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Twilight at Laurel Grove.
£ ;l ; j.jst-'d by the Decoration of the Soldiers’ Graves at
Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, Ga., April 2Cth.
BY CABBIE BELL SINCLAIR.
The twilight shades creep in among the flowers
That rest to-night upon each soldier-grave,
The holy stars, like sentinels above,
Watch o’er the shrines where sleep our fair and brave!
Turn where we will throughout our sunny laud,
The sweet perfume of flowers is everywhere ;
But on our soldier-graves—by woman’s hand—
The fairest garlands have been scattered there.
And, say, do not the white-robed angels walk
Tonight through each loved city of the dead ?
To guard with care the fair and tender wreaths
That shed their fragance o’er each humble bed ?
Methinks I see, amid the marble shafts,
('rowned with bright garlands of such sweet perfume*
The outstretched wings of angels as they stand
Like holy watchers at each soldier-tomb!
The summer dews to-night will softly fall,
Like tears that the blue eyes of Heaven weep!
Ami nestling in the bosom of the flowers
These emblems of our love .all fresh will keep,
s v , et Laurel Grove! near my own forest home!
Would L could tread amid thy silent shade,
To place my offering of sweet flowers and tears
Above the grave where youth and valor’s laid!
I geem to hear the murmur of the waves,
Where bright Savannah laves the sunlit shore !
I t;sem to sec the slow and solemn train,
The pale young forms that the sad mourners bore!
Wain, I stand beside the open graves,
Where dust to dust was given back that day ;
While our sad tears were falling thick and fast
Above those forms iu faded coats of grey !
*Tis twilight now—and Laurel Grove is still!
And on each mound I see the garlands fair ;
And in the silence of this calm, sweet hour,
I'd kneel beside that sacred spot in prayer ;
Oh ! Father, guard our soldier graves to-night—
And send bright angels, vigils there to keep!
Keep fresh the blooms—the tokens of our love ;
Take to Thy throne the tears our sad hearts weop !
To-day I stood beside our soldier graves,
And helped to twine the summer blossoms there ;
Each humble mound held some brave hero-form,
O’er each had dropped the mourners’ falling tear !
And I could feel, as on the stranger graves
I wreathed the humble offering of Spring flowers,
It was a holy work! —and though •* Unknown,”
The dust beneath that sacred sod was ours!
I know to-day in my own forest home,
Kind hands have plucked tho flowers of sweetest
bloom,
And hearts that love me there have gently twined
A garland for me on our Willie’s tomb.
But Laurel Grove! within thy silent shade
There is no softly falling footstep there ;
No forms, save those of angel visitants
That guard the place where sleep the brave and fair !
The south winds seem to murmur with a sigli,
Asa lone evening zephyr lingers near ;
Oh ! be my own dear, gentle carrier dove!
Take this sad requiem song and bear it there!
From this heart-wreath on every soldier-grave,
Oh! iwine for me a pure and fadeless flower!
And, oh! sweet Laurel Grove! close to thy breast
Clasp thv pale sleepers in this twilight hour !
Milledgeville, Ga.
[From “Der Katliolik.”
1867-m
NUMBE R T W O .
The army of Pius IX, composed as it
is, of the sons of all the Catholic nations
of earth, has battled for six weeks with
the hirelings of the Italian revolution, the
paid freebooters of Garibaldi, who had
been sent and spurred on to their task by
the various secret societies of Europe.
Nav, the army of the Holy Father has
done more : it has beaten these men at
all points, or at least has done them incal
culable damage, and never before was
there an army—if, indeed, those ten or
twelve thousand men can be called by
that name—never before, we say, was
there an army so badly defeated, without
being totally annihilated. What, now,
has become of the men who, but a short
time ago, with their leader, Garibaldi,
went throughout all Italy, shouting, day
and night: Roma e Mode ! Rome or
Death ! ? Nearly one thousand of them
have already had their wish, and now lie
buried upon the field of battle, while
their souls have passed before the aveng
ing judgment-scat of God. Perhaps
double that number have been wounded,
and they, more fortunate than the first,
h ive still time left them to amend their
lives and to atone for the past. Several
thousands were captured by the Papal
troops, but they have already been set
u liberty again, after pledging themselves
most solemnly, never in the future to
make a similar attempt against the States
of the Church. As for the rest —those
thousands who escaped death, wounds,
and captivity—they were arrested in their
t tight and disarmed by their own friends,
the soldiers of Victor Emanuel. And
now they are straggling through Italy,
pale, troubled in mind, and covered with
shame ; many still nourishing revenge in
their hearts, others seeing their error, and
acknowledging that they were led astray,
and have aided and abetted an evil cause.
