And when I kneel and try to pray,
    My thoughts are never free,
  But cling to those who toil and fight
    And die for you and me. 
  And when I pray for victory,
    It seems almost a sin
  To fold my hands and ask for what
    I will not help to win.

  Oh! do not cling to me and cry,
    For it will break my heart;
  I’m sure you’d rather have me die
    Than not to bear my part. 
  You think that some should stay at home
    To care for those away;
  But still I’m helpless to decide
    If I should go or stay.

  For, Marty, all the soldiers love,
    And all are loved again;
  And I am loved, and love, perhaps,
    No more than other men. 
  I cannot tell—­I do not know—­
    Which way my duty lies,
  Or where the Lord would have me build
    My fire of sacrifice.

I feel—­I know—­I am not mean;
And though I seem to boast,
I’m sure that I would give my life
To those who need it most
Perhaps the Spirit will reveal
That which is fair and right;
So, Marty, let us humbly kneel
And pray to Heaven for light.

* * * * *

Peace in the clover-scented air,
And stars within the dome;
And underneath, in dim repose,
A plain, New-England home. 
Within, a widow in her weeds,
From whom all joy is flown,
Who kneels among her sleeping babes,
And weeps and prays alone!

* * * * *

OUR RECENT FOREIGN RELATIONS.

The founders of the American Republic were wise alike in their grasp of temporary difficulties and in the forethought they bestowed upon the period of construction which was to come.  Before a government was formed, its necessary elements had attained something of order, much of efficacy.  In the very inception of revolution, the beginning was made of that elaborate diplomatic system which became the medium by which we have asserted rights, elicited respect, and received amenities from the great powers of the earth.

In the early days of our Revolution, the conduct of the foreign correspondence was intrusted to the care of a Committee, composed of men of established reputation for capacity and patriotism.  Through their labors, not only did we receive substantial sympathy from those unselfish men in the mother-country who discountenanced the hateful oppression of the crown:  France, guided by the generous Vergennes, was also attracted to our active defence; the independent spirit of the Low Countries cheered and helped us; Tuscany, inheriting the sentiment of liberty from Dante and Macchiavelli, extended loans with a liberal hand; Spain and Portugal rose superior to their traditional bigotry, and sent us money, ships, and stores.  So efficient was our infant system of diplomacy, that, long before the war had ended, England stood absolutely without the countenance of a single Continental power, and