"I am bound to add, however, on the other side, that I found some persons in France, who believe, or professed to believe, that the Emperor meant mischief towards your country. These were principally Legitimists, who, while deprecating hostilities with England themselves, expressed strong distrust as to the intentions of the present ruler of France. I must say, though I was very kindly received in their circles, that I believe much of this suspicion sprang from their own strong political feelings as regards Louis Napoleon."

These periodical invasion panics in England are such queer and strange phenomena, that we shall attempt in a future number such solution of them as we can.

A MIGHTY CURE-ALL.

Several gentlemen were talking one evening at the house of a friend, when one of them exclaimed, "Ah, depend upon it, a soft answer is a mighty cure-all!" A boy, who sat behind at a table studying his Latin grammar, began to listen, and repeated, as he thought quite to himself, a soft answer is a mighty cure-all. "Yes, that's it," cried the gentleman, starting and turning round to see where the echo came from, "Yes, that's it; don't you think so, my lad ?" The boy blushed a little at finding himself so unexpectedly addressed, but answered, "I don't know whether I understand you, sir." "Well, I'll explain, then," said the gentleman, wheeling round in his chair; "for it is a principle which is going to conquer the world." The boy looked more puzzled than ever, and thought he should like to know something equal to Alexander himself.

"I might as well explain," said he, "by telling you about the first time it conquered me. My father was an officer; and his notion was to settle everything by fighting. If a boy gave me a saucy word, it was, 'Fight 'em, Charley; fight 'em! By and by, I was sent to the famous. school; and it so happened my seat was next to alad named Tom Tucker. When I found he lived in a small house behind the academy, I began to strut a little, and talk about what my father was; but, as he was a capital scholar, very much thought of by the boys, besides being excellent at batand-ball, we were soon on pretty good terms, and so it went on for some time. After a while, some of the fellows of my stamp, and I with the rest, got into difficulty with one of the ushers; and, somehow or other, we got the notion that Tom Tucker was at the bottom of it.

"Tom Tucker! who is he?' I cried angrily. I'll let him know who I am!' and we rattled on, until we fairly talked ourselves into a parcel of wolves. The boys then set me on to go down to Tom Tucker's, and let him know what he had to expect. Swelling with rage, I bolted into his yard, where he was at work with Trip and his little sister. 'I'll teach you

to talk about me in this way! I thundered, marching up to him. He never winced, or seemed the least frightened, but stood still, looking at me as mild as a lamb. Tell me,' I cried, throwing down my books, doubling up my fist, and sidling up to him, Tell me, or I'll'-kill you, I was going to say, for murder was in my heart.

"He stepped on one side, but answered firmly, yet mildly, Charley, you may strike me as much as you please: I tell you I sha'nt strike back again; fighting is a poor way of settling difficulties. I'm thinking, when you are Charles Everett, I'll talk with you.'

"Oh, what an answer was that! how it cowed me down-so firm, yet so mild! I felt there was no fun in having the fight all on one side. I was

ashamed of myself, and my temper, and everything about me. I longed to get out of his sight. I saw what a poor, foolish way my way of doing things was. I felt that Tom had completely got the better of me-that there was a power in his principles superior to anything I had ever seen before; and from that hour Tom Tucker had an influence over me which nobody else ever had before or since. It has been for good, too. That, you see, is the power, the mighty moral, of a soft answer.

"I have been about the world a great deal since then; and I believe," said the gentleman, "that nearly all, if not quite all, the bickerings, the quarrels, and disputes which arise among men, women, or children, in families, neighborhoods, churches, or even nations, might be cured by the mighty moral power of a soft answer; for the Scripture has it,' A soft answer turneth away wrath.""

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Yet how many professedly Christian parents train their children to act on the war-principle of fighting their way. "There is no other way," said one of these pugnacious disciples whom we once met; we must stand up for ourselves, and, if others won't respect our rights, we must fight 'em.” Is that the gospel? 'Yes, that's my gospel.' But would you train your children to act on this principle? Certainly. If Charley comes home from school with complaints about being ill-treated by his associates, I tell him not to bring such complains to me, but go and settle them himself.' Settle them by fighting? Yes, by fighting. There's no other way. Give them back their own coin-fight 'em. If a boy of mine would'nt do so, I'd whip him till he did.' Such is the gospel of some Christians—a gospel not of peace, but of war; a gospel that would make society a bear-garden, worse than a human menagerie; as unlike the gospel of Christ as darkness is to light, or hell to heaven. No wonder, with such views, that the gospel has not yet put an end to the war-system in any Christian land; nor, till better understood and applied, can it ever induce nations to cease from learning war any more.

