for those away;
But still I'm helpless to decide
If I should go or stay.

For, Marty, all the soldiers love,
And all are loved again;
And I am loved, and love, perhaps,
No more than other men.
I cannot tell--I do not know--
Which way my duty lies,
Or where the Lord would have me build
My fire of sacrifice.

I feel--I know--I am not mean;
And though I seem to boast,
I'm sure that I would give my life
To those who need it most
Perhaps the Spirit will reveal
That which is fair and right;
So, Marty, let us humbly kneel
And pray to Heaven for light.

* * * * *

Peace in the clover-scented air,
And stars within the dome;
And underneath, in dim repose,
A plain, New-England home.
Within, a widow in her weeds,
From whom all joy is flown,
Who kneels among her sleeping babes,
And weeps and prays alone!

* * * * *

OUR RECENT FOREIGN RELATIONS.

The founders of the American Republic were wise alike in their grasp of
temporary difficulties and in the forethought they bestowed upon the
period of construction which was to come. Before a government was
formed, its necessary elements had attained something of order, much of
efficacy. In the very inception of revolution, the beginning was made of
that elaborate diplomatic system which became the medium by which we
have asserted rights, elicited respect, and received amenities from the
great powers of the earth.

In the early days of our Revolution, the conduct of the foreign
correspondence was intrusted to the care of a Committee, composed of men
of established reputation for capacity and patriotism. Through their
labors, not only did we receive substantial sympathy from those
unselfish men in the mother-country who discountenanced the hateful
oppression of the crown: France, guided by the generous Vergennes, was
also attracted to our active defence; the independent spirit of the Low
Countries cheered and helped us; Tuscany, inheriting the sentiment of
liberty from Dante and Macchiavelli, extended loans with a liberal hand;
Spain and Portugal rose superior to their traditional bigotry, and sent
us money, ships, and stores. So efficient was our infant system of
diplomacy, that, long before the war had ended, England stood absolutely
without the countenance of a single Continental power, and confronted
boldly by her most ancie