Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

SENTINEL SONGS. BY RSV. AiJItAM J. BY AN. When sink.* the soldier brave Dead at the feet of Wrong, The poet sings—and guards his grave With sentinel*, of Bong. “ Go, Song*!”—h* gives command— « Keep ftkithful watch, and true ; The living and dead of the Conquered Land Have now no guards, save you.” “ And Ballads! mark ye well, Tlirico holy is your trust; Go out to the field* where the warriors fell, And sentinel their du*t/' And the Songs, in stately rhyme, With softly sounding tread, March forth—to watch till the end of time Beside the silent dead. And when the foeman’s host And hate have passed away, Our guard of Song* shall keep their post, Around our soldiers’ clay. A thousand dawns may glow, A thousand dates may wane, The deathless Songs, where the dead lis low, True to the last, remain. Yea, true ! They will not yield To tyrants or to time. At ev’ry grave and on ev'ry field Where men died, death's sublime. Lone vigils thoy will keep, Obcdiant to their bard ; And they will wa&h when we shall si cap— Our last and only guard. What though our victors say No column shall be built Above the graves where the man in Gray Lie mould’ring in their “ guilt?” .AL! let the tyrant curse The dead he tramples down I Our strong, brave songs, in their sweet sad verse, Fear not the tyrant's frown. What though no sculptured shaft Commemorate our brave ? "What though no column epitaphed Be built above their grave ? When marble wear* away, And monuments are dust, The songs that guard our soldier*’ clay Shall still fulfil their trust. SETHOVEN’S MOONLIGHT SONATA. FROM THE GERMAN. BY A. FORESTER. Before taking* the position of Court Organist at Vienna, Bcthoven was living iii bis native city Bonn, in the most straightened circumstances. All day he sat by the old worn out piano, from which he never parted, and wrote his great tone creations, and only under cover of the night would he venture without doors for his long walks A musician, his faithful admirer and only friend, was in the habit of accompanying him upon these nightly rambles. Once upon a winter’s evening, when the full moon shed its silvery light over the ancient houses and upon the glassy sur face of a frozen river, they heard in pass ing a lowly cot in the vicinity of the Kob lenz gate, music that caused Bcthoven to stand still in amazement. It was his F. Major symphony, played with the most astonishing fire and expression upon an old wiry harpsichord. Suddenly, while Bcthoven and his friend stood listening, the music ceased, and through the window out into the street, where they stood, they heard a sup pressed sigh, and the voice of a young girl broke the stillness of the night. It was thus she spoke : “ I can play no more, brother. Some other time, not this evening. Oh, this music is so beautiful, it steals to my very heart, and implants there a feeling of deep sadness.” Bcthoven pressed the hand of his friend. “ I must see this genius,” he said, and without delay he entered the house, walk ing at once to the room whence the music had proceeded. It was a little shabbily furnished room upon the ground floor, only faintly lighted by a broken piece of candle. A young man sat at a work table. lie was a shoemaker. Not far from him stood a maiden, her arm resting upon the old harpsichord, her head bent downward. “ Forgive me,” said Bethoven to tlie shoemaker, who had sprung to his feet in surprise; “ 1 heard music here and I my sell am a musician—” This called a half mistrustful, half ironical expression to the face of the shoemaker, who thus replied : u lou would like to play something for me ! Ah, our instrument is very poor, besides we have no notes.” How ! \ou have no notes,” cried Bethoven in an ecstacy of delight, “ and yet, Fraulien, you play.” He stopped abruptly, for now, for the first time he discovered that the maiden was blind. “ I could not believe,” said he, some what, embarrassed, u that you were play ing the symphony from memory.” “ 1 once lived with a lady in Bingen, who played this symphony very often,” the maiden replied, “ it impressed itself upon my memory, for I loved music.’’ “ Let me play for you,” said Bethoven, and without another word he seated himself before the harpsichord. He struck first a few simple chords, which gradually rose and swelled to sym phonic form, and beneath the master touch, the worn discordant instrument seemed to gain its original harmony. "VV ith ever increasing boldness and power did his fantasy find expression, now wailing, dying away, melting into the tendered tones. Involuntarily all were spell bound by the happy flights of imagination. The shoemaker sat with his eyes fixed in won der at the stranger, while his sister was lost in devotional feeling. Suddenly the lamp flickered out. But Bethoven did not cease : doubtless he had forgotten the realities about him Softly the shoemaker stole to the window and pushed open the shutters, so that the full moon streamed through into the room. The glorious light, as it beamed upon the keys, must suddenly have broken the chain of Bethoven’s ideas. He ceased playing, bowed down his head, and seemed lost in thought. Finally the blind girl’s brother stepped up to him and said in a tone of deep respect: “ Who are you ?” Bethoven raised his head and gazed ab sentedly at the shoemaker—then he smiled and said : “Listen !” He played a few passages of the F. major symphony, the one that had but now so excited the blind girl. A cry of rapture rang from the maiden’s lips. “You are Bethoven ! Oh ! my God ! Oh, pley more!” The master looked up, greatly affected, into the face of the pleading girl. Then a flash of lightning crossed the starry heavens of his brain, the fingers once more fell upon the keys. Deep, mourn ful, stormy, was the melody that now arose from the instrument, then followed a pas sage of light almost wanton coloring, like the dance of sportive elfs by midnight uuon the surf or on a desert island in the midst of the surging ocean. Now the chords burst into a wailing lament, making the heart thrill with a melancholy yearn ing. A shrill ghost-like chord—then Bethoven sprang up, seized his hat, and turned to hasten away. “ Will you come again ?” asked the blind girl, in deep emotion. 