SUBSTITUTES FOR WAR.-"How many considerations are there," said Count de Morgny in his address before the French Legislature early in 1859, which ought to dispel our anxiety. Religion, philosophy, civilization, credit, manu factures, have made peace the first necessity of modern times. The blood of people can no longer be lightly shed — war is the last resort of injured right, or wounded honor, Almost all difficulties are now solved by diplomacy or pacific arbitration. Rapid international communication and publicity have created a new European power with which all governments are obliged to reckon; this power is opinion."

It certainly is no little gain to the cause of reason and humanity, that the masters of the world are obliged thus to acknowledge the authority of public opinion, and to appear and plead their own cause before its sovereign tribunal. It is still more gained, to find them acknowledge that almost all disputed questions can and ought now to be settled by pacific arbitration. These are omens for good, and may be fairly taken as prognostics of a day when the bloody and brutal arbitrament of the sword shall at length be entirely and forever abolished.

OUR MILITIA.

The law makes it the duty of the Secretary of War to prepare an annual abstract of the return of the militia in the several States. The aggregates for the last year are as follows:

The total, omitting Iowa, is 2,766,726 men in the United States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, liable to military duty. "These returns have no connection whatever with the volunteer corps, authorised by State legislation; nor are the members of such corps exempted by their membership from service in the United States militia."

What a formidable array of figures! Nearly three millions of "citizen soldiers!" But there is some consolation in knowing that there are so few real soldiers at the bottom of all this array. We doubt whether one in ten, if one in twenty, has for years performed any military service whatever. It is a mere enrolment, as for the jury-box, of the persons liable to service in case of an invasion, or some other emergency not expected ever to occur. Indeed, we can hardly be said to have any military system. We once had one; but that is dead and buried long ago. We have an enrolment; but this must be regarded as a mere official farce. It simply tells the nation that there are so many able-bodied men in the land which the government can, if necessary, call forth to repel invasion, or suppress riot or rebellion. There is, for the most part, no appointment of officers, no arming of the men, no meeting at set times for drills, no real military organization. Vox et pretea nihil. Stat nominis umbra.

Take Massachusetts as a specimen. There is not left among us even a shadow of the old militia system. That is extinct; and in its place we have our Volunteer Militia, an organization of some 5,500 young men so fond of the display and recreation incident to military parades, that they will, if well paid by the State for it, come out twice a year to go through the usual drills, the peaceful mimicry of war. We learn from the fore

going figures, that there are in this State, 158,849 men liable to do military service; but of all these it seems that less than one in thirty are found in what we call call our "active militia." It is marvellous how much ado can be made by politicians and political papers over such a mere handful of men as were lately got together at Concord after months of "drumming" and preparation. Not one "citizen soldier" in thirty was there. A pretty fair index to the popularity of the system; and yet we should suppose, from the out-cry made about it, that all the State must have been on tiptoe to be present, and witness the grand display-the display of 5,500 troops! the whole of them not half enough for a decent sop to the war Cerberus at Solferino or Magenta.

WARS AHEAD.

President Buchanan devotes nearly a fourth part of his recent message to the affairs of Mexico, and closes with very urgent recommendations that will be sure, if adopted by Congress, to involve us in a series of most disgraceful fillibustering wars.

1. "For these reasons," says he, after giving a long list of grievances against Mexico, "I recommend to Congress to pass a law authorizing the President, under such conditions as they may deem expedient, to employ a sufficient military force to enter Mexico for the purpose of obtaining indemnity for the past, and security for the future. I purposely refrain from any suggestion as to whether this force shall consist of regular troops, or volunteers, or both. This question may be most appropriately left to the decision of Congress. I would merely observe that, should volunteers be selected, such a force could be easily raised in this country among those who sympathize with the sufferings of our unfortunate fellow citizens in Mexico, and with the unhappy condition of that republic. In that event there is no reason to doubt that the just claims of our citizens would be satisfied, and adequate redress obtained for the injuries inflicted upon them. The constitutional government have ever evinced a strong desire to do us justice, and this might be secured in advance by a preliminary treaty.

