the impulses of a generous ambition, left his young life on the sickly plains of Mexico. On the family that bears these proud memories, nothing less worthy than duty well performed, danger bravely met, and the country honorably served, will ever, I am confident, be inscribed in connection with your

name.

2. It is with no ordinary feelings of satisfaction that, on behalf of the patriotic ladies who take a friendly interest in the regiment, I now present you this beautiful banner, well assured that you and all in your command will regard it with grateful interest, as a token of their kind wishes and a pledge of their sympathy; and that you will look upon it with patriotic reverence, as the symbol of the Union, the emblem of the cause you defend, and the country

you serve.

3. It bears upon its field as a motto, from that immortal speech of your father, the soul-stirring words, "Not a stripe erased or polluted, not a single star obscured." It is to maintain their high significance that the contest in which you are embarking is waged. Those emblems of our Union, I need not tell you, were first displayed in the camp of Washington, on yonder opposite shore, on the 1st of January, 1776. They have been borne by the armies of the United States against a foreign enemy onl hard-fought fields, from the snows of Canada to the burning plains of Mexico. With our navies they have encircled the globe. They are now displayed in defence of the Union itself, in this most unrighteous and fratricidal3 war; and, like the holy symbol

which the first Christian emperor* saw in the heav ens, they shall marshal its defenders to victory.

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4. Your noble father, sir, with prophetic foresight, uttered these solemn words: "There can be no such thing as peaceful secession."4 Your country calls you to discharge your part in the duty, as impera tive 5 as it is sad, which that principle devolves on all good citizens, each in his appropriate sphere. You would gladly have avoided, we should all gladly have avoided, the stern necessity which it laid upon us. We spoke the words of conciliation and peace, till they inspired nothing but contempt, and invited. even new exactions 7 on the part of our brethren to whom they were addressed; and it was not until they themselves had cried, "Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war," that the outraged spirit of a loyal people was roused to a tardy resistance. Not upon us rests the dread responsibility of the unnatural conflict.

5. And now, sir, on behalf of the friends of the regiment, on behalf of this favoring and sympa thizing multitude, I bid you, with your officers and men, God speed! The best wishes of those you leave behind will bear you company. The memories of Lexington, and Concord, and Bunker Hill will hover round your march. The example of the Massachusetts troops who have preceded you will kindle your emulation. Let the fair banner I now confide to you be seen in the front of the battle. When it returns, in God's good time, with your regiment, it may come back torn and faded, but it will not, it

*The Roman Emperor Constantine, who was inspirited to renewed endeavors by the appearance, in the heavens, of a cross, bearing the inscription, "Conquer by this."

shall not, return disgraced. Dust and blood may stain it, the iron hail of battle may mar its beautiful blazonry,--it may hang in honorable tatters from its staff, but loyalty and patriotism shall cling to its last shred; treachery shall blast it never, never!

1 BRUNT. The heat or violence of an onset or a conquest.

2 MEN/ACED. Threatened.

3 FRĂT-RI-CI'DAL. Relating to fratricide,

or the murder of a brother.

4 SE CES'SION. The act of seceding or withdrawing; separation.

5 IM-PER'A-TIVE. Commanding.

6 CON-CIL-I-A'TION. Agreement; reconcilement.

Ex-XC'TIONS. Unjust demands.

LXXXI. — THE LOSS OF THE BIRKENHEAD.

SUPPOSED TO BE TOLD BY A SOLDIER WHO SURVIVED.

SIR F. H. DOYLE.

[The Birkenhead, a steamship carrying soldiers, struck on a hidden rock near Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope, 25th of February, 1852. Four hundred and thirtyeight officers, soldiers, and seamen, were lost; including the military commander, Colonel Seton, of the 74th Regiment.]

1. RIGHT on our flank1 the crimson sun went down;
The deep sea rolled around in dark repose;
Then, like the wild shriek from some captured town,
A cry of women rose.

2. The stout ship Birkenhead lay hard and fast, Caught without hope upon a hidden rock; Her timbers thrilled2 as nerves, when through them passed

The spirit of that shock.

3. And ever like base cowards, who leave their ranks In danger's hour, before the rush of steel,3 Drifted away disorderly the planks

From underneath her keel.

4. Then amidst oath, and prayer, and rush, and wreck, Faint screams, faint questions waiting no reply, Our colonel gave the word, and on the deck Formed us in line to die.

5. To die! 'Twas hard, whilst the sleek ocean glowed
Beneath a sky as fair as summer flowers;
All to the boats! cried one; he was, thank God,
No officer of ours.

6. Our English hearts beat true; we would not stir;
That base appeal we heard, but heeded not;
On land, on sea, we had our colors, sir,
To keep without a spot.

7. They shall not say in England, that we fought
With shameful strength, unhonored life to seek ;
Into mean safety, mean deserters brought
By trampling down the weak.

8. So we made women with their children go;
The oars ply back again, and yet again;
Whilst inch by inch, the drowning ship sank low,
Still under steadfast men.

9. What follows, why recall? The brave who died, Died without flinching4 in the bloody surf,

They sleep as well, beneath that purple tide,
As others under turf.

10. If that day's work no clasp or medal mark;

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If each proud heart no cross of bronze may press, Nor cannon thunder loud from Tower* or Park.* This feel we none the less:

11. That those whom God's high grace there saved from ill,

Those also left His martyrs in the bay,

Though not by siege, though not in battle, still
Full well had earned their pay.

[Miss Louisa M. Alcott is the author of three works of fiction, An Old-Fashioned Girl, Little Women, and Little Men, which have attained wide and deserved popularity from their healthy tone, animated style, and truthful pictures of New England life and char acter. She also wrote a work called Hospital Sketches, and Camp and Fireside Stories.]

1. FORTUNE suddenly smiled upon Jo, and dropped a good luck-penny in her path. Not a golden penny, exactly, but I doubt if half a million would have given more real happiness than did the little sum that came to her in this wise.

2. Every few weeks she would shut herself up in her room, put on her scribbling suit, and "fall into a vortex," as she expressed it, writing away at her novel with all her heart and soul; for, till that was

* In London, on the occasion of a victory, cannon are fired from the Tower and from St. James' Park.