hou'rt a favored guest;' or,' _Seht ihr drei Rosse
vor dem Wagen_.'

Look back upon the vanished years,
When all men pointed at our shame;
Think on the curses and the jeers
Which rung and clung around our name:
A byword and a mocking call--
And we may thank the South for all.

The foulness of their Southern slime
Was cast upon our Northern hands;
The curse of murder, craft, and crime
Clung to our fame in foreign lands:
Men thought us prompt to thieve or brawl--
And we may thank the South for all.

Britannia smiles on DAVIS now,
And blesses all his bayonets;
There was a time when on _our_ brow
She set the shame of Southern debts:
_We_ wore the chain--we dragged the ball--
And we may thank the South for all.

Men spoke of slaves in bitter tone,
When pointing to the stripes and stars;
'The constellation is your own,
The negro gets the bloody scars,
And yet of equal rights you bawl!'
Well--we may thank the South for all.

They stole our starlight--made us blind,
As did of old the Norland elves:
Prometheus stole it--for mankind,
But they--they kept it for themselves,
And held us like their slaves in thrall--
And we--we thanked them for it all.

Thank GOD! the pact is rent in twain!
Thank GOD! the light is all our own!
We've burst the bonds and rent the chain,
And drawn the sword, unhelped, alone:
And, holding Freedom's carnival,
We'll thank the South for that and all.

The morning-red is on our brow,
The brand, the curse grows pale with night;
The sword is in our hands, and now
All gleams in glory's golden light:
We're _free_! Ye nations, hear the call--
We see! and now thank GOD for all!

A MERCHANT'S STORY.

'All of which I saw, and part of which I was.'

CHAPTER VII.

It was nine o'clock at night, when the stage halted before the door of
that purgatory for Southern pilgrims, the 'Washington House,' Newbern.
As we dismounted from the box, Preston said to me:

'You order supper and a room, while I attend to Phyllis and the chidren.
I'll join you presently.'

Seeing that our luggage was safely deposited on the piazza, I entered
the hotel in quest of the landlord. The 'office' was a long, low, dingy
apartment, with tobacco-stained floor, blackened ceiling, and greasy
brown walls, ornamented here and there with advertisements of run