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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 jVo pupil or teaclier in the Province of Oniario /.s obWied to pinch one this volume as a text-hook f(tr School purposes^ PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS AND ARBOR DAY EXERCISES Awake, my country, the houi of dreams is done Doubt not, nor dread the j,'reatne8» of thy fate, Tho' faint 8oul« fear the keen, confronting sun And fain would bid the morn in splendor wait ! Tho' dreamers wrapt in starry visions cry : " Lo, yon thy future, yon thy faith, thy fame ! " And stretch vain hands to stars. Thy fame is nigh, Here in Canadian hearth, and home and name ; This name which yet shall jrrow till all the nations know Us for a patriot people, heart and hand. Loyal to our native hearth, our native land. — ROBKRTS. GEORGE W. ROSS, LL.D. Minister of Education, Ontario. lOE: ^1.00. TORONTO : WARV;iCK BROS. & BUTTER, 08 and 70 FRONT ST. WEST. 1883 \ ■■^Hiai mil" R6? 141849 Entered according to the Act of Parliament of Canada in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, by Warwick Bros. & RuTTKR, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture. THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO THE TEACHERS OF CANADA. " We owe to our schools the thankful task of strenjfthening the feeling that we are all Germans." —Bismarck. PREFACE. The first part i»f this volume contains suggestions which the teacher might find useful in preparing his pujiils for properly appreciating the purposes of a national holiday and otlier important events in the history of the country. The teacher should explain to his pupils the main features of our system of government from the administration of the school section in which he liees to the Government of the Empire to which he belongs. Although these suggestions are not intended to be a treatise on Civics, yet if pro- perly developed they will practically amount to that. The pupil shoidd be encouraged to ascertain for himself the func- tions of the various pei'sons concerned in the government of the country, and, where his knowledge fails, the teacher need have no difficulty in supplying the information after consultation with any intelligent ratepayer in the section or with the ordinary histories at his command. In many cases the terms to be explained can be better understood by making the lesson a practical illustration of the subject under consideration. If the school is turned into a meeting of Parliament, or into a municipal meeting, or a school meeting, the place and duties of each officer become at once appar- ent, and the pupil who is asked for the time being to act the part of chairman, or returning officer, or school trustee, as well as the pupils who look on, will obtain a better idea of the duties of these officers in one such lesson than from many hours of explana- tion. The patriotic selections are of two kinds —Canadian and general. The greater number of the Canadian selections appear for the first time for the purpose of recitation. They breathe a genuine Cana- dian spirit and are, moreover, generally ot higli literary merit. Many of the other selections have become common property for the VI. PREFACE. purpose of public declamation. They have not, however, lost their value either as exercises in elocution or as the embodiment of a substantial and stirring patriotic sentiment. The fourth division of the volume contains sug^e3tions respect- ing Arbor Day. It is to be hoped, in addition to the comfort and pleasure to be derived from planting school grounds with suitable shade trees and otherwise improving them, that Arbor Day will be used by the teacher to foster in his pupils a love for the beautiful and grand in nature. Should the ])ublishers see fit to issue a second edition of these selections, an eflFort will be made to find a place for quotations from several prominent writers and speakers who were not able to supply material in time for this edition. Grateful acknowledgments are hereby tendered to authors and publishers who have permitted the use of their productions for this volume. G. W. R. ToHONTO, October, 1893. CONTENTS. PART I. PAGE. The Queen's Birthday 3 Dominion Day 7 The Parliament of Canada , 12 The Legislative Assembly of Ontario 14 The First Parliament of Upper Canada 16 Sir Isaac Brock's Address to the Parliament of Upper Canada, 1812 19 The Election of Municipal Councillors 24 Public School Annual Meeting 27 Meeting of a Board of Trustees for the Appointment of a Teacher 35 PART II. PAOB. Prayer 43 The Queen — Hon. Joseph Howe 46 An Ode to Canada— Chas. G. D. Roberts 46 Dominion Day — Miss Machar (Fidelis) 47 Hurrah for the New Dominion — A. McLachlan 49 This Canada of Ours — G. W. Johnson , 50 Canada to the Laureate — Miss Machar (Fidelis) 52 Our Canadian Dominion — Miss Vining 54 God Bless Canada — Dr. Dewart 56 Our Beautiful Land — Helen M. Johnson 59 Here's to the Land— W, Wye Smith 61 The Maple and Shamrock— Thos. O'Hagan 62 Canadians, Awake — A. M. Taylor 63 The Men of the Northern Zone— Eobt. Kernigan 64 Song for Canada— Chas. Sangster 66 • • • Vlll. CONTENTS. PAGE. Madeline de Vercherea — John Reade 08 The Captured Flaf<— Arthur Weir 70 Freedom's Journey — T. D'Arcy McGee 72 The Plains of Abraham — Chas. Sangster . . 73 The Heroes of 1700— Mrs. S. A. Cuczon 76 Sir Isaac Brock to his Soldiers — Chas. Mair 77 Arouse ye, Brave Canadians — J. D. Edgar 78 On Queenston Heights — Mrs. S. A. Curzon 79 Along the Line - T. D'Arcy McGee 80 The Veterans of 1812— Mrs. 8. A. Curzon 81 Capture of Detroit — C. E Jakuway 82 A Ballad for Brave Women —Chas Mair 84 Lundy's Lane— W. T. White 87 The U. E. Loyalists— William Kerby 89 The Battle of Bidgeway — Chas. Sangster 92 In Memory of the Queen's Own— W. P. Lett 93 Bravo ! Stairs — K. L. Jones 94 Manitoba — Emily McManus 95 My Prairie Home— W. P. McKenzie 90 The North- West Rebellion— W. W. Campbell 97 Our Canadian Fatherland — Miss Machar (Fidelis) 98 Leaving Scotland for Canada — Evan McColl 100 My Native Land— Thos. O'Hagan 101 The Queen's Jubilee — Dr. Massie 103 As Redmen Die — E. Pauline Johnson 105 On the Frontier Way— Robt. Kernigan .* 107 What Canada Wants— Geo. W. Ross 109 Canada to England — Mrs. Harrison Ill The Flag of Old England— Hon. Joseph Howe 112 Canadian Pioneers — A. M. Taylor 114 Lake Huron — Thos. McQueen 116 A Song for our Inland Sea — Ellen M. Boulton 118 A Song of Canadian Rivers — Thos. O'Hagan 119 The Sister Provinces — Geo. W. Ross .... 120 The Loyal Brigade 128 Our Connection with Great Britain — Sir John Macdonald . . 186 CONTENTS. IX. PAGE. 68 70 72 73 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 84 87 89 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 100 101 103 105 107 109 . Ill 112 114 116 118 119 120 128 186 I'AliE. Confederation — Hon. George Brown 141 The Constitutional System of Caniulii— T. D'Arcy McGee. . . 146 The Chiims of Our Country— Dr. Dewart 140 The Crcutness of our Heritage — Hon, Jolm Schultz 103 The Future of Canada— Lord Dufferin 157 ►Sources of Canadian Power — Lord Lome 159 Advantages of Canada — Sir Daniel Wilson 1()1 Canada and the United States — Hon. .Joseph Howe 164 Canadian Oratory 167 Attachment to the Sovereign — Sir 'vVui. Young 1<(7 The Monarchial System of Government — Sir John Beverly Robinson 168 Advantages of Education— Dr. Kyerson 170 Necessity for the Diffusion of Education — Dr. MoL m1. , 171 Canadian Patriotism, a Duty— T. D'Arcy McGee 173 Young Men the Hope of Canada — Dr. Ormiston 174 Future of Manitoba — Lord Dufferin . 175 Canadian Lv yalty — Dr. Ryerson 177 Advantages of Canada — Dr. McC.iul 177 Tin- Future of Canada — Hon. R. Harcourt 179 (Jeneral Wolfe and Old Quebec— Sir Daniel Wilson. . . . 180 National Unity Necessary— Hon. W. Laurier 181 Britain's Overshadowing Power — Hon. A. Mackenzie. 182 A Public Spirit Necessary for Canada — Sir Richard Cartwright , 183 Canadian Aristocracy — Hon. Edward Blake 186 Memories of the Old Land— W. J. Rattray 186 Canada : Its Scenery and Majestic Proportions — Hon. Joseph Howe 188 The Benefits of British Institutions — Hon. W. Laurier 190 The Graves of the Pioneers — Hon. Joseph Howe 192 Great Britain and Her Colonies— Silas Alward, M.P.P 194 Culture and Practical Power— Nicholas Flood Davin 198 The Founders of Upper Canada— Sir Oliver Mowat 202 The Spirit of Canadian Patriotism— Dr. Withrow 204 Canada, a Link in the Empire — Principal Grant 210 The Grandeur of Canada — Principal Grant 214 CONTENTS. PART III. PAGE. |;i < My Country — James Montgomery 221 Britannia - A. McLachlan 222 St. George's Flag— Mrs. Faulkner 223 The Homes of England — Mrs. Honians 224 Scotland — A. McLachlan 225 The Irish Harp— Miss Balfour 226 Marseillaise Hymn — Rouget De Lisle 227 A Song of the Camp —Bayard Taylor 229 The Better Way— Susan Coolidge 231 What Makes a Hero ?— Henry Taylor 232 America's Greeting to England — ^W. Alliston 233 Lucknow and Jessie Brown — Robert Lowell 235 The Watch by tlie Rhine — Max Schneckenburger 238 The Stamp of Manhood — A. McLachlan 239 A Plea for Liberty — Dr. Dewart 240 Battle Hymn of the Republic— Mrs. Julia Ward Howe 242 The Launch of the Ship —Longfellow 243 The Good Time Coming — Charles Mackay 246 Cardinal Wolsey — Shakespeare 248 Clear the Way — Anon 250 Hymn of the Vaudois Mountaineers — Mrs. Hemans ... . 251 Burial of Sir John Moore- -C. Wolfe 252 Duty to One's Country — Cowper 253 "The Glorious Strife "—Anon 254 William Tell to His Men— J. S. Knowles 265 Arnold Von Winkelried — James Montgomery 257 The Songs of Our Fathers — Mrs. Hemans 259 The Soldier's Dream — Thomas Campbell 261 How He Saved St. Michael's 262 Horatius at the Bridge -Macaulay 265 Up and be a Hero — A. McLachlan 207 My Country — Hesperian 269 The Way to Success— J. G. Holland 271 CONTENTS. XI. PAGE. 221 222 223 224 225 22G 227 229 231 232 233 235 238 239 240 242 243 246 248 250 251 252 253 254 266 267 259 261 262 265 207 269 271 I :3ft PA.OK. My Native Village — John Howard Bryant 272 The Slave's Dream — Longfellow 274 The Downfall of Polland— Thomas Campbell 276 The Graves of the Patriots— J. G. Percival 278 The Englishman— Eliza Cook 280 Barbara Frietchie— Whittier 282 Herve Riel — Browning 284 The British Empire -Hon. W. E. Gladstone 289 Great Britain and America — Newman Hall 291 Popular Sovereignty — John Bright 293 Our Relations to England— Edward Everett 295 Universal Emancipation — Curran 297 Kossuth's Farewell to his Country 298 Negro Slavery — Lord Brougham 301 The Last Speech of Robespierre — Trans, by Epes Sargent . . 303 The Valor of the Irish Soldier— R. L. Shiel 305 The Last Charge of Ney— J. J. Headly 308 Labor— Thomas Carlyle 310 Horrors of Civil War— R. L. Shiel 312 Th.5 Men to Make a State — Doane 314 PART IV. Arbor Day— A Talk with Teachers 319 'J'he Love of Nature- Wordsworth 330 A Forest Hymr —Bryant 331 The Forest Trees— Eliza Cook 333 Plant a Tree — Lucy Larcom 335 The Oak— (ieorge Hill 337 Woodman, Spare That Tree- G. P, Morris 338 Forest Song— W. H. Venuble 339 Invitation— Chaa. Sangster 340 Planting for the Future— Harriet B. Wright 341 The Heart of the Tree— The Century 342 The Ivy Green— Chnries Dickens 343 Xll. CONTENTS. I'AliE. May— W. G. Park 344 A Buttercup— K. C 346 Flowers — Longfellow 340 Bring Flowers— Mrs. Hemans. . 347 Tlie Bluebird's Song— Anon 348 May Day— N. P. Willis 34?) Nature's Garden— Whittier 350 The Class Tree— Arbor Day Manual 351 Building the Birch Canoe — Longfellow 352 Exorcise for Six Pupils 354 Odes to the Flowers 355 An Exercise for Arbor Day 358 Scripture Selections 368 Specimen Programme 371 PART I. A TALK WITH TEACHERS. tjT" 1; PART I. A TALK WITH TEACHERS. THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY. A national holiday, while the occasion for recreation and pleasure-seeking, should be used by the teacher for impressing upon the minds of his pupils such facts and circumstances as would foster a national spirit. The birth- day of Her Majesty, the Queen, furnishes an excellent opportunity for this purpose. As memory is always aided by association, the events which transpired during her reign might be clustered around the holiday to which the pupils so eagerly look forward ; and thus a more intelli- gent conception obtained of the greatness of the Empire and of the grounds on which loyalty to the sovereign is founded. To this end the teacher should spend half an hour every I afternoon, for two or three weeks before the Queen's Birth- day, in familiar conversations on the most important [events of Her Majesty's reign. The extent of the British Impire might be shown upon the map and its vast area impressed upon the memory by comparisons with the jxtent and population of other important countries. The relations of Canada with the Empire, politically and his- )rically, should be considered. Though far removed from bhe capital, and although in many respects differing in mr habits, laws, and modes of thought from our kinsmen [n the British Isles, yet we are of the same race and lually interested in the prosperity and honor of the empire. ri 4 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. The teacher might also explain that whatever the Empire has achieved in statesmanship, or in literature, or in invention, Canadians, as subjects of the Empire or as descendants of the same ancestry, share in the honor of all such achievements. The essential unity of the Empire should be duly em- phasized. Notwithstanding the number of its colonies and their distance from the capital and from each other, they all acknowledge the sovereignty of one Queen — a Queen whose personal qualities, apart from the dignity of her position, have won for her the unqualified affection and allegiance of her subjects and the respect of all the nations of the world. The teacher might point out that the flag which floats from the schoolhouse on Her Majesty's birthday is a sym- bol of national unity, and that in every colony of the Empire, in Australia, in South Africa, in Hindostan, — on every fortress guarded by British soldiers and on every ship manned by British sailors, the same flag proclaims universal allegiance to one sovereign and universal fealty to one Empire. The teacher might then give a brief sketch of the Mon- archical form of Government as compared with an Abso- lute Monarchy or a Republic, explaining clearly that under a Limited Monarchy the Queen acts on the advice of Par- liament, and that she is as much bound by th^ Constitu- tion of the country as any of her subjects. Reference might be made to the impartiality with which she has dis- charged her functions as a sovereign, to the great measures passed during her reign, such as the Repeal of the Corn Laws, the extension of the Franchise, Acts for the improve- THE QUEEN S BIRTHDAY. atever the literature, le Empire ire in the e duly em- ts colonies each other, Queen — a J dignity of jd affection b of all the vrhich floats y is a sym- ony of the lostan, — on id on every proclaims ersal fealty 3f the Mon- ,h an Abso- T that under vice of Par- lo Constitu- Reference she has dis- at measures of the Gorn ;he improve- ment of the laboring classes, the different Reform Bills, the Education Act, etc. Then might follow a number of familiar talks or essays on : (1) The great ivars of the Victorian Era — such as the Russian War, the Indian Mutiny, the Egyptian War, the War of the Soudan, etc. (2) The great statesmen of her reign — Sir Robert Peel, Daniel O'Connell, John Bright, Richard Cobden, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Beaconsfield, Lord Salisbury, W. B. Gladstone, etc. (3) The great 'philosophers and Literary inen of her reign — Darwin, Murchison, Sir Humphrey Davy, Sir John Simpson, Wordsworth, Browning, Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Ruskin, etc. (4) The material and scientifiG improvements of her reign — Railroads, steam navigation, gas, electricity, the reaping machine, penny postage, etc. (5) The great educational and moral reforms of her reign — Mechanics' institutes, free libraries, free schools, compulsory education, industrial schools, missionary enter- prises, factory laws, limitations of capital punishment, hospitals and chanties, etc. (H) The progress o/ Canada during her reign — The railways and canals built, the telegraph, telephone, free schools, the British North America Act of 1867, the ballot, the opening of the North-west, etc. An entertainment might be given on the afternoon pre- ceding the Queen's Birthday, to which the parents and friends of the pupils should be invited. In such cases a ^ in li! 6 PATRIOTIC KECITATIONS. programme might be prepared as outlined below. This programme may be varied as the judgment of the teacher and the circumstances render necessary. Programme for Queen's Birthday. Prayer. Ghortia hy the Recitation Address Song Recitation Song Essay Recitation - Pupils - " Rule Britannia." Tennyson's " Ode to the Queen." One Flag, one Empire, one Queen. " The Red, White and Blue." " To the Queen " — by Joseph Howe. - " The Maple Leaf for Ever." - The Extent of the British Empire. " The Loyal Brigade." God Save the Queen. DOMINION DAY. DOMINION DAY. Every pupil in the schools of Canada should be thor- oughly instructed in Canadian history and made fully acquainted with the extent and resources of his own country. The suggestions given with regard to the Queen's birthday apply with even greater force to our national holiday, and no teacher should allow such an occasion to pass without arousing the deepest interest of every pupil in the prosperity of Canada. A Canadian sentiment we must have, if we are to develop the great forces which make for national life. To minimize our status as a people, or to repine at the obstacles which retard our prosperity, or to shrink from the place which our wealth and natural resources entitle us to assume, 13 to antici- pate that obscurity which such a course would deserve and to which it would inevitably lead. The teacher, of all others, has opportunities for preventing such a calamity. Our past history says we need have no fear, politically. Our resources, our native energy and our wealth say we need have no fear, financially. Our system of schools, our universities and colleges, surpassed by no people, say we need have no fear, educationally. And, if these things are properly impressed upon the children attending our schools, an impetus will be given to Canadian patriotism and an intelligent interest will be taken in Canadian affairs which will place the future of the country beyond all doubt. " They must be free or die Who 8i)efik the language Shakespeare spoke." lii • i;! ii ' II f il ( 8 PATRIOTIC HECITATIONS. The following topics should be considered by the teacher in half-hour-talks with his pupils, for several M'eeks prior to the first of July : (1) Early history of Canada — Its discovery by Jacques Cartier, in 1535, the explorations and adventures of Cham- plain, La Salle and Father Ilenepin, the Indian tribes who occupied the country, the trade carried on with the In- dians in furs and the misfortunes or perils through which the early settlers passed in obtaining a foothold in the country. (2) Early settlement of Canada — A familiar talk on the early settlement of Canada, the hardships of emigrants from the British Isles in battling with the forest and in making homes for themselves in the wilderness, their difficulties in providing for their families, a description of the log cabins in which they dwelt and the variety of ways in which they were compelled to obtain subsistence, the kind of roads they travelled, the scarcity of a market for their products, tlie want of schools and of churches, etc. (3) The luars of Canada — The conquest of Canada in 1759 by General Wolfe, the efforts made by the Ameri- cans during the Revolutionary War to captura the coun- try, the war of 1812, Sir Isaac Brock, Queenston Heights, the burning of Toronto, the capture of Detroit, battles of Stony Creek, Chateauguay, Lundy's Lane, Batoche, etc. (4) The constitutional development of the country — The Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitutional Act of 1791 and the meeting of the First Parliament of the Province, the Union Act of 1841, and the British North America Act of 1867. DOMINION DAY. 9 3 teacher }ks prior r Jacques of Cham- ribes who h the In- ch which 1(3 in the a,lk on the emigrants est and in less, their jription of variety of iibsistence, • a market urches, etc. Canada in the Ameri- the coun- )n Heights, ,, battles of atoche, etc. country — bt of 1791 e Province, th America (5) The extent of Canada — Area of the Dominion of Canada, 3,315,647 square miles; length from east to west, 3,500 miles ; length from north to south, 1,400 miles. Area of the different Provinces : British Columbia, 382,- 300 square miles ; Manitoba, 64,066 ; New Brunswick. 28,100; Nova Scotia, 20,550; Ontario, 219,650; Prince Edward Island, 2,000 ; Quebec, 227,500 ; the Territories, 2,371,481 ; total, 3,315,647 square miles. For purposes of comparison the following figures might be used: Area of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 121.481 square miles; British India, 1,068,314; France, 246,000; Italy, 110,623; Russia, 2,095,504; Spair\, 194,744; Ger- man Empire, 208,738 ; United States, 3,499,027 ; Europe, 3,555,000. From these comparisons it will be seen that, geographically, we posses.s almost as much territory as the United States, nearly thirty times the area of Great Britain and Ireland, fifteen times the area of France or Germany, and only 200,000 square miles less than the whole Continent of Europe. (6) Commercial advantages of Canada — Our eastern seaports looking towards Europe, western seaports look- ing towards Asia, large rivers affording communication with the interior of the countrv — the St. Lawrence, together with the lakes it drains, extending inland 2,384 miles, giving access to many of the large cities of Canada and the United States, the advantages of commerce and shipping, extent of our shipping, where and how ships are built. Illustrate from the map. (7) The resources of Canada — The wheat fields of Can- ada, the fertility of the soil, the productiveness of Mani- toba, and the North-west Territories, the ranches at the 10 PATRIOTIC REf;iTAriONS. ll I if foot of the Rocky Mountains, the forests and fisheries of the different Provinces, the mineral wealth of coal, petro- leum, gold, silver, lead, iron, nickel, asbestos, plumbago etc., etc., and their location, the exports of each of these, the markets to which they are sent and the amount of money they yield annually. This might also be accompanied with a graphic description of the lives of our fishermen and miners, lumbermen and farmers. (8) Our Hystem of Government — Early Colonial Gov- ernment of each Province, the Parliament of Canada, how the Governor-General is appointed, the Constitution of the House of Commons, of the Senate, how elections are conducted, vote by ballot, how votes are polled, the Con- stitution of Provincial Parliaments, the duties of the Speaker and the heads of the various departments, how often elections occur, why Parliaments are re(|uired, pic- tures of distinguished members of Parliament and of the Parliament buildings of Canada, and the Provinces. (9) Our Municipal System — County Councils and how they are elected and what are their functions, Municipal Councils, how elected and their functions, how and why taxes are imposed and the purposes to which they arc applied, the duties of Assessor, Collector, Reeve, Warden, Mayor. (JO) Our Judicial System — The Supreme Court, the High Court of Justice, County Courts, Division Courts, Justices of the Peace, how judges are appointed, the kind of cases that come before them, the qualifications of Judges, the dignity of the office, the proceedings of a Court of Justice, trial by jury, giving evidence in a court. DOMINION DAY. 11 jheries of )al, petro- abago etc., these, the , of money jompanied tishermen onial Gov- tnada, how bitution of ections are ], the Con- ies of the nents, how [uired, pic- and of the inces. lis and how Municipal y and why ;h they arc re, Warden, (11) Our Penal System — Capital punishment, what it means, confinement in a penitentiary, at the Central prison for Ontario or in a county gaol or reformatory, necessity for such restraint, causes which lead to crime, — idleness, disobedience to parents, intemperance, etc. (12) Our School System — Universities, high schools, public schools, industrial schools, kindergartens, how each of these is managed, who are admitted to them and how, qualifications of teachers, progress of our schools, school houses and their equipment, comparison between the past and present, school games, how school trustees, teachers and inspectors are appointed, their qualifications and duties, general ': jiefits of education. A programme for an entertainment could easily be pre- pared from the selections that follow. Court, the ion Courts, sd, the kind s of Judges, a Court of )urt. 12 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE PARLIAMENT OF CANADA. If tlie yonnjjf people of Canada are to be deeply im- pressed with the growth of our political privileges, the great facts connected with oiir early history should be placed graphically before them on every opi)ortunit3'. Canada above all other countries should be uppermost in their thoughts. The heritage of civil and religions liberty which they enjoy and the almost perfect freedom from all disability wliich is now their happy condition should be pointed out. They should know, however, that this con- dition was not attained without effort — that freedom does not spring from the earth but that it can only be secured by courage, and often by the sacrifice of personal comfort and even life itself. If Canadians are now poimitted to govoun themselves, it was not till after many years of strife and contention that they obtained tliis privilege. The advantages of the concessions made to the people of Canada should be clearly stated by the teacher, and the political development of the country from military rule, under the articles of capitulation in 17 59 down to the priceless privilege of self-government which we now en- joy, duly emphasized. In this interval the most notable legislation was the Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Union Act of 1841 and the British North America Act of 18G7. Each Province has its own separate Acts of constitutional freedom and these should be speci- ally considered ; but as far as possible the minds of the pupils should be directed towards every movement which tended towards the greatest of all events in the history jijl 1 ili: THK PARLIAMENT OF CANADA. 13 of Canada — the foderation of all the Provinces under one Parliament. Having fixed these points in the memory, the teacher mi},'ht explain : — (1) 'the Federal Si/sfem nf Government —One Parlia- ment for Canada to consider Canadian matters ; Parlia- ments for the Provinces to consider Provincial matters. Compare with the British system of <,'overnment and with the United States system ; what (pi'stions are within the jurisdiction of each ; the importance of many of the ({ues- tions to be considered. (2) The Honm of Corumoiis — Organized after the manner of the British House of Comfjions. The number of its members, the Provinces they represent; where they meet and how often ; how elected and for how long; who elects them ; why required. The Senate, how appointed and for how long. ])escri[)tion of the Parliament build- ings, where situated. Why Ottawa was chosen for the capital. (3) The different Departments of the Government — The Militia Department, its functions. The Post Office Department, rates of postage, how mails are carried, post office savings banks, registered letters, parcel post, mail- ing letters abroad. Public Works Department ; Railways and Canals ; Finance Department ; Customs, why duties are imposed on imported goods ; free goods, where our imports come from, what kind of goods we import, what export ; Excise, etc (4) The Civil Service — What it means ; examinations for; superannuation; duties of civil servants. Kespon- iRihilities^of, etc. 14 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ■ 1 i Ml ;■ ' il THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO. By the Union Act of 1841 the old Parliament of Upper Canada was absorbed in the united Parliaments of Upper and Lower Canada, and in this form continued till 1 867. The leading events of thi3 period should be reviewed by the teacher, prominence being given always to such as extended the privileges of self-government. During this interval our school system was established, the self-govern- ing character of which should be pointed out. Our muni- cipal system had also its origin in the same interval, and it, too, is the ideal of self-government. The settlement of the country advanced rapidly. Upper Canada had become more populous than Lower Canada and wanted a corresponding ratio of influence in the Legislature. To settle differences and to unite the colonies in a confedera- tion where the rights of all were guaranteed by a written constitution, the British North America Act of 1867 was passed. This Act gave to Upper Canada a new name — Ontario, and to Canada a birthday — the first of July. In connection with an historical sketch such as the preced- ing, the teacher might explain the following terms : — 1. Legislative Assembly, Electoral District, Riding, Election, Ballot, Open Voting, Voters* Lists, Ballot-Box, Polling-Booth, Polling subdivision. 2. The duties of a member of Parliament, returning- officer, deputy returning-officer, election clerk, scrutineer, clerk ot the Crown in Chancery. THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO. 15 3. How elections are conducted, nomination of mem- bers, electioneering, canvassing, how votes are polled, who are entitled to vote, how election returns are made. 4. How Parliament is opened, the speech by the Lieu- tenant-Governor, the Speaker of the House and how appointed, the clerk of the House, the journals, the mace, the function of a Government, how business is conducted, Acts of Parliament or statutes, adjournuient and proroga- tion of the House, etc. The pupils should be encouraged to read the proceed- [ings of Parliament as reported in the newspapers, and to become familiar with the questions on which the electors [have to express an opinion at the polls. They should [know that the responsibility of citizenship will soon be rapon them, and that to discharge this duty intelligently should be the aim of every Canadian. In every term jxplained, there is bound up the history of heroic struggles for the privilege of self-government. To neglect any duty rliich under such a term they should discharge is to )rove unworthy of the liberty which it represents, and to bhat extent unworthy of the country to which they belong. The methods above suggested with regard to the Pro- rince of Ontario can be readily adapted by the teacher to jfhe circumstances and history of any of the other Provinces. ,' I 16 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ilJiil ■!! i THE FiRST PARLIAMENT OF UPPER CANADA. The teachers should briefly sketch the circumstances which led to the passaf^e of the Constitutional Act of 1791, and the purpose which that Act was intended to serve : namely, to give the people of Upper Canada a voice in the nianagementof their own affairs. The meet- iniT of the first Parliament at Newark in 1702 mioht then be described with its sixteen representatives appointed by the people, and its eight councillors appointed by the Crown for life. Previous to that time Canada was gov- erned by the laws of England and OrdexS-in-Council. This first Parliament gave us legularly constituted courts and trial by jury, and abolishcil negro slavery. The teacher might give a brief sketch of some of the men who were conspicuous in those early times, of the Rebellion of 1837 and its causes, of the Union Act of 1841 which ended the Parliament of Upper Canada and the Act of 18G7 which revived it under the name of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. In order to add greater interest to the study of the early history of the country, the teacher should explain the ceremony of opening Parliament, and for this pur- pose might designate pupils to represent the members composing the first Parliament. At the proper time a boy, representing Governor Simcoe, might enter the school room accompanied by his staff composed of boys selected for the purpose. The membeis of the Assembly and the (Cabinet should stand near the dais ; the Sergeant-at-arms THE FIRST PARLIAMENT OF UPPER CANADA. 17 [with the mace and the Speaker should occupy a place to the right. After the Governor was seated his secretary Imight hand him his address which he would then read, las follows : — *" Honorable Gentlemen of the l^egislative Council and [Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : — " I have summoned you together under the authority of |an Act of Parliament of Great Britain passed in the last '■ear, which has established the British Constitution and il) t. 3 forms which secure and maintain it in this dis- tant country. The wisdom and beneficence of Our Most Gracious Jovereign and the British Parliament have been eminently u'oved, not only in imparting to us the same form of government but in securing the many provisions which 5uard this memorable Act, so that the blessings of our ivaluable Constitution thus protected and amplified, we lope, will be extended to the retnotcst posterity. 'The great and momentous trusts and duties which have 3een committed to the representatives of this Province, |n a degiee infinitely beyond whatever, till this period, uive distinguished any other colony, liave originoted from the British Nation upon a just consideration of the energy md hazard with which the inhabitants have so con- ipicuously supported and defended the British Constitu- tion. * This is an exact copy of the addreas delivered by Gov. Simeon at the opening of the first Parliament of Upper Canada and is therefore of histnri- %\ interest. »-^^ 1! fljj .: I 18 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. " It is from the same patriotism now called upon to exer- cise, with due deliberation and foresight, by the various offices of the Civil administration, that your fellow subjects of the British Empire expect the foundation of the Union, of industry and wealth, of commerce and power, which may last through al) succeedino- ages. " The natural advantages of the Province of Upper Can- ada are inferior to none on this side of the Atlantic : there can be no separate interest through its whole extent ; the British form of Government has prepared the way for its speedy colonization, and I trust that your fostering care will improve the favorable situation, and that a numerous and agricultural people will speedily take possession of a soil and climate, which under the British laws and the munificence with which His Majesty has granted the lands of the Crown, ofier such manifest and peculiar encouragements." At the conclusion of his address the Governor rises, bows to the members of the House and retires. This exercise can be adapted to any Province by substituting for Gov. Simcoe's address the speech delivered at the opening of the first parlia- ment of the Province concerned. '^mjf SIR ISAAC BROCKS ADDRESS. 19 pernor rises, SIR ISAAC BROCK'S ADDRESS TO THE PAR- LIAMENT OF UPPER CANADA IN 1812. The opening of tl»e Parliament of Upper Canada at the special session of 1812 is an event of great historical interest. For some time Canadians were greatly alarmed at the strained relations which existed betweeri the British Government and the American Republic. They felt cer- [tain that no matter how promptly troops were sent to their defence, the country would suffer loss, both from [incursions on the frontier and from the disturbances of [trade. The great odds with which they had to contend [were also to be considered. To allow the enemy to ravish [the country unopposed would be cowardly in the extreme i — to tight required more than ordinary pluck and courage. fortunately for Canada, a British Officer, who felt himself ^he custodian of the honor of the British name, was acting jieutenant-Governor, and, without losing one moment of i-ime, he prepared to meet the enemy as a British soldier should. His first duty was to summon Parliament and get the approval of the people's representatives for the line of jtion to be taken. For realizing the importance of this occasion the pupils should be asked to consider the cir- cumstances which led to the declaration of war between Ireat Britain and the United States. Then might follow few facts of great interest. Upper Canada had only a )opulation of 75,000 ; Lower Canada 225,000. The popu- ition of the United States was about eight millions. The rar was entered upon by the Americans with a view to ii." i i ill jj 'i' - ■■i' i iii 1 ,i :;! .:i 1 -■', 20 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. the conquest of Canada, and was conducted along three different lines — in the east by an attack upon Montreal, in the centre by an attack on the Niagara Frontier and in the west by an attack by way of the Detroit Frontier. The Canadian forces consisted of a few battalions of regular troops not exceeding 5,000 in number. The main defence of the country rested upon the Canadian Militia and the loyal Indian tribes under Tecumseh. General Brock was acting as Lieutenant-Governor in the absence of Lieutenant-Governor Gore. Immediately on the declaration of war, General Brock, who was at Kingston, issued a proclamation calling the members to an extra Session, which met at York on the 27th of July, 1812. His address is a memorable one and worthy of care- ful study. In order to give it etiect it would be well to constitute a meeting of Parliament as was done at the delivery of Governor Simcoe's address, and with appro- priate solemnity ami ceremony the following speech should be delivered by a pupil representing Sir Isaac Brock : " Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly. " The urgency of the present crisis is the only consid- eration which could have induced me to call you togethei' at a time when public as well as private duties elsewhere demand your care and attention. But, gentlemen, when invaded by an enemy whose avowed object is the entire conquest of the Province, the voice of loyalty as well as of interest calls aloud to every person in the sphere in which he is placed, to defend his country. " Our militia have heard that voice, and have obeyed it. They have evinced, by the promptitude and loyalty • '< SIR ISAAC HUOCK S ADDUESS, 21 of their conduct, that they are worthy of the king whom they serve, and of the constitution which they enjoy; and it affonls nie pnrticular satisfaction that, while I addiess you aa legislators, I speak to men who, in tlie (hiy of danger, will be ready to assist not only with their counsel but with their arms. " We look, gentlemen, to our militia as well as to the regular forces for our protection ; but I should be want- ing to that important trust committed to my care if I attempted to conceal — what experience, the great instruc- tor of maidiind, and especially of legislators, has dis- covered — that atnendment is necessary in our militia laws to render them efficient. It is for you to consider what further improvements they still may rcfjuire. " Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and (lentlemen of the House of Absembly : From the history and experience of our Mother Country, we learn that in [times of actual invasion or internal commotion the ordi- Inary course of criminal law has been found inadequate to secure His Majesty's government fiom private treachery as well as from open disatfeetion ; and that at such times its legislature has found it expedient to enact laws re- straining, for a limited period, the liberty of individuals in many cases where it would be dungeious to expose the particulars of the charge ; and although the actual inva- sion of the Province might justify me in the exercise of the full powers reposed in me on such an emergency, yet it will be more agreeable to me to receive the sanction of the two Houses. " A few traitors have already joined the enemy, have been suffered to come into the country with impunity, 22 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS, and have been harbored and concealed in the interior ; yet the general spirit of loyalty which appears to per- vade the inhabitants of this Province, is such as to authorize a ji^st expectation that their efforts to mislead and deceive will be unavailing. The disaffected, I am convinced, are few. To protect and defend the loyal inhabitants from their machinations is an object of your most serious deliberation. " Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : I have directed the Public Accounts of the Province to be laid before you in as complete a state as this unusual period will admit. They will afford you the means of ascertaining to what extent you can aid in providing for the extraordinary demands occasioned by the employment of the militia, and I doubt not but to that extent you will cheerfully contribute. " Honorable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly : We are engaged in an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and dispatch in our councils, and by vigor in our operations, we may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country defended by free 'men, enthusiastically devoted to the cause of their King and Constitution, can never be con- quered ! " At the conclusion of Sir Isaac Brock's address, the Speaker should take the Chair and the reply of the Assembly should be moved and seconded in stirring speeches by the pu[)ils. In assisting the pupils in pre- paring such speeches an excellent opportunity would be afforded the teacher for impressing upon their minds the historical events of the period. i ill m ',1 SIR [SAAC BROCK S ADDRESS. 