h them the Declaration of Independence was a great,
and ever-present reality; with us it is only a glorious abstract idea.
We are in the midst of the fruition of their faith and earnest
aspirations; and, surrounded by the noon-tide radiance of the blessings
which have resulted from that act, we can not appreciate the glory of
the morning star of our destiny as a nation. Let us henceforth aim to be
less superficial in our views of the National Anniversary. Let orators
cease grandiloquent displays of bombastic rhetoric, "full of sound and
fury, signifying nothing," and discourse with the sober earnestness of
true philosophy upon the antecedents--the remote springs--of that event,
every where visible in the history of the world; and by expatiating upon
the _principles_ set forth in our manifesto, and their salutary effect
upon the well-being of mankind, give practical force to their vitality.
Huzzas are not arguments for thinking men; and now, when thought is
every where busy in the formation of omnipotent opinion, the American
should cast off the garb of national pride, and with the cosmopolitan
spirit of a true missionary of Freedom, point to the eternal bond of
UNION which binds our sovereign States together, and explain the
character of its strength and vigor. Placed by the side of the
PRINCIPLES involved in our struggle for Independence, the men and their
councils, battles, sieges, and victories, wane into comparative
insignificance. They are but the nerves and muscles, the sinews and the
blood of the being we apotheosize--the mere aids of the mighty brain,
the seat of the controlling spirit of the whole. Let us always revere
those essential aids, and cherish them in our heart of hearts, but
_worship_ only the puissant SPIRIT on our NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY.

[Illustration: THE LIFE-CAR.]

SOME ACCOUNT OF FRANCIS'S LIFE-BOATS AND LIFE-CARS.

BY JACOB ABBOTT.

The engraving at the head of this article represents the operation of
transporting the officers and crew of a wrecked vessel to the shore, by
means of one of the Life-Cars invented by Mr. Joseph Francis for this
purpose. A considerable appropriation was made recently by Congress, to
establish stations along the coast of New Jersey and Long Island--as
well as on other parts of the Atlantic seaboard--at which all the
apparatus necessary for the service of these cars, and of boats, in
cases where boats can be used, may be kept. These stations are
maintained