THE BLUE AND THE GRAY. Y the flow of the inland river, Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead;- 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 Alike for the friend and the foe;- So with an equal splendor On the blossoms blooming for all; Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment-day;- So, when the summer calleth, Waiting the judgment-day;- Sadly, but not with upbraiding, In the storm of the years that are fading, Under the garlands, the Gray. Waiting the judgment-day;- FRANCIS MILES FINCH. Lo! a cloud's about to vanish from the day; With the giant wrong shall fall Many others, great and small, That for ages long have held us for their prey. WHAT IS NOBLE? HAT is noble?-to inherit Wealth, estate, and proud degree?There must be some other merit Higher yet than these for me!— Something greater far must enter Into life's majestic span, Fitted to create and centre True nobility in man. What is noble?-'tis the finer Portion of our mind and heart, And, like man, to feel for Man! What is noble?-is the sabre Nobler than the humble spade here's a dignity in labor Truer than e'er pomp arrayed! He who seeks the mind's improvement Aids the world, in aiding mind! Every great commanding movement Serves not one, but all mankind. O'er the forge's heat and ashes,- And the spindle whirls its thread: Each requirement of the hour,— There is genius, still extending Science, and its world of power! 'Mid the dust, and speed, and clamor, What is noble?- that which places That mankind may follow still! THE LABORER. STAND up-erect! Thou hast the form And pure, as breast e'er wore. What then? - Thou art as true a man Who is thine enemy? The high In station, or in wealth the chief? TACT AND TALENT. ALENT is something, but tact is everything. Talent is serious, sober, grave and respectable: tact is all that, and more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the five. It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the keen smell, and the lively touch; it is the interpreter of all riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all obstacles. It is useful in all places, and at all times; it is useful in solitude, for it shows a man his way into the world; it is useful in society, for it shows him his way through the world. Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is momentum; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it; talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected; talent is wealth, tact is ready money. For all the practical purposes of life, tact carries it against talent ten to one. Take them to the theatre, and put them against each other on the stage, and talent shall produce you a tragedy that will scarcely live long enough to be condemned, while tact keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its successful farces. There is no want of dramatic talent, there is no want of dramatic tact; but they are seldom together: so we have successful pieces which are not respectable, and respectable pieces which are not successful. Take them to the bar, and let them shake their learned curls at each other in legal rivalry; talent sees its way clearly, but tact is first at its journey's end. Talent has many a compliment from the bench, but tact touches fees from attorneys and clients. Talent speaks learnedly and logically, tact triumphantly. Talent makes the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact excites astonishment that it gets on so fast. And the secret is, that it has no weight to carry; it makes no false steps; it hits the right nail on the head; it loses no time; it takes all hints and by keeping its eye on the weathercock, is ready to take advantage of every wind that blows. Take them into the church. Talent has always something worth hearing, tact is sure of abundance of hearers; talent may obtain a living, tact will make one; talent gets a good name, tact a great one; talent convinces, tact converts; talent is an honor to the profession, tact gains honor from the profession. Take them to court. Talent feels its weight, tact finds its way; talent commands, tact is obeyed; talent is honored with approbation, and tact is blessed by preferment. Place them in the senate. Talent nas the ear of the house, but tact wins its heart, and has its votes; talent is fit for employment, but tact is fitted for it. It has a knack of slipping into place with a sweet silence and glibness of movement, as a billiard-ball insinuates itself into the pocket. It seems to know everything, without learning anything. It has served an invisible and extemporary apprenticeship; it wants no drilling; it never ranks in the awkward squad; it has no left hand, no deaf ear, no blind side. It puts on no looks of wondrous wisdom, it has no air of profundity, but plays with the details of place as dexterously as a well-taught hand flourishes over the keys of the piano-forte. It has all the air of commonplace, and all the force and power of genius. man. THE GENTLEMAN. HEN you have found a man, you have not far to go to find a gentleman. You can not make a gold ring out of brass. You can not change a Cape May crystal to a diamond. You can not make a gentleman till you have first a To be a gentleman, it will not be sufficient to have had a grandfather. To be a gentleman does not depend upon the tailor, or the toilet. Blood will degenGood clothes are not good habits. A gentleman is just a gentle-man; no more, no less; a diamond polished, that was first a diamond in the rough. A gentleman is gentle. A gentleman is modest. A gentleman is courteous. A gentleman is gen erate. erous. A gentleman is slow to take offense, as being one that never gives it. A gentleman is slow to surmise evil, as being one that never thinks it. A gentleman goes armed only in consciousness of right. A gentleman subjects his appetites. A gentleman refines his taste. A gentleman subdues his feelings. A gentleman deems every other better than himself. Sir Philip Sidney was never so much a gentleman,mirror though he was of England's knighthood, as when, upon the field of Zutphen, as he lay in his own blood, he waived the draught of cold spring water, that was brought to quench his mortal thirst, in favor of a dying soldier. St. Paul described a gentleman when he exhorted the Philippian Christians: "Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." GEORGE W. DOANE. |