and of patriotism. Here its
base shall rest and its apex point to the heavens through the coming
centuries. Though it bears the names of humble men, and commemorates
services stern rather than brilliant, it shall be as immortal as
American history. The ground on which it stand shall be made classical
by the deeds which it commemorates. And may this monument exist only
with the existence of the republic; and when God in His wisdom shall
bring this government to nought, as all human governments must come to
nought, may no stone remain to point the inquirer to fields of valor or
to remind him of deeds of glory. And finally, may the republic
resemble the sun in his daily circuit, so that none shall know whether
its path were more glorious in the rising or in the setting.

XVII
SUDBURY MONUMENT

At the session of 1851 the Legislature made an appropriation of five
hundred dollars to aid the town of Sudbury in building a memorial to
Captain Wadsworth and the men of his command who were cut off at
Sudbury in the year 1676 in the war known as King Philip's War.

As Governor I was made a member of the committee for the erection of a
monument. The first subject was the style of the memorial. The
artists of Boston and vicinity sent designs and plans. Some of these
were very attractive. It happened, however, that a member of my
Council, the Hon. Isaac Davis, of Worcester, had returned recently from
a visit to Europe. He informed me that he had seen at Lucca in Italy,
a pyramidal structure which was considered the finest monument of its
sort to be found in Europe. I sent immediately for the proportions of
the pyramid and the Sudbury monument was modeled upon the same plan. I
am of the opinion that it fully justified the claim made in behalf of
the original.

A serious difficulty occurred in regard to the inscription upon the
Sudbury monument. The original slab was erected in the year 1692 by
Benjamin Wadsworth, a son of Captain Wadsworth. The son was then
President Wadsworth of Harvard College. The inscription stated that
the fight took place April 18, 1676. In later times it was discovered
that two old almanacs, one kept by Minister Hobart of Hingham and one
by Judge Sewall, contained entries of the fight _on the 21st of April,
1676._ I examined the question and became satisfied that those entries
were made on the day when the intelligence was received by the writers.
Accordingly I followed President Wadswort