Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-05-30
Yours respectively, A. WARD
The Present and the Future.

Occasional" the well-known editor of
the Philadelphia Press, in letter written
to that journal from Washington, thus elo-
quently speaks of the wonderful present
through which we are now passing, and Of
the promise it holds out of a glorious future,
toward which an over-ruling Providence is
leading us:
/ often wish to be inspired with superbu-
man energy and genius in order to collate
the facts and to describe the scenes that mark
the era in which we are living. Every part
of our country has its own heroes, its own
evidences patriotism and disintcrestedness;
and even the betrayed South could help to
fill up the general picture with the dark
shadows of its own self-inflicted woes, and
self-invited and rapidly approaching defeat
What wonderful spectacle we present to
mankind and to the future! Nothing in
the worlds history has ever equalled this
awakening Of the nation from the deepest
recess of the ocean of public opinion to the
loltiest heights of religious devotion. 1t is
worth all the blood that may flow, even if it
should run in torrents through generations
of time, if only because of the noble elements
ofhuman nature it has called forth. Who
will not unsay his calumnios upon man when
he sees twAity millions displaying the attri-
butes Of the gods? There is no exception,
save where insanity or hatred has extinguish-
ed the natural affections. The whole surface
of the loyal States is covered as with man
tic of love ofcountry,, Every, heart seems to
have been suddenly filed with q new emo
ton. 1t is as if that God whom we have so
often invoked to save this land from death,
had ruhon 1aupotr uroc m, t,nn f,itI -, Him
almost myth, come forth and breathed in
to our people spark OF his own celestial
| fire. For, is net this marvellous scene too
marvellous to result from the exertions of his
own creatures? He has spoken. He has
armed us with new weapons. We have in
deed fulfilled the adage, that the Voice of
the people is the voice of God. The mira
, Gle of mircles has transpired. The mystic
rious decree of Providence has pronounced our
Union perpetual by providing a remedy for
its preservation. Our foes have not Only
been baff1ed, but overawed and stupe6ed.
Like the liar who fell dead with his false
hood in his throat-like the drunken Bel
shazzar at his feast-like the doomed hosts
of Nineveh and of Sodom-thcy have been
admonished by that which may be called the
almost visible manifestation of the wrath of
an offended Deity. For, whether they sur
render now or not, they must yield soon aud
forever. | wonder how these men of Goo
in the South, while pity them from my
soul who preach on the side of treason, will
read this singular demonstration of the inter
position of their great Master in this crisis
of our common country. Will they accep
it as warning, or go on dcfying Him ant
misleading the people? Mark my proph.
ecy The next proofof the wondrous in
huence of this Presence will be the breaking
forth in the slave States of those reEgicu
instincts now temporarily deceived and cloud
ed by corrupt men. If there are believer
in truth-in Gospel-in the Bible-iI
honesty-in these States, they will shortl.
spring from their lethargy and renounc'
! their errors and their betrayers. That re
gion will shortly abound in Sauls, suddenl.
and strangely brought to reason and to ligh
by q message from the skies
Some of tho triumphs of the revelation
that has fallen upon our people. are nearl.
inexplicable The instant extinction of part,
feeling is novel enough; the patriotism OF
the women, natural always, but now sublime
the bravery of the men, from the priest Il
the publican, from sire to son, would be OK
planned by other causes if it were not SO uni
versal and selfpreyading. But when. yo'
see the miser unlock his Golfers and giyinl
his boards to his country, flags flying iron
churches Of every creed, and whole popula
tions giving up work and rushing into tn
army, NAV we not feel that we are in tn
hands Of God, and that he has become GU
Protector and our President ir :. n
have been present at some extraordinor
! meetings during the last six weeks, particu
lariy since Sumter fell. The spirit that move