Each shall have his own thought; that is a
consecration of the rights of intelligence; and each shall have his own field, is a
consecration of the right to property that has been acquired by toil.
Reed had been dead nine years: it was in this chamber he breathed his last; here he lay in state; hence his coffin was borne by the undertaker's men; and, since that day, a sense of dreary
consecration had guarded it from frequent intrusion.
In return I can at least offer you an affection hitherto unwasted, and the faithful
consecration of a life which, however short in the sequel, has no backward pages whereon, if you choose to turn them, you will find records such as might justly cause you either bitterness or shame.
