The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1863-05-06

to the very heart aristocracy rotten to
the core; crime and want linked hand in
hand, and tempting men to deeds of woe
and death-these are part of the doom
and the retribution that shall come upon
the English throne and the English peo.
pie!
Soldiers-I look around upon your fa-
miliar faces with strange interest To-
morrow merning we will go forth to bat
tle-for need | tell you that your unwor-
thy minister will march with you, invok-
ing Gods aid in the fght?-we viii march
forth to battle! Need | exhort you to
fight the good fight to fight for your
homesteads, and for your wives and
children
My friends, I might urge you to fight,
by the CALLING memories of British wrong?
Walton might tell you of your father
buthered in the silence of midnight en-
the plains of Trenton; l might picture
his gray hairs dabbled in blood | might
ring his death shrek ID your ears. She'-
mire, | might tell you of a mother butch.
cred, and a sister outraged-the lonely
farm house he night assault, the roof in
flames, the shouts of the troopers as they
dispatched their victim, the cries of mer-
cy, the pleading OF innocence for pity. |
might paint this all again, in the terrible
eolors of the vivid reality if | thought
your courage needed such wild excite
ment. ..f..t 5t tas
But know you are strong in the might
Of the Lord. You Will go forth to battle
on the morrow with light hearts aud de-
termined spirits though the duty-the
duty of avenging tie dead-may rest
heavy on your souls, ...
And in the hour OF battle, when all
around is darkness, lit by the lurld can
non glare, and the piercing musket flash,
when the wounded strew the ground and
the dead litter your patb-then remem-
Der soldiers that God is with you. The
eternal God fights for you-he rides on
the battle cloud, he sweeps onward with
the march of the hurricane charge-God,
the Awful and Infnite, fights for you,
and you will triumph.
"They that take the sword shall perish by
the sword
You have taken the sword, but not in
the spirit of wrong and ravage. You
have taken the sword for your wives, for
your little ones. You have taken the
sword for truth, for justice and right, and
to you the promise is be Of good cheer,
for your foes have taken the sword in de-
fance Of all that man holds dear, in bias
phemy of God-thsy shall perish by the
sacord.
And now brethren and soldiers, | bid
you farewell Many of US may fall in the
fight o-morrow-God rest the souls of
the fallen,-many of US may live to tell
the story Of the fight tomorrow, and in
the memory of all will ever rest and lin
ger the quiet scene Of this autumnal
night. arra- ~ ..E
Solemn twilight advances over the val
ley the woods On the opposite heights
fling their long shadows over the green of
the meadow-around US are the tents of
the continental host, the suppressed hustle
of the camp, the hurried tramp ct the
soldiers to and fro among the tents, the
stiffness and silence that marks the eve
of battle. -
When We meet again, may the long
shadows of twilight be flung over peace
full land.
God in Heaven grant it. rs
Let US pray.
PRAYER OF THE REVOLUTION.
Great Father we bow before thee. We
invoke thy blessing, we deprecate thy
wrath We return thee thanks for the
past, we ask thy aid for the future For
we are In times of trouble, o Lord, and
sore beset by foes, merciless and unpity-
ing; the sword CLEANS over our land and
the dust of the land is dampened with the
blood of our neighbors and friends.
o God of mercy, We pray thy blessing
on our American arms. Make tho man
of our hearts strong in thy wisdCm bless,
we beseech thee, with renewed life and
strength, our hope, and thy instrument.
even George " aslIington-shower thy
counsels Oh the Honorable, the Coutinen-
tai Congress, visit the tents of our host,
the soldier in his wounds and af
Hictiops, nerve him for the fight, and pre-
pare him for the hour of death.
And in the hour of defeat, o God of
Hosts, do thou be our stay, and in the
hour of triumph be thou our guide.
Teach Us to be mercitul. Though the
memory of calling wrongs be at our
hearts, knocking for admittaDce that they
may ill us with desires of revenge, yet
let US, O Lord spare rhe vanquished,
though they never spared US, in their
hour of butchcry and blood shed. Aud |
in the hour of death do thou guide US into
The abode prepared for the blest so shall |