It may be said that these measures will, at least indirectly, be inconsistent with our wise and settled policy not to interfere in the domestic concerns of foreign nations. But does not the present case fairly constitute an exception? An adjoining republic is in a state of anarchy and confusion from which she has proved wholly unable to extricate herself. She is entirely destitute of the power to maintain peace upon her borders, or to prevent the incursions of banditti into our territory. In her fate and in her fortune, in her power to establish and maintain a settled government, we have a far deeper interest, socially, commercially and politically, than any other nation. She is now a wreck upon the ocean, driven about as she is impelled by different factions. As a good neighbor, shall we not extend to her a helping hand to save her? If we do not, it would not be surprising should some other nation undertake the task, and thus force us to interfere at last, under circumstances of increased difficulty, for the maintenance of our established policy.

2. " I repeat the recommendation contained in my last annual message that authority may be given to the President to establish one or more temporary military posts across the Mexican line in Sonora and Chihua

hua, where these may be necessary to protect the lives and property of American and Mexican citizens against the incursions and depredations of the Indians, as well as of lawless rovers on that remote region. The establishment of one such post at a point called Arispe, in Sonora, in a country now almost depopulated by the hostile inroads of the Indians from our side of the line, would, it is believed, have prevented much injury and cruelties during the past season. A state of lawlessness and violence prevails on that distant frontier. Life and property are there wholly insecure. The population of Arizona, now numbering more than ten thousand souls, is practically destitute of government, of laws, or of any regular administration of justice. Murder, rapine, and other crimes, are committed with in punity. I therefore again call the attention of Congress to the necessity for establishing a territorial government over Arizona.

3. "I deem it to be my duty once more earnestly to recommend to Congress the passage of a law authorizing the President to employ the naval force at his command for the purpose of protecting the lives and property of American citizens passing in transit across the Panama, Nicaragua and Tehuantepec routes, against sudden and lawless outbreaks and depredations. I shall not repeat the arguments employed in former messages in support of this measure. Suffice it to say that the lives of many of our people, and the security of vast amounts of treasure passing and repassing over one or more of these routes between the Atlantic and Pacific, may be deeply involved in the action of Corgress on this subject. 4. "I would, also, again recommend to Congress that authority be given to the President to employ the naval force to protect American merchant vessels, their crews and cargoes, against violent and lawless seizure and confiscation in the ports of Mexico and the Spanish American States, when these countries may be in a disturbed and revolutionary condition. The mere knowledge that such an authority had been conferred, as I have already stated, would of itself, in a great degree, prevent the evil. Neither would this require any additional appropriation for the naval service.

The chief objection urged against the grant of this authority is, that Congress, by conferring it, would violate the Constitution that it would be a transfer of the war-making, or, strictly speaking, the war declaring power to the Executive."

The President proceeds to argue the lawfulness and expediency of investing him with all this imperial power to plunge our country, at his own discretion, in wars without number or end. We cannot suppose it possible that Congress will for a moment listen to requests that seem to us so insane, and so sure to bring on speedy and interminable collisions with our sister republics. Once establish such a precedent, and it may in time, if not very soon, lead the way to a despotism, under republican forms, as intolerable as that of ancient Cesars, or modern Czars. Authorize the President at discretion to enter another country "with sufficient force, for the purpose of obtaining indemnity for the past, and security for the future ? " Empower him to proclaim at will a crusade against Mexico, or any other weak, distracted State, and pour into it, under our sanction, and with all our resources, a gang of legalized fillibusters to commit, with little or no restraint, all sorts of violence and outrage? It cannot be possible that Congress will ever sanction so bold a scheme of wrong and mischief. The inauguration of such a policy would, sooner or later, prove our ruin. The shores of time are strewed with the wrecks of republics overwhelmed by