acred
still, an earthly shadow of that Unseen Battle which has stormed through
time, between the hosts of Light and Darkness. They declare again, to
the nation, that old truth, without which the nation perishes and man
rots, that to die in some good cause is the noblest thing a man can do
on earth. They bid us bend in hope beneath the awful hand of the GOD OF
BATTLES, and do our appointed work patiently, bravely, loyally, till
_He_ brings the end. They tell us that not work only, but heroic
fighting, also, is a worship accepted at His seat. They bid us be
thankful, as for the most sacred of all gifts, that thousands, in this
loyal land of ours, have had the high grace, given from above,

'To search through all they felt and saw,
The springs of life, the depths of awe,
And reach _the law within the law_:

'To pass, when Life her light withdraws,
Not void of righteous self-applause,
Nor in a merely selfish cause--

'In some good cause, not in their own,
To perish, _wept for_, _honored_, _known_,
And like a warrior overthrown.'

PROVERBS.

Violets and lilies-of-the-valley are seen in a vale.

Family jars should be filled with honey.

All are not lambs that gambol on the green.

Ask the 'whys,' and be wise.

THE UNDIVINE COMEDY--A POLISH DRAMA.

Dedicated to Mary.

PART II.

'Du Gemisch von Koth und Feuer!'
'Thou compound of clay and fire!'

Why, O child! art thou not, like other children, riding gayly about on
sticks for horses, playing with toys, torturing flies, or impaling
butterflies on pins, that the brilliant circles of their dying pangs may
amuse thy young soul? Why dost thou never romp and sport upon the grassy
turf, pilfer sugarplums and sweetmeats, and wet the letters of thy
picture book from A to Z with sudden tears?

Infant king of flies, moths, and grasshoppers; of cowslips, daisies, and
of kingcups; of tops, hoops, and kites; little friend of Punch and
puppets; robber of birds' nests, and outlaw of petty mischiefs--son of
the poet, tell me, why art thou so unlike a child--so like an angel?

What strange meaning lies in the blue depths of thy dreamy eyes? Why do
they seek the ground as if weighed down by the shadows of their drooping
lashes; and why is their latent fire so gloomed by mournful memories,
although they have only watched the early violets of a few springs? Why
sinks thy broad head heavily down upon thy tiny hands, while thy pallid
temple