It is true that, in many respects, the Nation has not been unmindful of or ungenerous to its soldiers. No other country, in any age, has paid to its maimed defenders such pensions as our Government pays. In no other land are such Homes as this provided for the care and comfort of disabled veterans. Nearly two thousand men, torn by wounds, or enfeebled by disease, or broken by the infirmities of old age, are here sheltered, fed and clothed, and in the five Homes now established, fourteen thousand are thus cared for. But, after all, the mere necessaries of life do not make a home. The members of this institution have a right to expect something more than these. They have a right to know that they are not forgotten by the people who enjoy the fruits of their perils and their sacrifices. They have a right to feel that the citizens of the Republic kindly remember and gratefully appreciate their heroic services. This knowledge, this consciousness that they are not forgotten, will, I am sure, warm the cockles of their hearts, and make the bare walls of every barrack glow with the soft, sweet light that shines in the dearest, happiest homes in all the land—the light of peaceful content, and trusting, confident love. I am glad and proud to be the bearer of such a message of remembrance and gratitude to the members of this Home. It comes, too, from an old comrade—from one who carried a musket during the far-away days of the great war, and who shared, with you, the just pride of duties well performed. Time and fortune have dealt kindly with him. It is said that he is a rich man. I have not cared to verify this story by an examination of the commercial reports. But that he is a thoughtful and a generous man, the useful and costly present he makes to this Home is conclusive evidence. He has not forgotten the men who once touched elbows with him in the forming lines. The music of battle-bugles still rings in his heart, and he hears, in his dreams, the steady tramp of the marching columns and the hum of the camp when the evening fires were lighted. Thus remembering, and thus inspired with a true soldier’s sympathy, and a true man’s thoughtful generosity, he has brought to you a gift that will, for many years to come, relieve the suffering and brighten the daily life of hundreds of the sorely stricken members of this Home. In the name of all the officers and members of the Western Branch, I thank you, Colonel Scott, for your generous gift. No language at my command would, I am sure, fitly express their thankfulness and their gratitude. But the prayers and blessings of all the stricken men who enjoy your gift, will, I know, be for you and with you; and the consciousness of having brought into their lonely and broken lives some rays of joy and contentment, and given to these old and war-worn veterans the dear assurance of remembrance and appreciation, will be your rich reward. CONTENTS.