nterest in American history, as especially
emphasized by the preservation of interesting memorials.

This Society, the successor of the Boston Antiquarian Society, with a
membership of between four and five hundred, is making itself felt in
various ways in thus making practical the belief that a "visible relic
of the past"--as Mr. Guild expressed it---"tends to emphasize and
strengthen an historic fact." He well illustrated this idea when he
further said (and who that listened did not thrill with true
patriotism?), "The walls that are about you are the self-same that
existed at the time of the Boston Massacre; the windows the self-same
openings--here, where the Declaration was read in 1776, and the
Proclamation of Peace, in 1783; there, where Washington, in 1789,
reviewed the procession in his honor. Within these very walls some of
the greatest events of American history have occurred and the greatest
and most notable men who figured in those events been gathered
together."

Without doubt, this Old State House is the most genuine relic of the
Revolution, now in existence. And the Society, in daily opening its
rooms, with their historical possessions, free of charge, is offering to
the public rare educational privileges which it should gratefully use
and appreciate.

* * * * *

While the Bostonian Society is doing its special work of preserving
historical objects and places from the hand of the ruthless destroyer,
the Webster Historical Society, organized in 1878, is doing a parallel
work in preserving for future generations the fame, work, and true
spirit of America's foremost statesman and constitutional law-giver,
Daniel Webster. Of course, such a work necessarily leads to a deep and
practical interest in everything pertaining to America's political and
national life to which the great man was so devoted. This Society, which
has its headquarters in another old landmark of Boston, the Old South
Meeting-House, has now a membership of twelve hundred, who are found in
all parts of the country. The customary annual address, on the
anniversary of Webster's birthday, January 18, is generally one of
marked interest; notably so was the one of January, 1884; which, as
afterwards published by the Society, was noticed by deep-thinkers, with
perhaps more genuine interest than any other modern pamphlet of its
size.[F] The address at the annual meeting of this year was given before
a large and int