And I was no saint. And if my sou, I lost all measure of good or ill, Whose gift was it pray? Oh, many a day Well, as I was saying, Domenico Was wont of my skill to make such light, Hot From a war of words, I heeded not -A double robbery! and I swear Just open that cabinet there, and see A calm that was dead as dead could be Back swam my senses: a sickening pain The men who had borne him homeward spoke Had taken the innocent artist's life Wherefore, 'twere hard to say: all men Were prone to have troubles now and then The world knew naught of. Toward his friend Florence stood waiting to extend Tenderest dole." Then came my tears, FROM INDIA.-W. C. BENNETT. "Oh! come you from the Indies, and soldier, can you tell Aught of the gallant 90th, and who are safe and well? O soldier say my son is safe--for nothing else I care, And you shall have a mother's thanks-shall have a widow's prayer." 'Oh, I've come from the Indies-I've just come from the war; And well I know the 90th, and gallant lads they are; From colonel down to rank and file, I know my comrades well, And news I've brought for you, mother, your Robert bade me tell!" “And do you know my Robert, now? Oh tell me, tell mø true! O soldier, tell me word for word all that he said to you! "Through Havelock's fights and marches the 90th were there; In all the gallant 90th did, your Robert did his share; Twice he went into Lucknow, untouched by steel or ball, And you may bless your God, old dame, that brought hin. safe through all." "Oh! thanks unto the living God that heard his mother's prayer, The widow's cry that rose on high her only son to spare! Oh bless'd be God, that turned from him the sword and shot away! And what to his old mother did my darling bid you say?" "Mother, he saved hic colonel's life, and bravely it was done; In the despatch they told it all, and named and praised your son; A medal and a pension's his; good luck to him, I say, Now, soldier, blessings on your tongue. O husband, that you knew How well our boy pays me this day for all that I've gone through, All I have done and borne for him the long years since you're dead! But, soldier, tell me how he looked, and all my Robert said." "He's bronzed and tanned, and bearded, and you'd hardly know him, dame, We've made your boy into a man, but still his heart's the same; For often, dame, his talk's of you, and always to one tune, But there, his ship is nearly home, and he'll be with you soon.' Oh! is he really coming home, and shall I really see My boy again, my own boy, home? and when, when will it be? Did you say soon?"-" Well, he is home; keep cool, old dame; he's here." O Robert, my own blessed boy!"-"O mother-mother dear!" THE HARP OF A THOUSAND STRINGS. I may say to you, my breethering, that I am not an edeca ted man, an' I am not one o' them as bleeves that edecation is necessary fur a Gospel minister, fur I bleeve the Lord edecates his preachers jest as he wants 'em to be edecated, an', although I say it that oughtn't to say it, yet in he State of Indianny, whar I live, thar's no man as gits a bigger congregation nor what I gits. Thar may be some here to-day, my breethering, as don't know what persuasion I am uv. Well, I may say to you, my breethering, that I'm a Hardshell Baptist. Thar's some folks as don't like the Hardshell Baptists, but I'd ruther hev a hard shell as no shell at all. You see me here to-day, my breethering, drest up in fine close; you mout think I was proud, but I am not proud, my breethering, and although I've been a preacher uv the Gospel for twenty years, an' although I'm capting of that flat boat that lies at yure landing, I'm not proud, my breethering. I'm not a gwine ter tell you edzackly whar my tex may be found; suffice it to say it's in the leds of the Bible, an' you'll find it somewhar 'tween the first chapter of the book of Generation and the last chapter of the book of Revolutions, and ef you'll go and sarch the Scriptures, as I have sarched the Scriptures, you'll not only find my tex, thar, but a great many ather texes as will do you good to read, an' my tex, when you shill find it, you shill find it to read thus: "And he played on a harp uv a thousand strings-sperits of just men made perfeck." My tex, breethering, leads me to speak uv sperits. Now thar's a great many kinds of sperits in the world-in the fust place, thar's the sperits as some folks call ghosts, then thar's the sperits uv terpentime, and then thar's the sperits as some folks call liquor, an' I'v got as good an artikel of them kind uv sperits on my flat-boat as ever was fotched down the Mississippi River, but thar's a great many other kind of sperits, for the tex sez: "He played on a harp uv a thou-sand strings-sperits of just men made perfeck." But I'll tell you the kind uv sperits as is ment in the tex, it's fire. That is the kind of sperits as is ment in the tex, my breethering. Now thar's a great many kinds of fire in the world. In the fust place, thar's the common sort uv fire you lite your segar or pipe with, and then thar's camfire, fire before you're reddy, and fall back, and many other kinds uv fire, for the tex sez: He played on a harp uv a thou-sand strings--sperits uv just men made perfeck." But I'll tell you the kind uv fire as is ment in the tex, my breethering-it's hell fire! an' that's the kind uv fire as great many uv you'll come to, ef you don't do better nor what you have been doin'-for "He played on a harp of a thousand strings-sperits uv just men made perfeck." Now the different sorts uv fire in the world may be lik ened unto the different persuasions of Christians in the world. In the fust place we have the Piscapalions; and they are a high sailin' and a high-falutin set, and they may be likened unto a turkey buzzard that flies up into the air, and he goes up and up till he looks no bigger than your finger nail, and the fust thing you know, he cums down and down, and is a fillin' himself on the karkiss of a dead hoss by the side of the road-and "He played on a harp of a thou-sand strings-sperits of just men made perfeck." And then thar's the Methedis, and they may be likened unto the squirrel, runnin' up into a tree, for the Methedist beleves in gwine on from one degree of grace to another, and finally on to perfeckshun, and the squirrel goes up and up, and up and up,and he jumps from lim' to lim,' and branch to branch, and the fust thing you know he falls, and down he comes kerflummux, and that's like the Methedis, for they is allers fallin' from grace, ah! And-"He played on a harp of a thou-sand strings-sperits of just men made perfeck." And then, my breethering, thar's the Baptist, ah-and they hev bin likened unto a possum on a 'simmon tree, and the thunders may roll, and the earth may quake, but that possum clings there still, ah—and you may shake one foot loose, and the other's thar, and you may shake all feet loose, and he laps his tail around the lim', and he clings fur ever, for-" He played on a harp uv a thou-sand stringssperits of just men made perfeck." ONCE MORE.-O. W. HOLMES. CLASS OF '29. Condiscipulis, Coetaneis, Harvardianis, Amicis. "Will I come?" That is pleasant! I beg to inquire You see me as always, my hand on the lock, -"Is it loaded?" I'll bet you! what doesn't it hold? One charge is a remnant of College-day dreams As the trigger was pulled by each clever young man! And Love! bless my stars, what a cartridge is there! --Were there ever such sweethearts? Of course there were not! |