CANTO II. The nation was at loggerheads, and none knew what And little light had yet been thrown upon the States' affairs, - or Abe, though good at splitting rails, was bad at splitting hairs. Then up arose that valiant man, Lieutenant-General Scott, And drew his sword, like Philip's son, and cut the Gordian knot. "Now, by this waxed moustache," he said, and looked around the group, "And by these lips that tasted once a hasty plate of soup,' I raise my voice for horrid war-' -'tis just the thing for me; Too long it is since I have had a military spree. With all our gallant peddlers, our knack at making clocks, Our taste for wooden nutmegs, and glorious Plymouth Rocks, Our reverence for a Higher Law, our godly pulpit rant, With all the talent which in Yankee land are now extant, A generalissimo, like me, would find it no great thing To gallop through the South, and whip the Chivalry, by Jing!" Oh, 'twas a fearful thing to see, just at the break of day, That terrible Armada sailing up through Charleston Bay; Battalions of Palmetto troops stood marshalled on the strand, To greet their Yankee cousins, and to welcome them on land; And banners waved, and tattoos beat, and cannon lined the beach, All ready to salute, when lo! they anchored-out of reach! A storm was bursting from the sky-'twas sweeping from the main; Its clouds were rolling wreaths of smoke, its rain was iron rain; Its lightning was the lurid bomb, its thunder was the roar Of mortar and columbiad, bristling on the sandy shore ; A thousand guns were flashing fire, a thousand whist ling balls Were falling in hot showers upon Fort Sumter's blackened walls. They fought, "the Saucy Seventy," like brave men, | Now glory be to Uncle Abe, and Scott, his bully pet, And Seward, the cook and bottle-washer of the Cabinet; long and well, With wondrous skill and fortitude they dodged the hurtling shell; Undauntedly they blazed away, with not a single crumb Of dinner to console them-not one cheering drop of rum; When, seeing 'twas impossible to fast and fight much And glory to the mighty fleet that stood off Charleston Bar, And left the dauntless Anderson to bear the brunt of war! -Charleston Mercury. THE STAR OF THE WEST 1. I wish I was in de land o' cotton, In Dixie land whar I was born in, CHORUS-Den I wish I was in Dixie. II. In Dixie land dat frosty mornin', De signal fire from de east bin roarin', CHORUS Den I wish I was in Dixie. III. Dat rocket high a blazing in de sky, Dey bin braggin' long, if we dare to shoot a shot, A NATIONAL SONG. An appropriate national song for the Southern Confederacy appears to be one of the mooted questions of the present exciting crisis. Plenty of patriotic poetry can be obtained, but a purely American melody, one that will take with the masses, is hard to be found. The popular old ballad of "The Minstrel's Return," composed by an American-and a Southerner, too-seems to be highly ap propriate to the patriots of the South. Years ago it was quite as popular as the negro tune of "Dixie" is at the present day; and the composer, who is a resident professor of music of Richmond, received many compliments for his happy conception. A correspondent has sent us the following adaptation, and expresses a hope that it may be taken up by the sing ers among our brave volunteers, and also by lady vocalists. Should the people adopt it, it will become our national anthem : SOUTHERN SONG OF FREEDOM. RY J. H. H. AIR-" The Minstrel's Return. I. A nation has sprung into life, Beneath the bright cross of the South, And now a loud call to the strife Rings out from the shrill bugle's mouth. They gather from morass and mountain, They gather from prairie and mart, To drink at young Liberty's fountain The nectar that kindles the heart. Then, hail to the land of the pine! The home of the noble and free! A palmetto wreath we'll entwine Round the altar of young Liberty! II. Our flag with its cluster of stars, They press to their lips every fold; While the hymn swells from hill and from valley: "Be God with our volunteers bold." Then, hail to the land of the pine! &c. III. Th' invaders rush down from the North; While whetting their knives and their swords. Then, hail to the land of the pine! &c. IV. The God of our fathers looks down, His smile will the patriot crown Who tramples his chains in the dust. March, march, Southrons! shoulder to shoulder, One heart-throb, one shout for the cause; Remember, the world's a beholder, And your bayonets are fixed at your doors! Then, hail to the land of the pine! &c. -Richmond Enquir A WELCOME TO THE INVADER. "AN ODE," ADDRESSED TO THE PICKED MEN OF COL. WILSON'S NEW YORK COMMAND. I. What! have ye come to spoil our fields, II. Back to your dens of crime and shame, III. Your ribald chieftain is a fool,Black hearts and bloody hands! In sneaky Seward's grasp a toolIn Blair's-a beast he stands. IV. Dare ye with patriot men to strive ?-- Black hearts and bloody hands! And can ye hope to 'scape alive From their avenging brands? POETRY-44 Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day, Come with thy panoplied array, With Ringgold's spirit for the fray, Come! for thy shield is bright and strong, Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong, Come to thine own heroic throng, Maryland! My Maryland! Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain, Virginia should not call in vain, She meets her sisters on the plain- Arise, in majesty again, Maryland! My Maryland! have an autograph letter from Gen. Geo. Washington, written in 1792, thanking them for an invitation to be with them at their annual celebration on the 22d of February of that year, which is handsomely framed. Of the fifty-two active members, fortyseven volunteered their services for the defence of the National Capital when Governor Sprague tele graphed to inquire the number of men they could furnish, and in a few hours the number was increased to one hundred and thirty-five by recruits.-National Intelligencer, May 17. THE Montgomery (Ala.) Weekly Post contains the following: "Too GOOD TO BE LOST.-A countryman was in the town of Lumpkin, Ga., last week, and some one asked him how he liked the war news. He replied, 'Very well.' Are you to go?' he was asked. 'Yes,' he replied. 'Are you not afraid?' 'No If I should see a Yankee with his gun levelled and looking right at me, I would draw out my pocketbook, and ask him what he would take for his gun, and right there the fight would end.'" Yes, the Yankee would probably sell him his gun, if the Lumpkiner had enough money to buy it; but as the load would still belong to the Yanker, he would probably deliver that before he did the gun.— Jackson (Ia.) Star. MOBILE, May 12.-Mr. W. H. Russell, the correOn the list of contributors to the fund in aid of spondent of the London Times, visited Forts Mor the volunteers, which is still open at the Counting- gan and Gaines to-day, accompanied by several room of the Savannah News, are two ten-dollar sub-prominent citizens. Russell made several very im scriptions voluntarily contributed, one by a free negro, and the other by a slave of this city. They desirod to the extent of their ability to prove their devotion to the cause of the South.-Charleston Evening News, May 10. THE Newport Artillery (Company F of the Rhode Island Regiment) is one of the oldest military organizations in the country. It is an independent company, and was chartered by the British Crown in 1741. With but three exceptions since that time (during the Revolutionary war, when Newport was in possession of English and Hessian troops) the company has held annual meetings under the charter and elected officers, who consist of a Colonel and others connected with a regiment. The names of Generals Greene and Vaughan, of Revolutionary fame, Commodore Perry, and other distinguished personages, are among the enrolled members of the company, which number between two and three thousand since its organization. In their armory at Newport they portant suggestions to Col. Hardee, regarding the fortifications, gathered from his experience in the Crimea; and seemed well pleased with Col. Hardee's command. Mr. R. says Col. H. is every inch a soldier.-Montgomery (Ala.) Mail, May 13. THE Mobile (Ala.) Advertiser, warm in its commendation of the declaration of war by the Congress of the seceded States, says: Let patriotic citizens go forth upon the trackless war paths of the ocean to fight for their country in the most effective manner. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of the property of the enemy invite them to spoil him-to "spoil these Egyptians" of the North, who would coerce us to staying when we strove peaceably to make our exodus to independence of their oppressive thrall; to go forth from degrading fellowship with them. The richly Laden ships of the enemy swarm on every sea, and are abso lutely unprotected. The harvest is ripe; let it be gathered, and we will strike the enemy to the heart -for we hit his pocket, his most sensitive part. His treasure ships, laden with California wealth, traverse Southern waters. Let them be the prize of the bravest and most enterprising. His commerce is the very life of the enemy's solvency and financial vitality. Strike it, and you lay the axe to the root of his power-you rend away the sinews of war. Let the flags of privateers show themselves on the seas, and the blockade will be raised. Lincoln's fleet will scatter over the world to protect the commerce of his citizens. But they cannot protect it though they try. They are numerous enough for the blockade, but not to guard the ocean The risk of the privateer will still be trifling, and he will continue to reap the harvest, laughing at the few scarecrows which would fright him from his profitablə employment. It is easy to put privateers afloat. There are an abundance of brave men among us ready to volunteer to fight anywhere. There are many among us ready to give money to the cause of their country, not looking for return. In this privateering the most enormous returns are promised with but trifling risk. Let the men of means fit out privateers, if they would best serve their country and advance their own interests. Let companies be formed to embark capital in privateering. If they can't get the craft here, they can get them somewhere. It is a pursuit of honor, patriotism, profit. Let us scour the seas, and sweep their commerce from it with the besom of destruction.