NO.
SONUS OK T1IK AVAIL
101
Tliu life is more tlimi creeds, principles
or foumlnlions. Living is the true test of
any creed.
Jinny steal the creeds of others to cover
up the hldcousncss of their own, but such
u course may succeed for u time only.
The truth will bo known tit lust.
That creed which does not make us re
spectable citizens, which does not make
our lives honest and virtuous, is one for
which there is no demand to-day.
I once read of a certain man, whose
name I have forgotten, to whom these re
marks were attributed ; "I do not care
whether there is a God who one day shall
judge me; I do not care whether there is
a place called Hull, where I shall one day
be punished; I do not care whether there
is any bar of Public Opinion, before
which I might be arraigned. I would do
right, I would be virtuous, I would live
right simply because it is right."
Few act from such a cieed. Would
there were many. "Neal."
SOXGS OF THE WAIi.
It is worthy of remark, that the war
added little or nothing to our permanent
son literature. Undoubtedly this is
as it should be, since the record of
brother in arms against brother is
hardly one to be perpetuated in
song. The memories of civil war can
never he crystali.cd into national hymns
Yet it is a source of regret to us
as a people that !" the countless songs to
which the war gave birth, scarcely one is
worthy of preservation, from a literary
standpoint. It argues little for our ad
vancement, that among such a multitude
of poetasters we had so few poets. We
were prolific, but weak. True we reckon
to our account only a short hundred years,
but we arc wont to plume ourselves on
having lived more in our one century
than other nations in their many, and
surely in the Revolution was sown seed
that should, before this, have borne fruit
in the Anthem of III'; Republic.
Every nation has Its epic. The Rebel
lion has furnished mo tori al for the Iliad
of America, which, in ages so far removed
that the actors and events shall have be
come half mythical, some Homeric spirit
shall celebrate. Fratricidal though the
conllict was, there wore elements in it
both tragic and sublime. The liberation
of a race, the patriotism of the North, the
chivalry of the South, the romance of
many of the scenes, (witness the Rattle
among the Clouds, on Lookout Mountain,
and the March to the Sea), all combine to
render it the loftiest subject of heroic
verse, that any land has given. Rut this
Is not exactly the point in view. That
sentimental individual who prcfered to
make a country's songs rather than its
laws, has so far failed to provide matter
with which to make a very deep
impression upon the American heart.
We have, mojudice, nothing worthy the
numo of national songs. Of those most
popular, two at least are borrowed from
the mother country; the others certainly
have distinctive peculiarities, but arc
hardly of a character to he commended
for literary excellence. For instance, no
one would fail to recognize a "star,
spangled" banner as an American one,
but at the same time, one scarcely likes
to stake his country's reputation for good
taste upon such an expression. It is, to
say the least, unfortunate that the flag of
the free should be so suggestive of the
sawdust arena.
The south assuredly had the advantage
of us in the quality of its son'js. Though
in Stars and Rars there is little improve,
ment upon Star.spangled, we had nothing
approaching in melody the Ronnie Rlue
Flag, while both the air and words of
Maryland, My Maryland, were far above
the average of our songs. Even the rol
licking Dixie had no equal .unless it
might be in old "John. Brown." The
words of each are on a par alike worth,
les. Nevertheless, that marching on of
John Brown's soul was the Ga ira of
America. If its swiuging rylhm could