Our first century: being a popular descriptive portraiture of the one hundred great and memorable events of perpetual interest in the history of our country, political, military, mechanical, social, scientific and commercial: embracing also delineations of all the great historic characters celebrated in the annals of the republic; men of heroism, statesmanship, genius, oratory, adventure and philanthropy . 33, the wholefirmament, ovev all the United States, hehigthen, for hours, in fierij commotion! No celestialphenomenon has ever occurred in this country, sinceits first settlement, which was
Our first century: being a popular descriptive portraiture of the one hundred great and memorable events of perpetual interest in the history of our country, political, military, mechanical, social, scientific and commercial: embracing also delineations of all the great historic characters celebrated in the annals of the republic; men of heroism, statesmanship, genius, oratory, adventure and philanthropy . 33, the wholefirmament, ovev all the United States, hehigthen, for hours, in fierij commotion! No celestialphenomenon has ever occurred in this country, sinceits first settlement, which was viewed with such in-tense admiration b^- one class in the community, orwith so much dread and alarm by another. It wasthe nil-engrossing theme of conversation and ofscientific disquisition, for weeks and months. In-deed, it could not be otherwise, than that such arare phenomenon,—next in grandeur and subliniit,yto that of a total solar eclipse, or a great cometstretched athwart the starry heavens, in full viewof a wonder-struck universe,—should awaken thedeepest interest among all beholding it. Nor is thememory of this marvelous scene yet extinct; itssublimity and awful boaitty still linger in many minds, who also remember well theterror with which the demonstration was regarded, and the mortal fear excited amongthe ignorant that the end of the world had come. During the three hours of its con-. METEoniC SHOWER AT BOSTOX. 330 OUR FIRST CENTURY.—1776-1876. timiance, tlie da_v of jiulgment was be-lieved to be only waiting for sunrise, and,long after the shower had ceased, themorliid and superstitious still were im-pressed with the idea that the final daywas at least onl^ a week ahead. Impromptumeetings for prayer were held in manyplaces, and man}- other scones of religiousdevotion, or terror, or ahandonnient ofworldlj- affairs, transpired, under the in-iluoiK-e of fear occasioned by so suddenand awful a display. Rut, though in many districts the massof the population were t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublishersprin, bookyear1876
