THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.

The women of Columbus, Mississippi, animated by noble sentiments, have shown themselves impartial in their offerings made to the memory of the dead. They strewed flowers alike on the graves of the Confederate and of the National soldiers.

Y the flow of the inland river,

BY

Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,

Asleep on the ranks of the dead :

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;

Under the one, the Blue,
Under the other, the Gray.

These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet :-
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;
Under the laurel, the Blue,

Under the willow, the Gray.

:

From the silence of sorrowful hours,
The desolate mourners go,

Lovingly laden with flowers,

Alike for the friend and the foe:

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day,
Under the roses, the Blue,
Under the lilies, the Gray.

So, with an equal splendor,
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,

On the blossoms blooming for all:

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue,
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the Summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain :-
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;
Wet with the rain, the Blue,
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,

The generous deed was done;
In the storm of the years that are fading,
No braver battle was won :—
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue,

Under the garlands, the Gray.

No more shall the war-cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever

When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment day;
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.

F. M. FINCH.

UNCLE PETE'S COUNSEL TO THE NEWLY

MARRIED.

MY chil'ren, lub one anoder; b'ar wid one anoder; be

faithful ter one anoder. You hab started on a long journey; many rough places am in de road; many trubbles will spring up by de wayside; but gwo on hand an' hand togedder; lub one anoder, an' no matter what come onter you, you will be happy-for lub will sweeten ebery sorrer, lighten ebery load, make the sun shine in eben de bery cloudiest wedder. I knows it will, my chil'ren, 'case I'se been ober de groun'. Ole Aggy an' I hab trabbled de road. Hand in hand we hab gone ober de rocks; fru de mud; in de hot burning sand; been out togedder in de cole, an' de rain, an' de storm, fur nigh onter forty yar, but we hab clung to one anoder; an' fru ebery ting in de bery darkest days, de sun ob joy an' peace hab broke fru de clouds, an' sent him bressed rays inter our hearts. We started jess like two young saplin's you's seed a growin' side by side in de woods. At fust we seemed 'way part fur de brambles, and de tick bushes, an' de ugly forns-(dem war our bad ways)-war atween us, but lub, like de sun, shone down on us, an' we grow'd. We grow'd till our heads got above de bushes; till dis little branch, an' dat little branch-dem war our holy feelin's-put out toward one anoder, an' we come closer an' closer togedder. An' dough we'm ole trees now, an' sometime de wind blow, an' de storm rage fru de tops, an' freaten to tear off de limbs, an' ter pull up de bery roots, we'm growin' closer an closer, an' nearer an' nearer togedder ebery day-an' soon de ole tops will meet; soon de ole branches, all cobered ober wid de gray moss, will twine roun' one anoder; soon de two ole trees will come togedder, an'

grow inter one foreber-grow inter one up dar in de sky whar de wind neber'll blow, whar de storm neber'll beat; whar we shill blossom an' bar fruit to de glory ob de Lord, an' in His heabenly kingdom foreber, Amen. EDMUND KIRKE.

DRA

BETSY AND I ARE OUT.

RAW up the papers, lawyer, and make 'em good and stout,

For things at home are cross-ways, and Betsy and I are

out,

We who have worked together so long as man and wife, Must pull in single harness the rest of our natʼral life.

"What is the matter," says you? I swan! it's hard to tell!

Most of the years behind us we've passed by very well;
I have no other woman-she has no other man;
Only we've lived together as long as ever we can.

So I have talked with Betsy, and Betsy has talked with

me;

And we have agreed together, that we can never agree; Not that we've catched each other in any terrible crime, We've been a gatherin' this for years, a little at a time.

There was a stock of temper we both had for a start; Although we ne'er suspected, 'twould take us two apart; I had my various failings, bred in the flesh and bone, And Betsy, like all good women, had a temper of her

own.

The first thing, I remember, whereon we disagreed,
Was somethin' concerning heaven-a difference in our

creed;

We arg'ed the thing at breakfast-we arg'ed the thing

at tea

And the more we arg'ed the question, the more we couldn't agree.

And the next that I remember was when we lost a cow; She had kicked the bucket, for certain-the question was only-How?

I held my opinion, and Betsy another had;

And when we were done a talkin', we both of us was mad.

And the next that I remember, it started in a joke;
But for full a week it lasted and neither of us spoke.
And the next was when I fretted because she broke a

bowl;

And she said I was mean and stingy, and hadn't any soul.

And so the thing kept workin', and all the self-same way;

Always something to arg'e and something sharp to say,And down on us came the neighbors, a couple o' dozen

strong,

And lent their kindest sarvice to help the thing along.

And there have been days together—and many a weary week

When both of us were cross and spunky, and both too proud to speak;