11 Yes, yes,” he called out as lie has tened away. “ I shall come back again.” He hastened home to his wretched lodgings, to write down this “ moon light fantasia, while it was night. Morning was already breaking in the east as he wrote the last notes of this “ C. sharp minor Sonata ” From the Mobile Register, March 24th. “PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN FAMILIES.” The Rev. Father Smarius delivered a lecture, Monday evening, in the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church, upon this subject. The lecture was given for the benefit of the orphans, and was attended by a very large and intelligent audience. The reverend gentleman opened his discourse with an account of the condition of man when originally created and placed in Paradise—in that condition when •‘The earth was sad, the garden was a wild, And man, the hermit, sighed till woman smiled.” He did not quote these lines, but he gave a very eloquent and poetical expan sion of the idea and description of the imperfect state of the Creation until its Divine Author completed his design by the formation of woman. The institution of the family was then described, and the divine command, with regard to marriage, that “they twain shall be one flesh”—prohibiting alike of biga my, polygamy, and divorce —the latter the fruitful cause of so much mischief in modern society. Passing on to the heathen perversions of this holy institution, the reverend lec turer outlined, in bold and graphic touches, the hideous superstitions of va rious nations of antiquity—the sacrifices to Moloch, of the Canaanites, and the cru elty, sensuality, and animalism of the Babylonians, Persians, Scythians, Spar tans —even of the polished and elegant Athenians. Coming down to the Roman period, the lecturer explained and illustrated the presence of these debasing elements even in the best and purest period of the history of that people, showing the false and degrading position in which woman was held. These errors were aggravated when, in an evil hour, the Romans re sorted to Greece as a model for their po litical and social institutions, and in the laws of the Twelve Tables introduced ©I fill g©lfjfL the worst features of the codes of Solon and Lycurgus. Thus was presented a vivid and startling picture of the conjugal, parental and domestic relations in general, at the time when the Saviour, Christ, appeared upon earth, the Sim of Right eousness, to scatter the darkness of heath enism and illumine the world with the light of anew and glorious revelation of Divine Truth. We cannot pretend to give even an outline of the glowing and fervid, yet vig orous and chastened eloquence, with which Father Smarius set forth the effect of Christianity upon the position of woman and the sanctity of the institution of mar riage. In the first place, our Divine Lord gave anew dignity to womanhood by de signing in His infinite condescension to become the son of a woman. He hallow ed marriage by His presence, and by making it the occasion of His earliest miracle. By His teaching and that of His Apostles, He imparted to it a spiritu ality, a sanctity, and a dignity, never im agined by the pagan poet or philosopher. The true ideas of a Christian marriage, of the Christian family, and of the position of woman in Christian society, were set forth at length with a force, truth, ten derness, and beauty, of which it would be altogether impossible to convey any correct idea in this brief report; and the perni cious tendencies of some modern heresies, such as Fourierism, Communism, Spirit ualism, etc., were denounced with due severity, but yet with dignity and Chris tian moderation. The lecture, although its delivery occu pied nearly two hours, was heard by the large audience with the deepest interest and attention. The only regret was that the defective acoustic properties of the Cathedral hindered many from hearing what was said, or requried a painful ten sion of the faculties to enable it to be heard to advantage. Father Smarius is a very eloquent and effective speaker, His oratorical action is remarkably correct, impressive, and graceful. Ilis style and language are perhaps rather too diffuse and ornate, but clear, fervid, picturesque, poetical and elegant. A Beautiful Legend. —A charming tradition is connected with the site on which the Temple of Solomon was erect ed. It is said to have been owned in common by two brothers, one of whom had a family ; the other had none. On the evening succeeding the harvest, the wheat having been gathered in separate shocks, the elder brother said unto his wife : “My younger brother is unable to bear the burden and heat of the day ; I will