that sang
to the generations of man--ah! raving, as of torrents that opened on every
side: trepidation, as of female and infant steps that fled--ah! rushing,
as of wings that chase! But I heard a voice from heaven, which said--"Let
there be no reflux of panic--let there be no more fear, and no more sudden
death! Cover them with joy as the tides cover the shore!" _That_ heard the
children of the choir, _that_ heard the children of the grave. All the
hosts of jubilation made ready to move. Like armies that ride in pursuit,
they moved with one step. Us, that, with laurelled heads, were passing from
the cathedral through its eastern gates, they overtook, and, as with a
garment, they wrapped us round with thunders that overpowered our own.
As brothers we moved together; to the skies we rose--to the dawn that
advanced--to the stars that fled; rendering thanks to God in the
highest--that, having hid his face through one generation behind thick
clouds of War, once again was ascending--was ascending from Waterloo--in
the visions of Peace; rendering thanks for thee, young girl! whom having
overshadowed with his ineffable passion of death--suddenly did God relent;
suffered thy angel to turn aside his arm; and even in thee, sister unknown!
shown to me for a moment only to be hidden for ever, found an occasion to
glorify his goodness. A thousand times, amongst the phantoms of sleep, has
he shown thee to me, standing before the golden dawn, and ready to enter
its gates--with the dreadful word going before thee--with the armies of the
grave behind thee; shown thee to me, sinking, rising, fluttering, fainting,
but then suddenly reconciled, adoring: a thousand times has he followed
thee in the worlds of sleep--through storms; through desert seas; through
the darkness of quicksands; through fugues and the persecution of fugues;
through dreams, and the dreadful resurrections that are in dreams--only
that at the last, with one motion of his victorious arm, he might record
and emblazon the endless resurrections of his love!

DINNER, REAL AND REPUTED.

Great misconceptions have always prevailed about the Roman _dinner_.
Dinner [_coena_] was the only meal which the Romans as a nation took. It
was no accident, but arose out of their whole social economy. This we shall
show by running through the history of a Roman day. _Ridentem dicere, verum
quid vetat_? And the course of this review will expose one or two important
truths in ancient po