Seemingly there is something of elasticity in this moral courage which leaps over obstacles before which mere physical courage would halt. Under the warmth of this spirit, with the strength of Patrick Henry, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson behind it, the opposition slowly melted away, until, on July 4, 1776, the entire body declared for the Declaration. The representatives of the thirteen colonies had assembled in the old State House at Philadelphia. An anxious throng, from far and near, had gathered about the rough brick walls, for within was being discussed the momentous question of their liberties. Of a sudden, the ponderous bell overhead awoke and sent its pealing echoes from river to river, and at the same instant, as from one voice, a wild, excited cheer burst forth from the crowd below, to be taken up in every city in the land. Thus, in one of the darkest hours of their history, the colonies had declared themselves independent of a nation which had considered them all but conquered. Now, when we celebrate the one-hundred-and-twenty-sixth anniversary of our country’s birth, let us remember and honor those who made it possible. There is still, and will ever be, a call for the same moral courage which, in the face of such overpowering obstacles, built our nation. Not only on the Fourth of July, but during every day of the year, let us keep their example before us. EVENT AND COMMENT Seventeen-Year “Locust” An occurrence sufficiently rare to awaken interest, which has taken place during the past month, is the arrival of the seventeen-year cicada, commonly, though improperly, termed locust. These insects, which since the year 1885 have spent their entire lives in the ground, have, during the past six weeks, appeared in great numbers in various localities throughout the country. In any of these areas, if we observe the ground closely, we will see it dotted here and there with small holes. Through these the cicadas, after living underground for seventeen years, have now made their way to the surface. Here, with the shedding of the old shell, they take on a pair of wings, and after a short but noisy life of perhaps six weeks, they die. But in the meantime they have laid the eggs which insure a future brood of cicadas. The recording of the periodical visits of this insect dates as far back as 1633, when, it is stated, that a swarm was observed by the Puritans at the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. For many years our knowledge of the cicada, because of its underground habits, has been extremely limited, but at a comparatively recent date the Biological Survey at Washington has made a series of careful investigations, resulting in a very full history of the life and habits of this curious insect. * * * * *