imperishable trust. You go forth self-called, or rather called by the trust of your countrymen and by the Spirit of your God, to take that trailing banner out of the dust and out of the mire, and lift it again where God’s rains can cleanse it, and where God’s free air can cause it to unfold and stream as it has always floated before the wind. God bless the men that go forth to save from disgrace the American flag! “Accept it, then, in all its fulness of meaning. It is not a painted rag. It is a whole national history. It is the Constitution. It is the government. It is the free people that stand in the government on the Constitution. Forget not what it means; and, for the sake of its ideas rather than its mere emblazonry, be true to your country’s flag. By your hands lift it; but let your lifting it be no holiday display. It must be advanced ‘_because of the truth_.’