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CXXIV.-MILITARY QUALIFICATIONS DISTINCT FROM CIVIL. It has been maintained that the genius which constitutes a great military man is a very high quality, and may be equally useful in the cabinet and in the field; that it has a sort of universality equally applicable to all affairs. We have seen, undoubtedly, instances of a rare and wonderful combination of civil and military qualifications, both of the highest order. That the greatest civil qualifications may be found united with the highest military talents is what no one will deny who thinks of Washington. But that such a combination is rare and extraordinary, the fame of Washington sufficiently attests. If it were common, why was he so illustrious?

I would ask, what did Cromwell, with all his military genius, do for England? He overthrew the monarchy, and he established dictatorial power in his own person. And what happened next? Another soldier overthrew the dictatorship and restored the monarchy. The sword effected both. Cromwell made one revolution, and Monk another. And what did the people of England gain by it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing! The rights and liberties of Englishmen, as they now exist, were settled and established at the Revolution in 1688. Now, mark the difference! By whom was that Revolution begun and conducted? Was it by soldiers? by military genius? by the sword? No! It was the work of statesmen and of eminent lawyers, - -men never distinguished for military exploits. The faculty-the dormant faculty-may have existed. That is what no one can affirm or deny. But it would have been thought an absurd and extravagant thing to propose, in reliance upon this possible dormant faculty, that one of those eminent statesmen and lawyers should be sent, instead of the Duke of Marlborough, to command the English forces on the Continent!

Who achieved the freedom and the independence of this

our own country? Washington effected much in the field; but where were the Franklins, the Adamses, the Hancocks, the Jeffersons, and the Lees,-the band of sages and patriots whose memory we revere? They were assembled in council. The heart of the Revolution beat in the hall of Congress. There was the power which, beginning with appeals to the king and to the British nation, at length made an irresistible appeal to the world, and consummated the Revolution by the Declaration of Independence, which Washington established with their authority, and, bearing their commission, supported by arms. And what has this

band of patriots, of sages, and of statesmen, given to us ? Not what Cæsar gave to Rome; not what Cromwell gave to England, or Napoleon to France: they established for us the great principles of civil, political, and religious liberty upon the strong foundations on which they have hitherto stood. There may have been military capacity in Congress; but can any one deny that it is to the wisdom of sages, Washington being one, we are indebted for the signal blessings we enjoy? -John Sergeant.

DRAMATIC AND RHETORICAL.

CXXV.-THE BAYONET CHARGE.

NOT a sound, not a breath!

And as still as death,

As we stand on the steep in our bayonets' shine;
All is tumult below,

Surging friend, surging foe,

But not a hair's breadth moves our adamant line,
Waiting so grimly.

The battle smoke lifts

From the valley, and drifts

Round the hill where we stand, like a pall for the world; And a gleam now and then

Shows the billows of men,

In whose black, boiling surge we are soon to be hurled, Redly and dimly.

There's the word! "Ready all!"

See the serried points fall,

The grim horizontal so bright and so bare;

Then the other word-Ha!

We are moving.

Huzza!

We snuff the burnt powder, we plunge in the glare,

Rushing to glory!

Down the hill, up the glen,

O'er the bodies of men;

Then on with a cheer to the roaring redoubt!

(324)

Why stumble so, Ned?

No answer; he's dead!

And there's Dutch Peter down, with his life leaping out, Crimson and gory.

On! on! Do not think

Of the falling; but drink

Of the mad, living cataract torrent of war!

On! on! let them feel

The cold vengeance of steel!

Catch the captain-he's hit! 'Tis a scratch, nothing more! Forward forever!

Huzza! Here's a trench;

In and out of it! Wrench

From the jaws of the cannon the guerdon of Fame!
Charge! charge! with a yell

Like the shriek of a shell!

O'er the abatis, on through the curtain of flame!
Back again! Never!

The rampart! 'Tis crossed,

It is ours! It is lost!

No; another dash now and the glacis is won!
Huzza! What a dust!

Hew them down. Cut and thrust!

A tiger, brave lads! for the red work is done:
Victory! Victory!

-Nathan D. Urner.

CXXVI. TOM.

YES, Tom's the best fellow that ever you knew. Just listen to this:

When the old mill took fire, and the flooring fell through,

And I with it, helpless, there, full in my view,

What do you think my eyes saw through the fire,
That crept along, crept along, nigher and nigher,
But Robin, my baby boy, laughing to see

The shining? He must have come there after me,

Toddled alone from the cottage, without

Any one's missing him. Then with a shout—
Oh, how I shouted-" For Heaven's sake, men,
Save little Robin!" Again and again

They tried, but the fire held them back like a wall.

I could hear them go at it, and at it, and call:
"Never mind, baby, sit still like a man,

We're coming to get you as fast as we can."
They could not see him, but I could; he sat
Still on a beam, his little straw hat
Carefully placed by his side; and his eyes
Staring at the flames with a baby's surprise,
Calm and unconscious as nearer it crept.
The roar of the fire above must have kept

The sound of his mother's voice, shrieking his name,
From reaching the child. But I heard it. It came
Again and again-O God!-what a cry!

The axes went faster and faster; I saw the sparks fly
Where the men worked like tigers, nor minded the heat
That scorched them-when, suddenly, there at their feet
The great beams leaned in—they saw him-then crash,
Down came the wall. The men made a dash-
Jumped to get out of the way-and I thought,
"All's up with poor little Robin," and brought
Slowly the arm that was least hurt to hide
The sight of the child there, when swift at my side
Some one went by, and went right through the flame,
Straight as a dart-caught the child-and then came
Back with him, choking and crying, but saved!
Saved safe and sound! Oh! how the men raved,
Shouted, and cried, and hurrahed! Then they all
Rushed at the work again, lest the back wall,
Where I was lying away from the fire,
Should fall in and bury me. Oh! you'd admire
To see Robin now, he's as bright as a dime,
Deep in some mischief, too, most of the time;
Tom it was saved him. Now isn't it true
Tom's the best fellow that ever you knew?
There's Robin now-see, he's strong as a log-
And there comes Tom, too-yes, Tom is our dog.

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