The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869, 1864-03-10
NUMBER 50.

And 50 they passed On with faunting
banners and prancing steeds and gala uni
forms as to holiday review
And there met them host Of forlorn
locking men in gray and in rags. with un-
kempt locks and famine marked visaccs
and bleeding feet, and as they wave. with
crest Of sparkling foam. it dashed upon a
rock, and as it recoils in broken spray
from the everlasting adamant. SO was the
giitterlng and gorgeous host hurled upon
the gray and ragged mas; 50 did it vainly
spend its fury. and 50 did it recoil. shat
tered, bafliei, bleeding in disnay and pan
ic before the stern might of rcsolute de.-
pair.
Again and again with increased num-
bers and recruited energies the brilliant
and powerful host surged forward to the
shock and again recoiled bleeding and bro
ken--but
Gas the spring tide with heavy Hash,
From the cliffs invading dash
Huge fragments slpped by the ceasoless flow,
so outnumbered and outworn bv constant
collision were at last compelled to give
way, and the conquering host imbrutcd by
long conflict and maddened by the recoI-
lection of countless disasters and a long
and almost unbroken train Of defeats. surg
ed on unopposed.
"Bursts the wild cry of horror and disnay
a thousand shreks for hopeless mercy cry:
Each shOok-red meteOrs rushed along lie skv.
And conscious nature shuddcleI at the cry.''
i averted ny head aad looked back
along the way Of peace
1t was strangely paved with broken
muskets and shiverel sabres, fragments of
she'll, bursted cannon and the bones OF
the war horse and paek-mule balancing
te'ide those Of the lately gay and glitter
ing combatants. The broken tools that
tyrants cast away by myriads"
But. saddest sight Of all, I saw the
crushed and nianglcd liberties Of the coun-
try strcwing the conquerer, pathway. [
looked again in tie direction of the con
querine host Il had disappeared, and /
saw The end Of the way Of peace" 1t
passed. under I portal inscribed with the
words
"Ube soli'udium fac;na.. qacem appellant.
! passed through, anxious to see to what
this way Of peace. trodden at such fear
ful co>t. would lead. / entered country
intended L. nature to be the Garden cfthc
universe. Tie dssolatioa vas appalling.
On every side were traces of former cul-
ture and prosperity, e more recent dcyas-
tation sack and ruin | saw everywhere
unieneed fields grown mp to weeds. stumps
sanding IN regular rows, marking the
lace where ouee had Lecn fruitful or
char,ls; ruined bridges, abandoned mills,
railway stripped of iron and blackened
ruins Of what had once been dwelling
houses. halfburnt fragments Of human
bones commnelnr With the ashes of their
timber and now began 70 dcsery here
and there the smoke OF cabin chimneys.-
These were generally far apart. ca the
skirt of some wood, AMI were tcnantcd by
legroes, who lived in ,4ualii Incidence
snl utter misery, dependent for scanty
subsistence upon fishing and ;he chase -
An aged negro ted nc sadly that his peo-
pc were formerly much more numerous,
md that tlic;r labor conducted under the
guidance Of white men. had produced for
hem an abundance of al the necossar;cs
ind No few Of the comforts Of life
Then. sad I. wfetchel is the nation that
reads such way Of feace - Gin Eng.