But, while merited honor is paid to the sages and heroes of the Revolution, and to the Pilgrim Fathers of an earlier age, let not the hand of Providence be overlooked or disregarded. On this point, the Puritans have left a noble example to their posterity. The supplication of the smiles and blessings of a superintending Providence preceded and accompanied all their plans and all their enterprises. "God was their king; and they regarded him as truly and literally so, as if he had dwelt in a visible palace in the midst of their state. They were his devoted, resolute, humble subjects; they undertook nothing which they did not beg of him to prosper; they accomplished nothing without rendering to him the praise; they suffered nothing without carrying up their sorrows to his throne; they ate nothing which they did not implore him to bless." Nor were the actors in the Revolutionary struggle insensible to the necessity of the Divine blessing upon their counsels and efforts. Washington, as well at the head of his army as in the retirement of his closet, or amid some secluded spot in the field, looked up for the blessing of the God of battles. That also was a beautiful recognition of a superintending Providence, which Franklin made in the Convention, which, subsequent to the Revolution, framed the Constitution. "I have lived, sir, a long time," said he; "and the longer I live, the more convincing proof I see of this truth, that _God governs in the affairs of men_. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?" Let it be remembered by the American people--by men who fill her councils--by historians who write her history--by the young, who are coming up to the possession of the rich inheritance, that whatever human agencies were employed in the discovery, settlement, independence, and prosperity of these states, the "good hand of God has been over and around us," and has given to us this goodly land, with its religious institutions--its free government--its unwonted prosperity. Let not the historian, who writes--especially if he writes for the _young_--be thought to travel out of his appropriate sphere, in an effort to imbue the rising generation with somewhat of the religious spirit of the fathers--to lead them to recognise the Divine government, in respect to nations as well as individuals--to impress upon them that sentiment of the "Father of his country," as just as impressive, viz: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."