23 The reply was in the following words : — " When invaded by an enemy whose avowed object is the entire conquest of this Province, we, laying aside all interior considerations, do most willingly obey your Honor's commands by appearing in our Legislative capa- city, for the purpose of using our utmost efforts for the protection and defence of everything that is dear to us as subjects and as men." On the adoption of this reply some pupil should move the adjournment of the House. I'll 24 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I m 1 1 II ■(! ■Ill If THE ELECTION OF MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS. Next in importance to the election of Members of Par- liament is the election of members of the Municipal Councils. To make these lessons on Constitutional Gov- ernment more practical, the teacher might constitute his pupils into a meeting for the election of a Reeve or Mayor and Councillors for the Municipality. The duties and powers of such officers should be explained to the pupils, and as nearly as may be, the formalities of the Municipal Act complied with. At the time appointed for the meeting a motion i.s made and seconded for the election of a Chairman, and a similar motion for the election of a Secretary. Candi- dates for the various positions are then nominated in short speeches. After the time for receiving nominations has closed, the candidates are called upon to state their views on Municipal matters to the meeting. Speeches for this purpose should be prepared by the boys who are to be candidates, material being easily found in the local questions which interest the people among whom they live, such as the improving of roads, the building of bridges, the appointment of health officers, the enforce- ment of such by-laws as the Municipal Council may pass, etc. On the conclusion of his speech each candidate sig- nifies his in tendon of standing the contest or retiring, and proceedings may be varied by allowing one or more candidates to go by acclamation, leaving the contest simply for the chief offices of Mayor or Reeve. At the hour appointed the poll is opened by the returning-officer. THE ELECTION OF MUNIf'IPAL roUNCILLOllS. 25 JILLORS. ers of Par- Municipal ional Gov- istitute his e or Mayor duties and the pupils, i Municipal motion is lirman, and •y. Candi- ninated in ominatioDS state their Speeches ! boys who )und in the long whom ne building the enforce- il may pass, adidate si^f- or retiring, Due or more the contest e. At the ning-officer. He has placed a table enclosed by a screen in the corner of the school-room so as to secure privacy. On this table there is a lead pencil with which the electors mark their ballots. He has furnished himself with a list of the ])er- sons ([ualitied to vote, which in this cti»se would be the inipils, or as uiany of them as might be considered quali- fied electors. Beside him is a ballot box. This one of the boys could make at home for the occasion, and should in all respects correspond to the one used in the elections. The ballots should also be written out in the form required by the Municipal Act. Scrutineers for the dif- ferent candi<lates should be appointed. A constable should guard the door and keep order. At the time fixed the poll shculd be closed, the ballot box opened in the presence of the scrutineers and the ballots counted ; ballots not properly marked should be rejected. The deput}' returning-ofhcer should sum up the votes and declare the result of the election. In these exercises there is ample room for practice fin speaking and in composition. Also, in following the , statutory routine, the duties of the different officers con- cerned in the election are ascertained. As part of the instruction in Municipal Government the teacher should explain : — 1. What is meant by township, county, village, town, city, by-law, voter, debentures, minutes of meetings, cor- poration. 2. What are the duties of councillor, reeve, deputy- reeve, clerk, warden, mayor, constable, assessor, collector returning-officer, deputy-returning-officer, auditor, pound- keeper, fence-viewer, road commissioner, etc. ^m 26 FATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. 91 ! 3. How taxes are levied, for what purpose they are levied, by whom they are collected, where deposited when collected, how they are paid out. 4. Who are voters in municipal elections ; the legal age of voters ; qualifications of voters ; where votes are polled ; who receives the votes ; the mode of voting ; illegal voting; a freeholder; a householder; an income voter ; a farmer's son ; blind or illiterate voters. 5. By-laws, how passed ; for what purpose passed ; raising money by debentures ; for what purpose deben- tures are issued ; by-laws regarding public morals ; nuis- ances ; cruelty to animals. A very useful exercise in composition in connection with the points above mentioned for advanced pupils would be drawing up a by-law, or a notice calling a public meeting, or a petition to a municipal council ask- ing for some amendments to a municipal by-law, or a resolution to a public meeting setting forth some griev- ance, or a letter to a reeve calling his attention to some nuisance, and so on. In all these cases attention should be paid to the form as well as to the matter of the com- position. III. I jjm I, I V'' PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL MEETING. 27 PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL MEETING. For the purpose of illustrating a Public School Annual Meeting, the teacher may allow all pupils of a suitable age, both boys and girls, to consider themseh^es ratepayers within the meaning of the School Act. The Annual School Meeting is held in Ontario on the last Wednes- day of December, at the hour of 10 o'clock in the fore- noon. At the hour named a boy rises in his place and ■says:— " Ladies and Gentlemen : I move that Mr. A. B. be appointed chairman of this meeting." Another boy imme- diately rises and says : " I beg leave to second that motion." If desired a third bo}' might be directed to rise in his place and say : " Ladies and Gentlemen : I be<r leave to move as an amendment to the motion that Mr. B. C. Ije appointed chairman." This motion should also be .Mectnded. If there are no other nominations the first boy rises and addresses the meeting as follows : — " Moved by myself, seconded by Mr. , that Mr. A. B. be chairman, to which it is moved in amendment by Mr. , seconded by Mr. , that Mr. B. C. be chairman. 1 shall put the amendment first. All in favor of the amendment signify tVo j; ^ -e by the uplifted hand. (The votes are counted.) / il opposed to the amendment will signify the same b^ t'lf^ iplifted hand. (Thv> v.ites are counted.) I declare th i amendment lost." He ti.en puts tl e original motion ii. the same way, declares Mr* A. B. elected ; Mr. A. B. tlren takes the chair, and in a few remarks thanks the electors for the honor conforred gaii^' rw WKMM 28 PATRIOTIC RECITATr )NS. Nil 'I i<!i upon him, and then asks them to appoint a secretary of the meeting. This is done by tlie ratepayers on motion in the same way as the chairman was appointed. Thti sec- retary takes his place at the teacher's desk and enters the minutes of the meeting. The first business is to receive the annua) report of the trustees. This report should contain a statement of the receipts and expenditure of the school section of the previous year, the form of which will be found in the Public School lle(,dster. In addition to this the trustees may report on a.iy matter afiecting the school they desire. For instance, they may spe.ik of the laying out of the school-grounds, the ])lanting of trees, the repairs of the t^chool-houso in a general way, the necessity for a new school-house, the change of teacher, tlie progress of the school as ascer- tained by their own personal visits, the lemarks made by the Inspector in his reports, the success of tlie pu])il,s at examinations, etc., etc. When the repoit is read, it would be in order for any boy to rise and move the adop- tior- of the report, and in doing so he might address the meeting as follows : — Mr. Chairman and fellow-ratepayers : In moving the adoption of the report of the trustees it gives me great pleasure to notice the efficient manner in which they have discharged their duties during the past year. I can well remember the time when the trustees of this section, regardless of the comfort and convenience of our children, refused to expend a single dollar on necessary improve ments on the schooihouse and school-grounds. No longer ,.-V^ * PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL MEETING. 29 retary of notion in Th^ oec- I'l enters report of statement section of foiiiid in rt on a.iy instance, )l-n[roundH, »l-]iouse ii; -house, the as ascer- !irks made the pu])ils is read, it ) the adop- iddress the noving the ■s nie great 1 they have I can well lis section, or chiWren, •y improve- No Umger than tliree years ago our children sat in a dingy house tliat lor jears liad not heen wliitewaslied, witli here and there a broken window, in front of tlicm a miserable, faded, little blackboard, and on the walls maps in bad repair, and worse still, twenty years behind the times. We ail renjemV)er, too, the rusty stove with its jammed I and broken pipes ready to tumbl 3 down on a moment's notice. We remember that the only chair in the school jroom was that which the teacher was supposed to occupy, land which from age and le?igth of service had completely [broken down. What was true of the inside of the [school-room was equally true of its surroundings. The ■force ^;)peared as if struck by a cyclone.' ; the gate swung om hinge; the grounds without a shade tree; the fire- ,j|w '0'! unprotected from the v/eather and scattered ovei- the school-yard. Now all this is changed. Look at these finely- inted w; lis and see if what I say is not true. Look at the lackboard, at the map, at the desk, at the teacher's chair nd the chairs for visitors, and the globes, pointers, rushes and all other necessary ejpiipment of the school ,n<l tell me if our P»oard of Trustees is not worthy of ur confidence as well as of our sincere thanks. As one f the larfrrst ratopayers of tlie section, I am delighted in Kving thc' ^>i iSure of moving the adoption of this report, rhich * hoijc! '.v)l! pass unanimously." On thiO c 'iicJ'^sion of this speech another boy arises id says : IVL. Ciiairman and fellow-electors : It gives me mch pleasure to second the motion just made by Mr. I agree with the commendations given the Board >f School Trustees. I believe every dollar expended by ' , i', u Iff If pill ill ■ ■■:? :li I I! :i ill ■ IS!|l!!i| 30 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. them has been a good investment. Not only have they made the schoolhouse comfortable, but they have in addition provided us with an excellent teacher, and by their frequent visits to the school-room have encouraged her to see that the school is kept properly ventilated, regularl3' swept and dusted by the caretaker and made comfortable for our children. A few years ago I had great difficulty in sending my children regularly to school, particularly in winter. Frequently in the morn- ings the fires were not made in time, and it was not until 10 o'clock tha^ the schoolhouse was comfortable enough for them to sett i]owxi to their sLudies. I was told, too, that the school > :. ometimes so filled with dust in the morning because it \vu,s not swept out in time, that chil- dren could scarcely enter the door. The trustees never called to see whether any attention was paid to tlio ventilation ; the snow was allowed to drift in heaps around the door, and no tracks were made to the closets; and then between the cold draughts at times and the exces- sive heat my children were troubled with colds and head- aches and my doctor's bills would be three times the increased taxation of the last year. I am greatly pleased that all this has been remedied and that the trustees have so satisfactorily discharged their duties, and, with the permission of the mover, 1 desire to add the follow- ing words to the resolution : " and that the thanks of this meeting be tendered to the Board of Trustees for their efficient services during the past year." The mover of the resolution rises and consents to this addition. The question is then put by the chair- man : Moved by Mr. , seconded by Mr. , tliat the PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL MEETIXQ. 81 have they \f have in ler, and by encouraged ventilated, • and made asro I had sgularly to 1 the moin- as not until ible enough as tokl, too, dust in the e, that chil- istees never paid to the leaps around closets ; and the exces- s and head- e times the atly pleased ,he trustees is, and, witli the follow - e thanks of Trustees for consents to the chair- — , that the eport of the trustees be adopted and that the thanks f this meeting be tendered tliem tor the ver}' efficient lanner in which they discliarg(3d their duties during the ast year. Shall the ([uestion be now put ? A boy rises n the meeting and says : "Mr. Chairman, — Before the question is put I desire to ake a few observations. 1 do not propose to move an mendment to the motion so ably moved and seconded •y the two gentlemen who preceded me, but I desire to y that although on the whole I like the way the school managed and I have no fault to find with the teacher, think the trustees have g<me a little too fast. (No, no.) hen I was a boy we had to go to school two or three iles — a great part of it through the woods. We had log school house with an old-fashioned fireplace, long rms and desks against the walls ; there were no chairs r visitors, and even the teacher had nothing better than I three-legged stool to sit upon. We were not required spend any money on maps and blackboards and such ings as appear to be required now, and yet we thought e got on ])retty well. (Oh ! oh !) We had our reading ssons and arithmetic and our geography, with plenty of gging into the bargain, (You deserved it, too.) Now, though I like to see my children comfortable, still I ink it costs us too much, and I would like to say to the ustees and to my fellow-ratepayers that a little old- shioned economy wouhl not come at all amiss these rd times. I may be an old fogy (so you are), but when xes have to be paid I would like the trustees to remem- r that the old fogy's purse would like to be treated lith greater consideration." 4 •in 32 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Other speeches might be made in answer to this show- ing that in school matters it is necessary to keep up with the times, and that the comforts which the ratepayers enjoy in their homes should be represented as far as possible in the school room, and that in either case these comforts cost something. The teacher might assist in the preparation of such additional speeches as might bo considered necessary. When the speaking appears to be over the boys miglit call " Question, question." The chairman then rises and puts the motion, which is unanimously adopted. The Chaiiman of the Board of Trustees might then respond, acknowledging in suit- able terms the vote of thanks tendered them by the meeting. The Chaiin: \n ^hen announces that the next order of business will be leceiving the Annual Report of the Auditors of the School Secti(m. That report might be as follows : The undersigned Auditors of School Section No. — in the Township of report that they have examined the books and vouchers and have found the same correct. The receipts for the year amounted to f 526.82, and the expenditure to $480.30, leaving a balance in the treasury for next year of $46.52. All of which is respectfully submitted. (Signed) A. B., ) B. C, J Dated this 22nd day of December, 1893. On the presentation of this report its adoption is moved and seconded and submitted to the meeting. Auditors. PUBLIC SCHOOL ANNUAL MEETING. 33 on is moved The chtiirman then announces that the next order of business will be the electing of an auditor for next year. This may be disposed of by a motion as in the appoint- ment of a chairman. Miscellaneous business is now called for. Here an opportunity may be taken of iiistruct- infj- the trustees to make any needed improvements, such as the repair of the schoolhouse, obtaining a proper water supply, making arrangements for Arbor Day or Dominion Day, purchasing maps and globes, supplying the school with new furniture or whatever in the opinion of the meeting is most urgent. The last order of business is the election of a school trustee. At this stage the Chairman announces that he is ready to receive nominations to till the vacancy on the Board of Trustees occasioned by the retirement of Mr. A. B., who has served his full time of throo years.. The teacher may arrange that the election shall be by show of hands as between the different candidates, or that a poll shall be taken. If a poll is taken the formalities of the Act should be followed out. When a ratepayer offers to vote, objection could be taken to him on account of his age, or that he was a non-resident, or that his name was not entered on the Assessment Roll. The time for closing the polls might be limited to twenty minutes, and when the result was declared, the trustee elected might be called upon for a speech. Before the meeting was closed the Secretary should read the minutes. These minutes should be approved and then signed by the Secretary to be transmitted to the Inspector. With a little ingenuity on the part of the teacher and instruction beforehand, the proceedings w 34 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. of a mock school meeting could be made very instructive as an exercise in speaking and composition, and also as a real transaction of business. The School Act of the Province to which this model exercise in civics is adapted should be strictly followed and its provisions regarding the statutory times and methods impressed upon the pupils. APPOINTMENT OF A TEACHER. 35 MEETING OF A BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A TEACHER. Three boys representing the trustees of a rural school section should enter the school-room, and after saluting each other pleasantly should seat themselves at a table, on which the secretary of the board places the minute book. The chairman takes the chair and calls upon the sec- retary to read the minutes of the previous meeting. This the secretary does, giving from the minute book the various items of business transacted. The chairman then asks " Are the Minutes approved ? " If no objection is made he signs the minute book and then announces that this meeting of the Board of Trustees was called for the pur})ose of appointing a teacher for the following year ; that pursuant to instructions the secretary of the meet- ing advertised for a teacher, and that several applications have been received which they are now asked to consider, as follows : — Application Number 1. — Male teacher, 25 years of age, 5 years' experience, holds a Second Class Certificate from Toronto Normal School, is recommended by several clergymen, the trustees of his former school, and asks to be engaged at a salary of $500. Application Nitmber ^l — Male teacher, 20 years of age, 1 year's experience, holds a Third Class Certificate, has several recommendations, salary $400. Afyplication Number />.— Male teacher, age not men- tioned, holds an extended Third Class Certificate, 15 years' experience, made personal application, salary $25 per month. (^■"^T'^JC^^ J)|> ' !{iiiliiiili! 36 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. The chairman asks the secretary if these are all the applications, to which the secretary answers, they are. He then asks, wliat is your pleasure, gentlemen ? Mr. Trustee Brown says : — " I must confess that I like Application No. 1 very much. The applicant, judging from his age and stand- ing, would, no doubt, make a very desirable teacher. He has taken a course at the County Model School and also at the Normal School, and there is much to be said in his favor on that account. I see also from his appli- cation that he has had his experience, or the greater part of it, in two schools, and this shows that his former trus- tees were reasonably well satisfied with him, but I see that he asks a very large salary. Now, we have not been accustomed to pay so large a salary in this section, and I am afraid the ratepayers would object to the payment of so much money for a teacher. Indeed, I cannot under- stanci how a man can ask so large a salary to teach six hours a day when we consider the many holidays he has in the year and the comfortable, easy time he would have in our new school house with an average attendance ' of only 52. It seems to me, although I like this api)lication very much, a man equally good could be obtained for $400. Perhaps he attaches some value to his Second Class Certificate. I cannot see that there is much in this, because we have had third class teachers who taught our school very well, and as our children are not very far advanced I think a third class teacher would serve every purpose. A good school is a very nice thing to have, but we must not pay too much for it. What do you think, Mr. Smith ?" (Referring to his co-trustee.) APPOINTMENT OF A TEACHER. 37 Mr. Smith. — " Well, if you ask me, I think it is of the first importance to get the best teacher in the market. You see our children are growing up very fast. In a few years the large boys and girls will leave school, and if they are to have any education at all they must have it rif^-ht away. Some of us cannot afford to send our children to a High School, and even if we could, unless a good foundation is laid in the Public School, much time will afterwards be lost in doi'ig the work over again. Besides, a good teacher has a great deal of influence in forming the character of boys and girls. He can keep better order for one thing, and that is of great importance ; then his work in the school-room is substantial and thorough, and this leads to the formation of habits which cling to pupils all their lives. I have seen teachers who knew a good deal, but who had no power of inspiring their pupils to love their studies, or to read outside of school hours, or to devote their spare moments to self improvement. Now, take the ease of Application No. 3. There is a man who has wandered around a good deal, who has lost confi- dence in himself, apparentl}', for he is prepared to take a very low salary and has come to us almost as much as to plead with us to give him employment. I would be very much afraid to engage such a man because he knows that unless he holds liimself cheap we would have no inducement to employ him at all. A cheap teacher is the worst investment we could make ; even a cheap pair of boots, as a rule, does not pay, but perhaps the chairman has thought this matter over more carefully than any of us. I would like to hear what he has to say." --.-fK^" I'l ! i i \ ! i s 1- 3S PATHIOTH' ItKCITATIONS. The Chairman. — " I liave been chairman of tliis l)oar(] now for twenty- two years, and the most of my children have been educated in this school. 1 have seen all sorts of teachers here, male and female, in my time, some at a salary of $i{) a month and some at the salary of S40 a month. Sometimes a cheap teacher with a low certificate did pretty well. You know young men and women have to ))egin sometime, and in starting out in life they have to be contented with lower wages. In fact, it is.right, perhaps, because it costs a teacher something to get experi- ence, and until he has got it his services are not worth as much. If all the applications before us were from young teachers without experience, I would not care so much about the question of salary, although, as a rule, I like a person to place a fair value upon his services. 1 think it shows that he believes there is souiething in him, and he should be paid for giving it to those who employ nim. The applicants we are considering, however, are all men of experience, and, stran<^e to say, the man with the most experience is willing to take the lowest salary ! Now, this to my mind is a very suspicious circumstance, and if 1 had my way I would rule out his application because he has condemned himself, first, by the estimate he has put on himself, and, secondly, because he thought it necessary to come round and canvass us for our support. I do not like teachers to canvass for a position. As to the other applicants, although they have experience, and although I do not despise their qualifications, still I believe the more enterprise a man has the better for others as well as himself. Applicant No. 1 has only taught five years and yet has been at the Normal School ; he has W APPOINTMENT OF A TEACHER. 39 is l)oar(l children all sorts me at a f S40 a rtificate len have 3y have is, right, bexi)eri- •t worth ire from i care so I rule, I nces. 1 ; in him, employ [', are all k^ith the salary ! ^hown an anxiety to fit himself for high class work. Now, should we not encourage this ? What will $100 amount to a rich section like ours ? It is scarcely $2 extra for every child attending school on the average attendance, or little more than 5?l per child according to the number on the register. Ts\>w, do you think, even if times are hard, that the people of this section will object to an extra dollar for each child when they con- sider how much a well-trained teacher can do for them ? I do not think they will. The closest man in the sec- tion, that 1 know of, is neighbor Jones ; he has three big boys at school. I know if I could only see him for five minutes that I could convince hiuj that there is no way he could spend ^S to better advantage than in paying for a good teacher for these boys. They are bright boys, and with pr )per education they will make bright men, and I know he thinks so, close as he is. My voice will be in favor of application No. 1." Trustee Bkown. — " Well, I think there is a good deal in what our chairman says. I have two boys at school myself ; the younger is fourteen years of age 1 cannot .send them to a High School, and I cannot buy a farm for them ; they will have to learn a trade or become teachers themselves. You know I have a pretty large family and the older ones must make their way in the world, and a good education is perhaps all I can give them. Although a dollar is hard to make these times, still if I were buying a colt and wanted him I would not stick at a dollar or two in the price. I think after all, although I was afraid that the ratepayers would object to the payment of SoOOfor a 1 fill! 40 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. teacher, I must agree with the chairman and vote for application No. 1." The Chairman. — " If you are all agreed, I shall notify the applicant and ask him to meet us at a certain time and we will sign the agreement required by law. Will you make a minute of this, Mr. Secretary, in the book, that there may be no doubt as to the action taken. " There being no other business, I declare the meeting adjourned until the 22nd day of December for the pur- pose of signing the agreement with the teacher." (Meet- ing adjourned.) i^i I \i PART I I.- CANADIAN PATRIOTISM. WW 5 i!IUaBt';*iii PART II. CANADIAN PATRIOTISM. PRAYER. Lord our Heavenly Father, High and Mightj^ ^^^g ot* Kings, Lord of Lords, the only Ruler of Princes, who (l()st from Thy Throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee with Thy favor to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria, and so replenisn her with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit that she may always incline to Thy will and walk in Thy way. Endue her plenteously with heavenly gifts ; grant her in health and wealth long to live ; strengthen her that she may vanquish and overcome all her enemies : and Hnally, after this life, may attain everlasting joy and felicity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen. Almighty God, the Fountain of all Goodness, we humbly beseech Thee to bless Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and all the Royal Family. Endue them with Thy Holy Spirit ; enrich them with Thy Heavenly Grace; prosper them with all happiness; and hiing them to Thine everlasting Kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen. Most Gracious God, we humbly beseech Thee, as for the Inited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Her Majesty's Dominions in general, so especially for this Diiminion, and herein more particularly for the Governor- n isijiiitriu I 44 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. General, the Senate, and the House of Commons, in their legislative capacity at this time assembled ; that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and propper all their consul- tations, to the advancement of Thy glory, the safety, honor, and welfare of our Sovereign and her Dominion of Canada, that all things may be so ordered and settled by their endeavors, upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us for all generations. These, and all other necessaries for them, and for us, we humbly beg in the name, and through the mediation of Jesus Christ, our Most blessed Lord and Saviour. — Amen. Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation ; but deliver us from evil. — Amen. Note.— The above is the form of prayer used at the openinj,' of the Sessions of the House of Commons, and with slight changes also at the opening of the Sessions of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It would be very suitable for the opening of a Queen's Birthday or Dominion Day entertainment. THE QUEEN. 45 THE QUEEN. Queen <»f the thousand isles I whose fragile form, 'Midst the proud structures of our Father Land, Graces the Throne, that each subsidinj? storm Which shakes the eartli, assures us yet shall stand. Thy gentle voice, of mild yet firm command, Is heard in every clime ; on every wave, Thy dazzlint; sceptre, like a fairy wand. Strikes off the shackles fntm the struggling slave, And gathers, 'neath its rule, the great, the wise, the brave. But yet, 'midst all the treasures that surround Thy royal halls, one bliss is still denied, — To know the true hearts at thy name that bound. Which ocean from thy jiresence must divide, Whose voices never swell the boisterous tide Of hourly homage that salutes thy ear ; But yet who cherish with a Briton's pride, And breathe to infant lips, from year to year, The name thy many virtues taught them to revere. How little deem'st thou of the scenes remote, In which one word, all other words above. Of earthly homage seems to gaily float On every breeze, and sound through every grove — A spell to cheer, to animate, to move — To bid old age throw off the weight of years, To cherish thoughts of loyalty and love, To garner round the heart those hopes and fears Which, in our western homes, Victoria's name endears. 'Tis not that, on our soil, the measured tread Of armed legio)is sjieaks thy sovereign sway, 'Tis not the huge leviathans that spread Thy meteor flag above each noble bay. That bids the soul a forced obedience pay ! — The despot's tribute from a trembling thrall — No ! At our altars sturdy freemen j)ray That blessings on Victoria's head may fall, And happy household groups each pleasing trait recall. Joseph Howb. pfTT 46 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I" I: i l.' 1 i il AN ODE TO CANADA. Awake, my country, the hour is great with change I Under thia gloom which yet obscures tlie hind. From ice-blue strait and stern Laurent ian range To where giant i^eaks our western bounds connnand, A deep voice stirs, vibrating in men's ears As if their own hearts throbbed that thunder forth, A sound wherein who hearkens wisely hears The voice of the desire of this strong North — This North whose heart of fire Yet knows not its desire Clearly, but dreams, and murmurs in the dream. The hour of dreams is done. Lo, on the hills the gleam ! Awake, my country, the hour of dreams is done I Doubt not, nor dread the greatness of thy fate. Tho' faint souls fear the keen, confronting sun, And fain would bid the morn of splendor wait ; Tho' dreamers, rapt in starry visions, cry, " Lo, yon thy future, yon thy faith, thy fame ! " And stietch vain hands to stars, thy fame is nigh, Here in Canadian hearth, and home, and name ; This name which yet shall grow Till all the nations know Us for a patriot people, heart and hand. Loyal to our native earth, — our own Canadian land ! O strong hearts, guarding the birthright of our glory, Worth your best blond this heritage that ye guard ! Those mighty streams resplendent with our story, These iron coasts by rage of seas unjarred, — What fields of peace these bulwarks will secure ! What vales of plenty those calm floods supply I Shall not our love this rough, sweet land make sure, Her bounds preserve inviolate, though we die '( O strong hearts of the North, Let flame your loyalty forth. And put the craven ard base to an open shame, Till earth shall know tho Child of Nations by her name I Charles G. D. Roberts. DOMINION DAY. 47 DOMINION DAY. With loud huzzas and merry bells, and cannon's thundering peal, And pennons fluttering on the breeze, and serried rows of steel, We greet, again, the birthday morn of our young giant's land, From the Atlantic stretching wide to far Pacific strand ; With flashing rivers, ocean lakes, and prairies wide and free, And waterfalls and forests dim, and mountains by the sea ; A country on whose birth-hour smiled the genius of romance, Above whose cradle brave hands waved the lily-cross of France ; Whose infancy was grindy nursed in peril, pain, and woe ; Whose gallant hearts found early graves beneath Canadian snow ; When savage raid and ambuscade and famine's sore distress. Combined their strength, in vain, to crush the dauntless French noblesse ; Wlien her dim, trackless forest lured, again and yet again , From silken court of sunny France, her flower, the brave Champlain. And now, her proud traditions boast four blazoned rolls of fame, — Crecy's and Fiodden's deadly foes our ancestors we claim ; Past feud and battle buried far behind the peaceful years. While Gaul and Celt and Briton turn to pruning-hooks their spears ; Four nations welded into one, — with long historic past. Have found in these our western wilds, one common life, at last ; Through the young giant's mighty limbs, that stretch from sea to sea. There runs a throb of conscious life — of waking energy. From Nova Scotia's misty coast to far Columbia's short', 8ho wakes, — a band of scattered homes and colonies no more, Hut a young nation, with her life full beating in her breast, A noble future in her eyos^tho Britain of the West. Hers be the noble task to fill the yet untrodden plains With fruitful, many-sided life that courses through her veins ; The English honor, nerve and pluck, — the Scotsman's love of right,— Tlio grace and courtesv of France, — the Irish fancy bright, — [The Saxon's faithflil love of home, and home's attection blest ; And, chief of all, our holy faith, — of all our treasures best. i t- 48 PATFIIOTIC RECITATIONS. :> I A people poor in poinp and state, but rich in noble deeds, Holding that righteousness exalts the people that it leads ; As yet the waxen mould is soft, the opening page is fair; It rests with those who rule us now, to leave their impress there, The stamp of true nobility, high honor, stainless truth ; The earnest (£uest of noble ends ; the generous heart of youth ; The love of country, soaring far above dull party strife ; The love of learning, art, and song, — the crowning grace of life ; The love of science, soaring far through Nature's hidden ways ; The love and fear of Nature's God, — a nation's highest praise. So, in the long hereafter, this Canada shall be The worthy heir of British power and British liberty ; Spreading the blessings of her sway to her remotest bounds. While, with the fauie of her fair name, a continent resounds. True to her high traditions, to Britain's ancient glory Of patient saint and martyr, alive in deathless story ; Strong in their liberty and truth, to shed from shore to shore A light among the nations, till nations are no more. Agnes Maul£ Machar (Fidelis). HURRAH FOR THE NEW DOMINION. 49 HURRAH FOR THE NEW DOMINION. Lot others raise the song, in praise Of hinds renown'd in story ; The land for me, of the maple tree, And the pine, in all his glory ! Hurrah ! for the grand old forest land, Where Freedom spreads her pinion ; Hurrah ! with me, for the maple tree. Hurrah ! for the New Dominion ! Be her's the light, and hers the might, Which Liberty engenders ; Sons of the free, come join with nie — Hurrah ! for her defenders. And be their fame in loud acclaim — In grateful songs ascending ; The fame of those, who met her foes, And died, her soil defending. Hurrah ! for the grand old forest land Where freedom spreads her pinion ; Hurrah ! with me, for the maple tree, Hurrah ! for the New Dominion ! A. McLachlan. 50 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. |:l i, m ! n w : 'I THIS CANADA OF OURS. We have made us a Dominion In this region of the west ; And this Canada of ours Is the land wq love the best ; For our liomes are halls of plenty, We have peace on every hand, And our people are as noble As the lords of any land. We have many little Edens Scattered up and down our dales ; Wo've a hundred pretty hamlets Nestling in our peaceful vales. Here the suulight loves to linger, And the summer winds to blow ; Here the rosy spring in April Leapeth laughing from the snow. We have springs of healing waters ; We have everduring rills That encircle in their journey Half a thousand happy hills, Tell the oppressed of every nation — Him that digs and him that delves- If they'll cast their lot among us We will make them like ourselves. For the west shall be a garden, And its glories be unfurled. Till its beauty is a by-word With the peoples of the world ; And the east shall bring us shipping That shall whiten every sea ; And the boast of this Dominion Shall be British liberty. THIS CANADA OF OURS. 61 And if foes too strong oppress us, On a little island shore Dwells a lion that can shield us By the terror of his rt»ar. For its flag that rules the ocean Is the monarch of the shore — It has braved a thousand battles, And can brave a thousand more. 