The cornerstone was laid by President Washington，September 18，1793.The wings of the central part were completed in 1811，and were burned by the British in 1814.The entire central part was finished in 1827.The present large wings were begun in 1851，and the great iron dome was completed in 1865.
The building faces east.The north wing contains the senate chamber，the south wing that of the house of representatives.The supreme court meets in the old senate chamber，in one of the original wings.At the main entrances are magnificent bronze doors，and the halls and corridors are rich with statuary and historical paintings.
mothers，of our brothers and sisters.And he is a poor ingrate who does not dearly love his home.
3.What We Mean by a Patriot.A patriot is one who loves his fatherlandhis country.People show patriotism in various ways.In time of war，when the national safety is menaced by a public enemy，men are ready to enter the army and to give their lives，if need be，in defense of their country.A true patriot，too，is pleased by everything which reflects credit on his homeland.He is anxious that its public affairs shall be stained with no meanness or dishonor.He is anxious that its government shall always be just and generous in dealing withthe governments of other nations.He does not wish an advantage secured from any other nation，especially from a weaker one，by wanton violence or by fraud.He is delighted with every advance of his country in the arts of civilization，and pained at the triumph of evil men or of vicious measures.And he is always ready to do what he can to make his country better or stronger or safer.
4.What a Patriot is Not.We have seen
some of the reasons which an American has for being proud of his country.But in order to be a patriot it is not at all necessary to be a boaster.Indeed，a true patriot is sosure of the solid merit of his country that he does not need to say muchabout it.If a man is in the habit oftalking about his own honesty，it leads others to suspect that perhaps after all he is trying to cover up a streak of dishonesty.At any rate，bragging is a weak and foolish habit.And bragging of one’s countr y is quite as foolish as it is for a boy to boast of his father‘s wealth or of his sister’s beauty.
5.Neither is it a sign of patriotism
MONUMENT OF NATHAN HALE
C a p t a i n N a t h a n H a l e ，o f t h e revolutionary army，was a young graduate of Yale College，who went into the service soon after the battle of Lexington.Having entered the British lines in New York to get information for General Washington，he was detected，and was hanged as a spy，September 22，1776.His last words were，“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”
to despise other countries.We may love our own the best，but one who does not know that other countries also are great and powerful and famous，is merely very ignorant.If we respect other nations for their good qualities，we are all the better fitted to understand and admire the like qualities in our own.
6.Sneering at other races is no sign of patriotism.Boys and girlssometimes are apt to think themselves better than one of their mateswho was born in a foreign land，and to show their superiority by using for him some sort of foolish nickname.But this is very silly.Is he a German？The Germans have some of the greatest names and have done some of the greatest deeds in all history.Is he an Italian？Italy is a beautiful land，famous for some of the finest painters and musicians，and for some of the wisest statesmen and the bravest soldiers of any land.Is he a Jew？They are a wonderful people，and a list of the great men who are Jews would be a very long one.Indeed，one may well be glad and proud to belong to any of these races，or of many others which might be mentioned.
The True Patriotism
An English poet‘s idea of what patriotism meansWILLIAM WATSONTHE ever lustrous name of patriot
To no man may be denied because he saw Where in his country’s wholeness lay the flaw，Where，on her whiteness，the unseemly blot.England！thy loyal sons condemn thee.What ！
Shall we be meek who from thine own breasts drewOur fierceness？Not ev‘n thou shalt overaweUs thy proud children nowise basely got.
Be this the measure of our loyalty
To feel thee noble，and weep thy lapse the more.This truth by thy true servants is confess’dThy sins，who love thee most，do most deplore.Know thou thy faithful！Best they honor thee Who honor in thee only what is best.
7.What a Patriot Should Know.It is not enough for a patriot to think that his country is a very good and comfortable land.No opinion is worth much unless it comes from actual knowledge.It is a verycommonly observed fact that the more ignorant people are，the more they are stuffed with prejudices.But prejudice is merely a strong opinion which is formed with a very scanty basis of knowledge.Now，in fact，no opinion is worth much，as we said，unless it belongs to one who knows what he is talking about.A jeweler who has spent all his life in a city，probably would not know much about farming.If，then，he should go into the country and begin giving a farmer advice about the management of his crops，the farmer would laugh at him.The jeweler‘s opinion about repairing a watch would doubtless be better than the farmer’s，but，on the other hand，the farmer would be apt to know more about planting corn.In other words，it is knowledge that gives an opinion its value.
8.Then，our opinions about our country are not worth very much unless we know something of its history.We ought to know how it is governed，how the laws are made，how they are enforced，what the courts are and how they do their work，what are the rights of a citizen and what are not his rights.We ought to know how our country came to be what it is，who are some ofthe great men it has produced，and what they have done.With some of this knowledge our opinions are much less likely to be mere prejudices.