-N. Y. Evening Post, May 13. WM. C. RIVES, a delegate from Virginia to the Southern Congress, on his way to Montgomery, was called on by the people at Atlanta, Georgia, for a speech. He made the following pointless response: "I feel highly complimented by this call from the citizens of Georgia to say a few words. I suppose you do not want to hear a speech from me, but that you do want to hear from Virginia. ["That's it," and cheers from the crowd.] She is all right, I am most happy to inform you. She is heart and hand with Georgia in this struggle, and will faithfully do her part. You have been accustomed, in political matters, in times past, to follow our lead; but now we will follow your lead in this great movement for the maintenance of the rights and independence of the South and her institutions. Our rights and liberties are assailed, and must be defended. Our cause is a just one, and brave hearts are rushing to uphold In the mean time you may rely upon Old Virginia. Whether she is to lead or to follow, she will be along and give a good account of herself. it. "I am happy to meet with you, my fellow-citizens, for though it is the first time I ever had the pleasure of looking on your faces, I feel in Georgia like I was at home in my own State. Many of your citizens are emigrants or the children of emigrants from our State; among whom are the Gilmers, Lumpkinses, Forsyths, Earlys, Meriwethers, and many others. "I hope you will excuse me from making any further remarks, out of respect for the day. I suppose you only wanted to hear a word about Virginia. [Here some one in the crowd asked him if there were any Federal troops in Alexandria.] No, my friend," said Mr. Rives; "there are none at that point. There are no Federal troops on any part of the soil of Virginia, except Fortress Monroe. I will not say they are afraid to come into Alexandria; but I will say that we have a trap for them into which they will fall whenever they attempt to come into that city. Thanking you for this manifestation of your feelings towards Virginia, I now bid you adieu." While he was uttering these last words, the train was moving, and he retired amidst the applause of the crowd.-Richmond Examiner, May 18. Ar the session of the Wyoming (N. Y.) Conference, the following substitute was offered and passed, instead of a resolution to adopt the report of last year on slavery : "Whereas, Divine Providence has taken the work of emancipation into his own hands; therefore, "Resolved, That we stand still and see the salvation of God."-N. Y. Evening Post, May 10. MR. SPARROWGRASS recently joined the "Home Guard" at Yonkers, New York, and said in a speech that "it is understood that the Home Guard is not to go to the wars, and not to leave Yonkers, except in case of invasion.” This is as good as the old story of the "Bungtown Riflemen," an Ohio military company, whose by-laws consisted of two sections, namely: "Article First.-This company shall be known as the Bungtown Riflemen. "Article Second.-In case of war, this company shall immediately disband."—Idem. A PATRIOTIC FAMILY.-Among the many incidents connected with the present military movements, no one is more remarkable than the following:-One of the companies connected with the Ohio regiments contains sixteen brothers by the name of Finch, residents of Dayton, Ohio. They were born in Durkheim, in Germany. The family numbers in all nineteen children-sixteen boys, all of whom are with the regiment, as stated above. Their parents are liv ing in New York, and their children obtained leave to visit them in Philadelphia. On their return, if time will permit, an entertainment will be given them by a number of Germans in Philadelphia.-N. Y. Tribune, May 20. MARSHAL SAXE, a high authority in such things, was in the habit of saying, that to kill a man in battle, the man's weight in lead must be expended. A French medical and surgical gazette, published at Lyons, says this fact was verified at Solferino, even in the recent great improvements in fire-arms. The Austrians fired 8,400,000 rounds. The loss of the French and Italians was 2,000 killed and 10,000 wounded. Each man hit cost 700 rounds, and every man killed cost 4,200 rounds. The mean weight of a ball is one ounce; thus we find that it required, on an average, 272 pounds of lead to kill a man. If any one of our friends should get into a military fight, they should feel great comfort in the fact that 700 shots may be fired at them before they are hit, and 4,200 before they "shuffle off the mortal coil."N. Y. Commercial, May 21. WASHINGTON, May 1.-A number of the Fire Zouaves, who are encamped in the neighborhood of the Insane Asylum, took a stroll some distance into St. George's county. During their walk, they saw a farmer planting his corn, and, on entering into conversation with him, found that he was afraid that he could not get it in soon enough, for he had to do all the planting himself. The lambs" immediately took off their jackets and went to work, and soon planted the whole field. The farmer expressed his thanks for their help in the warmest manner, and they returned to their encampment a little proud of their farming abilities.-Wash. National Republican. HISTORICAL PARALLELS.-The first collision of our fathers with the British after the battle of Lexington, and the first decided military success of the war, was the capture of Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and a British armed vessel on Lake Champlain, which was achieved on the 10th of May following by the Vermont hero, Col. Ethan Allen, at the head of a force of Green Mountain Boys. Massachusetts has matched the 19th of April, 1775, with the 19th of April, 1861; so Vermont now matches the 10th of May, 1775, with the 10th of May, 1861, for on that day, Capt. Lyon, a Vermonter, and U. S |