'Neath its folds, in silent sorrow. We will wrap our fallen brave, But we'll wave it high in triumph Over every coward's grave ; Till in spite of foe and traitor By the world it shall be seen That we pride in our Dominion, Love old England and her Queen. And our fathers up in heaven. In the leal-land far away, Looking down with pride upon us To each other there shall say ; " These our children emulate us. Tread the righteous path we trod, Live in peace and honest plenty, Love their country and their God." G. W. Johnson. J% 52 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CANADA TO THE LAUREATE. " And the true North, whereof we lately heard A strain to shame us ! Keep you to yourselves, So loyal is so costly ! Friends, your love Is but a burden : loose the bond and go. Is this the tone of Empire ? " —Tennyson's Ode to the Queen. We thank thee, Laureate, ft>r thy kindly words Spoken for us to her to whom we look With loyal love, across the misty sea ; Thy noble words, whose generous tone may shame The cold and heartless strain that said * ' Begone ; We want your love no longer ; all our aim Is riches — that your love can not increase." Fain would we tell them that we do not seek To hang dependent, like a helpless brood That, selfish, drag a weary mother down ; For we have British hearts and British blood That leap up, eager, when the danger calls. Once and again, our sons have sprung to arms To fight in Britain's (]uarrel — not our oivn, — And drive the covetous invader back, Who would have let us, peaceful, keep our own, So we had cast the British name away. Canadian blood has dyed Canadian soil, For Britain's honor, that we deemed our own, Nor do we ask but for the right to keep Unbroken, still, the cherished filial tie That binds us to the distant sea-girt isle Our fathers loved, and taught their sons to love, As the dear honie of freemen, brave and true. And loving honor more than ease or gold. f CANADA TO THK LAL'llEATE. .)3 Well do we love our own Canadian land, Its breezy lakes, its rivers sweeping wide Past stately towns and peaceftd villa<{eH, And banks, begirt with forests, to the sea ; Its tranquil homesteads an<l its hinely woods, Where sighs the sunnner l)ree/-e through pine and fern I But well we love, too, Britain's daisied meads, Her primrose-bordered lanes, her hedgerows sweet, Her purple mountains and her heathery braes. Her towers and ruins, ivy-crowned and grey, Glistening with song and story as with dew ; Dear to our childhood's dreaming fancy, since We heard of them from those whose hearts were sore For home and country left, and left for aye. That they might found, in these our western wilds, Netv Britains, not unworthy of the old ! We hope to live a history of our own, One worthy of the lineage that we clsini ; Yet, as our past is but of yesterday. We claim as ours, too, that grand emblazoned roll Of golden deeds that bind, with golden links, The long dim centuries since King Arthur "passed. " AdNK.s Maulk Maohah (F^ideUs). 54 PATHIOTfC HECITATiONS i. i; m OTTR CANADIAN DOMINION Fair laiul of peace I to Hritain's rule and throne Adhorent slill, yei hai>pier than aUme, And free as happy, and as ])rai'o as free. Proud arc thy children, — justly proud, of thee ; — Thou haat no streams renowned in classic lore, No vales where fable heroes moved oJ'yoro, No hills where Poesy enraptured stood. No mythic fountains, no enchanted wood ; But unadorned, rough, Qold, and often stern, The careless eye to other lands might turn. And seek, where natuio s b'ooir. is more intense, Softer delights to charm the eyu of sense. We cannot boast those skies of milder ray, 'Neath which the oranjjfe mellowa day by day ; Where the Magnolia spreads hoi" snowy flowers, And Nature rovel-v in perennial bowers ; — Here, Winter 'lolds his long and solemn reign, And midly sweeps the desolated plain ; — l?ut Health and Vigor hail the wintry strife. With all the buoyant glow of happy life ; And by the bla/ing chimney's cheerful hearth, Smile at the blast 'mid songs and household mirth. But we who know thee proudly point the hand Where thy broad rivers roll serenely grand — Where, in still beauty 'neath our northern sky, Thy lordly lakes in solemn grandeur lie — Where old Niagara's awful voice has given The floods' deep anthem to the ear of heaven — Through the long ages of the vanished past ; Throui^h Sununor's bloom and Winter's angry blast, - Nature's proud utterance of unwearied song, Now, as at iirst, majestic, solemn, strong, OUK CANADIAN DOMINION. And ne'er tu fail, till the archangel's cry Shftil Btill the million tones of earth and sky, And send the shout to ocean's farthest shore : — " Be hushed ye voices I -time shall be no more ! " Here, Freedom looks o'er all these broad domains, And hears no heavy clank of servile chains ; Here man, no matter what his color be, Can stand erect, and proudly say, " I'm frp.k ! " — No crouching slaves cower in our busy marts, With straining eyes and anguish-riven hearts. The beam that gilds alike the palace walls And lowly hut, with genial radiance falls On peer and peasant, — and the humblest here Walks in the sunshine, free as is the peer. Proudly he stands with muscle strong and free, The serf — the slave of no man doomed to be His own, the arm the heavy axe that wields ; His own, the hand^ that till the summer tields ; His own, the babes that prattle in the door ; His own, the wife that treads the cottage floor ; All the sweet ties of life to him are sure ; All the proud rights of manhood are secure. Blest land of peace ! — may'st thou ever be Even as now the land of liberty ! Treading serenely thy bright upward road, Honored of nations, and approved of God ! On thy fair front emblazoned clear and bright — Frbedom. Fraternity, and Equal Riqut ! 56 Miss ViNiNO. i I I m if I i 56 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. GOD BLESS CANADA. God bless our noble Canada ! God bless the new Dominion ! Where law and liberty have sway, Not one of all her sons, to day, Is tyrant's serf, or minion. Give joy a tongue, let peaceful mirth Dispel desponding fears — We hail a youthful nation's birth, Who, in the wondering eyes of Earth, Takes rank among her peers. Fling out our banner to the breeze, And proudly greet the world With words of amity and peace, For never on more hopeful sca-s Was Freedom's flag unfurled. We boast no charu)H of high degree In titles, rank, or blood — No tales of knightly chivalry — Long lines of lordly ancestry — Nor haunted stream or wood, • No proud historic names have we, Whose memory thrills the heart — No scenes embalmed by Poesie — No hoary castles grand to see — The pride of ancient art. But though the Past has records few, In battle, song, or story. The Future rises, fair to view. Gleaming with morning's youthful dew. And bright with comingjglory. OOD BLESS CANADA. fair and fertile Canada ! Where thought and speech are free, Where'er my roaming feet may stray- Whatever fate may come — I pray That God may shelter thee. 1 love thy forests wet with dew, Where still the Red Men rove — Thy trees, thy flowers of varied hue, I love thy glorious lakes, as blue And vast as heaven above. I love thy green and towering hills — Thy valleys rich and fair. Where wealth in pearly dew distils — Thy cool meandering forests rills, Hid from the Summer's glare. I love thy rivers, broad and free — Thy cataracts sublime. Where God unveils his majesty— Whose hymns make grandest melody, That strikes the ear of Time. I love thy homes, whose light retains Brave sons and daughters fair, Where Liberty with Truth remains. And every loyal heart disdains A servile yoke to wear. And all that England boasts, we claim By right which none denies — Her valor and undying fame — Each noble deed and kingly name, That o'er oblivion rise. The rich inheritance of thought. Which golden fruitage boars — Achievements horo-hearts have wrought- Freedom by bloody battles bought— Are ours as well as theirs. 57 I I! 58 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Our fathers foughfc on gory plains, To vanquish Albion's foes : And though bet'reen us ocean reigns, We are no aliens — in our veins The blood of Britain flows. If ever foemftn's hostile tread Pollutes our sacred strand, Our enemies will learn with dread. How freely shall our blood be shed To guard our native land. E. H. Dbwart, D.D. OUR BEAUTIFUL LAND. S9 OUR BEAU'lIFUL LAND. What land more beautiful than ours ? What otlier land more blest ? The South with all its wealth of flowers ? The prairies of the West ? O no ! there's not a fairer land Beneath heaven's azure dome — Where Peace holds Plenty by the hand, And Freedom finds a home. The slave who but ler name hath heard, Repeats it day and night ; — And envies every little bird That takes its northward flight I As to the Polar star they turn Who brave a pathless sea,— So the oppressed in secret yearn, Dear native land for thee ! How many loving memories throng Round Britain's storniy coast I Renowned in story and in song, Her glory is our boast ! With loyal hearts we still abide Beneath her sheltering wing ; — While with true patriot love and pride To Canada we cling ! ! I 60 '. li ?!■ 41 ; I I'ATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. We wear no haughty tyrant's chain, — We benJ no servile knee, When to the mistress of the main We pledge our fealty. She binds us with the cords of love, — All otliers we'disown ; The rights we owe to God above We yield to Him alone. May He our future course direct By His unerring hand ; Our laws and liberties pnitect, And bless our native land ! H^LBN M. JoHNiiON. HERES TO THE LAND. 61 !i HERE'S TO THE LAND. Here's to the land of the rock and the pine ; Here's to the laud of the raft and the river ! Here's to the hmd where the sunbeams shine, And the night that is briglit with the North-light's (|uiver I Here's to the hmd of the axe and the hoe ! Here's to the stalwarts that give them their glory ; — With stroke upon stroke, and with blow upon blow, The might of the forest has passed into atory ! Here's to the land with its blanket of snow ; — To the hero and hunter the welcomest pillow I Here's to the land where the stormy winds blow Three days, ere the mountains can talk to the billow ! Here's to the buckwheats that smoke on her board ! Here's to the maple that sweetens their story ; Here's to the scythe that we swing like a sword, And here's to the fields where we gather our glory I Here's to her hills of the moose and the deer ; Here's to her forests, her fields and her flowers ! Here's to her homes of unchangeable cheer. And the maid 'neath the shade of her own native boweiv ! William Wyb Smith. 1'5 B i lii i 'il i i\\ 62 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE MAPLE AND SHAMROCK. Let's fling of the Maple, the broad, gen'rous Maple, A type of our country, fair, lovely and free. And with it entwine in couplets the Shamrock, An emblem of union, bright symbol of three ; In joyous orison let each bounding river Proclaim as it rolls its bright way to the sea. That liberty, peace and patriotic devotion Will flourish where Maple and Shamrock agree. Hail, then, broad-leaf d Maple, fair type of our country, May Canada's sons grow as stalwart as thee, And with the same vigor bud forth into manhood, Bright forest of greatness, on one mighty tree ; May virtue ennoble each deed of our country, III letters of gold be emblazoned her name, Towering up like the Maple, yet humble as Shamrock, An wgis of safety, a triumph of fame. Yes, this be the grandeur we seek for our country, Let virtues be noble and toil be our king. The axe of the woodman, while smiting the forest, In bold proclamation our greatness shall ring ; — Shall echo the accents of Canada's future. In paean of labor, in triumph of song. And the grand notes of progress that greet our Dominion Proclaim that the Maple and Shamrock are one. Then weave in one garland the Maple and Shamrock, A nation's sweet incense breathes fragrance around, The pulse of our country shall quicken its paces. As quicken the meauures of freedom's bright sound. May the dove of true peace wing it's way o'er the country, Our people grow great in the sunshine of prayer, And Maple and Shamrock, resplendent in beauty, Embalm in sweet incense loved Canada fair ! Tuos. O'Haoan. CANADIANS, AWAKE. CANADIANS, AWAKE. Ye sons of Canada, awake I The star of morn has left the sky ; Yf»ur fathers' Hag of victory, — That glorious banner Hoats on high. Earth is beaeath and (iod above ; And hinnuu life is heavenly love ; Arise, young legions, onward move I Ye sous of Canada, awake ! Protect the rights your sires have won I The heritage of sire to 8on, — The Crown of Peace, — Hope's rising sun. 'Tis valor to adore the light ; 'Tis honor to make free with might ; 'Tis glory to establish right. Ye sons of Canada, awake ! Stretch forth the mighty arm of toil ; Embattle, beautify the soil Your fathers won by brave turmoil ; And, while your glory swells, behold Your virgin emi)ire still unfold Her halcyon ho])e, her wealth untold. Ye sons of Canada, awake I Let Chriitian mercy shrine your heart ; Let vice and vanity depart ; The poor may tight their country's part ;— E.\fend the hand of brotheihocxi To honest hearts and loyal blood,— The truly brave are truly good. Ye sons »jf Canada, awake ! While in your loyal bosoms, burns The patriot's lire, the heart that warns, That victory loves, that thraldom spurns,— Hid tho.se, who wotdd oppress you, know You dread not death, yo»i fear no foe ; — Your swords are sharp, your bosoms true. Ye sons of Canada, awake ! Behold the gra.ss on which ye tread. Behold the white star.s overhead. All labor for a c<»mmon need. 'Tis sacred dust beneath your feet ; Your fathers' graves in memory sweet, Their patriot spirits ever beat. (J A. M. Taylor. 63 :[ ! 64 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. 'I HE MEN OF THE NORTHERN ZONE. Oh, we are men of the Nortliern Zone ; Shall a bit be placed in our mouth ( If ever a Northman lost his throne, Did the comiueror come from the South? Nay, nay -and the answer blent in chorus i« southwar<l sent. Since when has a Southern's concjuering steel Hewed out in the North a throne / Since when has a Southerner placed his heel On the men of the Northern Ziiie? Our liearts are as free as the rivers that flow In the seas where the north star shines; Our lives are as free as the breezes that blow Thro' the crests of our native pines. We never will bend the knee ; We'll always and aye be free : For liberty reigns in the land of the leal. Our brothers are round her throne ; A Southoiner never shall place liis heel On the men of the Northern Zone. Oh, shall we shatter our ancient name, And lower our patriot crest ; And leave a heritage dark with shame To the infant upon the breast ? Nay, nay— and the answer blent With a chorus is southward sent. Ye claim to be free, and so are wo ; Let your fellow freemen alone ; Fo. a Southerner never shall place his heel On the men of the Northern Zone. THE MEN OF THE NORTHERN ZONE. 65 Shall the mothers that bore us bow the head And blush for degenerate sons ? Are the patriot fires gone out and dead ? Oh, brother*, stand to your guns ! Let the Hag be nailed to the mast Defying the coming blast. For Canada's sons are true as steel ; Their mett'e is muscle and bone — The Southerner never shall place his heel On the men of the Northern Zone. Oh, we are men of the Northern Zone, Where the maples their branches toss. The Great Bear rides in his state alone Afar from the Southern Cross. Our peojde shall aye be free ; They never shall bend the knee, For this is the land of the true and the leal, Where freedom is bred in the bone. The Southerner never shall place his heel On the liien of the Northern Zone. '' RoBT. Kbrnioan. 66 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. SONG FOR CANADA. Sons of the race whdse sires Aruused tlia uuirtiHl flume That tilled with siniles the triune isles, Through all their hei^'hts of fame. With hearts as hrave as theirs. With hopes as strong and high, We'll ne'er disgrace the honored rnco Whose deeds can never die. Let but the rash intruder dare To touch (jur darling .strund, The martial tires that thrilled our sires W^ould tlan)o throughout the land. Our lakes are deep and wide, Our fields and forests hroad ; With cheerful air we'll 8])eed the share. And break the fruitful S(»d ; Till blest with rural jjeace, Proud of our rustic toil. On hill and [>lain true kings well reign The victors of the soil. But let the rash intruder daro To touch our darling strand, The martial lires that thrilled our sires Would light him from the land. Health smiles with rosy face Amid our sunny dales, And torrents strong tling hymn and song Through all the mossy vales ; Our sons are living men, Our daughters fond and fair ; A thousand isles where plenty smiles Make glad the brow of care. SO\r, von CANADA. 67 But let tho nisli intiuder dare Ti» touch iiur darlini,' Htrjind, Till! martiiil tin'3 that thrilled our sires Would llaiiif throuf^hout the land. Aud if iu future' yt-ais One wrotc-h should turn and tly, • Lt't woepiuf,' fanu' Mot out his nanio Friiiu frtjfdoni's hallowfd ftky ; Or sluudd our sous t-'cr provo A coward, traitor race— Just Heaven frown iu thunder down T'avenge the foul disi^raee. But let the rash intruder dare To touch our darling f^jtrand, The luaitial lirts that thrilled our sires Would light liini from the land. Chahles Sanuster. m ■ ■ m .' ■ ■ 68 PATRIOTIC '"RECITATIONS. MADELEINE DE VERCHERES. " Oh ! my country, bowed in anguish 'neath a v/eight of bitter woe, Who shall save theo from the vengeance of the desolating foe 7 They have sworn a heathen oath, that every Christian soul must die, — God of Heaven, in mercy sliield us ! Father, hear thy children's cry ! " Thus prayed Madeleine, the daughter of an old heroic line, — Greciai. poet, had he seen her, would have deemed her race divine ; But as the golden sun transcends the beauty of the brightest star, Than all her chariua of face or form her nuiiden heart was lovelier far. We can see her now in fancy, through the dim yeara gazing back To those stormy days of old, the days of valiant Frontenac, When the thinly settled land was sadly vv.asted far and near. And before the savage foe tho people fled like stricken deer. 'Tis the season when the forest wears its many colored dress, And a strange foreboding whisper answers back the wind's caress As the swaying pines repeat the murmurs of the distant waves, While the children of the summer flutter softly to their graves. But — was that another whisper, warning her of ill to come, As she stands beside the river, near her father's fortress hon\e I Hark ! the sound of stealthy footsteps creeps upon the throbbing ear — Maiden, fly ! the foe approaches, and no iiuman aid is near. Surely He who decked with beauty this fair earth on which we dwell, Never meant that men should change it by their madness into hell ! He who gave the trees their glory, gave the birds their gift of song. Cannot smile from out ycm heavens at the sight of human wrong. But those savage hearts no beauty wins to thoughts of tender ruth — Mother fend, or gentle maid, or smiling innocence of youth. See ! with fierce, exulting yells, the flying maiden they pursue — Hear her prayer, God, and save her from that wild vindictive crew. Never ere that day or since was such a race by maiden run. Never 'gainst such fearful odds was wished-for goal so swiftly won ; Fifty foes are on her track, the bullets graze her floating hair — But worse than vain is all their rage, for God has heard her prayer. MADELEINE DE VKKCHERES. 69 Madeleine has i-eachud the fort, — the gates are closed against the foe, But now, a stricken throng sends up to heaven a wail of woe — Feeble men and faintinc^ wonie.i, without heart or hope or plan — Then it was that God gave courage to a maid to act the man. Then it was that Madeleine bjthought her of her father's name. " Never shall a soldier's daughter die the coward's death of shame ; Never, in the days to come, when Canada is great and proud. Be it sa'd a Christian maiden by a h Jathen's throat was cowed. •' Ho is but a criven wrotcii would bid mo yield in such an h )ur — Never yet my country's s (Us in peril's face wore known to cower. No, my people I Ood is with us; 'tis our homes that we defend — Let the savage do his worst, wo will opposo him to the end. '* Women, 1 am but a girl, i>nt 'aertuis' blood is v\ my veins, .\ud I will shed it drop by drisp beforo 1 soo my luiid in chains : Lot them tear mo limb fr.)m limb, <»r strew my ashes to the wind, Ere r disgrace tho name [ bjar, or h'ave a c )Wiird's fame behind " Brothers mine, though y )ung in years, you are old enough to know That to shed your blood is noble, Hghting with your country's foe ! Be tho lesson nnf )rgntton tliat our noble fatliijr gave, Whether glory bo its gui'rdoii, or it wins us but ;i grave. " ConiP, my pooi)lo, take your places, every oni- as duty c ills ; De;\th to evoiy f(»o who ventures to api»r.>ach these fortress walls ; Let no [)oint be unpr>>ti'cte<l, leave the rest tn <iod on high, That wo shall have dune uur duty. I'von if wo have to die." Thus she raise I thoir drojping courage, matchless maiden, Made- leine ; And the cry, " To arms I " ii eciioeil, till the roof-troos rang again ; Cannons thundered, mu?kutM rattled, and tho clank of steid was heard, Till the battled foe rt ' re toJ, like a wolf untiui'ily scared. Seven days and seven nights, witii sloe[tlo39 eye and bated breath, They held tho fort against tho toe that lurked around thorn plotting death. At last a joyous challenge came, it was the brave La Monnerie, And up to Heaven arose a shout, " The foe has Hod, and we re . free!" JouN Rka(j>k. ^ 70 PATUroTK • HKCITA'I'IONS. THE CAITI UED FL\(J. As \v| Not i| Loudiy r(»tiry(I the Kn;,'li.sli o.innon, loudly tiiundortil l)ack cur own, Pounnj^ down u i\ail of inm from their hattieiaeut.x o* stono, (living Froutenao't* proud musaaya to the clustered Hiitish HhijiH ; " I will ansivor your coiauumdor only l»y my oaunoDH' lipi. " Tlirou^li llio sulidiiiruus siii iko Ind 'W us, on tliu Admiral's sliip tjf war, Faintly yloaimtd the HritiHli ensign, an through tli«ud wrack gloams a wtar ; And ahrtve (Hir nohlo forh-.'>H, on (.?a(»o Diauiund's rugged croat, — Like a crown u|)nn a monarch, like an uaglo in its nest, — Stroa'uud our silktu H>ig, oud>la/.one<l with the royal //ei(r7e-Ji/^, Flingin;^; down ;\ proud (iehaui'i! to the valors of the sea. As we siw ir waviug proudly, and helu-ld the civnt it l»<»re, Fiercely throL'ied <uir hearts within us, and with bitter 'vvords we swore. While the azure .sky was reelnig at the tliunder ot our guns, We would strike that standard never, while (Md France had gallant fon«, Loud and tioicely raged tlm struggle, oft our foes had sought to li^nd, But wit'i shot and steel we met tluuu, uujt and drove them from the strand ; Though they owaod them not tlefeated, an<l the stately Tnion .lack, Streaunng from the slender topntast, seemed to wave them proudly back. Louder rose the din of combat, thicker rolled the battle smoke, Through whose murky fol U the i-rimson tongues of thundering cannon broke ; And the ensign sank liud floated in r.lie smoke clouds on the breeze, As a tluttering sea bird floats \\\u)U the stormy seas. WHiile we io(»ked upon it sinking, rising through a sea of smoke, Lo ! it shook, and hending downwards, as a tree beneath a stroke, Hung one moment o'er the river, then precipitcniely fell, And As i\\ Thor. Hoatil That Shou THE ( Airi l!!H n.AO. 71 Like proud Lucifer descrndiuL; fioiii high hcavtii into helL As we 8HW it nii*tor downwards, till it rt'atht'd the eager whvo, Not Cai»e Diamond's loudest echo couhl havf niatch^d the cheer we gave , Yet the English, still undaunted, sent an answering ech() back ; Though their thig had falhii cnniiucicd, Htill their fury did ni>t slaoV. And w'itli ionder voici- tlujir cannon to onr cannonade replied, As their tattered ensi^^n drifted sIo\vl> siioreward with the tide. Tiiore was one who s\\\ i« floating, and within his heart of tire, Heating in a Frenchman's bosoui, rose at once a tieice desire. That the riven llag ilius resting on the liroail St. Lawrence tide Should, for years to eonu', hetok-Mi how France luunlded Fngland's jtride. As the stag leap.s ilown the moniitaiji with th»> haynig lioundH in (^hase, So t.he hero, swift dtscending, stuight ("ape Dianiond'a rugged base, And within the watii' wliitencil by the bullet's dtadly hail. Springing, swam t tward the ensign with a stroke that could nut fail. Fre' ; ♦^Jio shore and from the foitress we looked on with bated ':. .th, For around him eloser, closer, fell the messengers of death ; And as nearer, ever nean-i, to the floating flag he drew, Thicker round his head undaunted still the English bullets tiew. He has reached and seized the trophy I Ah ! what cheering rent the skies, Mingled with dtcp English curses, as he shoreward brought his pri/-e 1 Slowly, sl()\vly, almost sinking, still he struggled to the land. And we hurried down to meet him as he reached the welcome strand ; Proudly ui) the rock we bore him with th6 flag that ho had won. And that night the English vessels left us with the setting sun. Akthuh Wkir. lil mi P ! f: PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS, FREEDOM'S JOURNEY. Freedom ! a nursling of the North, Hocked in the arms of stormy pines, On fond adventure wander'd forth Where south the sun superbly shines ; The prospect shone so bright nnd fair, She dreamt her home was there, was there. She lodged 'neath many a gilded roof. They gave her praise in many a hall. Their kindness checked the free reproof, Her heart dictated to lot fall ; She heard the Negro's Iielpless prayer. And felt her home could not be the-^e. She sought thro' rich Savannah's green, And in the broad Palmetto grove. But whore her Altar should have been She found nor liberty nor love ; A cloud came o'er her forehead fair, She found no shrine to freedom there. Back to her nativ scenes she turn'd, Back to the hardy, kindly North, Where bright aloft the Pole-star burned, Where stood her shrine by every hearth ; " Back to the North I will repair," The Coddess cried, "my hijme is there." Thos. D'AitcY McGee. THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. 73 THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. I stood upon the Plain, That had trembled when the slain Hurled their proud, defiant curses at the battle-heated foe, When tho steed dashed right and left. Through the bloody gaps ii'i cleft, When the bridle-rein was broken, and the rider was laid low. What busy feet had trod Upon the very sod Where I marshalled the battalions of my fancy to my aid 1 And I saw the combat dire, Heard tho (juick incessant fire. And the cannons' echoes startling the reverberating glade. 1 heard the chorus dire. That jarred along the lyre On which the hymn of battle rung, like surgings of the wave. When the storm, at blackest night. Wakes the ocean in affright, As it shouts it9 miglity pibroch o'er some shipwrecked vessel's grave. I saw the broad claymore Flash from its scabbard o'er The ranks that <|uailed and shuddered at the close and tierce attack ; When Victory gave the word. Then Scotland drew the sword, And with arm that never faltered drove the brave defenders back. I saw two ))rave chiefs die. Their last breaths like the sigh C the zephyr-sprite that wantons on the rosy lips of morn ; No envy-poisoned darts. No rancor in their hearts, To unfit them for their triumph over death's impending scorn. ! ' 1 I - i i 1 rl 1^ 74 I'Ari.'loTIC UKCFTATIONS. 'i Aiul iiM I tlwMi^ht iiiid t^azed, My mm\, t-xultanl, pniisod The power to wli'im i-acli nii<4lity act aiul victory nre due, For the saint-likt! I 'cacti tliat smiled, Like a lioa\i;ii ^^ifti-d child, And for the air of (|niotudi; tliat ntccpcd the distant view. Oh, rare, divincst life Of IVaee, coiiipared with Strife I Yours is the truesl sph'tnlor, aixi the luoat enduring fame ; All the i,di>ry ever reajied Where the Mends <>f battle kaped. Is harsh discord to the music of youi" undertoned acclaim. Ctiaules 8an(j.stek. THE HEROES OF 17<)(). THE HEROES OF 1700. O Ye who trend witli lioedlesa feet, Tliis dust ciico laid with hentes" bhtod, A moment turn yinir Irickward ghiuco To years of dread imiuietude ; NVhou wars disturhud our peaceful fields ; When niotlurs drew a sobbing bre.it li ; When the ^^jreat river's hilly marge Resounded with I ho cry of death. Then, full of tire, our lieroea sprang To save our heritage and laws. They conciuered ! 'twas a holiday. Alas, the last in si. eh a cause I lilondy and Hhamed, the tlag of Franco Torforeo i-eerossed the widening seas ; The sad Canadian mourned hiA hopes, And cherished l>itter niemoriea. Hut noble he ilesi>ito his woe ! Before his lords he proudly bends. Like some tall oak that storms may shake, And bow, but never, never rend. And oft he dreams a hai»py dream, And sees a llag with lilies sown, Oome back whence comes the rising sun, To th>at o'er landscapes all his nwn. Oh when the south wind on its wings Bears to his ear strange sounds nfar, To him thev seem the scdemn chant Of triumph after clam rous war. Those echoes weinl of gallant strife E'en stir the coHined warrior-dead, As stirs a nation's innwist heart At 8(»me proud pageant nobly led. 75 Ij I li Si $M I' 76 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS Hear yo, how in their ancient urns The ashes of our heroes wake ? Thus greet they ye, fair sons of morn, For this their sol 'im silence break. They greet ye, whose r«j,iown has reached Past star on star to highest heaven ! Ye on whose brow their liah> sits. To ye their altar shall bo given ! And who shall dare our homesteads touch, Tnat for our heritage ye gave : — And wh(» shall drive us from the shores To which your blood the verdure gave ? E'en they shall find the oppressed will rise More powerful ^or the foe withstood ; And ever for such heinous crime Shall pay the forfeit with their blood. Ye, our defenders in the past, Your names are still a household word I In childhood's ear old ago recounts The toils your hardy youth endured. And on the field of victory Hath gratitude your memory graved ! In during brass your story lives A glory to the centuries saved ! Mrs. S. A. CuRzoN. SIR ISAAC BHOCK TO HIS SOLDIERS. 77 SIR ISAAC BROCK TO HIS SOLDIERS. Ye men of Canada I Subjects with m j of that Imperial Power Whose liberties are inarching round the earth : I need not urge you now to follow me, Though what befalls will try your stubborn faith In the tierce Hre and ciucible of war. I need not urge you, you have heard the voice Of loyalty, and answered to its call. Who has not read the insults of the foe — The manifesto of his purposed crimes I That foe, whose poison -paint, false liberty, Runs o'er hia body politic and kills Whilst seeming to adorn it, fronts us now I Threats our poor Province to annihilate. And should we lind ihe red men by our side — Poor injured souls, who but defend their own — Calls back Extermination from its hell. To stalk abroad, and stench your land with slaughter. These are our weighty arguments of war, Wlierein armed Justice will enclasp its sword, And sheath it in its bitter adversary ; Wherein we'll turn our bayonet-points to pens, And write in blood : — Here lies the poor inmder ; Or be ourselves struck down by hailing death : Made stepping stones for foes to walk upon — The lifeless gangways to our country's ruin. For now we look not with the eye of fear ; We reck not if this strange mechanic frame — Stop in an instant in the shock of war. Our death may build into our country's life, And failing this, 'twere bettor stil to die Than live the breathing spoils of infamy. Then forward for our cause and Canada I Forward for Britain's Empire peerless arch Of Freedom's raising, whose majestic span Is axis to the world I On, on. my friends ! The task our country sots must we perform — Wring peace from war, or perish in its storm I Chas. Mair. ! '■ i^l 1 II 78 I'ATUIOTIC RECITATIONS. AROl'SI-: YK, liKAVK CANADIANS. Lillys SH^IiJi stfil lllj (ii lit fid I'tl'Dll, !< Hdiliinl llflfhill to till' fifiiplr Ol i lil>*'r I'liiitiilit (it I hi' ni»ii!tiii iif till irar nf ISI/. C;iiuuliiiir.s anna are stout and stroiijsS CatiadiaM hearts are truo ; Vciiir lioincs wero in tlio forest made, W lii'ri) pint; and niuiily grow. A liaii;.{lity foe is niardiiny Your country to iMithrall ; Arouse ye, l»ravo CanHdiimH, And answer to my call ! Let every man who swinj^s a!i axe. Or follows ;it tlie plough, Aband<jn farui and houiestead, \nd grasp a rilie now I VYe'll trust tlie God of Hattles, Although our foroo he small ; An)n8e yo, bravo Canadians, And answer to my call I Lot mtttliiTs, though with breaking hearts, Give up their gallant sons ; Let nnudens bid their lovers go, And wives their dearer ones I Then rally to the frontier, And form a living wall ; Arouse yo, bravo Canadians, And answoi to my call 1 •T. D. EnoAB. A Fi ON (^UEENSTON HEIGHTS. 7J) ON QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. I stood on Queenaton Heights ; And as I gazed from tojnb to cenotaph, From cenotaph to tomb, adown and up, My heart grew full, much moved with many thoughts. At length I cried : " O robed with honor and with glory crowned. Tell me again the story of yon pile." And straight the ancient, shuddering cedsro wept, The solemn junipers indued their p'ill, The moaning wind crept through the trembling naki And, shrieking, tied. Strange clamor tilled the air ; The stei'iiy hill nhook with the rush of arms ; Around me rolled the tide of siuMen war. The booming guns jiealed forth their dreadful knell ; Musketry rattled ; shouts, cries, groans, were heard ; Men met as foes, and deadly strife ensued. From side to side the surging combat rolled, And as it rolled, parsed from my ken. But hark I a ringing cheer peals up the height. Once more the battle's tide bursts on my view . Brock to the rescue I Down goes the alien flag I Hack, back the dark battalions fall. On, on The " Tigers " come. Down pours the r.attling shot From out the verdant grove, like sheets of hail. Up, up they press, York volunteers and all. Aha! the day is ours ! See, where the hero comes In con<iuering might, (juick driving all before him ! brave ensample ! O beloved chief ! Who follows iihee keeps over pace with honor. Such tale the hill-side told me, and I wept. Nay ! I wept not I The hot, indignant thoughts That filled my breast burned up the welling tears Ere they had chance to flow, and forward Hate Spake rashly. But calm reflection Laid her cool hand upon my throbbing brow And whispered, " As up the misty stream The Norseman crept to-day, and signals white Waved kind salutes from yon opposing shore ; And as ye peered tho dusky vista through. To catch first glimpse of yonder glorious plinth, Yet saw it not till I your glance directed, — So high it towered above the common plane ; — So towering over Time, shall Brock e'er stand. — So, from those banks, shall white-robed Peace e'er smilo." 7 Mrs. S. A. UuRZON. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V ■^ ?.^ ^ i^r^ ////J Uc / 1.0 I.I IM]^ ill IIIIM IM 12.2 2.0 .8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -• 6" — ► %/^ A ■ew <5> />^ I, I' # <% Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEbSTER,^4.Y 14580 (716) 872-4S03 ■^57 J3 fe C/j 80 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I ALONG THE LINE. A.D. 1812. Steady be your buacou's blaze Along the line I along the line ! Freely sing dear Freedom's praiso Along the line I along tlie line I Let tiie only sword you draw Bear the legend of the law, Wield it less to strike than awe, Along the line ! along the line I Let them rail against the North, Beyond the line I beyond the line I When it sends its heroes forth. Along the line ! along the line ! On the tield or in the camp They shall tremble at your tramp, Men of the old Norman stamp. Along the line ! along the line I Wealth and ])ride may rear their crests, Beyond the lino ! beyond the line ! They bring no terror to our breasts, Along the line ! along the line ! We have never bought or sold A trie's sons with Mexic's gold, Conscience arms the free and bold, Along the line I along the lino I Steadfast stand, and 8leo])Uss ward, Along the line I along the line I Great the treasures that you guard Along the line ! along the line ! By the babes whose son^ shall be Crowned in far futurity. With the laurels of the free, Stand your guard along the line ! Thos. D'AprY McGee. \ ill THE VETERANS OF 1812. 81 1; \V' THE VETERANS OF 1812. Forget not, Canada, the men who gave, In fierce and bloody fray, their lives for thine. Pause thou, Ontario, in thy forward march, And give a tear to those who, long ago. On this day feli upon those Heights where now Their ashes rest beneath memorial pile. And while those names. Brock and Macdonell wake, A throb of emulative gratitude And patriotic fervor in thy breast, Forget not those—*' the boys," the nameless ones, — Who also fought and fell on that October day ; Nameless their ashes, but their mem'ries dearl Remember, too, Those grandsires at thy hearths who linger still ; Whose youthful arms then hel])ed to guard thy peace, — Thy peace their own. And ere they go to join Their antient comrades of the hard-won fight. Glad their brave hearts with one applauding cheer In memory of the day. Comfort their age With plenty. Let them find that sturdy youth, Whose heritage they saved, bows rov'rent head, And lends a strong arm to ancient men, Whose deeds of patriot prowess deck the silk That waves so proudly from the nation's towers. Mre. S. A. Cuhzoh. I ^ I- > i ■ I: i ' M '>"^l i'ii tm it ■ ! i •f 82 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I CAPTURE OF DETROIT, 1812. The summona spread throughout the land, the summons to the brave ; It speeded west to far St. Clair, and north to Huron's wave. And fast into the forest wild its tliriliing notes did float ; It called the woodman from his toil, the fisher from his boat. And high upon the mountain, loue and deep within the dell, The red man heard its stirring notes and answered to them well. In haste they camo responsive to their country's call for aid, — The young, the old, the white, the red, for Truth and Right arrayed ; Their arms were strong, their mettle true, but few in numbers they— To cope in arms upon the field against the great array. On marched the force invading, looking at their foo in scorn, And sure that they would vanish like the mist before the morn ; But hearts of giant might were there that knew not how to fear, And willing hands were waiting to provide a bloody bier ; And warmly did they welcome th' approach of that proud band That canie to conquer and subdue their fair, free, noble land. And then in haste and terror, back unto their native shore. The boastful host went surging, — their advance was quickly o'er ; Behind them thronged the heroes, while a bright chivalric glow Went flashing o'er their faces as they chased the beaten foe. " No time to rest ! " cried Brock the Brave ; " Let's conijuer now or die ! " And swarth Tecumseh at his side re-echoed back the ciy. And fast and far, from rank to rank, the thrilling orders came, That they must cross the river in the face of shot and flame. And on they went undaunted, they, the bravest of the brave, And thought then but of honor, and they thought not of the grave. The leader's towering figure stood erect in his canoe, And o'er him England's banner out upon the breexes blew. Ah ! who at such a moment, and with such a leader there, CAPTURE OF DETROIT, 1812. 