All are forced to admit, even against
their will, that God Himself was against
them, that He visibly protected the sol
diers of the Holy See, and that once again
those words of our Saviour have proven
true to the letter, viz : “The gates of hell
shall not prevail against my Church.’ 7
These are strange dispensations of Divine
Providence, indeed ! Those old and
grey-headed enemies of the Papacy, how
shamefully have they not been
beaten ?—beaten by the energy, the
valor, and the heroism of those 10,000
soldiers, who fought for the patrimony of
St. Peter during the sultry days of Octo
ber and November, 1867 1 The Govern
ment of A ictor Emanuel had stationed
from forty to fifty thousand troops on the
borders of the States of the Church, for
the ostensible purpose of guarding them
and preventing the Garibaldians from
crossing the frontier. But these forces
were stationed there, in reality, for the
sole purpose of aiding and abetting the
invasion of Garibaldi iu every possible
manner, and, if the attack upon Rome
should have proven a success, to
march immediately upon the Holy City,
to take possession of it in the name of
Italy, and to proclaim from the steps of
the Capitol yet another of those “fails
accompliV which have, of late years,
given so much pain to every Catholic
heart. How beautifully everything had
been planned, and how cunning and com
plete were not all their arrangements !
There stood those fifty thousand men on
the frontier, ready at a moment’s warning
to cross tho border ; twelve thousand
bandits and freebooters had already
crossed over and begun their work, while
in Rome itself there was an active, well
organized, and most unscrupulous party
who had sworn to sacrifice all, even virtue,
honor, and life itself, rather than be
thwarted in the accomplishment of their
object. With these three powerful
agencies at work, always aiding and sup
porting each other, always working in
concert, how could human ingenuity
foresee that their plan should miscarry ?
And the end of all these measures ?
That splendid army on the frontier has not
been called upon, save to perform the
office of a bailiff towards the remnants of
Garibaldi’s army ; against its will it has
been obliged to disarm them and leave
them to their fate. True, these mercena
ries of Victor Emanuel at one time cross
the border and take military possession
of a few cities belonging to the Pope, but
their King is forced to withdraw them
again after a few days. Thus, then, this
army destined at one time to take Rome,
played but a most ridiculous part in the
drama, and saw itself obliged to aid in
dispersing those very troops whom they
had but a short time ago reinforced, by
every possible means, with officers, men,
and munitions of war. On the other
hand their commander, King Victor
Emanuel, has, by his action in this case,
proven, beyond a doubt, and in the face
of the whole world, that he is a mere
puppet of Napoleon, and, therefore, no
longer deserving of the confidence of the
Italian people. Last, but not least, the
Government of this King, by an almost
endless series of public documents, already
published, has been convicted before the
entire Catholic world of such unwarranta
ble falsehoods, and such infamous perjury,
that shame and confusion now hang dark
and heavy over him, and friend and foe of
the Papacy alike are unanimous in con
demning a course such as the Italian
Government had adopted. In fact, there
is no parallel to be found in the world’s
history to that system of deceit and
treachery which the Government at
Florence brought into requisition against
the Holy Father. And thus the Italian
people, too, who are still sound, and still
Catholic at heart, although thousands of
bandits, brigands, and freebooters, were
furnished by their ranks, are made to
sutler ; already the masses have grown
apathetic and utterly discouraged, so
that they are, even now, submitting
sullenly and silently to the most out
rageous measures. Torn by party feuds,
without a leader or a statesman of note,
MMI! ©f SIS i©im
and, standing on the verge of utter bank
ruptcy, young Italy is no longer able to
weather the coming storms, and must,
therefore, soon fall back again into the
iron hands bf a military despotism, or
else into the jaws of a most terrible revo
lution, which would bring nameless sorrow
upon that beautiful land and that most
unhappy people. For when nations perish
in the convulsive throes of anarchy, or
sink down into that lethargic condition of
docility which is prefigured in the indi
vi dual by that deathlike sleep which pre
cedes death itself, they can but stutter,
with their dying breath, those words of
the gospel: Hominuni non habeo!”
John v—7. No doubt, since these late
events, all thinking Italians are fully
convinced that neither Emanuel, nor
Garibaldi, nor Mazzini, are the men from
whom their country can expect salvation.
