The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1861-07-26

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spirits give power to evil men for its inaug
uration, that amid conflicts Of blood the!
may cast all roaring down to the dark re
gions, where the waves Of oblivion will clos
over them. Its evils cannot DO written, ever
in human blood. II sweeps our race from
earth, Ms II Heaven had rcpcntcd the making
Of man. 1t lays its skinny hand upon society
and leaves It dcformed by wrctchcdness anc
black with gore. II marches on its mission
of destruction through q red sea Of blood
and tiDges the fruits Of earth with q ansuin'
hue, as the mulberry REDEEMED in sympathy
with the romantic fate Of the devoted lovers
Il "spoils the dance Of youthful blood" ant
writes sorrow and sriefprematurcly upon the
glad brow OF childhood. It chills the hear,
and hope Of youth. 1t drinks the life cur
rent Of early manhood, and brings down the
gray hairs of the aged with sorrow to the
grave. It weaves tho widows weeds with
the bridal, and our land, like Rama, Is fllet
with wailing and lamcntation. II lights uI
the darkness with the flames Of happy homes
It consumes, like the locusts Of Egypt, ever,
living thing in its pathway. 1t wrecks for
tunes, brings bankruptcy and repudiation
and blasts the fields Of the husbandman-ii
depopulatcs towns, and leaves cities modern
Herculaneum. II desolates the 6reside. and
covers the family dwelling with gloom, and
an awful vacancy rests where like the haunt
cd mansion:
"No human figure stirred to 60 or come,
No face looked forth from open shut or case
ment,
No chimney smoked; there was no sign Of home
From parapet to basement.
No dog was on the threshold great or small,
No pigon on the roof, no household creature,
No cat demurelv doIing on the wall,
Not one domestic feature"
1t loads the people with debt. to pass down
from one generation to another, like the
curse Of original sin; upon its merciless er'
rand of violence, 1t fills the land with crime
and tumult and rapine, and It "glutes the
grave with untimely victims and peoples the
world of perdition." In the struggle OF It's
throes, it heaves tho moral elements with
conyulsions, and leaves few traces Of utility
behind 1t to mitigate its curse, and he who
inaugurates II, like the ierocious Hun, should
be denominatcd the scourgc Of God, and when
his day of reckoning shall come, he will call
upon the rocks and mountains to hide him
from popular indignation. But with all its
attending evils, such u Union cannot be yield
cd to It's demands, nor to avoid its terrors,
even though, like the Republic Of France,
We may exchange for time "liberty, cquali-
ty, and fraternity" for infantry, cavalry,
and artillery. Nor arc tame and timid
measures the guarautors of peace. u is as
much the nature Of faction to bc base rs OF
patriotism to be noble; and divided Union,
instead Of securing peace, would present con-
slant occasions for conflict. and be fruitful
source of war. Let the rabblc cry Of divide
and cruelty go on from the throat Of faction,
and tho cold and calculating political Pilates
wash their hands, and proclaim their in.
nocence, while their souls are stained with
guilt and crime for urging it forward; but
let the faithful, conscious Of their integrity
and strong in truth endure to the end. Yet
ruthlers us is the sway, and devastating as
the course Of war. it is not the greatest Of
evils, nor the last lesson in humiliation. -
"Sweet are the uses Of adversity.' In its
current Of violence and blood, 1t may purify
an atmosphere too long sur-chargcd with dis
content and corruption, and apostacy and
trcacl,cry and littlencss, and prove how poor
a remedy it is for social grievances. 1t may
correct the dry.rot Of Generalization, in
public station, and raise Us, as people,
above the dead level of q mean and morbid
ambition. Itmay scatter the tribe Of bloatod
hangcrs-on who seek to serve their country
that they may plumber and betray II; and
above all It may arouse the popular mind to
u just sense of its responsibility. until itshall
select its servants with care, and hold them
TO faithful discharge Of their duties: until
deficient morals shall be held questionable,
falsehood social fault, violations OF truth
disqualification and briberya disgrace-until
integrity shall be recommendation, and
treason and larceny crimes.
Can Union once discovered be recon-
structed by the arrangement Of all parties
concerned In its formation? When It is once
destroyed 1t is destroyed forever. Let those
who believe II can be. frt raise the dead,
place the dimpling laugh Of childhood upon
the lip Of age, gather up the petals Of May
flowers and bind them upon their native
stems in their primcval freshness amid the
frosts Of December, bring back the withercd
leaves Of Autumn and brcatheinto them their
early luIuriance, and then bring together
again the scattered elements Of a discovered
Union, when the generous Sring.time OF our
Republic has passed away, and scl6shnoss and
ambition have come upon us with their pro
mature frosts and winter Of disontent. y
Shall we surrender TO turbulence and lac
ton, and rebellion, and give up tho Union
with all its elements Of good, all its holy
memories. aIl its ballowed associations, all
its blood-bought historyf
"No ! let the eagle change his plume.
The leaf its hue. the flower It's bloom"
But do not give up the Union. Preserve Il
to .aourish in immortal youth" until II Is
dissolved amid the "wreck OF matter and the