83 With such a flag above him, would of victory despair ? Not one I ween who followed, through the midst of shot and shell, The grand heroic figure they knew and loved so well. They reached the shore, they scaled the beach, and from a favored post, They hurled like chaff before the wind, the huge opposing host; These fled for shelter to the fort, where shelter there w^s none, The flashing fire on ev'ry side boomed from each leaguer's gun. " Advance ! advance," rang out the cry along the line of red ; " Advance ! advance," in trumpet tones rheir fearless leader said. With answering cheers upon their lips obeyed the willing men. While far and wide, on every side, upstarting from the glen. The painted Indians whooping came, amid the battles din. And rushed along with bounding step the carnage to begin. But oh ! what now ? the charge is checked, and all along the line The men in wonder see, and stop in answer to the sign That by their leader's hand is made. My country can it be That he is craven-hearted turned / No craven heart is he ! See high above yon bastioned wall that flutt'ring flag of white, Where Stripes and Stars a moment since were glittering on the sight ! And list, adown the joyous ranks the thrilling tidings go, " The fort has fallen into our hands, and with it all the foe ! " A cheer triumphant rang aloud o'er forest, field, and plain, And distant echoes caught its notes and pealed them forth again. Right proudly beat the hearts, I trow, (tf all the gallant few, As flaunting o'er the battlements the flag of England flew, And from the ramparts of the fort they made the welkin ring With plaudits loud for Brock the Brave, and cheers for England's King. Charles Edwin Jakeway. •^iWi m y m m si 84 PATKIOTIC RECITATIONS. A BALLAD FOR BRAVE WOMEN. A STOKY worth telling, our annsils afford, 'Tisthe wonderful j )urney of Laura Secord ! Her p )or crippled spouse hobbled home With the news That Bteratler was nigh ! " Not a minute to lose, Not an instant," said Laura, " for stoi)page or pause — I must hurry and warn our brave troops at Docaws." ** What ! you ! ' said her husband " ti famish and tiro I " *' Yes, me ! " said brave Laura, her bosom on tire. " And liow will you pass the gruff sentry ? " said he, *' Who is posted so near us ? " " Just wait till you see ; The foe is approaching, and means to surprise Our troops, as you tell me. Oh, hu9b;md, there flies No doi e with a message so needful as this — I'll take it, I'll bear it, good bye, with a kisa." Then a biscuit she ate, tucked hor skirts well about. And a bucket she slung on each arm, and wutit out Twas the bright blush of dawn, when the stars melt from sight, Dissolved by its breath like a dream of the night ; When heaven seems opening on man and his pain. Ere the rude day strengthens, and shuts it again. But Laura had eyes for her duty alone- She marked not the glow and the gloom that were thrown By the nurslings of morn, by the cloud-lands at rest, By the spells of the E ist, and the weirds of the West. Behind was the foa, full of craft and of guile ; Before her, a long day of travel and toil. " No time this for gazing," said Laura, as near To the sentry she drew. *' Halt ! you cannot pass here." " I cannot i)ass here 1 vVhy, sirrah, you drowse. Are you blind ? Don't you see I am off to my cows." A BALLAD FOR BRAVE WOMEN. 85 " Well, well you can go." So she wended her way To the pasture's lone side, where the farthest cow lay, Got her up from her bed, and with pail at her knees, Made her badge, inch by inch, till she drew by degrees To the edge of the forest. '' I've hoaxed, on my word, Both you and the sentry," said Laura Secord. With a lingeritig look at her home, then away She sped through the wild woods — a wilderness gray And denser and deeper the solitude grew, The underwood thickened, and drenched her with dew ; She tripped over moss covered logs, and fell, arose. Sped, and stumbled again by the hour, till her clothes Were rent by the branches and t)rn, and her feet Grew tender and way-worn and blistered with heat. And on, ever on, through the forest she passeu, Her soul in her task, and each pulse beating fast. For shadowy forms seemed to Hit from the glades And beckon her into their limitless shades": And mystical sounds — in the forest alone, Ah I who has not heard them / — the voices, the moan, Or the sigh of mute nature, which sniks on the ear, And fills us with sadness or thrills us with fear ? And who, lone and lost, in the wilderness deep. Has not felt the strange fancies, the tremors which creep, And assemble within, till the heart 'gins to fail, The courage to flinch, and the checks to grow pale, 'Midst the shadows which mantle the spirit that broods In the sombre, the deep haunted heart of the woods \ Once more on the path vay, through swamp and through mire, Through covert and thicket, through bramble and brier, She toiled to the highway, then over the hill, And down the deep valley, and past the new mill, And through the next woods, till, at sunset, she came To the first British picket and murmured her name ; Thense, guarded by Indians, all footsore and pale She was led to Fitzgibbon, and told him her tale. fi k kl . 4 £ lit 1 I 3;il 8G I'ATRIOTK' RECITATIONS. For a moment lier reason forsook her ; she raved , She laughed, and she cried — " They are saved, tliey are saved ! " Then her senses returned, and with thanks loud and deep Sounding sweetly around her she sank into sleep. And Bcerstler came up, but his movements were known, His force was surroundeJ, his scheme was o'erthrown By a woman's devotion — on stone be't engraved — The foeman was beaten and Burlington saved. Ah ! faithful to death were our women of yore ! Have they Hed with the past to be heard of no more ? No, no ! Though this laurelled one sleeps in the grave. We have maidens as true, we have matrons as brave ; And should Canada ever be forced to the test — To spend for our country the blood of her best ! When her sons lift the linstock and brandish the sword, Her daughters will think of brave Laura Secord ! Chas. Mair. Jl I ( LUNDY S LANE. 87 LUNDY'S LANE. July it was, and the sims fierce heat On road and meadow glistened and beat. Glistened and beat till the hillside brown Shrivelled and parched in its angry frown. Till the dust hay white 'neath the creaking wain, And never a zephyr to promise the rain Backward from Queenston, backward for aye, 1 he hostile invaders had passed on their way. While hot on their rear like a hound on the track, By the way he retreated brave Riall came back. By the way he retreated from Chippewa fight, Outnumbered and beaten that terrible night. And now where the ground softly slopes from the plain. And the fragrance of orchards breathes o'er Lundy's Lane, At the point where it joins with the old Portage road, His scanty battalions defiantly stood. In front lay the foe ; to his challenge they come, But bv^hind hear the beat of the patriot drum ! For Drummond is marching that pitiless day. And the feet of his soldiers are swift for the fray. Undaunted by nifmbers, by odds undismayed, " Form the line with the guns in the centre," he said. Six o'clock, arid the sun as it sunk to its rest. Like a circle of blood shot its glow from the West. One instant its gleam on their battle ranks broke ; The next it was lost in the batteries' smoke. ,4 it - i m 1 1 wl 88 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. And tlioy ^re-tpplei, thoy strugglutl, they ft)iight and tliuy fell, 'Mid the Hnsh of tlie biyoiiet, the liiss of the aliell. One to four ! they are Britons in bh>od and in bone, And the land that they fight for they kinnv is tlieir own. One to four I shall they perish when wisdom Fays "Fly?" On I Forward like heroes ! for valor says " Die." One to four ! and the twilight in horror shrinks down, And over the dead casts hor mantle of brown. One to four ! and there fades the last gliiumer of light, And they fought hand to hand for the guns in the night. And tiie flashes of Hame shot their glare o'er the gloom, And the cannons re-echoed the cataract's boom. And the smoke of their volleys strewn far o'er the plain Seemed the ghosts of the fallen contending agiin. Rose the moon, pallid orbed, her pale course to pursue, Belated, reluctant, aghast at the view ! So their hands from the slaughter a moment they stay, A moment they stand statue-like in its ray. A moment of breathing — a moment — no more, Then bellowed tlie cannons their grape as before. Till the foe, h(»rr(n" smitten at blood so out-poui-ed, Withdrew with the bayonet, withdrew with the sword. So, battiid and van(|uished, they sullenly fled, And night and the victors kept watch with the dead. W. Thomas White. THE U. E. LOYALISTS. 89 THE U. E. LOYALISTS. The war was over. Seven red years of hlootl Had scourged the land from mountain top to sea ; (So long it took to rend the iniglity frame Of Englatid's empire in the western world) Rebellion won at last, and they wh(* loved The cause that had been lost, and kept their faith To England's crown, and scorned an alien name, Passed into exile, leaving all behind Except their honor, and the conscious pride Of duby do le to Country and to King. Broad lands, ancestral homes, and gathered wealth Of patient toil and self-denying years Were confiscate and lost ; for they had l)een The salt and savor of the land ; trained up In honor, loyalty and fear of God. Not drooping like poor fugitives they came In exodui to our Canadian wilds, But full of heart and hope, with heads erect And fearless eyes victorious in defeat. With thousand toils they forced their devious way Through the great wilderness of silent wools, That gloomed o'er lake and stream, till higher rose The northern star above the broad domain Of half a continent, still there to hold, Defence and keep for ever as their own. Their own and England's, to the end of time. The virgin forests, carpeted with leaves Of many autumns fallen, crisp and sear, Put on their woodland state ; while overhead Green seas of foliage roared a welcome home To the i>roud exiles, who for empire fought i ! I ;l 90 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. And kept, thou^^h losing much, this northern land A refnj»e and defence f«»r all wlio love The broader freedon of a commonwealth That wears upon its hoid a kingly crown. Our great Canadian woods of mighty trees, Proud oaks and pines that grew for centuries, King's gifts upon the exiles were bestowed. Ten thousand homes were planted ; and each one With axe, and fire, and mutual help made war Against the wilderness and smote it down. Into the open glades, unlit before, Since forests grew and rivers ran, there leaped The sun's bright rays, creative light and heat, Waking to life the buried seeds that slept Since time's beginning in the earth's dark womb. The tender grass sprang up, no man knew how. The daisies' eyes unclosed, wild strawbarries Lay white as hoar frost on the slopes, and sweet The violets perfumed the evening air ; The nodding clover grew up everywhere ; The trailing raap, the trefoil's yellow cup Sparkled with dew drops, while the humming bees And birds and butterflies, unseen before, Found out the sunny spots and came in throngs. But long and arduous were their labors ere The rugged fields produced enough for all, For thousands came ere hundreds could be fed ; The scanty harvests gleaned to their last ear Sufficed not yet, men hungered for their bread Before it grew, yet cheerful bore the hard, Coarse fare and russet garb of pioneers. In these great woods, content to build a home And commonwealth where they could live secure, A life of honor, loyalty and peace. Amid the quaking of a continent Torn by the passions of an evil time, THE U. E. LOYALISTS. 91 They counted neither coat nor danger, spurned Defections, treasons, spoils ; hut feared their God, Nor shamed of their allegiance to the king. Oh ! keep the empire one in unity, The vast dominion stretched from sea to sea ; A land of labor but of sure reward, A land of corn to feed the world withal, A land of life's best treasures, plenty, peace, Content and freedom, both to speak and do ; A land of men to rule, with sober law, A Christian commonwealth, God's gift ; oh keep This part of Britain's empire next the heart, Loyal as were our fathers, and as free. William Kirby. li. m ■■4 :i ., I 92 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ;; THE BATTLE OF RIDGE WAY. So full the brave of every age and clime, Where'er true valor burns or foenien meet ; So fall the brave, dying their deaths sublime At their dear country's feet. Gems in her crown, and landmarks of her youth In years to come, when might and strength are hers ; Martyrs of Freedom, Liberty and Truth, And Fame's true W()rshii)pers. So fell the bravo on Queenston's Heights, when Brock Rolled back aggression and repelled the foe ; So fell the l)rave where Wolfe sustained the shock That laid his young heart low. So fell the brave when Tecumseh fell ; So fell the brave at Chateauguay's proud Held ; Yet there are lying li})s that dare to tell We would not die, but yield ! Nor did they fall in vain ; each drop of blood Was as the dragon's teeth from which armed men Have si»rung, brave and invincible of mood As those who perished then. Sprung up by tens of thousands, ripe for war ; Ready to tread the tiory path that leads Too oft to death ; disdaining scathe and scar To serve their country's needs. Chas. San«rt?:r. IN MEMORY OF THE " QUEEN's OWN." 93 IN MEMORY OF THE "QUEEN'S OWN." Toll for the dead, the gallant dead ! Who calmly sleep in glory's bed, With victory's laurels o'er each head In never fading bloom ! They fctught for home and tireside By Erin's old historic tide For Canada's renown they died, Come with me to their tomb. Come stand around the honor'd graves, Where slumber now our fallen braves Who battled with the miscreant knaves Whose touch defiled our land ; Give first one hearty British cheer ; And then draw cluser, fondly near ; And drop a Brother'w farewell tear O'er that devoted band. Roused by the bugle's warning sound The old red croSa they rallied rountl With every other feeling drowned In honor's sacred call ; And fearless as the steel they wore Down on the ruftian foe they bore, A Spartan spirit blaiced once more Around them in their fall. • Peace to each gallant spirit fled, Peace to our noble Brothers dead, Whose bold intrei)id souls were fed With patriotic tire ! Oh I for one burst of living llame To wrealh around each hero's name A chaplet of eternal Fame, That never could expire I William Pittmav Lett. ^m 1 KM 94 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. !i' BRAVO ! STAIRS. Lieut. Stabs loas a (jradnate of the Royal Military Cnlleye^ Kiuyston, Ontario, and acted under H. M. Stanley in liis famous Congo expedition. Up the gloaming river stretches of the Congo's widening tide, Where the revelled grass and sedges teem with monsters Argus- eyed ; Through the fever-laden forests, where the craven heart despairs. Onward pressing, never faltering, Bravo ! Stairs. Thoughts of cool Ontario's waters, rippling on Fort Frederick's strand Or the white-maned ocean horses, scouring Nova Scotia's sand, Come, like dreams, to weary toiler, as 'neath Afric's sun he fares, But the strong will never wavers — Bravo I Stairs. Marshalling his dark battalions, all impatient of control With a firmness and a patience earnest of a noble soul ; First in danger, never laggard, Alma Mater's crest he wears, Thrilling with "Truth, Valor, Duty"— Bravo ! Stairs. Bearing Britain's torch of freedom to the darkness of the grave, Striking chains and riving shackles from the scarred limbs of the slave ; Loosing captives where they languish, braving lions in their lairs, While the world looks on in wonder — Bravo ! Stairs. Weave the maple with the laurel, though its veins are tinged with red, Place the chaplet in its fieshness, proudly on our hero's head ; Canada grows grander, nobler, from the glory that he bears. Shout? from all her lakes and forests, Bravo ! Stairs. K. L. J0NB8. MANITOBA. 95 MANITOBA. Softly the shadows of prairie-land wheat Ripple and riot adown to her feet ; Murmurs all Nature with joyous acclaim. Fragrance of summer and sliimmer of flame : Heedless she hears while the centuries slip : Chalice of poppy is laid on her lip. Hark ! From the East conies a ravishing note, — Sweeter was never in nightingale's throat, — Slence of centuries thrills to the song, Singing their coming awaited so long ; Low, yet it swells to the heaven's blue dome. Child-lips have called the wild meadow-land. Home ! Deep, as she listens, a dewy surprise Dawns in the languor that darkens her eyes ; Swift the red blool through her veins, in its flow. Kindles to rapture her bosom aglow ; Voices are calling, where silence has been, — Look to thy future, thou Mother of Men 1 " Onward and onward I Her fertile expanse Shakes as the tide of her children advance ; Onward and onward ! Her blossoming floor Yields her an opium potion no more ; Onward ! and soon on her welcoming soil Cities shall palpitate, myriads toil. Emily McManus f' i k 8 UriSliBHIiaiiiitaBHHHMM SiU B 1 ^ H s: \- i 96 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. MY PRAIRIE HOME. Come back, O Friend, to your prairie home, To the plains that are wide like the sea, To the brown foot-hills where the cattle roam, Where the wind, the wind blows free ! The wind blows free and the cattle graze, And the eagle sails on high, — While the land lies asleep in the smoky haze. And faint comes the ground-bird's cry. The ground -bird's cry and the plover's call, And the whistle of hawk 1 hear, While the blackbird Hock, like a sable pall, On the sedgy bank appear. On the sedgy bank of the ruffled pool Where the sportful wind careers. You may joy in the plash of its waters cool, And drown in their depths your fears. You may drown the fears that oppress you sore, And the cares so wearily rife, And blessed peace shall be yours once more As in spring-time years of life Come then from the City's din and roar. From breathing its heavy air, From dim-eyed search of that wondrous lore That the strifes of men prepare. You can 'scape from the strife of tongues away, And be here alone with God, While all about you the stars of day Shine bright in the prairie-sod. William P. McKenzie. THE NORTH-WEST REBELLION. 97 THE NORTH-WEST REBELLION. *• Forward 1" The captain said, Out of the morning's red Brave and noble and dread, With hero and martial tread, Into the North and the Westward. Over dim forest and lake, Over lone prairie and brake, The clamor of battle to wake, For kindred and country's sake, Into the North and the Westward. " Forward ! " 'Neath northern sky. Ready to tight and die. Where the shadowy marshbirds fly With their weird and lonely cry, Far to the North and the Westward. Only the rifle's crack, And answer of rifle back ; Heavy each haversack. Dreary the prairie's track Far to the North and the Westward. *♦ Forward ! " Seeking the foe. Starving and bleeding they go, Into the sleet and the snow. Over bleak rivers that flow Far to the North and Westward. Falling on frozen strands ; Falling, devoted bands. Sleeping with folded hands ! Dead, for home and for lands — Dead in the North and the Westward ! William Wilfbbd Oampbell. ; ' iiiia y i-:'i 98 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. OUR CANADIAN FATHERLAND. What is our young Canadian land ? Is it far Noreinbega's* strand ? Or wild Cape Breton by the sea ? Quebec I Ontario '{ Acadie ? Or Manitoba's flower-decked plain, Or fair Columbia's mountain chain ? Can any part — from strand to strand — Be a Canadian's fatherland ? Nay ! for our young Canadian land Is greater, grander far, than these ; It stretches wide on either hand Between the world's two mighty seas ! So let no hostile lands divide The fields our feet should freely roam ; Gael, Norman, Saxon, — side by side. And Canada our nation's Home ; From sea to sea, from strand to strand, Spreads our Canadian fatherland ! Where'er our country's banner spreads Above Canadian free-born heads, Where'er the story of our land Enshrines the memory of the band Of heroes, who, with blood and toil, Laid, deep in our Canadian soil, Foundations for the future age. And wrote their names on history's page, — Our history : — From strand to strand Spreads our Canadian fatherland ? So each to each is firmly bound By ties each generous heart should own, We cannot spare a foot of ground. No part can, selfish, stand alone ! * The old name for a great part of the Maritime Provinces and eastern coast of the New England States^ OUR CANADIAN FATHERLAND. 99 So Nova Scotia and Quebec Shall meet in kinship leal and true, — New Brunswick's hills be mirrored back In fair Ontario's waters blue ! From sea to sea, from strand to strand, Spreads our Canadian fatherland ! Where'er Canadian tliought breathes free, Or wakes the lyre of poesy, — Where'er Canadian hearts awake To sing a song for her dear sake. Or catch the echoes, spreading far, That wake us to the noblest war Against each lurking ill and strife That weakens, now, our growing life. No line keeps hand from grasi)ing hand, — One is our young Canadian land ! McGee and Howe she claims her own Hers all her eastern singers bays, Frechette is hers, and in her cr<twn, Ontario every laurel lays ; — Let Canada our watchword be. While lesser names we know no more, One nation, spread from sea to sea, And fused by love, from shore to shore ; - From sea to sea, from strand to strand, Spreads our Canadian fatherland I AoNKs Maule Maohar (Fidelis). m t I I ( I 4 r-v li ^ ' I ?i ■1 100 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. LEAVING SCOTLAND FOR CANADA. Adieu my native land — adieu The banks of fair Lochfyne, Where the first breath of life I drew, And would my last resign I Swift sails the bark that wafteth me This night from thy loved strand : O must it be my last of thee, My dear, dear Fatherland ? O Scotland ! o'er the Atlantic roar. Though fated to depart, Nor time nor space can e'er efface Thine imago from my heart. Come weal, come woe — till life's last thore. My Highland home shall seem An Eden bright in Fancy's light, A Heaven in Memory's dream ! Land of the maids of matchless grace, The bards of matchless song, Land of the bold heroic race That never brook'd a wrong ! Long in the front of nations free May Scotland proudly stand : Farewell to thee — farewell to thee. My dear, dear Fatherland ! Evan M'Coll. MY NATJVE LAND. 101 MY NATIVE LAND. My nativo land, how dear to me The sunshine of your glory ! How dear to me your deeds of fame, Embalm'd in verse and story ! From east to west, from north to south, In accents pure and tender, Let's sing in lays of joyous praise Your happy homes of splendor. Across the centuries of the past, With hearts of fond devotion. We tracd the white sails of your line Through crest'd wave of ocean ; And every man of every race Whose heart has shaped your glory Shall win from us a homage true In gift of song and story. O let not petty strife e'er mar The bright dawn of your morning. Nor bigot word of demagogue Create untimely warning ! Deep in our hearts let justice reign — A justice broad and holy — That knows no creed, nor race, nor tongue. But our Dominion solely. Dear native land, we are but one From ocean unto ocean ; The sun that tints the Maple Leaf Smiles with a like devotion On Stadacona's fortress height, On Grand Pre's storied valley, And that famed tide whose peaceful shore Was rock'd in battle sallv. ■* 'M 102 PATKIOTIC RECITATIONS. Here we will plant each virtue rare, And watch it bud and flourish— From sunny France and Scotia's hills Kind dews will feed and nourish ; And Erin's heart of throbbing love, So warm, so true and tender. Will cheer our hearths and cheer our homes With wealth of lyric splendor. Dear native land, on this New Year, We pray you ne'er may falter, That patriot sons may feed tlie flames That burn upon your altar ! May heaven st(jop down upon each home, An I bless in love our i)eople, And ring through hearts — both ricli and poor — Sweet peace from heav'nly steeple. Thomas 0'Haoa.x. THE queen's jubilee. 103 THE QUEEN'S JUBILEE. Twice twenty years and ten have fields been green, And ftirests bare, and tif-wers have decked the lea, And summer suns hav>3 burned, and winter keen lias hushed the vocal throngs in bower and tree ; While round thy Island Throne the restless sea Still flings his thundering anthems to the skies, And joins with mighty bass our Jubilee, And shouts defiance when the wild winds rise, And guards thy rock-bound coast, confounds thy enemies. From all thy wave-washed shores, thy turrets gray, Thy sea-beat cliflfs, thy rocks and beetling tower?. Of man's and nature's build ; and far away Beyond Old Ocean's marge, where Asian bowers Awake with melting song the morning hours ; From lands that stem the Atlantic's fearful surge. And where the fierce sirocco hotly scours Australian plains ; from earth's remotest verge, To thee all loyalty, and love, and joy, converge. One wish, one thought intense, one impulse strong, Hath governed all thy long eventful reign ; Imbued thy days of sadness and of song, With sweetest sympathy for all thy train ; And strengthen'd thy strong heart, and nerved thy brain, To do the work an empire lays on thee : 'Tis love for thine own people doth sustain The pillars of thy throne. Love makes them free. And guides thy ship of state o'er Time's tempestuous sea. God bless our Queen! and guard her lest she fall ; And may her reign be long, her life be true : God bless her children, bless them one and all, Those golden heads that were, and eyes of blue. ,4 ^m 1% ^ i ' -iS V. " : fi' t 104 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. blesB their course in life the whole way through ! May all her mother-prayers answered be — And all her children's children, bless them too, Those near and those that dwell beyond the sea. Make all their hearts be glad in this her Jubilee. God bless her many peoples, and protect . Their every step, and lead them to the light, Subdue their stubborn passions and correct Their wayward hearts, impatient of the right ; And guard them from the moonless, starless night Of selfish, thoughtless, hard, unhallowed ways. The cleanest life among us, is not white ; The holiest saint laments his evil days ; And Conscience, strictly just, must mingle blame with praise. God save the Queen ! God save our Queen and bless Her when she riseth up and lieth down ; And when he calleth, be her answer, "yes, 1 come Lord ! A handmaid of Thine own." And may she never merit Thy just frown. But truly dutiful to Thee alway, Receive as just reward, a saintly crown ; And through the cycles of eternal day. Shall join the happy throngs in Thy triumphal l;.y. Dr. MAS.SIE. AS REDMEN DIE. 105 AS REDMEN DIE. Captive ! Is there a hell to him like this ? A taunt more galling than the Huron's hiss ? He, proud and scornful, he, who laughed at law, He, scion of the deadly Iroquois, He, the bloodthirsty, he, the Mohawk chief, He, who despises pain and sneers at grief. Hero in the hated Huron's vicious clutch, That even captive, ho disdains to touch. Captive ! But never concjuered ! Mohawk brave Stoop not to be to any man a slave ; Least, to the r 'ny tribe his soul abhors, The tribe whou wigwams sprinkle Simcoe's shores. With scowling brow he stoically stands by, Watching, with haughty and defiant eye. His captors, as they counsel o'er his fate. Or strive his boldness to intimidate. Then fling they unto him the choice. " Wilt thou Walk o'er th^ bed of tire that waits thee now — \V^lk with uncovered feet upon the coals Till thou doest reach the ghostly Land of Souls, And with thy Mohawk death-song please our ear ? Or ivilt thou with the women rest thee here ? " His eyes flash like the eagle's, and his hands Clash at the insult. Like a god he stands. " Prepare the fire ! " he scornfully demands. He knoweth not that soon this jeering band Will bite the dust — will lick the Mohawk's hand ; Will kneel and cower at the Mohawk's feet ; Will shrink when Mohawk war-drums wildly beat. His death will be avenged with hideous hate '4 Hi*. ^1 106 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. By Iroquois swift to annihilate His vile, detested captors that now flaunt Their war-clubs in his face with sneer and taunt, Nor thinking soon that reeking, red and raw, Their scalps will deck the belts of Iroquois. The path of coals outstretches, white with heat, A forest tir's length — ready for his feet. Unflinching as a rock he steps along The burning mass — and sings his tierce war-song — Sings as ho sang when once ho used to roam Throughout the forests of his southern home, ^Vhere down tlie Genesee the water roars, Where gentle Mohawk purls between its shores, — Songs that of exploits and of prowess tell, — Songs of the Iroquois invincible. Up the long trail of tiro he boasting goes. Dancing a wardance to defy his foes. His fle»h is scorched, his niusclos burn .and shrink, But still he dances to death's awful brink. The eagle plume that crests his haughty head Will never drooj) until hia heart be dead. Slower and slower yet his footstep swings, Wilder and wilder still his death-song rings. Fiercer and fiercer thro' the forest sounds His voice, that leaps to Happier Hunting Grounds. ^ One savage yell — Then, loyal to his race. He bends to death— but never to disgrace. E. Pauline Johnson. % t ON THE FRONTIER WAV. 107 Mi V?l ON THE FRONTIER WAY. As I went up the frontier way, I heard the wondering people say : ** Our land is wide and richer far *' Than all the golden Indies arc, " Our fathers' lives are passe<l and spanned, *' Our fathers' glorious swords are sheathed, " Then shall we tling away the land " The God of Hosts to them be(iueathed T From sea to sea, in sun and snow, The answer thundered southward '* No." As I stood on the frontier way, I heard the indignant people say : " Who fought and bled to save our rights " At Chateauguay and Queenston Heights ? " Who is it fills each silent grave " That marks the hil^ or dots the plain ? *'The dust of patriots true and brave, " Who, if they lived, would cry again, " You're welcome as the flowers of May, " To Queenston Heights and Chateauguay." ; i As I went up the frontier way, I hoard the patriot people say : " No alien flag shall ever wave ' ' Above th( hero's honored grave, " No alien heel shall e'nr defile, "Each green and grassy diadem, " No cunning tongue shall wean or wile, *' The shelter of our swords from them, " Their name shall never pass away, "From Queenston Heights and Chateauguay." m if ._^.: .,.^.1 -. 108 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. As I stood on the frontier way, I heard the dauntless people say : ** God loves a patriot people — He "Despises those who won't be free ; '• Shall traitors our proud ensign drag ? *' Shall we submit in fear and frown ? '• If they would have the grand old flag * ' They'd better come and pull it down, *' They're welcome as the flowers of May," Roar Queenston Heights and Chateauguay. RoBT. Kernioan. WHAT CANADA WANTS. 109 1 .,. i.... t ' I \ WHAT CANADA WANTS. Canada wants men — not walking effigies, Who smirk and smile with art polite, and sport The borrowed vesture of their richer friends ; But men of souls capacious who can plant The standard of their worth on noble deeds, And dare respect their conscience and their God. Canada wants Honest Men — men who shall lay Her empire's corner stone secure upon The solid granite of eternal truth, And build her towers and all her columns hew From the deep quarry of a nation's love. Canada wants Prosfressive Men— men who The stirrings of ambition feel, to join The glorious ranks of those who lead the van In Freedom's sacred cause and pour the wealth Of Heaven born genius at their country's shrine. Canada wants Independent Men— men who Regardless of applause will speak the truth — Men who will spurn a bribe and scorn to bend In cringing self-abasement at the feet Of titled villany. Men who have drunk From Freedom's sacred fount, and who their necks Will never bend to wear the bondsman's yoke — Men from deceit who'd tear the mask and show The knave in all his nakedness and guilt. Canada wants Virtuous Men — men with their hearts Attuned to holiness — men who will take The Bible as the Charter of their faith — Adore the God whom it reveals and learn ith gratitude sincere to sound His piaise. I'm 110 PATRIOT re RECITATIONS. Canada wants Heroic Men— men who shall dai'e To struggle in the solid ranks of truth ; To clutch the monster error by the throat ; Hurl base oppression from her seat, break down Her walls and let the world with poeans Of universal rapture usher Freedom in. Canada wants Noble Men— not those who trace Nobility through tortuous channels of Hereditary blood and boasting of Ancestral worth, swell with profound conceit, At every mention of their little selves — But men of noble souls— men tested well In life's great struggle, tempered in the forge Of hard experience, and fortified against Temptation's wiles by purity of heart — Men who will dare assert their rights and do What duty bids though all the v/orld should sneer. Canada wants Patriotic Men — men who Can feel their bosoms throb at mention of Their country's name — men whose allegiance is Not based on selfishness ; whose honesty of soul Would scorn promotion's highest seat, If treason were the price — men who will guard Her soil with sacred care and when she sounds The trumpet of alarm, will grasp their swords. Rush to the battle field with martial tread, And fearless hurl destruction on her foes. Those be the men, Oh Canada, to spring From out thy virgin soil. These be the men To wield the sceptre of thy power, extend Dominion o'er thy vast estate and write In history the glory of thy name. 1879. Geo. W. Ros*. CANADA TO RN(;rw\\f>. CANADA TO KNOLAND. Ill Tlie lark at dawn, the ui^lifint^alu at evu Conspire to make it beautiful. 1 liad dreamed Of some sufli beauty — Lo I it r( se around me M ore ex(|Uisi te til lan any dream, more fair Than even the favorite dreams of clierislied children, And what those are — ho\*' Htrange how sweet, how rare, We all remember — wlien a toucli, a soinul, Startles us. and we look Backwards - ten, twenty, thirty, forty yep.rs. Vet fairer t>ven than those » Cloud-visions capiu'd with rose, My En<^dand — with her abbeys framed in yn^en ; (iray Tintern .si-t not too far from the sea By subtle monks, safe in its rim of hills, And fj;ayer Furness, clad in 'iiellow i-eds That f^linnuer warm throui^h many an ivy-mat. And tall cathedrals tipped with .shinnnernig spires, That hang over hut and hall, And satin ]Kip[»ierf, scarlet, wild. Clasped in the hands of the laborer's child, And tangled cottage gardens gaily drest In all their rustic Sunday sunnner best. () blame them not who evermore 1 pon a c old CD lonii il shore Feel their hearts burn within them at the thought Of all that beauty I [jet it Ije said of such — Not thai they loved their Canada the less But only Kngland the more. Let it be said Of them them that nature diil so feed their souls With all that was grand, illimitable, potent, fresh, That poesy failed tliiMn. Natuiv was all \n all ; Too self-suliicing strong, relentless, mastei'ful, To aid the huiuaii .-spirit. Then there stole From English valk^ys. leafy lanes, high hills. From slo])ing uplands, farms and lichened towers, Fr. )tl om rooness rums gracious in oei-ay — Something a sentiment, asi)iratioii, wish- That soothed, inspired at once, that gave for wild Dissatisfaction, ]»cac(!. Di'iir England ! I — I have n(»t yet I fain had beetr - thy child ! 9 Mrs. HAitius«>N (Seranus). ff-r i r. 1 1 H |C4 If if ,r f. i 11 m I'M >•, Miif i. •M 1 'in 112 J'ATH lOTIC RECITATIONS. li' THE FLAG OF OLD ENGLAND. (A Centenanj Shikj, irriffrn, /or the one hnuilrciUh aiiniremanj of the laadiiuj of Lord (lorniiudlis at ILdifax.) All hail to the day when the Britons came over, And jdanted their standard, with sea-foam still wet, Around and ab<ive us their spirits will liover, Rejoicing to mark how we honor it yet. Beneath it the emblems they cherished are waving, The Rose of ( )ld England the roadside i)erf umea ; The Shamrock and Thistle the north winds are braving, Securely the Maytlower blushes and blooms. In the temples they founded, their faith is maintained, Every foot of the soil they becjueathed is still ours, The graves where they moulder, no foe has profaned, But we wreath them with verdure, and strew them with flowers I he blood of no brother, in civil strife pour'd, In this hour of rejoicing encumbers our souls ! The frontier's the Held for the Patriot's sword, And eur.sed be the weapon that Faction controls ! Then hail to the day ! 'tis with memories crowded, Delightful to trace 'midst the mists of the past. Like the features of Beauty, bowitchingly shrouded. They shine through the shadows Time o'er them has cast. As travellers track to its source in the mountains. The stream, which far swelling extends o'er the plains, Our hearts, on this day fondly turn t(j the fountains Whence tlc»w the warm currents that bound in our veins. And proudly we trace them : No warrior flying From city assaulted, and fanes overthrown, Vith the last of his race on the batilements dying, And weary with wandering, founded our own. \ > om f ho Queen of the Islands, then famous in story, smm THE FLAG OF OLD ENGLAND. 113 A century since, our brave forefatliers came, And our kindred yet fill the wide world with her glory, Enlarging her Empire, and spreading her name. Every ilaah of her genius our pathway enlightens — Ev'ry field she explores we are beckoned to trea<l. Each laurel she gathers, our future day brightens — We joy with her living, and mourn for her dead. Then hail to the day when the Britons came over. And planted their standard, with sea-foam still wet, Above and around us their spirits shall hover, Rejoicing to mark how we honor it yet. JoHErii HowK. 114 PATIUOTIC UECITATIONS. h til CANADIAN IM()N1:ERS. Toll the boll, and toll it slowly ; let the echoes mournful rise. Sound the dead niarcli of the battle, while the swelling reciuiem dies. From the homes so fondly clierished, from tjio dear ones, fair and bright. From the scenes and reeolleetiims that have tilled them with delight ; Lo I our fathers, martyrs, heroes, daily passing from our view, From the world of false and fleeting, to the realms of bright and true. From the dee[), unbroken forest, they have hmvn our happy homes : From the giants o\' the forests, they have reared our glittering domes. Still we see the axe uplifted ; still we hear the woodland ring ; See the thundering hendocks falling pro.strate to their sturdy king ; Still we hear their native chorus liug'ring, dying in the grove ; Fee the sickles strongly wielded ; see the brawny muscles move. As wo ponder to contemplate all their nobleness of soul, Daring courage, pious patience, honest reason and control ; When we think them persevering, sacrificing all for us, Toiluig, l)attling, hoping, praying ; how in gratitude we bless. How we wonder if we ever shall accomplish deeds so grand, If our loyalty and valor will protect our fathei''s land. Noble was their cause and country ; nobly was their cause main- tained ; They have bravely fought and conquered ; and immortal glory gained. For, upon broad History's padres, there's no record more sublime, — Art and Science have no [tatrous worthier on their book of time — Than the genial independence, social joy and hjve sincere, Strength of courage, faith and reason, that our fathers held «o dear. CANADIAN PIONKEIIS. 115 ( )n the e.irth no calliu'^ liiijher, than tho hand that liolda the {dough ; Not tho soldier's palm of triumpli ; not the poet's Ijuirellod brow. (Jenius may enroll her children on the golden scroll of fame ; liut the monument of glory, Industry must ever claim. Onward ! Onward I over onward, speed the cause of honest worth. May the stained hand of labor, honored be, while rolls the earth. They have left, with all its grandeur, Caledonia's heathercd hills, Lund of scholars, nurse of poets, where the she])hord's pibroch thrills. They have left the gentle valleys, fl(jwing hills, and ripi)ling streams That make England's mild t;x]»anses earnest of uni;nding dreams. They have lefc the land of beauty, isle of warmth and wit and worth. Clime of elocpience and passion, home of chivalry and mirth. Chose the music of the forest for the murmur of the wave ; Left on shore their friends forsaken, dear ones sleeping in the grave ; Chained their beauty and their laughter, in the Ixtndage of their strength ; P'ought with hardships, dan^^ers, trials ; con<piered all, and won, at length. Where the blue smoke of their shanties curled above the western wood. There the smiling lields and pastures bask in evening's purple tlood. They are going, ever going ; but their mem'ry, beaming bright, Wdl reanimate our bosoms, actuating to the right ; We, by honor, shall endeavor, with strong ever-grateful hearts. To be bravo in eveiy battle ; in each scene ttj take our parts ; For their noble blood is in us, and their {)atriot spirit high ; They have won for us and jterished, wo shall tight for them or die. Toll the bell, and t(jll it slowly ; let its tlirobbings softly rise. Sweetly, sadly keep it ringing, at each knell a hero dies. A. M. Tavi.ok. ! ■ •: ' i ' • ! 1 -> i '■* |-V-,i ■!^ -S'.