But if they cannot save Italy, there is at
least one who can ; and that one is Pius
IX—it is the Pope. For “the support
and re establishment, in all its bearings,
of the political authority of the Pope,” to
use the words of the Mayence Conven
tion, ‘ is the' only effective means of pro
tecting Italy against that corruption with
which secret societies and the policy of
A r ictor Emanuel are threatening to lay
it waste at the present time To have
the Pope throning in their midst, is to-day,
as it? has been throughout the whole Chris
tian past, the highest honor, the true
greatness, and tho enviable blessing of
Italy and the Italians.” The true remedy,
then, for all their evils, is to effect, at
once and forever, a reconciliation with
the Papacy—a reconciliation with Pius
IX —the gentlest of all rulers, the best of
all Fathers—with him, whose loving
kindness is such, that it would almost
seem as if the nameless insults, wrongs,
and betrayals which ho suffers, often at
the hands of his own prodigal children,
could not tire him of doing good, or shake
liis faith in humanity. May Italy, there
fore, during these days of its visitation,
do a hearty and sincere penance, and may
its so long deluded children bring about
a speedy and complete reconciliation with
their Father and the Father of all Christ
endom.
[For the Banner of the South.]
SPRING HiLL COLLEGE,
About six miles west of Mobile there is
a swell or elevation, scarcely entitled to
the name, yet approaching the character
of a hill, being the last swell of the land
in its gradual descent to the Gulf, on the
west side of Mobile river. The elevation,
and the number of its springs affording an
abundant supply of cool, delicious, whole
some water, ferruginous and slightly mag
nesian, gave rise to its name, Spring
Hifl. The purity and abundance of its
water, the dry, sandy soil, over a red
clay base, its tall pines, and its long ex
emption from the epidemic, by which
hitherto, Mobile lias been occasionally
visited, pointed it out as an appropriate
place for the suburban residence of its
well-to-do citizens, particularly during
the Summer months. The natural forest
growth of the Hill are chiefly the pine
and the oak, though much of both
lias given way to the gardens and
orchards of the residents, and to the orna
mental trees and shrubbery introduced
by them. Around the foot of the Hill
may be found magnificent magnolias in
abundance, in the low grounds wide-spread*
dark-leaved live-oaks, the massive cypress,
and all the varieties of the water-oak.
On the southern slope of the Hill, and
facing the bay, stands the University of
St, Joseph, more generally known by the
name of Spring Hill College, which has
established for itself the reputation of
being among the foremost of the educa
tional institutions of the South. The
selection of the location was most judicious,
whether we regard it in the light of its
material advantages, or as a matter of
artistic taste. Being on the southern
side of the Hill, it is open to the south
winds in Summer, which come fresh from
the Gulf. In the back court, within a
few yards of the main building, is a cov
ered well, yielding a supply of water
inure than sufficient for all the neces
sary uses of the College, while about
three or four hundred yards in front,
a little to the east, is a spring so boun
tiful in its supply that, with a little
artificial aid, it forms a miniature lake,
or large pond, well stocked with perch,
and affording a safe and convenient place
to the students for occasional bathing.
I rom the belveder of the building the
view is extensive, and, though not to be
compared with picturesque views in more
favored places, by no means without its
charm. To the south and southwest it
extends about twenty-five miles. But,
along the western shore a level country,
extending south and west towards the
Mississippi Sound, there is little to be
seen but trees, trees as far as tho eye can
reach ; the cottagers with their gardens,
orchards, and cultivated grounds, being’
concealed in the dense forests by which
they are surrounded. On the east and
southeast, however, at about fifteen miles
distance, lies the high bluff coast of the
eastern shore and the wooded heights
of Baldwin county, where, with a good
glass, the different boarding houses and
private residences, are plainly visible, as
far down as Battle’s Wharf. Directly in
front lies the bay, a beautiful sheet of
water, about seven or eight miles wide,
which, on a fine Summer's day, quivers
like a sea of molten gold in the sunlight.
There may be, as 1 said above, and no
doubt there are, scenes in other lands
more magnificently, more picturesquely
beautiful, but nowhere docs Nature pre
sent to the eye a picture that can surpass,
for brilliant and startling beauty, a Sum
mer sunset on Mobile bay, as seen from
the College belveder. As the sun de
clines, the woods on the western shore
deepen into shadows, and tho slanting
rays glance tremulously across the rip
pling waters of the bay, while a flood of
light seems to have inundated the eastern
shore with hues so gorgeous and tints so
varied as to dazzle the eye. The dark
leaved trees, though with a light peculiar
to them, strangely contrast with the red
bluffs, now turned to crimson, while every
pane of glass in every house along the
eastern shore seems to sparkle as a sepa
rate diamond, varying from rose coleur
to violet hue, as the light fades and the
shadows deepen. As the bright colors of
the dying dolphin are said to become
more brilliant and more variable as death
approaches, so is it with our sunsets. The
hues become more gorgeous, the tints
more varied, the contrasts more striking,
and the whole scene more startingly beau
tiful, as the sun sinks below the horizon.
