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An Address at the Opening of the Town Hall, in Brookline
An Address at the Opening of the Town Hall in Brookline Author:John Pierce Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ADDRESS Friends And Townsmen, I stand before you, at the request of our Selectmen, to utter such thoughts, as may be obviously suggested, at the first public ... more »meeting of all ages and denominations among us, in this new, commodious, and beautiful Town Hall. You will not expect from me an oration; for then a person would have been selected with more appropriate qualifications. You ask not for a sermon; for I have already delivered and published three Historical Discourses relating to this little Town.f Besides, should my life be spared, and my ministry prolonged, for one more short year and a half, it is my favorite purpose and hope to prepare a Jubilee Discourse, more immediately relating to my own people and parochial affairs; and then to gather up the historical fragments, which remain, in relation to this Town, that nothing be lost.J Wholly foreign is it to my purpose to deal in figures of speech, which have peculiar charms, especially for youthful minds. As, however, it is universally expected of me, on the present occasion, to give a historical sketch of our Town, there is one figure, with which I cannot dispense, and which, I fear, will be employed to satiety. You have anticipated me to mean textit{egotism. This Town has been incorporated $ within a few weeks of one hundred and forty years; and I preached my first sermon here, on the second day of this present month. So that, for Appendix i. t Appendix ii. t The author was or'dairtettitbe fifth-minister oMhe irst Parish, in Erookline 15 March, 1797. ' T , ยง Incorporated, 13 November, O. S., 1705. more than one third of this period, and for more than two thirds of my life, I have lived, and moved, and had my being here. My time has passed so pleasantly, would to God, I could add so profitably,...« less