arise, take my shocks, and place them with his without his knowledge.” The younger brother being actuated by simi lar motives, said within himself. “My elder brother has a family, and I have none ; I will arise, take off my shocks, and place them with his without his know ledge.” Judge of their mutual astonish ment, when, on the following morning, they found their shocks undiminished. This course es events transpired for sev eral nights, when each resolved, in his mind, to stand guard and solve this mys tery. They did so, when on the following night they met each other, half way be tween their respective shocks, with arms full. Upon ground hallowed with such associations as these was the Temple of Solomon erected—so spacious and mag nificent, the admiration and wonder of the world! Alas! how many in these days would sooner steal their brother’s whole shock than add to it a single sheaf. Sunshine. —The country-houses of Great‘Britain are by no means so shaded as our own ; and the most considerable piles of buildings, such as Eaton Hall, Blenheim, Dalkeith, and Burghley House have hardly a noticeable tree within a stone’s throw of their walls. The flower-patches and coppices of shrubbery approach more nearly, and to the garden fronts of those magnificent homes you walk through walls of blooming shrubs. But the full flow of the sunshine upon the window is a thing courted. Allowing for all differ ence in climate, I think there may be a question if we do not err in this country by over much shading. A cottage in a wood is a pretty subject for poetry but it is apt to be uncomfortably damp. And there are village streets so embowered that scarce a ray of sunshine can play fairly upon the roofs or fronts of the village houses from June to October. A summer’s life under such a screen cannot contribute to the growth of roses at the door. There is no provision against agues—whether moral or physical—like a good flow of sunshine. The French Society of Dramatic Au thors, at the instance of M. Emile Auger, have voted the sum of 3,000 francs to wards the erection of a monument to Pon sard at one of the squares in Vienne, the poet’s birth-place. GENERAL NEWS. The Democrats of Georgia have agreed to support Hon. David Irwin for Gov ernor. In Congress the Judiciary Bill has been passed over the President’s veto by a strict party vote. The Alabama Bill has passed the House of Representatives. It declares the Constitution of that State, recently re jected by the peeple, as the fundamental law of the State. Hon. Linton Stephens and Gen. John R. Gordon, addressed a large and enthu siastic meeting of the Democracy of Richmond county, on Thursday evening, at Concert Hall, on the political questions of the day. Ihe impeachment trial is still progress ing. The Democracy of Georgia have made the following nominations for Congress : First District—Hon. H. S. Fitch. Third District—P. W. Alexander, Esq. Fourth District—Hon. 0. A.Lochrane. Seventh District—Gen. P. M. B.Young. The political canvass in North Carolina is running very high. Ashe is the Con servative and Holden the Radical candi date for Governor. Sergeant Bates arrived at Raleigh, N. C., on the Ist inst. The Supreme Court has postponed the decision in the McArdle case until the next term. Geo. Ashburn, a leading Radical poli tician of Georgia, was killed in Columbus, on the 30th lilt., by some unknown per sons, supposed to be U. S. soldiers, with whom he had had a difficulty during the day. Gen. Meade writes to Grant his opinion that the Constitution of Alabama ought to be revised and made to conform to the requirements of the Reconstruction laws. He doesn’t think it has been legally ratified. Washington, March 29—There are two delegations from Florida here, each with their separate Constitutions, before the Reconstruction Committee. One del egation is largely represented by a Mas sachusetts and the other by a Wisconsin element. The Wisconsin party have Meade’s endorsement and forty-five sign ers, but the Massachusetts party claim that the delegates signed the Meade Con stitution because, otherwise, they could get no pay ! S»lma, March 31.—Judge Pope, of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Alabama, was arrested yesterday at Jacksonville by the military authorities, and confined for failure or refusal to execute the jury or ders. Judge Pope was an original and all the time a Union man. Boston, March 30.—During the session of the Conference of the New England Methodist Episcopal Church the Com mittee on the Course of the Country, through the Rev. Gilbert Haven,reported resolutions endorsing impeachment, and eulogizing General Grant and Secretary Stanton for their patriotic conduct. The resolutions were unanimously adopted, and it was voted to send copies to the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, Stanton, Grant, and the Chief Justice. The people of Milan, Missouri, were ap palled on Wednesday night, the 25th ult., by the appearance of a dense black cloud immediately over the town, with the figure of a snow-white coffin, clearly defined up on its center. So says an exchange. General Buchanan has assumed the command of the Fifth Military District at New Orleans. The Prussian treaty is before the Sen ate tor ratification. Several important amendments arc pending. London, March 28.—The Abyssinian army have commenced the ascent to the Highlands, which is regarded as a difficult undertaking. The sanitary report is fa vorable. Some of the mountain passes are formidable. Madrid, March 28.