For the University of St. Joseph, more
familiarly known as Spring Hill College,
the city of Mobile and the State of Ala
bama arc indebted, under Providence, to
the zeal, energy, and perseverance of the
Right I-lev. Michael Fortier, first Bishop
of Mobile. He was a native of the
diocese of Lyons, France, a man of pro
found learning, great intellectual acumeD,
unbounded benevolence, with manners
most courteous, disposition most genial,
and a pity as sincere as it was unaffected.
Ilis official position, his learning, and his
courteous yet dignified manner, com
manded the respect of all, while his kind
ly disposition secured the love of those
who came near enough to feel its inliu
ence. lie has passed from among us
now many years, out lie still lives in the
affectionate recollection of his spiritual
children, and in the respectful remem
brance of his fellow-citizens who survive
him. In 1826, he received from His
Holiness, Pope Leo XII, the appointment
of Bishop of the territory comprised in
the State of Alabama and in West Florida
combined. For some time he was in
doubt where to establish the seat of his
diocese. There was at that time no town
in the interior of any size or population,
and of the seaports, Mobile, Pensacola,
and Apalachicola, he was induced to
select the first, on account of its larger
population, and because its position, at the
mouth of a large navigable river, made it
more accessible to the interior, while be
ing at the head of a fine bay, afforded a
better prospect of future commercial im
portance and enlarged population. The
growth of Mobile since then has full}’
proved the soundness of his calculations.
At that time it was a small place con
taining only 2,500 inhabitants, mostly
trench, among whom the men, at least,
were not remarkable for the practical ob
servance of their religious duties. In
having returned from Rome, which
he had visited with the view of procuring
assistant laborers in his own vineyard, his
first thought was to establish institutions
foi the education ot the young of his
diocese, who, hitherto, had enjoyed but
little opportunity in that respect. lie de
termined to establish a College for the
education of the young men, and a Con
vent for that of the girls.
After looking around for a suitable
location for the first, he purchased about
thirty acres of land, where the College
now stands, on tho old road from Mobile
to Pascagoula. Here he had the ground
cleared, a brick-kiln erected, bricks
manufactured, and every preparation
made for the projected budding. The
corner stone was laid in the Fall of 1830,
and about the same time too framehouses
were erected, one for the use of the Bishop
and his teachers, the other for his ecclesi
astical seminary, both of which are still
standing, and a frame house on the Ilili
was rented fora school, which was placed
under the care of the Rev. Matthias
Loras, afterwards Bishop of Dubuque,
lowa. September, 1831, the College
building was finished, and a frame house
also, intended for a chapel, both of which
were placed under the patronage of St.
Joseph. The College building was 124
feet front, 48 in depth, and three stories
high.
In 1848 new frame buildings were
erected for the accommodation of 200
boarders. In 1854 the College was en
larged on the east side 124 feet, and the
whole building made four stories high,
and, in 1860, to give uniformity to the
building, a wing was added to the west
side 124 feet long, thus making the whole
building, as it now stands, 372 feet long.
On the central roof, a belveder was erect
ed, which rises 75 feet from the ground.
In the building is a museum, which, with
a complete set of physical and astronomical
apparatus, has a rich collection of mine
rals, for the use of students who design to
prepare themselves for degrees. The
library, which contained a numerous col
lection of choice works, suffered a serious
loss from an accidental fire during the
past winter. The building, in its present
condition, is capable of accommodating
comfortably three hundred boarders, and,
the Hill being connected with the city by
a railroad, at present worked by horse
power, and in operation from early in
the morning to late in the evening, is
accessible at all times.
I aider the vigilant superintendence of
the good Bishop, whose anxiety in regard
to the students made him interested in
their physical exercises as in their intel
lectual progress, the administration of
the College was entrusted to secular
Priests, invited from Europe for that pur
pose, and the teachers, numbering from
four to seven, were Priests, or Semina
rians, with, occasionally, laymen as as
sistants. The first President was the
Rev. Matthias Loras. In the Fall of 1832
he was succeeded by the Rev. John
Bazin, afterwards Bishop of Vincennes,
Indiana. In 1835, the Rev. Father
Mauvernay, from Lyons, a distinguished
scholar, gave a fresh impulse to the
spirit of academic exercises and a military
spirit. Under his administration, the
College was flourishing, and the records
of the literary exercises, still extant, show
that the literary character of the College
had attained a very high standard This
able and beloved President died October
23d, 1839, and his remains were buried
in the College cemetery, but his name
and his worth are not forgotten. The
Rev. J. Bazin acted as President, again,
during the year, 1840, at which time
there was considerable embarrassment
from the difficulty of procuring a sufficient
number of teachers for the steadily in
creasing number of students. The
Bishop, deeply interested in the growing
prospects of the College, and exceedingly
anxious for its complete success, endea-
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