^> ' A 116 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. LAKE HURON, 11 Wo cannot boast of high green hills, Of proud bold cliffs where eagles gather — Of moorland glen and mountain rills, That echo to the red-bell'd heather. We cannot boast of mouldering towers, Where ivy clasps the hoary turret — Of chivalry in ladies' Ixjwers— Of warlike fame, and knights who won it — But had we Minstrel's Harp to wake, We well might boast our own broad lake. And we have streams that run as clear. O'er shelvy rocks and pebbles rushing — And meads as green, and nymphs as dear, In rosy beauty sweetly blushing — And we have trees as tall as towers, And older than the feudal mansion — And banks besprent with gorgeous flowers, And glens and woods with tire-flies glancing,— But prouder, loftier boast we make, The beauties of our own broad lake. The lochs and lakes of other lands, Like gems maj' grace a landscape painting ; Or where the lordly castle stands. May lend a charm when charms are wanting ; But ours is deep and broad and wide, With steamships through its waves careering > And far upon its ample tide. The barcjue its devious course is steering ; While hoarse and loud the billows break On islands of our own broad lake. LAKE HURON. 117 Immense, bri<,'ht lake, I trace in thee An emblem of the mighty ocean ; And in thy restless waves I see Nature's eternal law of moti >n ; And fancy sees the Huron Chief Of the dim i)aat kneel to implore thee — With Indian awe he seeks relief, In pouring homage out before thee ; And 1, too, feel my reverence wake, As gazing on our own broad lake. I cannot feel as I have felt, When life wiih hope and tire was teeming ; Nor knejl as I have often knelt At beauty's shrine, devoutly dreaming. Some younger hand must strike the string, To tell of Huron's awful grandeur. Her smooth and moonlight slumbering. Her tempest voices loud as thunder ; Some loftier lyre than mine umst wake, To sing our own broad gleaming lake. Thomas McQi-kkn. fi' ^.m rk JKS I'ATIUOTK" l:i;( STATIONS. A soN'c; FOR orri inland sea. A .soii}^ for tho i^lorioiis lliidsun l>iiy, For the fjithoinless ice-lxiund shoet, \Vliere the waters hip througli the six moiitlis thvy, '(Ijiiiist the ice-tlot's dinnned l>y tlie frozen spray, And the wild iinW wlieels with its mate at phiy Oer the vast deep, speeding tleet. A song for tlie restless heaving mass Iiiipri.s(jned by ice-helds grim, With never a vessel to come, alas ! And spiead its white wings and slowly pass With nothing afloat save the icy glass Of the bergs that careen and trim. A song for the source of a nation's wealth Awaiting the master mind. For the \asty deep that is teeming with wealth, Albeit locked in a sluml)ering stealth That awaits a nation with thews and health, And a peojile no, longer blind. A song for the I'oute to fair England's shore, Whence came ffudson in years gone by. And thrilled with pvide to his stern heart's core, Then trenibh'd anon with a miglity awe As he ga/.ed where nmn had ne'er gazed before, And harked to the wind's wild sigh. A song for the sea that is all our own. For this jewel in Canada's robe, For this uncut diamond, this rc^gal si'^iie, Flashing cold light from its setting lone. And guarding, desjtite the wind's whispering moan, Its secrets for us to ))robt> El-IFN M. BOULTOX. A SUX(i UF L'ANAhlAN UIVEKS. Ill) A S()N(; OF CANADIAN ill VERS. Flow on, nobk' rivers ! How on ! flow on ! In your beautooua course to tlu- sea : Sweep on, noble rivers I sweep on I sweep on I liright enihlenis of true liberty 1 Roll noiselessly on a tide of brii^'lit song, Roll hap[iily, grandly and free ; Sweep over each i)lain in silv'ry tonyued strain. Sweep down to the deep-sounding sea I Flow on, nolilf rivers I ll<>vv on ! flow on ! Flow swiftly and smoothly and free ; Chant loudly and grand, the notes of our land- Fair Canada's true minstrelsy ; Roll joyously on, sweep proudly along. In mirthf'ullest accents of glee I Flow on, n ilde rivers I flow on I flow on I Flow down ti»the dee]»-sounding sea 1 Flow on ! sweep on I sweej) on I ti )W on I In a measureless, mystical key : Each note that you wake on streamlet and lake Will blend with the song of the sea'; Through labyrinth-clad dell, in dreamy-like spell. Where slumbers each sentinel tree I Flow on, noble rivers I flow on I tlow on I Flow down to the deep-sounding sea ! TiiOMA.s 0'Ha«;a\. :i . 4 H ' r ^1 1) ik M-kimtmlit:imm 120 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ■ ! !1 THE SlSTEIl PROVINCKS. [For this exercise the teacher sliould select seven girls, one to represent each of the Provinces. Beginning with Prince Edward Island, each girl should recite the part assigned to her. The girl representing Ontario should refer to the map with pointer in hand when describing its boundaries. The last few lines are to be recited in concert, all the girls joining hands and forming a circle.] Prince Euwaki* 1slani>. 1 coino from whoro tlio Atlantic \v;ivo hunts bfick The rushing waters wliioli St. Lawrence pours Into the sea. My cheeks are fanned by winds As fresh and sweet, as ever ki.ssad the brow Of bei'uty. I have spent my life in fields Where daisies smile, and though I cannot boast Of rolling prairies, and of forests wild And grand, yet fair as Edoii are my bowers, And in my tht)usand homes are nurtured men Of royal worth, who from my eastern sh(>rt a, Like sentinels, keep watch lest traitor's foot Shouhl stain my sacred soil. My very name A royal lineage l)oars, and every wave That murmurs at my feet, in ceaseless strains The praises sing of my Canadian homo. Nova Scotia. Have you hoard of Acadia and th" h)Voly Kvangelino who dwelt on The shores (»f thu basin of Miiia? in tlie little village of (JrandPrb 1 Well there was T born, an I therr was the home of my father. How T love to think of her broad sloping valleys of veidnre, And her long winding rivers that f>himmer and dance in the huii- ight, WiRf\''> THE SISTER PROVINCES. 121 And her orchards as white with the l)i<)S8om8 of Spring us if angels Had dropped their long mantles upon them, and the song of the robin, And the humming of bees, and the cottages under the pine trees, Filled with the i)erfume of flowers, as lovely aa that wherein dwelt The son of Basil the blacksmith in the olden Norman time. But that is not all of Acadia. Have you heard of her seamen / Well com? with me to Cape Breton and the harbors of Canso, And look where the restless sea gulls near the horizjn are Hying And there you will sje, rocking fearless on wliitecap and billow, Men as brave as the sea kings who ravaged the coast of old England More than a thousand years ago. Have y<»u heard of her statesmen ? No. Then road her annals and learn, how after many a struggle, And in spite of the babble and strife of ambitious leaders. The bondage of arrogant placemen was broken forever. And the rulers, who rejected the voice of the people were taught That Ac;i,dian freemen would never submit to oppression. Oh loveliest land ! As the doves to their windows go flying, So to Acavlia turns my heart with never dying devotion. New Brv nswick. — My sisters have many pleasant things to .say uf Prince Kdward Island and Nova Scotia. I would like to see tjiese lieautiful valleys of which they have spoken, and I wt»uld like to read the story of Evangeline, of the litt'o village of CJranil *'re. 1 am not jeahtus of my sisterfi because their fathers were good and brave men or because their native laiul was so lo\'ely. but who that has seen New Brunswick will not say Ihah ."iv ton is enually fair? Have you everstood on some ( ininenoe o\-erlooking one of her magniticent harbors with its islands au_l indithouses and its waters (h-Mci'ig in the moonlight, or have you s'ii '^.i iip the St. dohii rivei- ai>.' • , ;n the great expanse of tieid and orclii.vd, with here and there shady oowers of maple and herds of cattle uxuriating in the meadows i Have you traversed her grand foreiti of pine and lir and seen there the busy woodman hewing down ^.i-eat s]»ars for the imvies of the world '/ 1 M n; i ! 122 rATKlOTlC; UKCITATIUNS. Have you over thoiii^lit of her people, happy, contLMited, i)r()s- pia<<us and loyal '. If you have thouu'lit of these things as I have, then you wimld love Ntw Brunswick as I do— love her because her l>eople are happy and free - love her as I do because she made my ehildhoo.l lia|)py witli her scenes of beauty and I expect, even ir, old af^e, to iind all that can nuke life comfortable within he' borders. Qt KI'.KC. — You don't seem to know me I Not know me ? I'm a litttle Norman girl. Pdrh'-.-niHs Fnnirnis f Do you see this j-ibbon tied round my lU'ck f Look ! my name is on it and it si)ells t^hiebec. You are all my sisters, so 1 am told, And such a pretty lot of girls, all as good as gold. 'riii'V say I'm the eldest, well that may be true. But my cheeks are still rosy and my eyes bright too. You aie all English and perhajis would like to know How I became youi' sister. It was many yiMrs ago. .lust sit down awliiU'. I'll do my very best To tell you. If I don't, you can think out tiie ixst. My peoph' came from Fiance. TJu-y were the lirst to see This cuuntry. now so dear to you and mt% They cli'ared away the forests and built them pretty htmies Round which the wild rose clusters wheti the robin comes. And little liamlets everywhere the travellers eye to meet. With their whitewfvslu'd cottages lining every street ; .\nd thei)' point I'd gal)les so veiy ijuaint and white, And their grouj)s of childri'U laughing with delight. NN'ell, aftei- a wliilo (it was about lw<> hundred years) The British came an<l my i)eople were in tears, For they lo\ed tlu'ir lntmeH and they could not see What (Jeneral Wolfe liad to do with (hem. But he \N as a fighting man and so wer«! his soldicu's and they Climlu'd up the sttteps lu-low (,Miebee, just at the lircrak of «lay, And although .Vlontcalin icsisted (no braver man than he) Jle was beaten and slain, and the lb:ni-iU4ii'< THE SISTEK rR()VlNC:ES. Of oM Franco whs pulletl down, ruul oyer their heads Tlie ilau' of old Ent^land tlutlercd inskvid. 1 hen we all 1)ec;inio British and ever since then We fought for her tii'^ ;iL,Min ;nnl as^ain ; And some nay at that time, just how 1 don t know, I Ixicanie your sister (it was som - time ago, We for!j;et little j)oii:ts), hut dou'i let us b<ither, W'e are one fanuly now and we ali !ove eacii otlvi'. Wo love the dear country that i^nive us our birtli, And I love (^lU'bec as the dearest spot on o'-rth. The Fi'oncli and the English are united as f: iends, And now dearest sisters my simple story ends. C.>"\ui(). C( me with me to this map which hangs Tpou the wall that you may see how large The hounds of my dear lutme. There on the south The ocean chatniel for the mighty lakes Which westward lie— the blue St. Lawrence -marks The limits of my farms ;inii lields. See you That lake with islands gennned ? TIumc^ holidays (Jlide past mid bowers of Itirch and m;ii)]e whrri> The trailing vino shuts out all pounds of lift! Save the cool murmur of the tlowing stream. AnJ 1 >v in mood serenes^ s[>reads before Our . ^ ' s ■ he lake from which I get my name. / =>« n.<xt >ia;L;Hri,, with a rush that tills '"1.^ 1 : <i wilii awe, leaps from its rocky heights Into •: ^ '..'li . l)olow, lashing its banks With i>ian\' strange contortions in its rage, Then sinks into a stolid calm. Here next Stiii westward, pass Lake Erie's ragged shores, Tiion for a moment pause as meinry lifts Hoi dilkon curtain fr(tm the past and lills iiieso fields and stret'ts with hosts of armed men. m 1* I n wv 124 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. i' ! There, see the kingly form of him who fell On Queenston Heights, with sword in hand, as die The ])rave. And tlu-ro Tecuraseh, noblest of His race, leads forth his dusky knights, That w^e to day this land might call our own. That mighty river now so calm was tlien Stirred l)y the oars of daring men, and where These lofty spires speak to the clouds, was seen The smoke of battle darkening all the sky. Hark I o'er the waters comes a British cheer. There I See the Hag of England flies, Hurrah ! Detroit is ours, the gallant Brock has won The day and rash in\ ion's foiled once more. But let us hence, . the wings of peace My northern lakes exi)lor', . '^t. Clair we pass With hurried glance, and through Lake Huron rush To where the King of Lakes holds royal court. How vast his realm ! Shoreless to human eye. How grand his empire ! Walled on every side With granite strangely carved to mock the skill Of puny man, and richly stored with gold And many ores of strangest alchemy. But haste ye now, nor tempt the forest long. With swift canoe, with por<^ages that test Your strength of limb, with here and there a halt By tiick'ring fires from which the hungry wolf Slinks hoAvling to his lair, v»e push our way. And swee^^iiik, th/cugli my northern bounds we pass St. James' Bay, nor cease our ciiouit till With hastening breath we've circumscribed my vast Domain. See where the shaded lines define The northern watershed. From east to west o'er all That region stand majestic pines and firs ; Its very rocks are iron, waiting the call Of connnerce to bo turned to gold. Look south TIIK SISTER PROVINCES. Where dwell the freemen of the .soil, iind fields W.aving with grain stretch far as eye can see. Cities I have where busy heads trade with The world , and opulence and pleasure find A home. Whatever that strong resolve can do, Whate'er the cunning brain devise or courage dare My sons are eijual to and full of hope, And) trusting in their father's Ood, perform They will. 80 shall my country be in wealth And worth the pride of all Canadian sons. 125 Manitoba. - I have found a home — a home at last. Where the sky is blue and clear, And 1 want no forest its shadows to cast On the land I love so dear. For the choice I make is the rolling plain, Where the wind sweei)s fresh and free, And the youthful bloom of my new domain Still crimsons my cheek as you see. The wild rose lilossoms beneath my eaves, Where the swallow builds her nest, And the prairie tlowers peep atween the sheaves Which the reaper clasps to his breast. The water-fowl lingers among my lakes. Where else can she happier bo ? And when she at last ii farewell takes, 'Tis to return in the S[)ring to me. Do you want a home for those wlio sigh Where the busy shuttle plays ; For a breath of air and a clearer sky And for brighter and better days ? Do y<ni want a home for the men you reared To honor the sweating brow, By whom country and Cjlueen are always revered, Whether guiding the state or the plougJi '{ . ! lift k u!, F1 , . r V2C} rAinioTic rkcita'I'ions'. Thou send Micm to nie -to my home in the West; My i)rairieH have waited lony For the plough share to cleave tlieir grassy breast And the reaper's merry song. With bonnteous fiehlsof waving grain And a sky that is 1)1 uo and clear I'll reward the labor of hand and brain 1)1 the hdiiie 1 love so dear. Bhitish Cou'miua. — Come, get your Al])en-stncks, you've halted long On plain and prairie. I would l>id you seek The summit of yon mountain, where, refreshed By scenes of grandeur wliich no other land Can rival, you may know Columbia's worth. See vou the oLe;iri break on vonder shore ! There, lnll<!d by soft and soothing winds which from The Orient bio//. Va'; \)i!.ver lies fair as The fabled groves, where (Jrecian nymphs in days Of old their vigils kept. See you that l)ay Far reaching inland, where majestic ships Loom up and from their mast the metsor Hag Of England lloats I That is the trysting jdace Of conunerce. Tliere the wealth of many climes Halts on its journey to the East. See now Yon river, where the lluttering wheel and clouds Of densest smoke tell of an age of tire And steam. Look down the misty canyon where The pent up waters struggle to be free And in a voice which makes the mountains shake Demand a pathway to their ocean home. Look through that mountain gorge and mark the streams Which trickle down the hills on cither side. 'Tis there the miner, stout of heart and liml), Sets up his tent and lives on scanty fare . THE SISTER PROVINCES. 127 That from the sand beneath his naked feet Imperial coffers might be filled with gold. Here, where the forest spreads on every side And 'mid the mountains capped by God himself With snow on which no siunmer shines, 1 rear My home. Strength from these hills I take, And freedom from the sea that rolls beyond The setting sun. And when, in years to come, The story of my land is told, I know My sisters to the farthest east shall sing With loud acclaim the praises of Columbia's sons. (The seven sisters join hands, form a circle and recite in concert :) Then let us all as one united band Make Canada tlie praise of every land Though far apart our several homes may be, Some on the Eastern, some the Western sea, We ail are sisters and no feud shall sever The loving ties that bind our hearts together. Geo. W. Ross. ■-*11- i ' ' > h . . ^ ,^am8 10 128 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Is li THE LOYAL BRIGADE. [The teacher should direct a company of boys under the command of a leader to marcli to the platform and arrange themselves in proper order. As called upon each boy would step out and recite a patriotic quotation, pre- viously prepared, and tlien step back into the ranks.] The leader might introduce himself and his company to the school as follows : — " Ladil;s and Gentlemkn, — With your permission I shall introduce to you a nunil)er ot" yo'ing gentlemen who will give you a few (quotations from some of our most eminent poets and orators containing expressions of loyalty which I hope you will consider befitting such an occasion as this. The language of these quotations ex- presses the patriotic sentiments of the greatest nations of the world. They are the sentiments of men who loved their country with a devotion which Canadians might well imitate ; they are the sentiments of men whose genius reliects glory on the race, and I am glad to believe that every member of my company, which I call the Loyal Brigade, will endeavor to illustrate in his future life by his devotion to his country and by his manliness of character that spirit of loyalty which pervades the words to which he gives utterance. It gives me great pleasure to a^k you to listen to the language of Sir Walter Scott, from the lips of Master A. B. {The 'pupil's full vame should be used.) V\i THE LOYAL BRIGADE. 129 nn'": Master A. B. ad vances and says : — Broathes tliero a man, with soul so tload, Who never tn liiinself hatli said, This is my ow n, my native land ? VV'hose heart liatli ne'er witliin him burned, As liouie his footsteps he hatli turned, From wandering on a foreign strand / If such there breaUie, go, niHrk him well ; For him no minstrel raptures swell ; High tliough his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealtli as wish can claim ; Despite those titles power, and pelf, The wretch concentered all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair reiwnvn, And doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonored, and unsung Ladies and Gentlemex, — Master B. C. has given a ij:ood deal of attention to the study of history, -and in the course of his reading has become imj)ressed with the idea that neither wealth, nor commerce, nor great afmies und navies alone can make a nation great. His views are very tersely summarized by Sir William Jones in answering the question " What Constitutes a State ?" I shall ask him to speak for himself : Master B. C :— What constitutes a state ? Not high-raised battlements or labored mound, Thick wall or moated gate ; Not cities proud with spires and turrets crowned ; Not bays and broad-armed ports, Where, laughing at the storm, i)roud navies ride ; Not starred and spangled courts, Where low-browed baseness wafts perfume to pride. Mi I |i 130 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. No : — men, high-minded men, With powers as far above dull brutes endued Jn forest, brake, or den, As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude, — Men who their duties know, But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain, Prevent the long-aimed blow, And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain : These constitute a state ; And sovereign Law, that state's collected will. O'er thrones and globes elate, Sits empress, crowning good, repressing ill. Ladiks and Gentlemen, — I shall now introduce to you a young gentleman who takes great pride in reading of the British navy. He becomes quite enthusiastic over the biography of such navigators as Cook and Drake, and had he lived in the time of Nelson I have no doubt he would have been on board the flagship if he had the opportunity. His recitation is from the poems of Thomas Campbell, and is entitled " Ye Mariners of England " : — Master C D. :— Ye mariners of England I Who guard our native seas, Whose flag has braved a thousand years The battle and the breeze, Your glorious standard launcli again, To match another foe. And sweep through the deep While the stormy tempests blow ; While the battle rages long and loud, And the stormy tempests blow. THE LOYAL BRIGAHE. 131 The spirits of your fathers Sliall stiirt from every wjive I For the deck it was tlieir Held of fame, And (tcean was their grave : Where Blake and mighty Nelson foil Your manly hearts shall glow, As ye sweep through the deep While the stormy tempests blow ; While the ])attle rages long and loud, And the stormy tempests blow Britannia needs no bulwarks, No towers along the steep ; Her march is o'er the mountain waves Her home is on the deep : With thunders from her native oak She ('uells the Hoods below, As they roar on the shore When the stormy tcmi)ests blow ; When the battle rages long and loud, And the stormy tempests blow. The meteor flag of England Shall yet terrific burn, Till danger's troubled night depart, And the star of peace return. Then, then, ye ocean- warriors I Our song and feast shall flow To the fame of your name, When the storm has ceased to blow ; When the fiery fight is heard no more, And the storm has ceased to blow. }. f-- -I, 1; 132 PATRIOTIC HI'X.'ITATION'S. I' y, Ladies andOentlk.mkx, — Tlie next man in the ranks has a recitation from Sliakespeare, in which we liave an admirahle descriptiim of that lieroic daring' witli vvliich the Britisli soldier is expectt'd to light for his Queen and counto'y. It is taken from the speecli of Henry V. at the Siege of Hartleur: Master D. E. : — Once more unto the brencli, dear friends, once more ; Or close tlio wall up with our English dead I In i)eaco, there's nothing so becomes a man As modest stillness and humility ; But when the bhist of war blows in our ears, Then imitate the action of the tiger- Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage : Then lend the eye a terrible aspect ; Let it pry through the portage of the head, Like the brass cannon ; let the brow o'erwhelm it, As fearfully as doth a galled rock O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean. Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide ; Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit To his full height ' — On I on, you noblest English, Whose blood is fetched from fathers of war-proof ! Fathers, that, like so many Alexanders, Have, in these parts, from morn till even fought. And sheathed their swords for lack of argument. — Dishonor not your mothers : now attest That those whom you called fathers did beget you I Be copy now to men of grosser blood, And teach them how to war I— And you, good yeomen, AVhose limbs were made in England, show us here The mottle of your pasture ; lot us swear That you are worth your breeding : which I doubt not ; TIIK I.OYAI, MIIKJADK. 133 For thero i« none of you ho inejiii nnd baso, That lintli not iioldo bistro in your eyes. I SCO you stand liko KrcyhoiindH in the slips, Straining ii[)on ilio stjirt. Tlit; L'anio's afoot ; Follow your spirit : and, upon this charge, Cry — " Heaven for IJarry 1 England 1 and St. (ieorgo I" Ladiks' and Okntlkmkn, — Von have now heard fer- vent expre.ssions of patriotism for lands winch no matter how important they may he, are not so dear to some of us as the land wliicli ;^ave to us our hirtli, and wliich we are proud to call our own Canadian home. We all admire the <.(raphic descriptions which poets give of English scener3', an<l of Scotland's hills and glens, and of Irish lakes. These countries have given to the world many great men — men who served their country with a devotion worthy of the most e.xalted character, hut beautiful as are these distant and sacred lands, great as were the men who shajred their history, 1 believe Canada is just as beautiful, and that with the growth of our schools and iniiversities we will show that genius, and reHnement, and manliness, and statesmanship, are not confined to one country, nor are they tlie exclusive property of any nationality. T now call upon Master E, F. to speak for Canada : Master E. F. says: — Look over this beauteous land from east to west, and what do we behold ? In a panoply of green, sheltered from burning suns by the warm mists of the Atlantic, and laved by waters which no tyrant hand has yet sub- dued, mark the fair form of the youngest piovince of our great Dominion. Westward follow the march of empire, and whether it be where the Bay of Fundy breaks I,. \ ■ -fi !-••' 134 PATRIOTIC REC'ITATIONS. with incessant roar on two l^i'ovinces ; or wliero the St. Lawrence sweeps with iuiperijil niaj<'Hty past the frovvn- ing bastions of Quebec ; or vvheie four lakes woo like jealous lovers the fair Province of Ontario ; or where, bowing beneath the luxuriance of nodding corn-fields, Manitoba invites the lialting emigrant ; or where, looking towards the Orient, ('olunibia sniiles anud her golden sands ; is this not a l.md of wealth and beauty and glor- ious fruition ? Has Scotland its sylvan lochs tliat shimmer in the sunshine and n.irror the richness of heather and gorse and fir tree ? And have we not lakes as beautiful as artist ever painted, ctr poet longed to see 1 Have Britons nuide their land glorious by heroic deeds ? Then why sliould not we, who are the heirs to all the ages, and with British blood ia our veins to boot, make tins land the home of independence, the very A^alhalla of heroes? Has England shown that out of an admixture of alien races — Danish, Scandinavian, Saxon and Nor- man — with all their various dialects and tribal jealousies, she could form a nation so firmly knit together as to defy the wear of centuries, and the opposition of her most determined foes ; and shall not we, whether of Saxon, Celtic or Norman blood, whether speaking the language of Northumbvia or of Gaul, laying awide all jealousies of race and creed, work out a Canadian nationality equally strong, and self reliant. We are the descendants of the »ime British stock. We are heirs to her vast Canadian estates and a still vaster history of con- quest and renown The heritage won for us by the courage of the British soldier has been committed to cur kcepnig. Shidl we nuikc this a land where the history of British prowess, valor and honor shall be perpetuated, or ehall we supinely fold our arms, and regardless of the past — regardless of the traditions of our race, transfer tliis great heritage to a foreign flag ? Surely hhis shall not be done. The heroes who fell on the |)lains of Abraham say it nnist not be ; the loyalists who preferred the free^lom of our forests to the restraints of TMK LOVAL URUiADK. VMy an alien civilization, say it must not be. The pioneers, who niarlo the solitary places blossom as the rose, say it must not be. Citi/(!n and soMier, sower and reaper of every nationality and creed, say it must not be. I^et us then seize the inspiration of thcrse mij^hty spirits, " who, thou^di dead, still speak to us from their urns," and by a law of succession stronger than Nortnan feudalism, bind our cliildren to transmit this beautiful land with all its records of chivalry and its glorious traditions of connec- tion with the British Empire, unimpaired to the keeping of a fi'ee, loyal and (iod-fearing posterity. Long may our land of Maple greon, Our land of lake and river, The brightest gem in Britain's crown lie British l)luo forever. Long may our sons and sires rejoice. Each heart leap at the story Of British right, of British might, Of British power and glory. Ladies and (jIentlkmen, — 1 fear I have detained you too long. The other members of my company could enter- tain you as wrdl as those wlio addressed you, I trust what you have heard has interested you. Depend upon it we all love Canada, and we assure you it is our earnest desire to prove ourselves worthy of the great advantages which it is our happy privilege to enjoy, and for which we are greatly indebted to the wisdom, honor and energy of those great and good men wlio laid the foundation of our liberties. We w^ill close this exercise by singing " The Maple Leaf." (The teacher can substitute any other song or dispense with singing altogether.) 'ki* •iijl «■; I i- i ; ^» m 136 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. OUR CONNECTION WITH BRITAIN. An extract from the Speech of Sir John A. Macdouahi, in the Canadian Parliament, on the Confederation of the Provinces of British North America. One argument, but not a strong one, lias been used against this Confederation, that it is an advance towards independence. Some are apprehensive that the very fact of our forming this union shall hasten the time when we shall be severed from the Mother (.^ountr I have no apprehension of that kind. I believe it will have a contrary effect. I believe that as we grow stronger, that as it is felt in England that we have become a people, able from our union, our strength, our population, and the development of our resources, to take our position among the nations of the world, she will be less willing to part with us than she would be now, when we are broken up into a number of insignifi- cant colonies, subject to attack piece-meal, without any concerted action or common organization of defence. 1 am strongly of opinion, that year by year, as we grow in population and strength, England will see more clearly the advantages of maintaining the alliance between Bri- tish North America and herself. Does any one imagine that when our jiopulation, instead of three and a half, will be seven millions, as it will be ere many years pass, we would be one whit more willing than now, to sever the connection with England ? Would not those seven millions be just as anxious to maintain their allegiance to the Queen, and their connection with the Mother OUR CONNECTION' WITH HIUTAIN. 137 HI: Motliei Country, as we are now ? I l)elieve the people of Can- ada, east and west, to be truly loyal. But if they can, by possibility, be exceeded in loyalty, it is by the inhabi- tants of the Maritime •Provinces. Loyalty, with them, is an overruling passion. In all parts of the Lower Pro- vinces there is a rivalry between the opposing political parties, as to which shall most strongly express, and most eft'ecbively carry out the principle of loyalty to Her Majesty and to the British Crown. When this union takes place, we will at the outset be no inconsiderable people. We find ourselves with a population approaching four millions of souls. Such a population in Europe would make a second, or at least, a third-rate power. And with a rapidly increasing popu- lation — for I am satisfied that under this union our population w^ill increase in a still greater ratio than before — with increased credit — with a higher position in the eyes of Europe — with the increased security we can offer to immigrants, who would naturally prefer to seek a new home in what was known to them as a m'eat coun- try than in one little colony or another — with all this I am satisfied that, great as has been our increase in the last twenty-five years, since the union between Upper and Lower Canada, our future progress, during the next quarter of a century will be vastly greater. And when, by means of this rapid increase, we become a nation of eight or nine millions of inhabitants, our alliance will be worthy of being sought by the great nations of the earth. I am proud to believe that our desire of alliance will be reciprocated in England. I know that there is a party in England — but it is inconsiderable in numbers, though strong in intellect and 1| 138 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. power — which speaks of the desirability of getting rid of the colonies ; but I believe such is not the feelings of the statesmen and people of England. I believe it will never be the deliberately expressed determination of the Gov- ernment of Great Britain. The colonies are now in a transition state, gradually a different colonial system is being developed — and it will become, year by year, less a case of dependence on our part, and of overruling pro- tection on the part of the Mother Country, Jind more a case of healthy and cordial alliance. Instead of looking on us as a merely dependent colony, England will have in us a friendly nation— a subordinate, but still a power- ful people — to stand by her in North America, in peace as in war. The people of Australia will be such another subordinate nation ; and England will have this advan- tage, if her colonies progress under the new colonial system, as I believe they will, tliat though at war with all the rest of the world, she will be able to look to the subordinate nations in alliance with her, and owing alle- giance to the same Sovereign, who will assist in enabling her again to meet the whole world in arms, as she has done before. And if in the great Napoleonic War, with every port in Europe closed against her commerce, she was yet able to hold her own, how much more will that be the case when she has a colonial empire increasing in power, in wealth, in influence, and in position. It is true that we stand in danger, as we have stood in danger again and again in Canada, of being plunged into war, and all its consequences, as the result of causes over which we have no control, by reason of this connection. This, however, need not intimidate us. At the very men- tion of the prospect of war some time ago, how were the OUR CONNECTION WITH BRITAIN. 139 feelings of the people aroused from one extremity of British America to the other, and preparations made for meeting its worst consequences. Although the people of this country are fully aware of the horrors of war, should a war arise, unfortunately, between the United States and England, and we pray it never may — they are still ready to encounter all ills of this kind, for the sake of the connection with P^ngland. So long as that alliance is maintained, we enjoy, under her protection, the privi- leges of constitutional liberty according to the British system. We will enjoy here that which is the great test of constitutional freedom — we will have the rights of the minority respected. In all countries the rights of the majority take care of themselves, but it is only in coun- tries like England, enjoying constitutional liberty, and safe from the tyranny of a single despot or of an unbridled democracy, that the rights of minorities are regarded. So long, too, as we form a portion of the Bri- tish Empire, we shall have the example of her free insti- tutions, of the high standard of the character of her statesmen and public men, of the purity of her legisla- tion, and the upright administration of her laws. In this younger country one great advantage of our connection with Great Britain will be, that under her auspices, inspired by her example, in a portion of hei' empire, our public men will be actuated by principles similar to those which actuate the statesmen at home. Thes'^, although not material physical benefits, of which you can make an arithmetical calculation, are of such over- whelming advantage to our future interests and standing as a nation, that to obtain them is well worthy of any sacrifices we may be called upon to make, and the people of this country are ready to make them. ' ■. '• :, t it j'Jw- '!►•* li 1 \ ' If 'I r^ 140 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ,, I We should feel, also, sincerely grateful to a beneficent Providence, that we have had the o[)portunity vouch- safed to us, of calmly considering this great constitu- tional change — this peaceful revolution, that we have not been huriied into it, like the United States, by the exig- encies of war— that we have not had a violent revolu- tionary period forced on us, as in other nations, by hos- tile action from without, or by domestic dissensions within. Here we are in peace and prosperity, under the fostering care of Great Britain — a dependent people — with a government having oidy a limited and delegated authority, and yet allowed without restriction, and with- out jealousy on the part of the Mother Country', to legis- late for ourselves, and peacefully and deliberately to con- sider and determine the future of Canada and British North America. It is our happiness to know the expres- sion of the will of our Gracious Sovereign, through her Ministers, that we have her lull sanction for our deliberations, and her only solicitude is, that we shall adopt a system really for our advantage, and that she promises to sanction whatever conclusion, after full delib- eration, we may arrive at, as to the best mode of secur- ing the well-being — the present and future prosperity of British America. It is our privilege and happiness to be in such a position, and we cannot be too grateful for the blessings thus conferred upon us. In conclusion, I would again imj)lore the House not to let this opportunity pass. It is an opportunity that may never recur. It was only by a happy concurrence of circumstances that we were enabled to bring this ques- tion to its present position, If we do not take advantage of the time, if we show ourselves une(|ual to the occa- sion, it may never return, and we shall hereafter bitterly and unavailingly regret, having failed to embrace the happy opportunity now offered, of founding a great nation under the fostering care of Great Britain, and our Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria. i n our shall she elib- ecur- y ot" be the lot to may ce of ques- ,ntage occa- tterly the great dour e CONFEDERATION. 141 CONFEDERATION. .4*1 extract from the Speech of tite Hon. Geonje Broiru, iit the Cana- dian, Parliament, on the Co^ifeibuation of the Frocinces of Brltinh North Atnerica. One hundred years have passed away since the con- quest of Quebec, but here we sit, the children of the vic- tor and the vanquished, all avowing hearty attachment to the British Crown, all earnestly deliberating how we shall best extend the blessings of British institutions ; how a great people may be established on this continent, ip close and hearty connection with Great Britain. Where, Sir, in the page of history, shall we find a parallel to this ? Will it not stand as an imperishable monu- ment to the generosity of British rule ? And it is not in Canada alone that this scene has been witnessed. Four other colonies are at this moment occupied as we are — declaring their hearty love for the parent State, and deliberating with us, how they may best discharge the great duty entrusted to their hands, and give their aid in developinff the teeming resources of these vast posses- sions. And well, Mr. Speaker, may the work we have unitedly proposed rouse the ambition and energy of every true man in British America. Look, Sir, at the map of the continent of America. Newfoundland, commanding the mouth of the noble river that almost cuts our continent in twain, is equal in extent to the Kingdom of Portugal. Cross the straits to the mainland, and you touch the hos- 1 H; ■.:.f '1 'k ■m \".M r 142 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. pitable shores of Nova Scotia, a country as large as the Kingdom of Greece. Then mark the sister Province of New Brunswick — equal in extent to Denmark and Switzerland combined. Pass up the St. Lawrence to Lower Canada — a country as large as France. Pass on to Upper Canada — twenty thousand square miles larger than Great Britain and Ireland put togethei*. Cross over the continent to the shores of the Pacific, and you are in British Columbia, the land of golden promise — equal in extent to the Austrian Empire. 1 speak not now of the vast Indian Territories that lie between, greater in extent than the whole soil of Russia — and that will, ere long, I trust, be opened up to civilization, under the auspices of the British American Confederation. Well, Sir, the bold scheme in your hands is nothing less than to gather all these countries into one ; to organize them under one government, with the protection of the British flag, and in heartiest sympathy and affection with our fellow-sub- jects in the land that gave us birth. Our scheme is to establish a government that will seek to turn the tide of emigration into this northern half of the American con- tinent ; that will strive to develop its great national resources, and that will endeavor to maintain liberty, and justice, and Christianity throughout the land. What we propose now is but to lay the foundations of the structure, to set in motion the governmental machinery that will, one day, we trust, extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And we take especial credit to ourselves, that the system we have devised, while admirably adapted to our present situation, is capable of gradual and effi- cient expansion in future years to meet all the purposes CONFEDKRATFON. 