army, entered New Orleans on the 21st of January, where the population, of all ages, greeted them as saviours. Two days later that city was the theatre of an imposing spectacle at the front of the old cathedral in what is now Jackson Square. That day had been appointed by the apostolic prefect of Louisiana for the public offering, in the cathedral, of thanks to the Almighty for the great deliverance, and Jackson, with his staff, was to be in attendance. Preparations were made for the reception of the hero. In the public square was erected a triumphal arch supported by six Corinthian columns and festooned with evergreens and flowers. Beneath the arch stood two beautiful little girls, each upon a pedestal and holding in her hand a civic crown of laurel. Near them stood two damsels, one personifying Liberty; the other, Justice. From the arch to the cathedral, arranged in two rows, stood beautiful young maidens dressed in white, each covered with a blue gauze veil and having a silver star on her forehead. These personified the several States and Territories of the Union. Each carried a basket filled with flowers, and behind each was a lance stuck in the ground and bearing a shield with the name of the State she represented inscribed upon it. Jackson and his staff passed on foot through the square between rows of soldiers, and as he stepped upon the slightlyraised platform of the arch the two little girls on the pedestals leaned gently forward and placed the laurel crown upon his head. At the same moment a charming Creole girl -Miss Kerr-as the representative of Louisiana, stepped forward and with great modesty in voice and manner spoke a few words to the honored chief, in which she expressed the profound gratitude of her people. To this address Jackson made a brief reply, and then passed on to the church with his pathway strewn with flowers. Therein he was seated near the great altar, and after the apostolic prefect delivered a patriotic discourse the Te Deum Laudamus was chanted by the choir and the people. When the ceremonies were ended, Jackson returned to the stern duties of a soldier. The general was vigilant as well as brave, and he exercised martial law until official tidings of peace reached him. Martial and civil law clashed. An irate judge, whom the general had caused to be arrested and banished beyond the military jurisdiction, summoned Jackson before him to show cause why the general should not be punished for contempt of court. The hero obeyed. The court-room was crowded with citizens indignant at such treatment of the man who had saved their State from invasion and their city from plunder. The judge was alarmed in the presence of the public wrath. "Go on; I will protect you in your duty," said the brave general to the trembling judge. The latter fined the hero a thousand dollars, for which amount the general drew a check before leaving the room. The populace bore him on their shoulders to a carriage in the street, and the citizens soon made up the amount of the fine and tendered it to Jackson. He ordered it to be distributed among the families of the soldiers who had fallen in the battle. Thirteen years afterward the people of the United States elected Andrew Jackson President of the republic. BENSON J. LOSSING. THE POET'S GUIDE TO THE INFERNO. FROM THE ITALIAN OF DANTE ALLIGHIERI. N the midway of this our mortal At gaze, e'en so my spirit, that yet failed life I found me in a gloomy wood astray, Gone from the path direct; and e'en to tell straits That none hath passed and lived. My weary frame After short pause recomforted, again It were no easy task how I journeyed on over that lonely steep, savage wild That forest, how robust and rough its growth, The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascent Began, when, lo! a panther, nimble, light Which to remember only my And covered with a speckled skin, appeared, Nor when it saw me vanished—rather dismay Renews in bitterness not far from death. Yet, to discourse of what there good befell, All else will I relate discovered there. How first I entered it I scarce can say, strove To check my onward going, that ofttimes With purpose to retrace my steps I turned. The hour was morning's prime, and on his way Aloft the sun ascended with those stars That with him rose when Love Divine first moved The valley that had pierced my heart with Those its fair works; so that with joyous Have issued?" I with front abashed replied. Have conned it o'er, my master thou, and Thou he from whom alone I have derived She hath made tremble." He, soon as he saw That I was weeping, answered: "Thou must needs Another way pursue if thou wouldst 'scape He answered: "Now not man, man once I From out that savage wilderness. This And born of Lombard parents, Mantuans At whom thou criest her way will suffer both By country, when the power of Julius yet Was scarcely firm. At Rome my life was passed To none pass, So bad and so accursed in her kind That never sated is her ravenous will, Still after food more craving than before. To many an animal in wedlock vile She fastens, and shall yet to many more, Until that greyhound come who shall destroy When the flames preyed on Ilium's haughty Her with sharp pain. He will not life Beneath the mild Augustus in the time sup But thou-say wherefore to such perils past | By earth nor its base metals, but by love, Returnest thou? Wherefore not this pleas- Wisdom and virtue, and his land shall be The land 'twixt either Feltro. In his might ant mount Ascendest, cause and source of all delight?". Shall safety to Italia's plains arise, For whose fair realm Camilla, virgin pure, From which such copious floods of eloquence He with incessant chase through every town. Shall worry, until he to hell at length space Prepared myself the conflict to sustain, Where thou shalt hear despairing shrieks And eminent endowments come to proof! and see Spirits of old tormented, who invoke A second death; and those next view who Content in fire for that they hope to come, I thus began: Bard, thou who art my guide, Consider well if virtue be in me Sufficient ere to this high enterprise Thou trust me. Thou hast told that Silvius' sire, Yet clothed in corruptible flesh, among Must lead thee, in whose charge, when I The immortal tribes had entrance, and was depart, Thou shalt be left; for that almighty King come. He in all parts hath sway, there rules, there holds His citadel and throne. Oh, happy those I do beseech thee-that this ill, and worse, those Almighty foe to ill, such favor showed It seems in reason's judgment well deserved, And 'stablished for the holy place where sits Who, as thou tellest, are in such dismal And to the papal robe. In after-times. Now was the day departing and the air Imbrowned with shadows, from their toils released All animals on earth, and I alone Which is the entrance to salvation's way. Of day, and she with gentle voice and soft Angelically tuned her speech addressed : 'O courteous shade of Mantua-thou whose fame From what in heaven of him I heard. Speed now, And by thy eloquent persuasive tongue, Who prompts my speech. When in my I stand, thy praise to him I oft will tell.' "She then was silent, and I thus began: So thy command delights me that to obey, "She then 'Since thou so deeply wouldst inquire, I will instruct thee briefly why no dread Hinders my entrance here. Those things alone Are to be feared whence evil may proceed Yet lives, and shall live long as nature None else, for none are terrible beside. lasts A friend, not of my fortune, but myself, On the wide desert in his road has met I am so framed by God-thanks to his grace! That any sufferance of your misery Hindrance so great that he through fear has Touches me not, nor flame of that fierce fire turned. Assails me. In high heaven a blessed dame Now, much I dread lest he past help have Besides, who mourns with such effectual strayed And I be risen too late for his relief, grief That hindrance which I send thee to remove |