The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1871-03-16

The worm, the canker and the grief
Are his alone y
But what a divine essence spreads itself
around the man whose bold. open counten-
ance tells us that his life has been a success.
His position proves that when 1t becomes
necessary to choose the point he wished to
make, he paused TO consider; he took re-
Prospective view of the history of the past,
and drew q clear line of distinction between
the actions Of men who had succeeded, and
those who had failed. His triumphant
smile diffuses life and light throughout ev-
cry thing around him; he contends for
truth, and, Michael-like, wears crown Of
glory; he is the hOnored child of his coun-
try, and each part loves to call him its own;
and, like Stonewall Jackson, when he has
lived to combine religion with practical
life, an ornament to society, an honor 70
God, bearing his bosom to the spears Of his
enemies, always found at his post in the
bruntof battle, both public and private; and
which he IL never to arise, the cold death damp
settling down upon his brow, with smile Of
triumph, he viii gently murmur, i have
fought my last battle, have lead my gal
LIANT band in the charge for the last time;
g Let us cross over the river and rest under
the trees" Ask him why his cup of joy
has been so full why such crown of jew
els has been his? and his eyes will glow with
triumphant fire; his cheeks will Jingle
with his hearts purest blood as his vivid
Imagination pictures the first cup of temp
tation which he dashed from his way, and
he will answer, /" MOMENTS MAKE THE HUES
WITH WHICH YEARS ARE coLoRED."
And this is true, not only with individuals
but with cations, nor does It conf1ne itself
within the limits of modern times, but we
read it in the history Of our ancestors. And
when memory wings its flight far back TO
the primeval days of innocence, when man
was in a state OF purity, and uncontamina-
ted by sin, walking hand in hand with the
| -@fH hraafhinO sweet nQFf1mp
waited from the presence of his Creator,
surrounded by fruits, flowers and groves
beneath whose vernal shades angels loved
to recline, and all iIlumined by the approx
| ing smile of God, we see realization of
| this awful truth in manner so grand, so
sublime, as to be uncomfortable by US, ex-
| cent SO far as we feel the terrible effect, and
| experience the horrible consequence.
When the bewitching but deceitful tenn pit
er held out the lucious fruit to earth's first
| fairest and most innocent daughter, the
| fate of the world hung trembling upon the
decision of that moment. Countless myrl-
ads 10 Heaven combined to prevent the
rash act, and even descended TO earth 10
warn man of his danger; while the mighty
host of fallen angels, weltering In the merry
pools of the damned gulf over whose rugged
crags they had been precipitated; their tery
eyes glaring wide, while their red-hot DallS
seemed bursting from their sockets, awaited
with the most intense interest,", the uecIsIoh
nal felicity and condemn them 70 their ln-
fernal abode forever, or clip the sustaining
force, make a hell OF Paradise, and raise
them one GeSree nearer their former, DIss-
full abode,-she yielded ''and Nature from
her seat,
Signing through all her words, gave signs
of woe,
That all was lost
Sceptered Night donned her regal robe,
and amid chaos and confusion, man with
his enticing, his lovely seducer, commingled
with loathesome serpents. But he was not
piercing the murky darkness one bright
ray. They gazed eagerly, and as they
gaZed, and listened, and stretched far their
extended limbs to catch but one word of
hope, there came waited, as from an Eolian
harp, those simple words whose significance
infinity added to iptinity would not express,
at is finished" Behold the black clouds
roll away, and sun-burst of heavenly light
diffuses its mellow radiance through the
gloomy valley, scatters night away, and
man stands forth Inundated indeed, and
with stain on his pristine state of which
it can never be perfectly purified, but with
the proud consciousness of redemption.
Visions of those Inflated souls whose
bones are now twined round by the Shiny
weeds of the Dead Sea, still come over our
dreams, and the fate OF those great cities,
Ninevah and Babylon, whose turrets and
towers once rose like the mighty pyramids
of Egypt, and whose walls had baffied the
strategemS of ages, gives to our recOllec-
ton of them a peculiar tint of sadness.
One moment, Belshazzar was wildly rev.
cling in all the pleasures of licentious en-
ioyment thousand cOurtiers could tender !;
polluting the silver cups of the people of
God by drinking from them the profane
wine to the health of his hundred Lords
well aware that the massive walls by which
he was surrounded would not crumble at a
feathers weight utterly unconscious of the
fact, that the stubborn waters were being
turned from their course that his enemies
might approach the palace, otherwise mac
cessible. The next moment all is changed.
In that same hour and hall,
The fiBgers of hand
Came forth against the wall,
And wrote as if on sand:
The fingers of man.
A solitary hand
Along the letters ran,
And traced them like wand.
Now all is confusion. Gallant knights
buckle on their swords-fair women, who
but a moment ago were participating in the
whirling dance, or blushing before the en-
thusiastic bursts of eloquence from their adj
mirers, now trembling and white as marble,
cluster around each other as if for mutual
protection, or driven to despair by the idea
that IN few moments they would be torn to
pieces by the savage Persians of whom they
had heard so much, swore to be true to the
master whom they had pledged to support.
But, alas! all in vain!
"Belshazzar's grave is made,
His kingdom passed away,
He in the balance weighed
Is light as worthless clay.
The shroud, his robe of state,
His canopy, the stone:
The Mede is at his gate,
The Persian on his throne"
So that now, where once beautiful gar
dens flourished, and magnificent halls spread
tempting feasts, there is desert and a
wreck. Where the hooking bird chanted
its lay to the attentive ear of some lovely
lady, the bats and owls croak their hoarse
defiance to huge reptiles, as they wind
themselves around crumbling pillars.
Homer first led forth the bright star
that carried those brilliant corruscations
through the literary horizon of the golden
ages of Greece and Rome; and Chaucer.
catching the inspiration, by expressing his
grand ideas In verse, laid the foundation
upon which the poets of after years built
the Pantheon of English literature. The
sons of genius have made their offerings
upon its affairs. Spencer, Pope and DRYDEN
wove ehaplets of evergreen to decorate its
columns. Shakespeare and Milton made III
the sun of that bright constellation whose
satellites are but the pearly gems of mind.
while Byron, Moore and Walter Scott re-
create the beautiful Pomonca, busily en-
gagged among the flowing garlands of her
native bower, in the fertile fields of erudi-
ton; until now the GODDESS of poetry hovers
like gentle spell above the classic fields of
ancient lore. and researches for deep-rooted
principles, objects of the students am bition
A strange feeling of horror throws itself
around the soul, and the mind drawn from
its natural channel hangs suspended upon
the words of Milton in his sublime descrip-
ton of the meeting between Satan and
Death, while we are charmed by the sweet
strains of IennySon, as he depicts with
artistic skill, the beauties of nature.
As every reflection of rays give to the
fieecy clouds that guild the west at set of
sun different tint, so these events have
given to the coloring of the history OF the
world different shade.
Now turn with me and 1 will endeayor to
draw for you the picture which the reyolu-