143 contemplated by oui- scheme. Jiut, if }ioiu)ial)Iegeiitleiiien will recall to mind, that when the United States seceded from the Mother Country, nnd for many 3'ears afterwards, their population was not nearly e(|ual to ours at the pres- ent moment, that their internal improvements did not then approach to what we have alrea<ly attained; and that their trade and commerce was not a third of what ours has already reached, 1 think they will see that the fultilment of our hopes may not be so very remote, as at first sight might be imagined. And they will be strengthened in that conviction, if they remember that what v/e propose to do is to be done with the cordial sympathy and assistance of that great Power, of which it is our happiness to form a part. And, said I not rightly, Mr. Speaker, that such a scheme is well fitted to fire the ambition and rouse the energy of every member of this House ? Does it not lift us above the petty politics of the past, and present to us high purposes and great interests, that may well call forth all the intellectual ability, and all the energy and enterprise to be found amongst us ? I readily admit all the gravity of the question ; and that it ought to be considered cautiously and thoroughly before adoption. Far be it from me to deprecate the closest criticisms, or to doubt for a moment the sincerity or patriotism of those who feel it their duty to oppose the measure. But in considering a (juei^tion on which hangs the future destiny of half a continent, ought not the spirit of mere fault-finding to be hushed ? Ought not the spirit of mere partisanship to be banished from our debates ? Ouirht we not to sit down and discuss the !',;< i"/ 4 !(: . ! 11 •»' ! 144 PATKIOTIC RECITATIONS. !. I !' ! ! ' 1 1 '■> i t arguments presented, in the earnest and candid spirit of men, bound by tlie same interest, seeking a common end, and loving the same country ? Some honorable gentlemen seem to imagine that the members of the Government have a deeper interest in this scheme than others ; but what possible interest can any of us have, except that which we share with every citizen of the land ? What risk does any one run from this measure, in which all of us do not fully partici- pate ? What possible inducement could we have to urge this scheme, except our earnest and heartfelt conviction that it will conduce to tlie solid and lasting advantages of our country / There is one consideration, Mr Speaker, which cannot be banished from this discussi(m, and that ought, I think, to be remembered in every word we utter ; it is^ that the constitutional system of Canada cannot remain as it is now. Something must be done. We can- not stand still. We cannot go back to chronic sectional hostility and discord — to a state of perpetual ministerial crisis. The events of the last eight months cannot be obliterated ; the solemn admissions of men of all parties can never be erased. The claims of Ujjper Canada must be met, and met now. I say, then, that every one who raises his voice in hostility to this measure is bound to keep before him, when he speaks, all the perilous conse- quences of its rejection. I say, then, that no man who has a true regard for the well-being of Canada can give a vote against this scheme, unless he is prepared to offer, in amendment, some better remedy for the evils and injustice that have so long threatened the peace of our country. u CONFEDEKATIOK. 145 Sir, the futnre destiu}'^ of these great Province's may be affected, by the decision we are about to give, to an extent, which at this moment we may be unable to esti- mate. But, assuredly the welfare, for many years, of four millions of people hangs on our decision. Shall we then rise equal to tlie occasion ? Shall we approach this discussion without partisanshi[), and free from every personal feeling, but the earnest resolution to discharge, conscientiously, the duty which an overruling Provi- dence has placed upon us ? Sir, it may be that some among us may live to see the day when, as the result of this measure, a great and powerful people shall have grown up in these lands : when the boundless forest all around us shall have given way to sunling fields and thriving towns, and when one united government, under the British flag, shall extend from shore to shore ; but who could desire to see that dav, if he could not recall with satisfaction the part he took in this discussion ? Mr. Speaker, I have done. 1 leave the subject to the conscientious judgment of the House, in the confident expectation and belief that the decision it will render will be worthy of the Parliament of Canada. [/»■>■:■ 9 \^' \ R ! . ^UBr 1 m ■j iM .■ I'- '■■■- 1' H ■H.-^;- 1 s -fj,- ' iH 146 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF CANADA. I take the Briti.sli constitutional sj'stem as the <^reat original system upon which are founded the institutions of all tree States. I take it as one of a family born of Christian civilization. I take it as combining in itself permanence and liberty ; liberty in its best form — not in theory alone, but in practice ; liberty which is enjoyed in fact by all the people of Canada, of every origin and of every creed. Can any one pretend to say that a chapter of accidents which we can trace for eight bundled years, and which some antiquarians may even trace for a much longer period, will account for the permanence of these institu- tions ? If you say that they have not in themselves the elements of permanence wliich preserve the foundations of a free State from one generation to another, how do you account for their continued and prosperous exist- ence ? How do you account for it, that of all the ancient constitutions of Europe this alone remains ; and remains not only with all its ancient outlines, but with great modern improvements, — improvements, however, made in harmony with the design of its first architects ? Here is a form of government that has lasted, with modifications to suit the spirit of successive ages, for a p.eriod of eight hundred years. How is it that I account for the permanence of its institutions? By assor n; that, in their outline plan, they combined all the ^ A material importance that has ever been discovered. : 1 THE CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM OF CANADA. 147 The wisdom of the middle ages, and the political writers of the present time, have all laid down one maxim of government. That no unmixed form of gov- ernment can satisfy the wants of a froo and intelligent peo])le ; that an unmixed democracy, for instance, must result in annrchy or military despotism ; but that the form of government which coml)ines in itself an inviol- able monarchy, popular representation, and the incite- ments of an aristocracy — a working aristocracy — an aristocracy that takes its shaie of toil and danger in the day of battle, of care and anxiety in the time of peace — an aristocracy of talent open to any of the people who make themselves worthy to enter it — that three-fold combination in the system of government is the highest conception of political science. Let us see if the British form, apart from any details of its practice, combines in itself these three qualities. The leading principle of the British system is, that the head of the State is inviolable. It is necessary to the stability of any state that there should be an inviolable authority or tribunal ; and under the British system this is recognized in the maxim that " the king can do no wrong." Having placed the principle of inviolability in the Crown, and the principle of privilege in the Peerage, the founders of the State took care at the same time that the peerage should not stagnate into a small and exclusive caste. They left the House of Lords open to any of the people who might distinguish themselves in war or in peace, although they might be the children of aupefs (and some have been ennobled who were unable r.o tell who their parents w^ere), to enter in and take U I li ;:r^ |i.,<ri 148 PATRIOTIC llECITATIONS. their place on an equality with the proudest there, who trace back their descent for centuries. It was: for the people of Canada, with tho precedent of England and the example of the American republic before them, to decide which should be tlie prevailing character of their government — British constitutional, or republi- can constitutional. For my part, I prefer the British constitutional government, because it is the best ; and I reject the republican constitutional government, because it is not the best. We are now witnessing a great epoch in the world's history ; and the events daily transpiring around us teach us not to rely too much upon our present position of secure independence, but rather to apprehend and be prepared for attempts against our liberties, and against that system of government which, I am convinced, is heartily cherished by tlie inhabitants of this province. T. D'AiiCY McGee. 1 y - * THE CLAIMS OF OUR COUNTRY. 149 THE CLAIMS OF OUR COUNTRY. The love of country is a noble and laudable sentiment. It has inspired many of the most heroic deeds that sparkle in the history of the world. Like attachments to party or sect, it may degenerate into bigotry and exclusiveness ; but a liberal and enlightened i)atriotism ennobles its possessor. The man who cannot rise above selfish and personal interests, to an intelligent sympathy with the prosperity of his countrj'', is not worthy to share the blessings of citizensi:ip, in a civilized com- munity. This attachment to our country, is not tiie result of its superiority to other lands. It does not depend on fertility of soil, or salubrity" of climate. Countries of stern climate and unproductive soil have given some of the liighest examples of unselfish patriotism. It is like a mother's love, instinctive and spontaneous. It is planned in the human breast, by the Creator, that it may prompt us to labor for the welfare of our countiy. All forms of selfishness, are antagonistic to the growth of patriotism. A man may be very noisy in his profession of loyalty, yet if his own character be wanting in integrity and industry, he will, to the extent of his influence, prevent the prosperity of his country. At the present crisis in our history, it is of the first importance that we realize our obligations as patriots, and the extent to which the present has tl\e character and interests of the future in its keeping. It is an '« ?' lis !■'' t .J r.^ i ' r i*^^ f "i^i^: f i? 'pi 'II l^i i 150 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. inspiring spectacle, to behold our beloved Canada rising majesticallj'^ to assume her place among the nations, which arc in the vanguard of the world's progress. The light of ho[)e is on her brow. The vigor of youth throbs in her veins. Her undazzled eye is on the future, where the star of a lofty destiny beams before her. We enter upon a race for an honorable position among the kingdoms of the earth, under circumstances of the highest promise. We possess a countiy, vast in extent, and rich in agricultural, commercial, and manu- facturing resources. We are also profundly indebted to the j)ast. We eat the fruit of the trees, which pa^t gene- rations have planted. While many of the older countries of Euro[)e are enslaved by ignorance and crushed by despotic power, we have a biithright of free constitu- tional government — of civil and religious liberty — the noblest ever bojueathed to any youthful nation. We are heirs to a heritage of literature, rich in every department of intellectual wealth — a heritage of deathless memories of noble and heroic lives, which should inspire us to emulate the faith and fortitude by which they van- quished every foe, and won their imperishable renown. And better than all, we inherit the priceless legacy of an unsealed Bible, with its holy lessons of truth and love, teaching us how this life may be redeemed from the slavery of selfishness, and bringing life and itnmortality to light in the gospel. It is not surj)rising that statesmen should regard such a remarkable cond)ination of advantages, as an earnest of a prosperous and glorious future. But we should not forget, that it is nt)t material prosperity, but " right- THE CLAIMS OF OUR COUNTRY. 151 cousness," that " cxalteth a nation." No combination of propitious circumstances — no fertility of soil, extent of dominion, legacies of thought, commercial prosperity, nor bannered armies in their conquering might, can give any sure pledge to futurity of tiue greatness without the improvement and moral elevation of the people. The moral and intellectual condition of the population will reflect itself in every department of national life, and determine our position in the scale of civilization. Material progress and intellectual activity will not save us from national degeneracy, unless the foundations of nationhood be laid in truth and righteousness. The history of the past is full of instructive lessons. — Nations, which once ranked high and swayed the sceptre of imperial power over vast dominion, as the result of internal corruption, have crumbled into decay, and passed away, leaving only their name and fate as a warning to future ages. And at the present Irour, some of the fairest countries beneath the sun, fertile in soil, and genial in climate, are the high places of ignorance, tyranny, and moral degradation. It becomes us to lay these lessons deeply to heart. Without that iiuier moral life, which alone gives a per- manent and elevating influence to the social and political institutions of a country, all our advantages may be sacrificed on the altar of selfish ambition and sordid gratification, and only accelerate our national decay. We may boast of our freedom and yet be the most abject slaves. We may have the rights and privileges of Brit- ish freemen, and yet be destitute of the independence without which the}' will not be exercised fnr the true Si IS ^1 I ] -if \ 1 .M;. I'M ir ' !i'i :.|l m 152 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. welfare of our country. We may have wise laws, and yet want the incorruptible integrity essential to their just administration. We may have wealth — but it will be the instrument of intemperance, avarice, and vanit3^ We may have a literature, full of genius, but it will be "of the earth, earthy." We may have intellectual energy — but it will leave the spiritual and nobler capacities of our being, paralyzed bj'- low selfish activities. Let us rise to the dignity and responsibility of our position. We are launching the shi[) of state on a voy- age towards a glorious destiny. We are sowing the seeds of national character, the fruits of which future gene- rations shall reap. We are watching over the infancy of our country. To us it is given to stamp our moral like- ness on its future history. By the lives we live, and the work we do, we shall determine whether posterity shall bless our memory, or whether our selfish indolence and recreancy to our high tr'Tst will bequeath them a heritage of ignorance, lax political morality, and religious indiffer- ence, that shall darken their history through all coming time. K H. Dewart, D.D. * it THE GREATNESS OF OUR HERITAGE. 153 THE GREATNESS OF OUR HERITAGE. From nn ad<Jresii hy the Hoi>. John Schnlt-:, Lieutfuant-Gorernor, Mdiiitoba, DomiuUm Dciy^ IS'Jl. A single glance at an ordinary school geography shows Canada to be one of the most favored pOi^tions of the globe ; and as if Providence liad kept in reserve its best <^ifts for this latest born of nations, we have, wafted into our spacious western harbors and along our picturesque Pacific coast, the balmy winds of the Western Ocean, and with them that ocean strerm which mal\es flowers bloom and trees bud near the Arctic circle, as early as on the Mississippi or tlie St. Lawrence, just as the great stream poured out by the Mexican Gulf foils the Ice King's blockade of the magnificent harbors of our Eastern coasts, and nourishes those deep-sea pastures of which Canada possesses the richest in the world. As a means of access to the interior of this favored land, Nature has cleft our rugged Eastern coast with mighty rivers and great lakes which bear the home hunter to the verge of our great Cereal Table-land, where, through future wheat fields, turn and wind the rivers of the great plain, the Red, Assiniboine, Souris, Qu'Appelle and Saskatchewan. This great country bounded by three oceans lias the greatest extent of coast line ; the greatest number of miles of river and lake navigation ; the greatest extent of conif- erous fore"+ ; the greatest coal measures ; the most varied distribution of precious and economic minerals ; the most extensive salt and fresh water fisheries ; and the greatest m '1 •if s a 154 TATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I! ! i ; ,<! V 1 extent of arable and pastoral land of any country in the world. This fjreat northern lieritaofe so vast in area and resources and v/hich we call our own country, is possessed by a northern race and ruled by a northern Queen. Its national characteristics are northern, it is the Norland of this continent ; to the northern races of the old world whence we sprang we look for our national characteristics. We have in this Dominion more Celts than had Brian when he placed his iieel upon the neck of Odin, more Saxons than had /vlfred when he founded his kingdom, more Normans than had William when he drew from them the armed host witli which he invaded Knffland, more of Norse blood then there were Norsemen when their kings ruled Britain and their galleys swept the sea. We are the descendants of all the northern kingdom-founders of Western Europe. We have the laws of Edward, the Magna Charta and the Roman Code ; we have copied the constitution which English statesmen, legislators, patriots and martyrs lived or died to secure and save. We have resources by sea and land, civil and religious liberty ; we are heirs, equally with those who live in the, British Isles, to the glory and traditions of the British Empire. Canadians have fought side by side with the Englishman, Irishman and Scot on the burning sands of India and Africa, and on the bleak battle fields of the Crimean Peninsula, and they have died as bravely, too, as any of them. But while, with just pride, we remember the deeds of our ancestors for the past thousand years, and know that when necessary the blood of the sea-kings, the sturdy THE GREATNESS OF OUR HERITAGE. 155 the the riots lave erty ; the. tish the ids of f the 00, as ids of that turdy Saxon, the gallant Norman and the fiery Celt, which is in our veins, will assert itself again, yet thanks be to Almighty God, our national life began and has continued in peace; and as we ehose for our national emblems the (Jan.adian beaver and the maple leaf, so have we sought to build up, harmonize and beautify our splendid heritage by the arts of peace and not by the arts of war. During the short period, less than a (juarter of a century, of our national life, wo have girded the continent with bands of steel, piercing mountains, spanning torrents ; and crossing the !5now-capped giants of the Rocky and Selkirk chains we have linked our young Canadian empire to Japan and China, the oldest empires of the Client. We have justified our traditions on the sea, in making Canada third in rank of the maritime nations of the world ; and at this moment the sails of Canadian ships whiten every sea. connnanded by Canadian descendants of Drake and Hawkins, Fro- bisher and Richard Grenville, Nelson and Collingwood, Cartier and D'Iberville. Better still than even this material progress is the fact that our nationality is founded upon the mutual respect and confidence of the people, surrounded by the sanctity of Religion, and crowned with its only appropriate capital. Lawful Con- stitutional Authority. On the youth of Canada rests the future of this great country, the exemplification of the attributes of our great race Recreant to this trust they may possibly be, but I see nothing to disturb my deep-seated conviction that they will continue as we have begun ; and building this nation in the fear of Him who gave us this Great Heri- tage, with love for Her who gave us national life, endea- 't' ■ 'Jl w \', 156 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS voririf;, as we liave done, to dissolve all differences and melt away all jealousies in the crucible of moderation and justice, they will be strong enough to preserve its unity and successful enough to cause the day we now celebrate to be even more deeply honored, and to rejoice in that birthright, which to my mind is even now the highest and best the world contains. You will prosper so long as you are worthy of this great trust ; you will be blessed in preserving it and strengthening it, so long as you seek divine aid to main- tain it as the most precious of your birthrights, and you will I'ise to that place as a people in the great Euipire, of which we form a part, in proportion as you follow His precepts and obey his Divine Law. (treat as you are now, greater you will become, and as citizens of Canada, citizens of the Great British Empire you will fulfil the prophecy of the Druid priest to Boadicea, the first British Queen, " Regions Cajsjvr never knew Your i)osterity shall sway, Where his eagles never Hew, None invincible as they." THE FUTUUK OF CANADA. 157 THK FUTLTRK OF CANADA. Fiu}ii « Spi'icJi (If (ire red bij Luitl iJiifferiii in Tonmtu, a few Jdiin hi' fore therlose of his term as (roremor (ieiieral. VVliat, then, is to be my valediction — my parting counsel to the citizens of the Dominion before I turn my face to the wall. A very few words will convey them. Love your country, believe in her, honor her, work for her, live fur her, die for her. Never has any people been endowed with a nobler birthright, or blessed with pro.s- pects of a fairer future. Whatever gift God has given to man is to be found within the borders of your ample territories. It is true, the zone within which your lines are cast is characterized by ruder features than those displayed in lower latitudes and within more sunward- stretching lands, but the north has ever been the home of liberty, industry and valor ; it is also true you are not so rich as many other communities, but the happi- ness of a people does not so much depend upon the* acc'imulation of wealth, as upon its equable distribution. In many of the wealthiest nations of Europe thousands can scarcely obtain their daily bread, and though Canada is by no means at present a nation of millionaires, there is not amongst us an agricultural homestead, between the Atlantic and the Pacitic, where content and a rude plenty do not reign, and in a thousand localities the earth is bursting with the mineral wealth which only requires improved transportation to develop. Moreover, you possess the best form of Government with which any historical nation has ever been blessed. The excellency of the British Constitution, with the self- expanding energies it embodies, is an ancient story 5 ii 11 » f i- . f:i.> i -tH if 't ■■-. !. r 1 ■ i * ll 158 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. :M q™! which I need not insist upon, but as there are always external forces which disturb the woikin<if of the most perfect mechanism, so in an old country like England, many intiuences exist to ti'ouble the harmonious opera- tions of the political machine ; but here our constitution has been set a^^oing entirely disencumbered of those entanglements which traditional [)rejudices and social complications have given birth to at home. My advice to you, then, would be to guard and cherish the char- acteristics of y(mr constitution with a sleepless vigilance. Almost every modern constitution has been the child of violence, and remains indelibly impressed with the scars of the struggle which ushered in its birth. A written constituti(m is of necessity an artificial invention — a contriv.mce, a formula as inelastic as the I'archment on which it is written — instead of being a living, primeval, heaven-engendered growth, whereas the foundations of the polity under which you live are of secular antiquity. No revolutionary convulsion has severed the continuity of your history or disinherited you of your past — your annals are not comprised within the lifetime of a centenarian, but reach back through a thousand years of matchless achievement in every Held of exertion open to mankind. Nor do even the confines of two oceans suffice to hedge you in ; but you share an Empire whose Hag floats, whose jurisdiction asseits itself in every quarter of the globe, whose ships whiten every sea, whose language is destined to spread further than any European tongue, whose institutions every nation aspiring to freedom is endeavoring to imitate, and whose vast ard widespread colonies are vying with each other in their affectionate love for the Mother Country in their efforts to add lustre to the British name, in their lonoiiiff to see cemented still more closely th« bonds of that sacred and majestic union within which they have been born. SOUIU'ES Ol' CANADIAN POWKll. 159 SOUKCKS OF CANADIAN I'OWKR. The country you call Caniida, and wliich your sons and your children's chiMren will be |)roud to know by that name, is a land which will be a land of power anioni; the nations. Mistress of a zone of territory favorable for the maintenance of a numerous and humoL^eneous white poj)ulation, Canada must, to jud;j;e from the inciease in her strength durino- the past, and from the many and vast o)»portunities for the growth of that strength in her new Provinces in the future, be great and worthy her position on the earth. Affording the best and safest hiixhwav between Asia and Europe, she will .see traffic from both directed to her coasts. VV^ith a hand upon either ocean slie will gather from each for the benefit of her hardy millions a large sliare of the commerce of the world. To the east and to the west she will pour fourth »f her abundance, her treasures ot food and tlie riches of her mines and of her forests, demanded of her by the less fortunate of mankind. In no other land have the last seventeen years, the space of time whieh has elapsed since your Federation, witnessed such progress. Other countries have seen their territories enlarged and their destinies determined by trouble and war, but no blood has stained the bonds whicli have knit together your free and order-loving populations, and yet in this brief j)eriod, so brief in the life of a nation, you liave attained to a union whose characteristics from sea to sea are the same. A judicature above suspicion, a strong central government 12 I; \ 1 :: !i> i[ 3 160 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. to direct all nationa! interests, the toleration of all faiths with favor to none, a franchise rcco^'nizing the rights ot labor by the exclusion only of the idler, a government ever susceptible to the ehange of public opinion and ever open, through a responsible ministry, to the scrutin}' of the people — these are the features of your lising power. Truly, you present the sjx'ctacle of a nation already possessing the means to make its position le.spected by sea or bv land. 1 esteem th(we men favored indeed, who, in however slight a degree, have had the honor to take part in the councils of the statesmen, who, in this early era of her history, are moulding a nation's laws. For me, I feel that I can be ambitious of no higher title than to be know)i as one who administered its govern- ment in thorough s} nipathy with the hopes and aspira- tions of its founders, and in jicifuct consonance with the will of its free parliament. Lord Lornl. ADVANTAGES OF CANADA. ICl ADVANTAGES OF CANADA. Canada lias rare and exceptional advantages. As a people, we share in all the i^rantl historic past of the niotiier-land ; while we enjoy an immunity from inipedi- ments, involved in S(»me of tinie's be([nest8 to her. We inlierit wliat it scarce seems hyperlnde to speak of as a boundless territory, iinenciimhered, and ours to make of it what we will. The trainin<x of those who ere lonjr must be called upon to take j)art in tlie carryint^ out of this transformation, is the work of our schools and col- leges. It is for u.s as teachers, not only to guide the .student through a course of instruction ; but to animate liim with the resolve to turn the knowledge ac(iuired to wise account; to stimulate him with the ardor of proud hopes and noVile endeavors ; " To arouse the deeper lieart, Confirm the 8])irit glm-ying to pursue Some path of steej) ascent and lofty aim." Never was there a time when the responsibilities were greater or more uigent. Our young Dominion throbs with eager, undetined longings and aspirations: "yearn- ing for the large excitement that the coming years will yield." It is of vital importance that such aspirations be wisely directed, and the true goal be kept in view. There is a tempting hallucination in tlie acquisition of a domain that stretches from ocean to ocean. The rhetori- ' iB .'- ! I , I 1G2 PATRIOTIC IIKCITATIONS. h\\ cians of tlie noiuflihoriiiL,' Ropultlic liave yielded only too ficely to its seductions. But liovvevcr just tlic i)ridc witli wl\ieli we entei' du tlie task of fasliioniii^ out of tlte savaj^-e wilderness of half a continent, the ])r()vinees an«l states of the future, history teaches us other lessons. If )»ivadth of mind is coincident with anijilitude of territory Russia ouij;ht to im the ccntK! <tf Kuiope's intellectual life; niid JMii^land the naii'ow sphere of Itigoti'y iind ignor.mce. The lamented historian .John llichanl (Jieen(\ cluirmed all readei-s with his " Makini; of Kni^lajid ;" hut his fascinatinuf volume sellieics to show that it is men not acres that ljo to the making up of great nations. From a little speck on the world's map, lying between the mountains of iMoah and tlu^ sea have come the melodies of sacred song, and (he inspired lessons that still glow with living power for the regeneration of the woi'ld. The land of Hellas and the islands of the .Kgean sea were the nurseries of letters, arts, an<l science ; and a still snuiller republic in the valley or the Arno stepped into her place, as the vVthens of the Middh; Ages, and the cra<)le of the Renaissance. And as foi- England, tlit^ land of Shakes- peare and Milton, of Newton, Locke, Adam Smith, Dar- win and othei' epoch-niakcrs of the past and present: America's genial poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, looking on the insular cradle of our common race from his own atnple domain, exclaims with kindly irony : — '• His liiiidi- ! Tlio WcsbiMii giant siniloH, Ami twirlH tho sputty globe to tind it ; 'I'liis littlo H[)i!ck tho Biitisli Isloa '. 'Tis but u freckle, uovcr miml it ! " ADVANTAOKS OK CANADA. lO: v> But it is only to recall the words : — " For Memory bluHhea at the sneer : And Honni- turns with frown defiiint ; ' AtkI Freedom, leanin;,' on lier spear, Laiiyhs louder than the hinyliinj,' yiant. ' An islet is a world, she snid, ' \\ here ^lory with its dust lias blended ; ' And liritain keeps \wr nol»le de.ul Till earth, and sea, and sky are r.-ndid."' Wo iiilierit the tiior^'y of the race that has iiia(l(3 of Kii^luml what she is ; atul with it tlio hciita''<> of her example, and the lessons whicii her history teaches, Th(( capatnty is ours ; let it lind wise ornidance, tis it lias aiuph; scope; and what may it not accom]>lish :' Our faith in the life lh;tt lies Ixjyond earth's narrow span finds coii- fiiniation fi-om the verv insi-niflcance of man's hi(;hest achievements her*-, comjiMird witli his rapacities and aspirations. Vet hei*e is your ])n!sent field of aetion, in which you are called to pli<y your part miinfuily ; ever kee[)iiiL( hcfore you that higher life, of wliicii this is hut the prohationary staoe. Let it he vital v»ith deeds, and not with hoastfid words. Science has come to your aid with a})[diaiK'es uiidieaiiU of till now. Thihtsophy turns aside from ahstrac t sja :ulation to solve the vexed prol)- lems of social and ;) thtical life. Wii^h advantao'es raiely, if ever e(puilled, you enter on tiie itdieritanee of a vir<(in soil, with all the ;,n'and possihilities of a nev/ eia. i»ut the willing hand of the industrious toiler will need the help of the keen intellect and the no less husy hrain, if we would not he mere oleaners, loitering in tlie rear of a pro- gressive age, " Reaping whtre wo have not sown, and gathering where we liave not strawcd." SiH Dam Kb Wilson. }'*;. *. ■«■ ! i 164 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. 11 m CANADA AND TIIK UNITED STATES. We JTO here to deterinine how best \y\i can draw together, in the bonds of peace, fViendsliip and commercial prosperity, the tliree great brandies of tlie Ih-itish family, In tlie presence of tids gieat theme all petty interests should stand rebuked. We are not dealing svith the con- cerns of a city, a province or a state, but with the future of our race in all time to come. Why should not these thi e great branches of the fanuly flouiish, under dilTerent systems of government, it may be, but forming one grand wiole proud of a com- mon origin and of tiieir advanced civilization ? Tlie clover lifts its trefoil leaves to the evening dew, yit they draw their nourishment from a sini»le .stem. Thus dis- tin(!t, a!id yet united, let us live and tiouri.sh. Why should we not ? For nearly two thonsand years we were one family. Oar fathers fought side by side at Hastings, ar;d heard the curfew toll. They fought in the same raid\s for the .sepulchre of our Saviour. In the earlier and later civil wars, we can wear our white ami red roses without a blush, and glory in the principles those conilicts established. Our eounnon ancestors won the great Char- ter and the Bill of Ri>d»ts~esta!>lislu!d free l^irliaments, the Habeas Corpus, and Trial by .lury. Our Juris])ru- dence comes down from C(d<e and Mansfield to Marshall and Stoiy, lieh in knowle<lge and experience which no man can divide. From Chaucer to Shakespeare our lit- erature is a conuuon inheritance. Tennyson and Long- CANADA AND TIIK UNITED STATES. 1U5 t't'llow writij in one hiDLjiiai^a', whicli i.-, i-nriclu.'*! by the genius developed on oitliei- sidr o\' the Atlantic. In the f^reat navij^ators t'loni ( 'ortereal to Ilvulson, and in all their " nK)vin;^ accidents hy Hood and tield " we have a cotnnion interest. On this side of the sea we have been largely reinforced both bv the (lernums and Frtiich, theiv is stren;^th in both elements. The (jlerniaiis jrave to us the s^overeii^ns who establislied our tVerdoin, and they ui\e to yon indus- try, intelligence and thrift; and the Frencli, who have distinguislied themselves in arts and aims for centuries, now strengthen the Piovinc-'s whicli the fortune of war decided they could not control. But it \\v\y he s.iid we have been divided by two wars. What then ( The nobK' St. L-iwrenee is split in two 'daces — by Goat Island and Anticosti — but it conies down ;," us from the same sj)rings in the same mountain sides ; its waters sweep ^ >getlu'r past the pietui'ed rocks of Lake Sujicrior, and «'neiic!e in their loving embrace the shores of Huron and Michigan. Th<'y art' diviled at Niagara Falls as we were at tlw Revolutionary War, but they come together Mgain on the peaceful bosom of Ontaiio. Again they are divided on their passjigi^ to the sea; but who thinks of divisions when they lift the keels of commerce, or when, drawn up to heaven, they form the' rainbow 6r the cloud ? . • It is true that in eighty-tlve years we have had two wars — but what then ^ Since the last we have had fifty years of peace, and there have been more people killedfin a single campaign in the late civil war than theri; wore in the two national wars between this country and Great (,' V, iifi^ mm ItiG TATKIOTIC IIECITATIOXS. Britain. The people of the United States hope to draw tofjetlier the two contiictini; elements and make them one people. Ill that task I wish them God-speed ! And in the same way 1 feel that we ought to rule out everything disagreeahle in the ivcollection of our old wars, and unite together as (.ne people for all time to come. I see around the door the Haus of tlie two countries. United as they are there. 1 would have them draped together, fold within fold, and let " 'riieir viirying tiiir.s unite, Ami form in Heaven's hght, One arch of peace." .losKIMI H(»VVK. m i „ CA "RADIAN OHATORY. 167 OAXADIAN URATORV. [For tliis exercise, the teaclu r iiiiuflit select a number ot* boys, each of wlioin should commit to nicmoi;)' the part jissioned to him. The leader of the boys selected mijjht address the visitors present as follows : — ] Ladies and (li:\Tij;.Mi:\, — 1 shall have the pleasure, lo day, of presenting- to you a nuudier of young gentle- men who have nuide selections from the speeches and writings of some of our most pruminent (Canadians. N ou will be gratitied to observe thatin the caseof speeches deliveied h»ng ago, as well as in those of later date, there prevails a sentiiiienl of* loyalty to C.'anada and of confidence in its future prosperity and development. The tirst speaker represents Sir Wm. Young, late Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, who has expressed in latiguage, which I think you will not soon foi'get, his atUichment to Ihf Soi'creifjii who rtjigus over us and the constitution under which the British Km|)ire lias betiU so firmly establi.slied. First Speaker : — Our attachment to the Queen, our own Victoria, is mingled with a tenderness not inconsistent with the sterner sentiment which it softens and endxllishes with- out enervating. Let her legitimate authority as a con- stitutional Monareli ; let her reputation as a woman be assailed, and notwithstanding the lamentation of Burke, that the age of chivalry was past, thousands of swords would leap from tlwir scaltbnrds toav«mge her. ^.y, and ¥ t I - r; ► 1 1C8 PATllKJTIC KECITATIONS. i| ^ *, they would be di-awn ns freely, and wielded as vigor- ously and l)ravely in Canada — in Nova Scotia — as in England. Loyalty! love of BritisJi Institutions! They are engrafted in our very nature ; they are part and parcel of ourselvcis; and I can no more tear them from my heart even if I would, and lacerate all its fibres, than I wouhl se^'ei" a lind) from my body. And what are those institutions? A distini^uislied American statesman recently answered this question. He said : " The proudest Government that exists upon the face of the cartli is that of Great Britain, and the great Pitt her proudest states- man, when he would tell of Britain's crowning glory, did not speak as he might iiave done, of her widespread Dominion, upon which the sun never sets. He did not speak of nuirtial acluevemetits, of glorious battlefields, and of splendid naval contlicts; l)ut he said, with swell- ing breast, and kindling eye, that the p'joi'est man of Great Britain in his cottage might bid delia?ice to all the forces of theC^'own. It miijjht be frail, its I'o )f mi<dit shake, the wind might blow tlirough it, the storm nught enter, the rain might enter ; but the King of England could not enter it. In all his power he dare not cross the tlireshold of that ruined tenement." Ladies and {}i:n"I'i,kmi;n, — I shall next introduce to you a young gentleman who represents Sir John Beverley Robinson, a Chief Justice of Upper Canada and the father of one of our most esteemed Lieutenant-Governors. Sir J, B. Robinson shews that a vumarvhical si/sfnn of govern- ment supplies all the advantages of the most liberal demo(3ra'y, combinL'd with greater .'Stability, and more substantial guaranteesfor the security of life and property. Will you kindly listen to wliat he has to say on the monarchical system as it (exists in Canada? Wi CANADIAN OllATOllY. 1G9 Second \.