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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- 5