ited. Alas! for the generation
which shall grow up, and be "educated" (God save the mark!) as if it had
no heart! And wo to the blasphemy which dares to offer, as service to
Heaven, an arrogant contempt of Heaven's gifts, and claims a reward,
like the self-tormentors of the middle ages, for its vain
mortifications.

But, in the time of the politician, of whom we write, these things were
far different. We have already seen him at a "militia muster," and fain
would we pause here, to display him at a barbecue. What memories,
sweet, though sad, we might evoke of "the glorious fourth" in the olden
time! How savory are even the dim recollections of the dripping viands,
which hung, and fried, and crisped, and crackled, over the great fires,
in the long deep trenches! Our nostrils grow young again with the
thought--and the flavor of the feast floats on the breezes of memory,
even "across the waste of years" which lie between! And the cool,
luxuriant foliage of the grove, the verdant thickets, and among them
pleasant vistas, little patches of green sward, covered with gay and
laughing parties--even the rosy-cheeked girls, in their rustling gingham
dresses, cast now and then a longing glance, toward the yet forbidden
tables! how fresh and clear these images return upon the fancy!

And then the waving banners, roaring cannon, and the slow procession,
moving all too solemnly for our impatient wishes! And finally, the
dropping of the ropes, the simultaneous rush upon the open feast, and
the rapid, perhaps ravenous consumption of the smoking viands, the jest,
the laugh, all pleasant merriment, the exhilaration of the crowd, the
music, and the occasion! What glories we heard from the orator, of
victories achieved by our fathers! How we longed--O! brief, but
glorious dream! to be one day spoken of like Washington! How wildly our
hearts leaped in our boyish bosoms, as we listened to the accents of the
solemn pledge and "declaration"--"our lives, our fortunes, and our
sacred honor!" The whole year went lighter for that one day, and at each
return, we went home happier, and better!

How measureless we thought the politician's greatness then! This was his
proper element--here he was at home; and, as he ordered and directed
everything about him, flourishing his marshal's baton, clearing the way
for the march of the procession--settling the "order of exercises," and
reading the programme, in a stentorian voice--there was, probably in his