|)eaker:- It is common for us to hear ot' tlmt gi-oat experiment ill ^'overiiment in which the vast rejiuhlic near us is riiiraired. But in tlie Provinces of Britisli North America we have an t'.Kperiment .ijoing on, of no lii^lit interest to our <(lori()us mother (vmntry, or to mankiml. We occupy ,1 p:irlicular and soniewliat ciiiieal ])Osition on tliis con- tinent, and mort; tlian we can foresee may prohably ili'jiend U[)on thi; manner in wliieli our desreti(hints may li(i able to sustain tliemselves in it. It will In; tlieir pait, as it is now ours, to demonstrate that all sucli freedom of action as is consistent witii rational liberty, with public ])eace, and with individual security, can be enjoyed under a constitutional moiuirchy as fully as unth'r tlie purest demoerae}' on earth ; to pi-ove that, in ]uopoi-tion as iutelliijfenee increases, what is meant bv libeitv is lietter undei'stood, and wluit is soundest and most stable in government is l»etter ajjpieeiated a>:(l moi'e iiiinly >up))orted. The ^lorious cai'eer of Jlritain anion^' the nations of the world, demands of us this tribute to tlie hied excellence of her a<lmirable constitution; it should l>e our pi'ide to show that, far r(>moved as we aiv from the sjtlendois of Royalty and the influences of the Court, monarchy is not blindly preferred anioni; us from a senseless attachment to atiti(juate<l ])rejudiee.>, nor re- luctantly tolerated fr<)m a sense of duty oj* a dread of ('haiiLje ; but that, on the contrary, it is eherished in tlie ntfoctions, and supported by the free and tii*m will of an intelligent people, whose love of order has been strenj;thened as their knowledi,'(; has increased— a peojile w ho reganl with loyal pleasure the oblii;ations of duty which bind them to the Crown, an«l who value their kingly form of government not only because they l)elieve it to be the most favorable to stability and [)eace, but tspecially for the security it all'ords to life and property, the steady support which it gives to the laws, and the c'l'tainty' with which it ensures the actual enjoyment of all that deserves to be ditinified with the name "Freedom." ! \ ■ 4 '} » I 11 it 170 PATKIOTKJ liKCITATIONS. LadiE!!* and GENTLEMh:N, — Tlio iiext speaker will di- cuss the (idvantages of Kilacai'ion as set forth by the l;itu Dr. li^'erson, the fournU'i of our school system, and a man to whom we are largely in(h;bted for the intelli;^enef which now is so happily difiiised throughout the whole of Canada, Tliird Speaker : — It is my earnest prayer tliat tin* " internal guaid " of a truly Christian education nifiy be planted in the heart- citadel of every youth of our land. It is the union of moral and intellectual (pialities which adorn and elevatr the individual man: and it is their united development which constitutes tin; life and strength, the happint>> and progress of society. If. then, we wish to see oui country accomplish its high destiny — our unbroken forests convertcid into waving wheat fields— single manu- factories growing into prosperous towns, and town^ swelling into cities — canals and railroads interscctiny; the various counties, and commerce covering the rivers and lakes : if we wish to see our institutions settled and perfected, and our government fulHlling its noblest function — our schools and colleges radiating centres of intelleetual li«jht and moral wainith to the youthful po[)ulation — the poor as well a-5 the rich pioperly educated, and a rich and varie<l hotne literature created — the expeiienee of past ages giving les.sons in all ( ui domestic dwcdlings, by means of books and lil)raries; in a word, if we wish to see the people of Canada united, intelligent, prosperous and happy — great in all that con- stitutes the real grandeur of a people — let us feel that the eventful issues of that anticipated futurity are in our hands, and that it is for each individual of our grown- up generation to say how far these hopes of patriotism and philanthropy shall be realized or disappointed. Above all, let us never forget that there is a moral as well as a w CANADIAN ORATORY. 171 ■ s il di^- e liitc I man lole of ,ra"«.t' lieart- nion <tt' elevate Tpment ppiness see our ibrokni > uiaiui- hLCtiui,^ e rivers ed an«l noblest vtres of outht'ul >roperly creatrd all (\u ,ries ; in iinite'l. \at coii- cel that are in grow>- Itriotisiu Above rell as n pliysieal universe, irid as it is in the harmony of the two that tlie perfecti()!is of tlie divine cliaraeter and i^overn- iiicnt are fully displayed, so it is in the harmonious (jcvelopment of the moral with tlie iutelh'etna! luiiii that the perfection of his nature consists. What God has joined toLjether we must never ])ut asunder in any of our phms and efforts for the social advancement of Canada. ()iir motto should be the words of tlit- inspired Isaiah — "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability ot thy times; the fear of dehovah, tiiis shall be thy treasure." bUHKs AND Gknti,emkn, — Many of you are, no doubt, familiar with ti>e name of Dr. MelJaul, the first president of the University of Toronto, a Ljentleman of ^reat culture and wide experience, it will be interesting- for you to Icai'n the effect which, in his opinion, the rjencrdl (H^iision of edacdflon would pi'oduce upon the people of (Canada, and upon tlndr attachment t(» the liritish Crown. Allow nio to present to you a vouulj L,^entleman who will give you J)r. McCaul s words on this point. Fourth Speaker : — I have said that the ditfusion of the bU'ssings of educa- lii»ii throughout the land is the ultimate end of the work which is to be pursued in this university, — a work second in importance to none in the i^rovince, for it is destined to jnupetuate its benign inlluences throughout successive genei'ations Yes, the stamp which education impresses, however faint at first, or diflicidt of recogni- tiiin, remains permanent and enduring, and continues iiuleiiltle from aire to age, — so that wliatever l>e the national characteristics of the population oi (^mada, the influence of that system of instruction now established 1^ \l v-i [! t I Ml 172 PATRIOTIC RECITA-TIOXS. will 1)0 porccptible in its <listiiictive t'eatiires. What tuiiul can justly estiin;it<' — what ton^-iic can adiMjuatcK- expivss — the hi'iietits which must How fioni such a ditt'u- sion ? What intlut.'nce will it have in strt'nulhcninif thf intclh'ct, elcvatmi,^ the taste, and curhiu'^ tlic passions ' And oh ! how niauv ni'c there who, it* they l^ut had the avenues of enjoynu'iit thrown open to tluun which educa- tion presents, would lia\e never i'alltn into the grovelling hahits which Iwive ruined lujth themselves and tln'i: t'aniilies. r>ut in another respect, too, the dithision of education must exercise a most important inlluence throughout the country. We live m times when the temlency is to diri'iision thr()Uu'hout the masses of a 'n'eater amount of political privilei^e than they have hitlferto enjoyed. The times «;xist when the majoi'ity of the people must exercise poiiticid privileges, and if so, of what immeii-e importance is it that ihe masses should be educated — that they should know their rights and understand their oMigalions — that they should possess that power, whieh education gives, of protecting thenrselves against i)olitical or leligious imjiostors — that they should dischaige those iluties, whicii our iVee constitution assigns to them, with that iii'lepen- dence and di.-crimination which knowledge bestows anl fosters. i)t what consequence is it that our people sliouM understand and be |)repared to show that they maintain their allegiance to the British Crown and their adhereii'- to the limited monaichy undei* which they live, not throiigh any antiipiated prejudices, nor yet through any traditionaiy veneration, but because they pi'efcr thai which they hnve, entertaining the well gnainded convic- tion, that untler a government sueli as that of Great Brit- aiu, they and their children can enjoy all real liberty, aiil under it have liappiness here, and the means and oppor- tunity of preparing themselves for hapi^iness hereafter. ^:' itclv litVu f Un- ions ' I tin liica cUin- CANAPrAN ORATDRY. 173 Ladiks and (iKNTi.e.mkn, — ^Tho union of tlie (liflori'nt in'ovinccH of Hritisli Noitli America, under the Conledera- tion Act of l!^<i7, was ro^nided liy inany Canailiansas tlie founding" of a new ein))ire, and so I l»elieve it was. There was some division of opinion, liovvever, as to tlie etfect of this Act upon the futuie of Caiiachi. Oftliose who took the hopeful view of the siUuition and, as I heli(He the correct view, the Honoiahle D'Arcy McOee is worthy of notice, partly hecause of the polished langnaLCe in which he expressed himself and partl\' Ixu-ause of his wi<le range of knowle(lg(' as a historian and a man of lettei's. The vounir genth'man who will next address nou will give you a (piotation from one of Mr. Mc( lee's speeches. Kifth Speaker : — The leason why we have nut hitherto attracte»l and retained moi'e pi-oph,' in Canada from the other side of the Atlantic, is hecause we havt; not made our country iittractive to them ; hiu'ause we are not known as a nation ahroad ; hecause those isolated Trovinces have; not im- pressed the imagination of tlie end<n-atinix classes. Who in the hyeways of Gei-many, oi- even of llritain, kjunv anything of Canada, until the other (hiv ^ In those hives of human labor, tiiey knew only oni' country — America — and oidy one seaport — New York. I)ut once give our united Provinces the !isp(>et of empire, make tliem a power and a name, and the reputation and ci'edit 'if the Dominion will he oin- best i-mi:: ration aticnt ata'oad. ... 1 cannot, for one, agree that the best way to make ourselves respected abroad, and to secure impunity fiom attack, is to (h'preciate tlie sources of (;nr >tieiigth ; but ratht-r to make the most of what Lord l'ac(m, in his " True Greatness of Britain," considers the main element of a nation's stren^tth, its" breed of men.' l>y the breed of men, that brings a nation safely through its destinies. Lord Bacon meant — not only the muscle of II IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I |_50 12.5 s? til 116 "111^ 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ■^ 6" — ► V] ^ //, '^ e. %. ^1 olte. y ^^ m .*■ A y /i w w Photographic Sciences Corporation \ # '^ ^ i\ \ Ci^ ^^^ '%'■ 23 W£ST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14SB0 (7)6) 872-4503 ri>^ ^,-^ i 174 PATIUOTIC RECJITATIONS. men, their bodily hardihood, but also their wiova^e — their courage, docility, and capacity for combination — the wis- dom ot'the few to command, and tlie wisflom of the many to co-operate. I do not disparage the power of numbers ; 1 do not underrate the power of wealth ; but above buth 1 place the safety of any State, great or small, in the spirit and unity of its iidiabitants. The policy of self-aijasement I cannot see in the Hgiit of policy at all. View it how we may ; turn it rcjund and ronnd ; hang it in any light you like, it will not wear the lineaments of prudence, or fortitude or patriot- ism. While we should, on the one hand, avoid all bravado as unbecoming our position, we should, on the other hand, endeavor to elevate and not depi'css the public spirit of the country. We should sti'engthen the faith of our people in their own future, the faith of every Canadian in Canada, and of every Pioviiice in its sister Province. This faith wrongs no one ; Imrthens no one ; menaces no one; dishonors no one; and as it was said of old, faitli moves mountains, so I venture reverently to express my own belief, that if the difliculties of our future as a Dominion were as high as the ))eaks of the Alps or Andes, yet that the ])iire patriotic ti^aith of a united people would bead sufHcient to overcome and, ultimately, to triumph over all such difficulties. Ladies and Gentlemkn, — The next speaker represents a Canadian to the mamier born, the Reverend Dr. Ormis- ton. The stirring speech which you aie about to hear was delivered some years ago — the subject being, " Th Young Men of Citmidu." Hear what he says. Sixth Speaker : — What a large, wide, happy home is the huid we live in ! We have found it a goodly land, and have no sympathy with those who love it not ! There is no piety, nt» genuine Christianity, in the heart of him who does not ^ v^V, CANADIAN ORATORY. 175 love his country, native or adopted ! He cannot be a true, large, leal-hearted man, who, looking through the vista of coming years, does not hope to see his own country grow greater and more glorious ; and he is not a true Canadian who does not say, " Peace and Prosperity to Canada." It matters not on what line of longitude or latitude it may be, but one's native land should be the dearest, sweetest, and most hallowed spot on this side of heaven. Canada, our country, we love it ; and because we love, we wish its young men to be worthy of it. Our fathers have done much. They came from almost every country beneath the sun. They were a varied people ; and we are, to some extent, varied still. Their national, educa- tional, and ecclesiastical prejudices were varied. They had but two things to bind them together, — the deep fertile soil beneath their feet, and the clear canopy of the bright blue sky above their heads. Pioneers in this goodly land, some have found a home — many only a grave, and on the resting-place of these we should tread lightly, doing reverence to their ashes, and living so as to honor them. With the young men of Canada we should arm for the conflict, and gird ourselves for the coming struggle. We are the strength of the country. Upon us it depends whether, in twenty years, this country shall be progressive, and rise to assume its own just place in the heraldry of nations, and have the proud boast of possessing a God-fearing people ; whether it shall become a dark spot in the geography of the world, and, by and by vanish altogether ; or whether intelligence and in- dustry shall place Canada in the vanguard of nations. The following selections might be used in lieu of those given, or in addition, if deemed desirable. Future of Manitoba. From its geographical position, and its peculiar characteristics, Manitoba may be regarded as the key- stone of that mighty arch of sister Provinces which spans 18 II ill 176 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was here that Canada, emerging from her woods and forests, first gazed upon her rolling prairies and unexplored North- West, and learnt as by an unexpected revelation that her historical territories of the Canadas, her eastern seaboards of New Brunswick, Labrador and Nova Scotia, her Laurentian lakes and valleys, corn lands and pastures, though themselves more extensive than half a dozen European kingdoms — were but the vestibules and ante- chambers to that till then undreamt-of Dominion, whose illimitable dimensions alike confound the arithmetic of the surveyor and the veritication of the explorer. It was here that counting her past achievements as but the preface and prelude to her future exertions and extend- ing destinies, she took a fresh departure, received the afflatus of a more imperial inspiration, and felt herself no longer a mere settler along the banks of a single river, but the owner of half a continent, and in the magnitude of her possessions, in the wealth of her resources, in the sinews of her material might, the peer of any power on the earth. And so, secluded from all extraneous influences, nestling at the feet of her majestic mother, Canada will, with confidence and hope, dream her dream and foi'ebode her destiny — a dream of ever broadening harvests, multiplying towns and villages and expanding pastures ; of constitutional self-government and a con- federated Empire ; of page after [)age of honorable history, added as her contribution to the annals of the Mother Country and to the glories of the British race ; of a perpetuation for all time upon this continent of that temperate and well-balanced system of Government which combines in one mighty whole as the eternal possession of all Britons, the brilliant history and traditions of the past with the freest and most untrammelled liberty of action in the future. DUFFERIN. ; was rests, orth- ,t her oards L, her tures, dozen ante- whose }tic of It was it the s.tend- id the self no J river, nitude in the kver on iiences, >nada m and dening anding a con- Horable of the IRIN. CANADIAN ORATORY. Canadian Loyalty, 177 Canadian loyalty is the perpetuation of that British national life which has constituted the strength and glory of Great Britain since the morning of the Protestant Reformation, and placed her at the head of the freedom and civilization of mankind. This loyalty maintains the characteristic traditions of the nation — the mysterious links of connection between grandfather and grandson — traditions of strength and glory for a people, and the violations of which are a source of weakness and dis- organization. Canadian loyalty, therefore, is not a mere sentiment, or mere affection for the representative or person of the Sovereign ; it is a reverence for, and attach- ment to, the laws, order, institutions and freedom of the country. As Christianity is not a mere attachment to a bishop, or ecclesiastic, or form of church policy, but a deep love of divine truth ; so Canadian loyalty is a firm attachment to that British constitution and those British laws, adopted or enacted by ourselves, which best secure life, liberty and prosperity, and which prompt us to Christian and patriotic deeds by linking us with all that is grand and noble in the traditions of our national histor3^ Dr. Ryerson. Advantages of Canada. Let us now consider what are the advantages, natural or acquired, which we enjoy here. A fertile soil, amply rewarding labor in the abundance and diversity of its produce ; a salubrious climate, calculated to rear a hardy and vigorous race ; water communication by noble rivers and vast lakes (or rather Mediterranean seas), unequalled in the world ; and millions of acres of unoccupied land, able to support millions of additional immigrants. Let us add to these natural blessings, the results of the energy and enterprise of an active and intelligent popu- lation ; our cities, with all the conveniences and comforts of European towns of twice their population, and of .V-' ■■* I I tr t - >|l \fi ll 178 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ' twenty times their age ; our villages springing up where lately were but dismal swamps or tangled forests ; the remotest points of this extensive country soon to be con- nected by railroads, now either drawing to completion, in progress, or guaranteed ; the facilities afforded for the education of our children by our public schools, our grammar schools, our private seminaries, our colleges and our universities ; the progress of knowledge, advanced by the scientific and literary societies and institutes estab- lished in our cities and towns; the solemn duties of religion inculcated by fixed ministrations or by the occa- sional visits of the missionary ; the voice of prayer and praise rising each Sabbath alike from the stately piles in our towns, which rear their spires towards heaven, and the lowly shanty, which scarce lifts its humble head under the leafy arches of our backwoods ; and all this with the full and free enjoyment of the blessings of civil and religious liberty. In his opinion, the language of dissatisfaction or complaint but little becomes those who enjoy such advantages. Thanksgiving was rather their duty — thanksgiving to Him from whom all blessings flow, for what in His abundant mercy He had given to them, and prayer to the same Almighty Being for con- tentment with what they had — for peace, wherein they might use and enjoy what His bountiful hand had pro- vided for them. By peace, he meant not freedom from war — he meant not tranquillity undisturbed by aggression from without— of that he had no fears ; but he did mean freedom from internal strife, from civil commotion, from the injurious influences of bickerings and contentions with each other. He did mean that peace which is pro- duced by mutual forbearance — by laying aside national feuds and party differences, and by the union of all, casting aside their distinctions — whilst they still held fast to their principles — for the advancement of the welfare of their common country, the land of the Maple Leaf. He knew no more appropriate words in which this supplication could be ofi^ered than those, which must be familiar to many whom he addressed, and in 'which i CANADIAN ORATORY. 179 here ; the con- )n, in i- the ,, our s and ed by astab- ies ot* ; occa- !r and liles in a, and 3 head Jl this of civil lage of >se who X their essings .ven to Y con- ^n they .d pro- |m irom ression 'd mean in, from ,entions is pro- national of all, liU held of the Maple which ih must • which he doubted not all would cordially join — that " they might live in fear of God, in dutiful allegiance to the Queen, and in brotherly love and Christian charity each towards the other." Dr. McCaul. The Future of Canada. What can we say as to our future ? What of our destiny ? Our destiny under a kind Providence will be just what we will make it. It rests in our own hands. We may in the face of all our advantages, mar it if we will. As it is with individual destiny, so is it with national destiny; we are largely the architects of our own fortunes. We have laid, as I have shown, deep and safe and broad the foundations for a britjht future. What country can show legislation more advanced or leading up to better results than ours ? In what land do we find a people enjoying more fully than we do the rights of self-government, or where is there a people more fitted to be entrusted with that precious right ? Our laws have been well administered. Our courts of justice have won the unlimited confidence of the people. Imbued with the healthy sentiment which has prevailed in the mother land for centuries, attached to her forms of government, cherishing her precedents and trn-ditions, we have passed from childhood to youth. We are approach- ing manhood, and its strength and vigor must depend upon ourselves. What is needed, then ? We must appease inter-provincial jealousies ; we must modify mere local patriotism ; we must cultivate an increased national feeling and show in every way we can that we have crossed the line of youth and pupilage. If our public men will be true to themselves and govern us with wis- dom and foresight and high statesmanship, and if our people will be intelligent, honest and vigilant, then we will enjoy a degree of success to which no limit can be tixed. Richard Harcourt. i mM: 180 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. l! n i t i 1 V i 1 ,1 ■;i, a General Wolfe and Old Quebec. A problem of singular interest is bein^ solved here. Two races, the foremost in the ranks of humanity, long rivals in arts and arms : the stoHd, slow, but long-endur- ing- Saxon ; the lively, impresvsible, gallant Frank, are here invited to share a common destiny, and work out a future of their own. The Norman and Saxon of elder centuries have united with the Celt to make England what she is. Saxon, Norman and Celt meet here anew, under other fortunes, to make of our common Dominion what future generations will know, how to prize. Men of the old French monarchy before the era of revolutions, have been succeeded by those who here, under the cegis of Great Britain, have been admitted and trained to all the rights and privileges of a free people. It is a privilege not to be lightly thrown away, that we share the destinies of an Empire where the Rajah of a British Province on the Indian Ocean — beyond the farthest footprint of the Macedonian Alexander — sends as his loyal gift to the Olympian Games of our common nation- ality, the prize cup which victors from our young Dominion have twice brought in triumph to our shores. Our living present, as well as the sacred memories which we inherit, as a member of that great British Con- federacy which embraces in one united Empire, India and Canada ; New Zealand and Newfoundland ; the Bahamas ; the Antilles ; Australia and the Cape ; are too precious to be lightly cast away. But if the time is ever to come — "Far on in summers that we shall not see," when this young Dominion shall stretch across the conti- nent, a nation, with duties and interests all its own ; it will be for its interest as well as its honor that it can then look back only with loving memories on the common mother of the Anglo-Saxon race, while it emulates her example, and aspires to her worth. Sir Daniel Wilson. ^1 1 '1 NATIONAL UNITY NECESSAUY. 181 IIm here. , long ndiir- w, are out a elder igland anew, ninion Men utions, e Jfigis i to all ;hat we ih of a arthest as his nation- young shores, iinories ih Con- Idia and [ham as ; >ious to Iconie — conti- )wn ; it Ian then bmmon [tes her Ilson. National Unity Necessary. I am not ignorant of, nor will I minimize, the danger which arises to Canada from the fact that we have here a duality of language and a duality of race. But the fact exists, and ostracism of any kind, instead of remov- ing the danger, would simply intensify it, by forcing a section of our population to hate the institutions under which they live — intensify it, because it would bring a section of our population into conflict with the majority which would thus abuse the brute power of number. Any policy which appeals to a class, to a creed, to a race, or which does not appeal to the better instincts to be found in all classes, in all creeds, and in all races, is stamped with the stamp of inferiorit3^ The French- Canadian who appeals to his fellow-countrymen to stand by themselves, aloof from the rest of this continent ; the English-Canadian who appeals to his fellow-countrymen on grounds affecting them alone, may, perhaps, win the applause of those whom they may be aildressing, but impartial history will pronounce their work as vicious in conception as it is mischievous and wicked in its ten- dency. We are here a nation, composed of the most heterogeneous elements — Protestants and Catholics, Eng- lish, French, German, Irish, Scotch, every one, let it be remembered, with his traditions, with his prejudices. In each of these conflicting antagonistic elements, however, there is a common spot of patriotism, and the only true policy is that which reaches that common patriotism and makes it vibrate in all towards common ends and com- mon aspirations. Wilfrid Laurier. K t i j ] ni ]82 I'ATRIOIIC HECITATIONS. Britain's Overshadowing Power. The proudest position Great Britain could occupy is that the overshadowing power and influence which she has so long possessed in giving shape to the destinies and relations of nations has always been exercised with a view to the amelioration of the condition of mankind : that she has the will as well as the power to maintain, in a great measure, the peace of the rest of the world, and that prosperity, peace and contentment have fol- lowed her flag all over the earth, upon whatever soil it has ever been planted. I hope its march of triumph will never be interrupted until it shall become the one absoj'bing and powerful instrumentality in the hands of Providence for the prevention of war, the extension of commerce, and the promotion of the arts of peace. To the full extent of their power Her Majesty's government in Canada would contribute to the development and maintenance of this sentiment. At the same time let us remember that Canada is our home ; that while we think with gratitude of the land of our birth, while our hearts are filled with the warmest patriotism when its history and its heroes are recalled to mind, we should not forget that we have great duties and responsibilities, not of a sectional, but of a national, character to discharge and that we ought to devote ourselves faithfully and honestly to the task of creating and upholding a Canadian spirit Canadian sentiment and Canadian enthusiasm ; in a word, a spirit of nationality always British, but still Canadian. The patriotism of the British people and government will ever be with us, and we in turn hope always to reside under the shadow of the grand old flag of Britain, at once the symbol of power and civilization. These senti- ments I believe to be an expression of the aspirations which animate the great body — may I not say the whole of the Canadian people. Alexander Mackenzie. 1 CANADIAN ORATORY 183 A Public Spirit Necessary for Canada. We have to contend with political difficulties conse- quent upon our singular semi-dependent position as a small state between two very great ones, with both of which we have very close relations ; with geographical difficulties caused by the great stretches of barren wilder- ness interposed between the three great divisions of our territory — which have often caused me to wish we lived rather in three islands, with the sea as a means of con- nection and communication ; with national or race diffi- culties, arising from the circumstances of our early settle- ment, and lastly with economical difficulties, partly natural and partly of our own making, but none the less real, notwithstanding. What we need, and we need it very badly, is more public spirit — a larger share of the true instinct of patriotism — and to become thoroughly impregnated with the feelings which inspired that well- known passage of Sir Walter Scott : " Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, This is my own — my native land ? If such there be, go mark him well, For him no minstrel numbers swell ; High though his title, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, The wretch concentred all in self, Living shall forfeit fair renown, And doubly dying shall go down To the vile dust from which he sprung — Unwept, unhonored, and unsung." !:'■ si' m li < m ■4 i < 184 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. .' »■ I. i^' f That is the temper which has made Scotland i^reat ; that is the temper which alone can make any country really great, and that is the temper which we must one and all try to cultivate and foster among our people if we ever expect to make Canada a great couhory. So, I say, be Canadians above all and before all, whatever else you are. It may well be that there are some among you whom I address to-night who may be destined to climb high, to whom it may be given to see clearly what we see only through a glass darkly, and v^'ho may come to enter into and possess the land we are only permitted to gaze upon from afar. To such I can only say that I hope they will cherish an honorable ambition. Such an ambi- tion is perhaps the best safeguard of public morality, almost as good in its way as an honorable love is to defend you against vulgar profligacy, and how great a defence that is you may learn from Tennyson's splendid description of its effects in elevating the character, especially in youth and early manhood, where he bids you: ' * To speak no slander — no, nor listen to it, To lead sweet lives in purest chastity, To love one maiden only — cleave to her, And worship her by years of noble deeds Until you win her. For, indeed I know Of no more subtle master under Heaven Than is the maiden passion for a maid. Not only to subdue the base in man, But teach high thoughts, and amiable words, And courtliness — and the desire of fame And love of truth — and all that makes a man." Sir Richard Cartwright. CANADIAN ARISTOCRACY. Canadian Aristocracy. 185 Ours is a democratic country in an age of democracy. We here enjoy, at least in theory, what is called the reign of the connnon people. But the reign of the common people, that is to say, the right of the masses of mankind to govern themselves, requires on the part of those who govern, an earnest discharge of those duties, which are necessarily involved in the privileges which they enjoy. In politics as in other things, power and privilege bring with them an inevitable load of responsibility and duty, and we cannot hope to succeed in the noble task of self- government, unless each one of us, realizing this, shall do his duty in the situation which he occupii ■■, and shall, within the sphere of his powers and influence, labor to promote the accomplishment of sound reforms in ^heir due season. Now, in this democratic country ^/e have but few "'d I wish we had no examples of t')e class dis- tinctions of the old world. I think the) ought not to ha\ e been introduced. They are foreign to our soil ; they are unsuited to our habits; they are relics of old times now past ; they are not given under the advice of our own leaders of opinion ; and I wish it might become part of our unwritten code, that these exotic distinctions should not be by us received. Yet, sir, I am a believer i:i a cer- tain, and in a real sense, in the principle of aristocracy. I believe in the true aristocracy of energy, learning, ability, and integrity ; an aristocracy whose marks and titles are found in the earnest efforts of a man to do his duty and to excel in its discharge ; and whose distinctions are such as a free people themselves confer by the expression of their confidence, by mandates to the great council of the country, by selection for high offices of public trust, by the commission to regulate the affairs, to guide the high destinies of the people among whom they live. That i^ the aristocracy and the only aristocracy which is suited to our day and country. Edward Blake. m. n *■ m 186 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Memories of the Old Land. Attachment to the land from which we or our fathers came is not only compatible with intense devotion to the highest interests of the country where we dwell, but is a necessary condition of its birth, its growth, and its fervor. The dutiful son, the affectionate husband and father, will usually be the best and most patriotic subject or citizen ; and he will love Canada best who draws his love of country in copious draughts from the old fountain-head across the sea. We have an example of strong devotion to the European stock, combined with unwavering attach- ment to Canada, iii our French follow-countrymen of Quebec. No people can be more tenacious of their lan- guage, their institutions, and their religion than they are ; they still love France and its past glories with all the passionate ardor of their warm and constant natures ; and yet no people are more contented, more tenderly devoted to Canadian interests, more loyal to the Grown end the free institutions under which they live. Sir Etienne Tache gave expression to the settled feeling of his compatriots when he predicted that the last shot for British rule in America would be fired from the citadel of Quebec by a French-Canadian. The Norman and Breton root from which the Lower Canadians sprang was peculiarly patriotic, almost exclusively so, in a provincial or sectional sense, in old France ; and they, like the Scot, brought their proud, hardy, and chivalrous nature with them, to dignify and enrich the future of colonial life. MEMORIES OF THE OLD LAND. 187 The French -Canadian, moreover, can boast a thrilling history of the Dominion itself, to which the English por- tion of the population can lay no claim. Quebec has a Valhalla of departed heroes distinctly its own ; yet still it does not turn its back upon the older France, but lives in the past, inspired by its spirit to work out the prob- lem of a new nationality in its own way. There is no more patriotic Canadian that the Frenchman, and he is also the proudest of his origin and race. There is nothing, then, to forbid the English-speaking Canadian from revering the country of his fathers, be it England, Scot- land, or Ireland ; on the contrary, it may be laid down as a national maxim, that the unpatriotic Englishman, Scot, or Irishman, will be sure to prove a very inferior speci- men of the Canadian. W. J. Rattray. h ^4l ^M « ' li !! ■ 1 I I ■ ., [1 1 J ! fJU It U \ 188 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CANADA: ITS SCENERY AND MAJESTIC PRO- PORTIONS. He is not a wise Canadian who shuts himself up within the boundaries of his own little province, and, wasting life amidst the narrow prejudices and evil pas- sions of his own contracted sphere, vegetates and dies, regardless of the growing communities and widely ex- tending influences by which the interests of his country are affected every day, and which may at no distant period, if not watched and counteracted, control its des- tinies with an overmastering and resistless power. The question has been put to me twenty times in a day, " what do you think of Canada ?" and as it is likely to be many times repeated, I take this early opportunity of recording my conviction that it is one of the^ noblest countries that it has ever been my good fortune to be- hold. Canada wants two elements of prosperity which the lower colonies possess — open harbors for general commerce, and a homogeneous population ; but it has got everything else that the most fastidious political econo- mist would require. I knew that Canada was a very ex- tensive province, that there was some fine scenery in it, and that much of the soil was good, for I had read all this a great many times ; but yet it is only by spending some weeks in traversing the face of the country that one becomes really alive to its vast proportions, its great national features, boundless resources, and surpassing beauty. It is said, so exquisite is the architecture of St. Peter's at Rome, that it is not until a visitor has examined the fingers of a cherub, and found them as thick as his arm, or until he has attempted to fondle a dove, and 1 CANADA : ITS SCENERY AND MAJESTIC PROPORTIONS. 189 ii^ii found it far beyond his reach, and much larger than an eagle, that he becomes aware of the dimensions of the noble pile. So it is with Canada. A glance at the map or a perusal of a volume or two of description will give but a faint idea of the country. It must be seen to be under- stood. But the mere extent of the country would not perhaps impress the mind so strongly if there were not so much of the vast, the magnificent, the national, in all its lead- ing features. It is impossible to fancy that you are in a province — a colony ; you feel at every step that Canada must become a great nation ; and at every step you pray most devoutly for the descent upon the country of that wisdom, and foresight, and energy which shall make it the great treasury of British institutions upon this con- tinent, and an honor to the British name. All the lakes of Scotland thrown together would not make one of those great inland seas, which form, as it were, a chain of Medi- terraneans ; all the rivers of England, old father Thames included, would scarcely till the channel of the St. Lawrence. There is a grandeur in the mountain ranges, and a voice in the noble cataracts, which elevate the spirit above the ignorance and the passions of the past and the perplexities of the present, and make us feel that the great Creator of the universe never meant such a country to be the scene of perpetual discord and degrada- tion; but will yet inspire the people with the union, the virtue, and the true patriotism by which alone its politi- cal and social condition shall be made to take more nearly than it does now the impress of its natural features. Canada is a country to bo proud of ; to inspire high thoughts ; to cherish a love for the sublime and beauti- ful ; and to take its stand among the nations of the earth in spite of all the circumstances which have hitherto retarded, and may still retard its progress. Joseph Howe. p » 190 PATRIOTIC KECITATIONS. THE BENEFITS OF BRITISH INSTITUTIONS. We are a free and happy people ; and we are so owing to the liberal institutions by which we are governed, institutions which we owe to the exertions of our fore- fathers and the wisdom of the mother country. Now, to properly estimate the value of the institutions by which we are ruled to-day, let us compare the present state of the country with what it was before they were granted to us. Forty years ago the country was in a state of feverish commotion, a prey to an agitation which, a few mvmths later, broke out in rebellion. The British crown was only maintained in the country by the force of powder and ball. And yet what were our predecessors seeking ? Tiiey were asking for nothing more than the institutions which we have at present; those institutions were granted to us and loyally applied ; and see the result ; the British flag floats over the old citadel of Quebec ; it floats to-night over our heads, without a single British soldier in the country to defend it, its sole defence resting in the gratitude which we owe it for our freedom and the security which we have found under its folds. Where is the Canadian who, comparing his country with even the freest countries, would not feel proud of the institutions which protect him ? Where is the Cana- dian who, passing through the streets of this old city and reaching the monument raised a few steps from here to the memory of the two brave men who died on the same field of battle while contending for empire in Canada, would not feel proud of his country ? In what other country under the sun can you find a similar monument, )untry oud of Cana- city here )n the anada, other iraent, THE BENEFITS OF BRITISH INSTITUTIONS. 