—The American newspapers, even those addressed to Min ister Hale, against his protest, have been suppressed. London, March2B.—Train was recent ly arrested on the Old Street Railroad for debt and bankruptcy. The Court to which Train applied, rejected his schedule, de nouncing it a farce. The coal miners’ riot at Charleroi is as suming an alarming proportion. London, April I.—Gladstone favored the abolition of the Irish Church estab lishment. He stated that since the repeal of the Penal laws against Catholics, the number of Protestants in Ireland are only a fifth of the population. Hence the in justice of making' a whole country sup port a Church for the support ot so small a minority. He praised the Catholic clergy for their firmness and loyalty in opposing Fenianism. Gladstone vehemently opposed Stanley’s motion to postpone. Gladstone was heartily cheered. Stanley replying, said the Irish people cared more for land than Church, and moved a postponement with out definite action. The House ad journed. London, April I.—Negotiations be tween Denmark and Prussia regarding Schleswig-Holstein territory continues, and the latest telegrams say Prussia de cidedly objects to Denmark’s proposition. Madrid, April I.— The Spanish Gov ernment, will grant to Cuba an army or ganization similar to her own, Dr. L. D. Ford, one of the most gifted and respected citizens of Augusta, deliv ered a lecture at Masonic Hall on Tues day night last. His subject was : “The United States and the Confederate States —a plea for popular government.” It was pleasing, forcible and eloquent, and was listened to with marked delight by the large and appreciative audience present. The Telegraph Office in this city has been removed to the south side of Broad street, opposite the former location. The rooms are now conveniently and comfort ably arranged. The worthy Superintend ent, Mr. J. A. Brenner, is a stirring busi ness man, and is always alive to im provements. The manager, assistant manager, cashier, and operators, are a clever set of “boys,” and we congratulate them on being located in such pleasant quarters. The Democratic Convention of the Fifth Congressional District met at the Club Rooms in this city on Tuesday last, but made no nominations for the present. The following were elected delegates to the National Democratic Convention : Delegates—General A. R. Wright and Colonel E H. Pottle. Alternates—John 11. Seals, Esq., and Col. J. I). Matthews. The President made the following ap pointments as the Executive Committee, provided for in the second section of the above report: Gen. Wright, of Richmond, Chairman; Col. E. H. Pottle, of Warren; J. S. Jones, of Columbia; D. M. Dußose, of Wilkes; 1). E. Butler, of Morgan—the President being placed upon the Com mittee, on motion of Col. Pottle. An Arabian Ctty.— The sun was yet two hours’ distance above the western horizon, when we threaded the narrow and winding defile, till we arrived at its further end. Here w r e found ourselves on the verge of a large plain, many miles in length .and breadth, and girt on every side by a high mountain rampart, while right in front of us, at scarce a quarter of an hour’s march, lay the town of Hayel, surrounded by fortifications of about twenty feet in height, with bastion towers, some round, some square, and large fold ing gates at intervals; it offered the same show of freshness and even of something like irregular elegance that had before struck us in the villages on our way. But this was a full grown town, and its area might readily hold three hundred thou sand inhabitants or more, were its streets and houses close packed like those of Brussels or Paris. But the number of citizens does not, in fact, exceed twenty or twenty-two thousand, thanks to the many large gardens, open spaces, and even plantations, included within the outer walls, while the immense palace of the monarch alone, with its pleasure grounds annexed, occupies about one-tenth of the entire city. Our attention was attracted by a lofty tower, some seventy feet in height, of recent construction and oval form, belonging to the royal residence. The plain all around the town is studded with isolated houses and gardens, the pro perty of wealthy citizens, or of members of the kingly family, and on the far-off skirts of the plain appear the groves be longing to Kafar, Adwah, and other vil lages, placed at the openings of the moun tain gorges that conduct to the capital. The town walls and buildingsseoneyellow in the evening sun, and the whole pros pect was one of thriving security delight ful to view, though wanting in the pecu liar luxuriance of vegetation offered by the valley of JDjowf. A few Bedouin tents lay clustered close by the ramparts, and the great number of horsemen, foot men, camels, asses, peasants, townsmen, boys, women, and other like, all passing to and fro on their various avocations, gave cheerfulness and animation to the scene. —London Sped fit or. * 31. Blanchard, who has recently com pleted a line engraving after 3lr. Holman Hunt’s “Finding of our Savior in the tem ple,” is now engaged in reproducing the beautiful lunette to the altar-piece, by Franeia, which is now iu the National Gallery, London, where is also the altar piece itself. The subject of the former is a pieta ; it is commonly called ‘‘The Head Christ.” The pictures were origi nally placed in the Buonvisi chapel in the Church of St. Fridiano, at Lucca, 3