ened the political heavens of any nation. Than the clergy, no recreant wretches in Rebeldom have been more rabid, lawless, and blood-thirsty. The preachers of Arkansas and Missouri, with here and there a rare exception, were regular fire-eaters; they out-heroded Herod, and left in the shade even the loud-mouthed demagogue, the black-hearted kidnappers, and soulless slave-traders. Yes; astounding as it may seem, and disgraceful as it must appear, incumbents of the pulpit lent themselves to the cause of secession and treason in the most unscrupulous and reckless manner; sanctioned the murder of political heretics, as Union men were esteemed; apologized for perjury, in disregarding the oath of allegiance; and justified all the diabolical barbarism of the guerrilla system, which caused a reign of terror, throughout the Southwest, that has had no parallel in the history of nations, - no; not even in the worst days of the French Revolution.

But to return to our youthful hero. Malvin, before the breaking out of the rebellion, had

some time marked with serious apprehensions the portentous aspect of the political sky, and watched with anxiety the coming of the gray shadow of secession, and the constant deepening of the gloom; yet he little dreamed that the black cloud of civil war was destined so soon to blot the sun, and from its fretted bosom hurl the thunderbolts of death. Although he quailed in the beginning of the reign of terror, and fled in dismay when, with the resistless power of the whirlwind, the storm first broke upon his own head; yet it will be seen that the fiery ordeal, through which he was called to pass, directly drew out the strong points of his character, developed indomitable energy, fired his soul with dauntless courage, and transformed him into a hero.

Such is the tendency of adversity and trying scenes upon sterling natures. Calamity, suffering, and persecution become the crucible in which the precious metal of the soul is separated from the dross. In Malvin, it at once brought out the pure gold of manly virtue and true patriotism. And, by the way, a

thought is here suggested on which it may not be unprofitable to expatiate a moment. It is this: While the terrible civil war, now upon us, has brought, and is daily bringing, direst calamities and untold sorrows, yet at the same time it has, with its numberless ills and long train of evils, brought also no little good; and is certainly destined, in the end, to work out great and glorious results.

Not least among the benefits already realized are the testing of principle in men and the development and unveiling of their true charac

ters.

Never before, in this world's history, has there been such an opportunity for men to show themselves, and to make known the stuff they are made of.

Under the pressure and white heat of excitement, consequent upon such times, the moral complexion of the soul, the real principles of men, and their inherent qualities of mind and heart, be they what they may, are necessarily brought out in a strong light. The tossing of the waves, the surging of the sea, when the

tempest flaps her dark wings, discover the coral reefs, or lay bare the black rocks below the surface; so the gusts of passion, in stormy times like these, the gales that sweep over the mind, and the crowding on of great and stirring events, strip all actors in the scene of their outward guise, and we see men as they are, read their hearts, discern their secret motives, and comprehend their actions.

Since the beginning of our unhappy and most sanguinary struggle, how many men, who, in the "piping times of peace," put on blandishments, gracious smiles, and fairest external seeming, have turned out treacherous, selfish, unprincipled, and hollow-hearted! And how And how many of great pretensions, of lofty airs, wonderful parade, pomp, and show, have proved themselves but chaff,— made up of vanity, and lighter than a puff of empty air!

At the same time, how many in the humbler walks of life, unpretentious, simple-hearted, and of plain, homely exterior, after passing through the fire, have come out pure and sparkling diamonds of the first water!

The mighty commotion, upheavals, and convulsions, of the country have so sifted men North and South, East and West, that we begin to see what material they are composed of, and to understand their real characters. While the caldron has been boiling, they have found their affinities, and unconsciously ranged themselves where they belong.

True patriots and self-sacrificing citizens, who have been the salvation of the country, loom up like stately columns of pure, white marble, dotting and adorning our fair land, while traitors are everywhere covered with shame and disgrace; and the vile copperhead, with his brains out, and swollen with venom, lies helpless in his snaky folds, a miserable spectacle in the eyes of all honest men, and abhorred alike by Heaven and earth!

Men who have stood by their country in its peril, in its struggle, in its agony, have won a name that will live after them,-a renown more durable than marble, and a glory fadeless as the stars that gem the sky; but the memory of traitors shall be left to rot.