clared that to the Federal
Government belongs the 'entire regulation of the currency of the
country.' That power they have now exercised in the adoption of the
system recommended by the Secretary. Our whole currency, in coin as well
as paper, will soon, now, all be national, which is the most important
measure for the security and perpetuity of the Union, and the welfare of
the people, ever adopted by Congress. It is to Congress that the
Constitution grants the exclusive power 'to regulate commerce with
foreign nations and among the States;' and a sound, uniform currency, in
coin, or convertible on demand into coin, is one of the most essential
instrumentalities connected with trade and exchanges.

After these preliminary remarks, I shall proceed with the discussion of
the subject in my next letter.

R.J. WALKER.

VOICELESS SINGERS.

A bird is singing in the leaves
That quiver on yon linden tree;
So soft and clear the song he sings,
The roses listen dreamily.

The crimson buds in clusters cling;
The full, sweet roses blush with bloom;
And, white as ocean's swaying foam,
The lily trembles from the gloom.

I know not why that happy strain
That dies so softly on the air,
That perfect utterance of joy,
Has left a strange, dim sadness there.

Perchance the song, so silver-sweet,
The roses' regal blossoms shrine:
Perchance the bending lily droops,
And trembles, 'neath its thrill divine.

It may be that all beauteous things,
Though lacking music's perfect key,
Have with their inmost being twined
The hidden chords of melody.

So pine they all, to hear again
The song they know, but cannot sing;
The living utterance, full and clear,
Whose voiceless breathings round them cling.

Yet still those accents waken not;
The bird has left the linden tree;
A summer silence falls once more
Upon the listening rose and me.

A DETECTIVE'S STORY.

The following is a true story, by a late well-known member of the
Detective service, and, with, the exception of some names of persons and
places, is given precisely as he himself related it.

Late one Friday afternoon, in the latter part of November, 18--, I was
sent for by the chief of the New York Police, and was told there was a
case for me. It was a counterfeiting affair. Notes had been forged on a
Pennsylvania bank; two men had been apprehended, and were in custody.
The