191 reared to the memory of the conquered as well as of the conqueror ? In what other country under the sun will you find the names of the conquered and conqueror equally honored and occupying the same place in the respect of the population ? When, in that last battle which is recalled by the Wolfe and Montcalm monument, the iron hail was spreading death in the ranks of the French army ; when the old heroes, whom victory had so often accompanied, saw at last victory snatched from them ; when, stretching on the ground with their life- blood fast ebbing away, they saw, as the result of their defeat, Quebec in the hands of the enemy and the country forever lost ; no doubt their last thought was of their children, whom they were leaving without protec- tion and without defence ; no doubt they pictured them as persecuted, enslaved and humiliated, and then, it is reasonable to believe, they drew their last breath with a cry of despair. But if Heaven had lifted the veil of the future from their dying eyes and enabled them for an instant, before they closed forever, to pierce what was hidden from their sight ; if they could see their children free and happy, marching proudly in all spheres of society ; if they could have seen, in the old cathedral, the seat of honor of the French Governors occupied by a French Governor ; if they could have seen the church steeples rising in every valley from the shores of Gaspd to the prairies of the Red River ; if they could have seen this old flag, which recalls the finest of their victories, carried triumphantly in all our public ceremonies ; in fine, if they could have seen our free institutions, is it not per- missible to think that their last breath would have been exhaled in a murmur of gratitude to Heaven and that they would have died consoled. 14 Wilfrid Laurier, 7 it ■i I •^1 II J \ t r ! 't: ■: i ! .1 192 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE GRAVES OF THE PIONEERS. He must have a dull and sluggish soul, who can look without emotion on the quiet graves of the early settlers of this country, who can tread upon their mouldering bones without a thought of their privations and their toils, who can, from their tombs, look out upon the rural loveliness— -the fruitfulness and peace by which he is surrounded, nor drop a tear to the memories of the dead, who won, by the stoutness of their hearts, and the sweat of their brows, the blessings their children have only to cherish and enjoy. They plunged into the forest, not as we do now, for a summer day's ramble, or an hour of tran- quil musing, but to win a home from the ruggedness of uncultivated nature, and in despite of the dusky savage thirsting for their blood. Oh ! for the muse of Gray to pour out a befitting tribute to the dead. He caught from the sanctity and softened associations of an English grave- yard an inspiration that rendered him immortal ; but the graves among which he stood are the resting places of men whose lives had been tranquil and undisturbed ; who had grown up amidst the fruitfulness of a civilized and cultivated country, and who had enjoyed the protection of institutions long firmly established, and the security and cheering influence of ancient usage. How much deeper would have been the tones of his harp, had he stood where we now stand, had he been surrounded bv the graves of those who found his country a wilderness and left it a garden ; who pitched their tents THE GRAVES OF THE PIONEERS. 193 among the solitudes of nature and left to their children her fairest charms, heightened by the sofl touch of art ; who had to build up institutions as they built up their lowly dwellings, but nevertheless bequeathed to their de- scendants the security of settled Government, the advan- tages of political freedom, the means of moral and religious improvement, which they labored to secure but never lived to enjoy. We have no Abbeys or Cathedrals where our warriors and statesmen are preserved. We have no monumental piles, fraught with the deeds of other days, to claim a tribute from the passer-by. The lapse of ages, political vicissitudes, violent struggles, and accumulated wealth are necessary to the possession of these ; but in every village in our infant country we have the quiet graves of those who subdued the wilderness, who beauti- fied the land bj' their toil, and left not only the fruits of their labors, but the thoughts and feelings that cheered them in their solitude, to cheer and stimulate us amidst the inferior trials and multiplied enjoyments of a more advanced state of society. May we while contrasting the present with the past never forget the debt of grati- tude we owe and while standing beside the humble graves of our early settlers, may we ever feel our spirits awak- ened by the recollection of their lives, our thoughts ennobled by the remembrance of their trials, and our holiest and best resolves strengthened with a portion of their strength. Joseph Howe. ■ii • m\ vi ti 'J i 194 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. M GREAT BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES. From an address delivered by Silas Alward to the Alumni of Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, on Her Majesty^ s Jubilee. In the record of the world's history never did nation occupy the proud position of Great Britain and her world- embracing colonies and dependencies. Gibbon, in his Decline and Fall, sketches with a master's hand the ex- tent of the Roman Empire, when at the zenith of its great- ness, stretching as it did from beyond the Euphrates in the east to the Pillars of Hercules in the west, a distance of three thousand miles ; and from the arid sands of the Libyan desert in the south to the eternal snows of Sarmatia in the north, a distance of two thousand miles, embracing the fairest portions of the then habitable world. Yet the mighty expanse of the Roman Empire constituted in area only one-fourth part of the British Empire of to-day. Its population of 120,000,000 being only one-half that of India, one of its dependencies. As by contrast we are the better able to form a just estimate of the qualities of an object, the characteristics of an individual and the progress of a nation, so in order adequately to appreciate the status of the British Empire it would be well to draw a parallel between the present and some other period in its history. To this end let us contrast the Victorian and Elizabethan periods. What a striking contrast does the England of three hundred years ago present to the Great Britain of 1887. Then Scotland was a separate kingdom. Then Ireland, although a subject, was virtually an alien, nationally. GREAT BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES. 195 . Sj Then the population of England was less than five millions — not more than the Dominion of Canada to-day* The population of the empire is now three hundred millions, having increased sixty-fold. Then England was without colonies. Now her dependencies and colonies, constituting Greater Britain, embrace an area seventy-fold greater than the area of the United King- dom. Then she was virtually without commerce. But as Spain and Holland had wrested from the free states of Italy the commercial primacy of the Mediterranean and the trade of the east, so England in turn wrested from Spain and Holland the commercial supremacy of the world. In 1582 the vessels of all sizes owned by England amounted to only 1,232, of which only 217 were above eight tons. Their united tonnage was 50,000, not one-fifth that of New Brunswick, only one-twenty- eighth that of the Dominion of Canada. Her seamen numbered only 14,295, less than those who go down from Canadian shores and smite the sounding furrows of our own waters. Now her great war- ships patrol the watery highways of the world unchallenged, and her merchant navy of 30,000 ships, manned by 270,000 sailors, are found on all seas. Her flag floats over forty-nine per cent, of the carr3dng power of the world. Nearly one-half of the world's commerce is moved in British bottoms. The progress of the United Kingdom, during the present reign, evokes unqualified admiration. It is not measured solely by the growth of population, the expan- sion of trade and the accumulation of vast wealth. It is seen as well in the broadened liberty, which enlightened ;E rtif ', } \:4 I 190 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. civilization brings and the thousand and one conveniences which add so much to the comfort of life and make it worth the living. The growth of population has been less in the United Kingdom than in the large colonies. Between 1837 and 1887 it increased in the former by only forty-one per cent., while in British North America, by two hundred and twenty-five per cent., and in the Australasian colonies, by two thousand three hundred and forty-five per cent. Wealth for the like period has made a gain of one hundred and twenty-four per cent., or at a rate three times greater than population. The repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 and of the Navigation Laws in 1849 gave a wonderful impetus to trade and opened up a new era of prosperity to the country. The trade of the Empire expanded from two hundred and nine millions in 1837, to one thousand and seventy-nine millions in 1886, or over five hundred per cent. Steam power has proved a great factor in promoting the pros- perity of the nation. The year Her Majesty ascended the throne the first two steamers, the " Great Western " and " Sirius," crossed the Atlantic. In shipping, includ- ing steamers, the effective carrying power has increased from three and a quarter million tons in 1837, to twenty- two million tons in 1887. What Providence may have in store for the grand old nation we know not. There are those who believe, that the law of birth, growth, maturity, decline and death, which governs the animal and vegetable kingdoms, alike determines the destiny of nations. They tell us, the fate which overtook Assyria, Greece and Rome, will eventually mark the career of England. I:- »slivqJu(^IJf«P*^i*^^•i.■-*Si*> GREAT BRITAIN AND HER COLONIES. 197 That as the course of Empire down the centuries may be traced by the broken arch and shattered column, so, in the lapse of time, within her island home will yet be seen the relics of a greatness and civilization forever departed. We indulge no such gloomy apprehension. Moved by the lever that is yet " to uplift the earth and roll it in another course," her career, we trust, lies along different lines, Those nations builded — as the foolish man in scripture — upon the sand. Our fathers builded, let us hope, more wisely. They digged deep and laid broad the foundations upon the eternal principles of truth »and justice, and though the rains may descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow and beat upon it, they will spend their fury in vain upon the firm base of the super- structure. We believe it will nevol* be said of her as of Rome — ** The Niobe of nations, there slie stands, Childless and crownless, ni her voiceless woe, An empty urn within her wither'd hands, Whose holy dust was scatter'd long ago." i' Hi'' i I 198 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CULTURE AND PRACTICAL POWER. From a Speech delivered by Nicholas Flood Davin, M.P., at the openhig of Lunsdo^vne College, Portaqe La Prairie, November 11th, 1S89.' The progress of civilization has equalized the physical qualities of man. In years gone by the strong arm ruled. It is the strong head rules to-day. Force is dethroned, and where brute violence wore a coronet which some- times gleamed with chivalric ornament, intelligence, wear- ing a diadem in which there is no false glitter, in which every gem is of the purest water, now sits an omnipotent queen. A revolution, the most beneficent for man, has taken place, and it is the duty, as it should be the delight of every citizen to cultivate his faculties. Bacon has said " knowledge is power." Knowledge is also pleasure. I think it is Sir Arthur Helps that says a man who goes through life knowing only the trade or profession by which he gets his bread is a poor stunted creature. There is a close relation between all the arts — between poetry, painting, music, sculpture — and genuine proficiency in any one of these prepares the mind to enjoy the produc- tions of the others. You cannot really wake any faculty of the mind and leave the rest asleep. Happy for the uncultured they know not what they have lost. When a man is destitute of some great physical attribute ihe most superficial observer recognizes his incompleteness. The blind can never see the purple coursers of morning chase night from marge to marge, or evening steep the landscape in every glorious and tender .hue. In vain CULTURE AND PRACTICAL POWER. 199 for the deaf do the birds sing, in vain is the voice of woman low and musical, and " the wind, that grand old harper, smites his thunder-harp of pines," for them in vain. So far as those who have no sense of smell are concerned, the care of nature in making every flower and shrub and grass odorous is bootless, while to the cripple the rapture of energetic movement is denied. In all these cases men recognize the absence of a faculty which would be cheaply purchased by colossal wealth. But how if we should want the seeing eye and hearing ear in a more important sense than is covered by any physical deprivation ? How if there is a subtle aroma abr • t what has been said by highly gifted men we cannot catch, a flavor we cannot appreciate ; if nature and art teem with beauty which is for us as though it never was, if there is a music which our untrained ears cannot catch ? The men of genius come to us each with his mission. One takes us up to the highest heaven of harmony ; another purges our eyes that we may see God's glonous works as they are. George Macdonald says Burns' mission was to show men there was poetry immediately around them, at their very door. Now^ beauty and utility go hand in hand in nature, and the same is true of all things which enable us to know her better. Drawing and designing for instance increase the power of observation along the whole line and develop accuracy in all matters on which the mind employs itself. We are unthankful when we are not dull. If we felt as we ought we should thank God at the sight of every flower, and send our hearts to heaven up the silver stair- case of every starry beam. Think of all the beauty of m n H 200 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. the world ; think of all that is glorious in literature from Homer to Tennyson — of all that is entrancing in song and music from David's harp, that could chase the evil spirit from an unworthy king, down to Handel, Beethoven, and the other great composers of modern times ; think how a great historian like Thucydides, or Gibbon or Macaulay, makes us live in past ages and under strange climes ; think of the joy that the lyric poet can evoke in the heart ; think also that the mind thus awakened and nourished is capable of doing better whatever it applies itself to, and thank God we live in an age when all this may be brought within reach not merely of the rich and powerful, but almost of every child who has any aptitude, and who is blessed with parents and guardians not insensible to the possibilities of the time, and to their duty to their wards and offspring. Thank God that pioneers as you are — in a new country — in a small town — you can be not merely the architects of happier for- tunes than could be within your reach in more crowded fields, but can liave at your very door the means of the higher education of your children, where science, langu- ages, history, the classics, political economy, the arts of commerce themselves, may be mastered, and on terms so moderate as to vindicate the essentially democratic cha- racter of the institution. It is iiiost auspicious in the capital of one of the richest and most salubrious belts of territory in the world to see you thus laying side by side with emporiums of material prosperity, the foundations of the higher learning, which, while in no way lessening, but rather increasing the capacity for dealing with agriculture and merchandise, CULTURE AND PRACTICAL POWER. 201 will give us effective men in every field of human thought and endeavor ; men who by a fruitful knowledge of the past, by clear conceptions of the duties of rulers and the ruled, by tempering and sweetening the disturbing envies and aspirations of democracy, will teach our youth to look forward to the same glorious future for Canada as has blessed the heroic efforts of young peoples in other days ; men who will give us the art that beautifies and the song that thrills ; men with brows full of practical wisdom which yet some muse shall have kissed, and with heroic hearts that bound at the promise of the great future which hovers over the twilight of the present, like the eagle the British Columbian sees in the early dawn above the highest of one of our own Rockies, burning in the light of a splendid but unrisen morrow. Ill . V 202 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE FOUNDERS OF UPPER CANADA. From an address delivered hy Sir Oliver Moivat on the Cen- tenary of Constitutional Government in Upper Canada, The proclamation issued by Governor Simcoe at Kings- ton a hundred years ago this day, was the first step in the political history of the Province, and was doubtless an event of intense interest, as it was of great impor- tance, to the white population of the Province at that time. That population was small — 10,000 souls only, as some estimated. These early settlers of Upper Canada were dis- tinguished for industry, courage and a sense of religion and its duties. Take them all in all they were a noble ancestry, of whom a country may well feel proud. Whether their loyalty was a mistake and a misfortune as some aver, or whether, on the other hand, it is to be rejoiced over, as the people of Canada generally have always felt, there can be no denial that it was, at all events, a profound sentiment on their part. According to their view, in allowing this sentiment to guide their conduct, they were acting on principle and performing duty. They were as fond of the good things of this life as their neighbors were. They were as much attached to their houses and lands, their goods and their chattels, as others were, and as desirous of success in life for themselves and their children. But when the provinces in which they lived ceased oo be British provinces and became parts of a new nation hostile to the old, they forsook all the material advantages and prospects which they had in their old homes, and followed the Hag of Britain into the wilds of i THE FOUNDERS OF UPPER CANADA. 203 Canada, preferring the privations and hardships and poverty which might be their lot there, rather than to live under the flag of the Revolution. The material sacrifices which they made at the call of what they believed to be duty and right, as well as just sentiment, constitute a glorious record, and that record has influenced the sentiment and conduct of the Canadian people ever since. Those early settlers had been born British sub- jects, they loved the British name ; British subjects it was their determination under all temptations to remain, and on British soil to live out their lives, whatever the determination should cost them. In view of the relations to it of us all, and in in view of the history of the country and of what is now known of its immense possibilities, there have grown up among its people, alongside of the old attachment to the British name and British nation and of the pride felt in British achievements in peace and war, a profound love for Canada also, a pride in Canada and hopes of Canada as one day to become a great British nation ; British, whether in a political sense in connection or not with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; British because Britain is the nation of the birth or origin of most of us, and has the profoundest respect and admiration of all ; British because Canadians retain more of British institutions and British peculiarities than are possessed in other lands ; British because of most of its people being more attached to Britain and more anxious for its well-being than they are with respect to any other nation of the world. rll P •3' >t 204 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN PATRIOTISM. From a Speech by W. H. Withroio, D.D., on the Centenar>i of Upper Canada^ 1892. The patriotic feeling of the Jew to the land of his fathers and the city of the great king is to all lands and all ages a lesson of patriotic devotion. As the Jew- walked round the goodly walls of Zion he said : " Mark ye well her bulwarks and consider her palaces, and tell it to the generations following." As he thought of the noble lives that had been spent therein, and of the "acred blood by which its walls had been cemented, of the his- toric achievements by which its annals had been made illustrious, his soul thrilled with patriotic emotion. So may we to-day, in looking back upon our national privi- leges, think with love and pride and exultation not only of this great and goodly land which is our heritage, but also of that old land from which we are sprung, which is either our birthland or the land of our fathers — that land whose noblest traditions, whose just and equal laws, whose heroic history, whose brilliant litera- ture are ours to-day — that land from which we have derived the civil and religious privileges which we enjoy and to which we are under so great and lasting a debt and obligation. But it is especially the mercies of the past century which we to-day commemorate. Beginning the century with extreme feebleness, few in numbers and with scant resources, under Divine Providence we have grown and increased and well nigh filled the land. Like Jacob, we THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN PATRIOTISM. 205 may say, " With my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two bands." It is also befitting that on this historic ground we should recognize the blessings of Divine Providence in securing us the boon of self -government in this Province. This town of Niagara, indeed the whole of this frontier, have been consecrated to British liberty by sacrifices of our forefathers, by the blood which they shed and the hardships which they endured for the maintenance of British supremacy. It has been said that the finest wheat of England was sifted for the planting of the New England colonies. If so, it is also true that the best wheat of American colo- nies was once more sifted to furnish the U. E. Loyalists and founders of Upper Canada. The true history of Canada, Goldwin Smith has said, is written upon the gravestones of these early pioneers in the old graveyards of our country. Reverently let us mention their names, lightly let us tread upon their ashes. Let us seek to be worthy sons of such heroic sires. May their mantles fall on us, and may we live up to the privilege and obligation which they have entailed upon us by their strenuous toil and brave endurance. They have labored, and we have entered into their labors. It is with no mere feeling of military jingoism that I speak. I am a man of peace. I am almost a Quaker in my sentiments of non-resistance. But there has been committed to us a precious heritage, which we may not lightly forego, which we may not squander, which, above all, we may not betray or barter for filthy lucre, " nor i I 206 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. sell the mighty space of our large honors for as much gold as may be grasped thus." It is with no feeling of hostility or enmity to our republican neighbors who live across the river that I speak thus. If they prefer their institutions, let them enjoy them, as we wish to enjoy the institutions under which our country has flourished for one hundred years. I rejoice at the growing amenities between these two countries, and rejoice that on this platform we liave been able to give cordial greeting to d'stinguished and friendly visitors from the neighboring republic. A few days ago I stood on the steep escarpment at Queenston Heights which has been the scene of such fierce and bloody conflict ; beneath my feet raved and chafed between its rugged banks the angry Niagara river. But a few miles above a wondrous wire-woven structure, spanned the deep abyss and furnished the means whereby the ceaseless currents of commerce might throb and pulsate across the raging torrent far beneath. So eighty years ago there flowed between these kindred peoples a raging, chafing, angry torrent of war. But by the kindly ministries of international commerce and international visits there has grown up a feeling of inter- national friendship and good will. By the treaty of Washington, whereby, for the settlement of grave inter- national questions, the kindly spirit of international arbitration was substituted for the dread arbitrament of war, the two nations have been linked together in bonds, we trust, of perpetual amity and peace. We, Canadians, wish to work out our destiny on the northern half of this continent. We believe that Providence has a mission THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN PATRtOTISM. 207 for us to fulfil in this land. Of all lands which I have seen, and I have seen many, I do not know one where the conditions of the averajre mortal are so beneficent and happy as in our own. We have the largest fertile area for the food staples of the world that there is on this planet. Providence has dowered us with exhaustless resources of the field, the forest and the mine, of deep sea and lake and river fisheries. We have, I believe, the best system of constitutional government on the face of the earth. If our Legislatures do not carry out into practice the possibilities of our government system, the fault is our own, and if we have evils to complain of we can cure them any time we will by sending men of a difierent stamp to our legislative halls. We are also destined, I believe, to live side by side with the neighboring republic, I trust, in a spirit of neigh borli- ness and goodfellowship throughout all time. I would deprecate as a crime against humanity, against the common traditions which we hold, against the common language which we use, against the common literature which is our heritage, a strife with our American neighbors and friends. And only less distressing would be a war of retaliation in tariffs along our 4,000 miles of frontier. I trust that international treaties shall be interpreted by both coun- tries, not in a narrow, peddling and huckstering spirit, but in a large, liberal and generous method. I would deprecate exceedingly anything looking like political union with the great country to the south of us. But I do hope that Great Britain and her eldest daughter, America, and her great colonial empire throughout the world will be united for the uplifting and the betterment 16 ; I ■ its ;li (' it II IP' 208 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I n of the whole world, for the disarmament of the war- burdened nations of the earth, and for the preservation of international peace throughout the world. Such an allianct would do much to hasten the coming of the millennial day, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, when the nations shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks and " When the war drum throbs no longer, and the battle flag is furled, In the Parliament of man, the federation of the world." Before I close I wish to drop a thought into the future, as men drop pebbles into deep wells to see what echo they return. I wish to try to conceive the destiny of this country towards the close of the twentieth century, whose threshold we have almost reached. As I have stood on the boundless prairies of the west, I seemed, with Whittier, " To hear the tread of pioneers Of nations yet to be, The first low wash of waves, where yet Shall roll a human sea." I behold in my mind's eye a score of provinces each large enough for an old world empire, stretching from sea to sea. I doubt not that the child is yet living who shall lay his hand on the child's head who shall see 100,000,000 of people living on the broad and fertile area of our great Northwest — a great, free and happy people, dwelling in peace and prosperity under the folds of that Red Cross ■nw THE SPIRIT OF CANADIAN PATRIOTISM. 209 • V banner which is the symbol of liberty for the oppressed of every clime. Not merely one Pacific railway, but half a dozen shall stretch across the continent, uniting the Occident and the Orient, along which shall throb the pulses of commerce. Great cities, renowned as marts of trade throughout the world, shall stand thick along these high- ways of the nations. The church and school-house, those pioneers of civilization, shall crown every hill. If that future is to be ours, out of the past and present, it must grow. If that goodly structure is to be realized we must lay broad and deep and sure and stable its foun- dation in those principles of integrity and righteousness, which are the sure defence of nations. These shall be the pledge of the permanence of our institutions ; these shall be the corner stone of our national greatness. We owe much to the God-fearing men who a century ago laid the foundations of this commonwealth. We must build thereon in the same spirit of reverence for God's laws by which they were characterized. It is our proud boast that nowhere on earth is the Sabbath day so honored as in this land; nowhere is the sanctity of the family so maintained. There have not been, I believe, one hundred divorces in one hundred years in this broad Dominion. Nowhere is there a public press of purer character or of a higher moral tone. Without undue self-laudation we may say of our country, "Happy is the people whose God is the Lord ; yea, happy is the people that is in such ■ i'P m m m ' ' r I n 3- 'i a case. 210 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CANADA— A LINK IN THE EMPIRE. From a Speech by Principal Grant, of Qneen's U)iiversity, at the Parliament of Religiovs, Chicago, 1803. The supposed existence of a northwest passage to the Indies was the dream that allured hardy navigators who believed in the earth's rotundity but had not the data for determining its size. In our day it has been found that that great northwest passage is not by sea or river but by land. We have discovered that the shortest way from the old world to the world of Japan and China, is across Canada, and therefore Canada feels herself now to be the link between old Europe and the older East and also the link between the three great self-governing parts of the British Empire. How is it possible for a people so situated to be paro- chial ? How can they refuse to meet in a genial way the representatives of other races and religions ? Across our broad lands thousands are coming and going from east to west, and we are obliged to meet them as man should always meet man. Not only so, but on that great ocean, which is the true Mediterranean — and which is to be the arena of the future commerce of the world — our sons are showing that they intend to play an important part. Our position, as the fourth maritime nation of the world as regards ocean tonnage, shows the aptitude of our people for foreign trade, and sailors owning the ships they flail are more likely than any CANADA — A LINK IN THE EMPIRE. 211 ■f others to learn the lesson that the life of the world is one, that truth is one, that all men are brothers, and that the service of humanity is the highest form of religion. Therefore we feel that we have a right not so much to receive, as to join with you in extending, a welcome to brothers from different nations, whose forms of faith are different, but whose spiritual natures and necessities are the same, in whom dwelleth that Eternal Power and Person that is the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and by whom therefore He must be recognized when He is rightly presented to them, even as all needles must point to one pole. Our racial, political, historical and religious evolution educates us along the same line as does our place in the world. Our racial evolution Parkman has described in pages glowing with purple light. He has told of the two centuries of conflict between France and Britain for the possession of this fair young continent, and he has shown that while outward failure was the part of the former, all the heroisms and enduring successes were not with the conquerors. France gave without stint the great explor- ers, whose names are sown over this continent, thick as a field, martyrs and missionaries of deathless fame and saintly women whose works do still follow them. Their blood was not lost in vast inland seas and on rugged Laurentian and Huronian rocks. It fell on good soil and we see its permanent memorial now in a noble French- speaking people, enjoying their own language, laws and institutions under a flag identified with their liberties and under a constitution which they and their fathers have helped to hammer out. Their children sit side by side in our federal parliament with the children of their 1} ml, r^'h I'll 'a m V'; H M:, 212 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. j : ancestral foes and the only real contest between them is, which shall serve Canada best. The union of the two races and languages was needed to enable England to do her imperial work. Will not the same union enable Canada to do a like work, and does it not force us to see good, even in those whom our ancestors may have thought enemies ? Our political evolution has had the same lesson for us. It has taught us to borrow ideas with equal impartiality from sources apparently opposite. We have borrowed the federal idea from the United States, and our par- liamentary and judicial systems from Britain, and so we have formed a constitution better than that which either the mother country or the older daughter enjoys. At any rate, we made it ourselves and it fits us : and we have thus been taught that ideas belong to no one people, that they are the common property of man- kind, and that we should borrow new thoughts from every country that has found by experiment that they will work well. Our religious evolution has taught us the same thing. We have been enabled to accomplish a measure of religious unification greater than either the mother land or the United States has found possible. Eighteen years ago, for instance, all the Pr'ipfcvterian denominations united into one church, wide as tae Dominion of Canada. Immediately thereafter the Methodist churches took the same step, and this very month the Anglicans are doing likewise. Still farther, these great Protestant churches have appointed committees to see whether it is not possi- ble to have a wider union, and the young life of Canada j^ays "Amen " to the proposal. CANADA — A LINK IN THE EMPIRE. 213 Our place in history is equally significant. Instead of violently disrupting ourselves from the past, we have gradually evolved from one stage of self-government to another. We have therefore not been obliged to sacrifice any of the inestimihle treasures accumulated by our fathers, while at the same time we keep eyes and minds open to receive new teaching from this new world where everything is possible to man. It is easy for a people with such an environment to understand that where men differ they must be in error, that truth is the only thing which permanently unites, that every age has its prol)lems to solve, that it is the glory of the human mind to solve, or try to solve them, and that no church or nation has a monopoly of the truth or of the sDirit of the livins: God. IJ i im 214 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE GRANDEUK OF CANADA. Fro)a " Ocean to Oaan,'' h\i Fvincipal Grunf. Other countries have had to spend, through long years of youth, their strength and substance to purchase free- dom or the right to exist. Our lot is a happier one. Protected " against infection and the hand of war " by the might of Britain, we have but to go forward to open up for our children and the world what God has given into our possession, bind it together, consolidate it, and lay the foundations of an enduring future. Looking back over the vast breadth of the Dominion when our journeyings were ended, it rolled out before us like a panorama varied ar,d magnificent enough to stir the dullest spirit into patriotic emotion. For nearly 1,000 miles by railway between different points east of Lake Huron ; 2,185 miles by coach, wagon, pack and saddle horses ; 1,687 miles in steamers in the basin of the St. Lawrence and on Pacific waters, and 4<85 miles in canoes or row-boats ; we had travelled in all 5,1^00 miles from ocean to ocean over a country with features and resources more varied than our modes of locomotion. From the sea-pastures and coal-fields of Nova-Scotia and the forests of New Brunswick, from historic Louis- burg up the St. Lawrence to historic Quebec, through the great Province of Ontario and on lakes that are really seas, by copper and silver mines so rich as to recall stories of the Arabian Nights, though only the rim of the land has been explored ; on the chain of lakes where the Ojibwny is at home in his canoe to the great plains THE GRANDEUR OF CANADA. where the Cree is at home on his horse; through the Prairie Province of Manitoba and rolling meadows and park-like country, equally fertile, out of which a dozen Manitobas shall be carved in the next quarter of a cen- tury ; along the banks of "A full-fed liver, winding slow By herds, upon an endless plain," full-fed from the exhaustless glaciers of the Rocky Moun- tains and watering the great lone land ; over illimitable coal measures and deep woods to mountains which open their gates more widely than to our wealthier neighbors to lead us to the Pacific ; down deep gorges filled with mighty timber and rivers whose ancient deposits are gold beds, sands like those of Pactolus and channels choked with fish ; on to the harbors of mainland and island that look right across to the old Eastern Thule " with its rosy pearls and golden-roofed palaces," and offer trade and commerce to the swarming millions of Cathay ; over all this we had travelled, and it was all our own. " Where's the coward tV it would not dare To tight for sucli a land. " Thank God, we lu: ve i country. It is not our poverty of land, or seu, or vood, or mine that shall ever urge us to be traitors. But the destiny of a country depends not on its material re; .;ric^s. It depends on i .i character of its people. Here, ooo, is full .'ijround for confidence. We in everything "t,re sprung of earth's first blood, have titles manifold." We come of a race that never counted the number of its foes, noi' the u umber of its friends when freedom, loyaHy, or God w-is concerned. 216 PATtllOTIC RECITATIONS. n Two courses are possible, thoucrh it is almost an insult to say there are two, for one requires us to be ifalse to our traditions and history, to our future and to ourselves. Any number of courses may be proposed. The Abbe Sieges had a cabinet filled with pigeon-holes, in each of which was a cut-and-dried Constitution for France Doctrinaires fancy that at any time they ca,n say " Cr to, let us make a Constitution," and that they can ft it on a nation as readily as new coats could be fitted to their backs. There never was a profounder mistake. A nation grows and its Constitution must grow with it. The nation cannot be pulled up by the roots, cannot be disi.c- ciated from its past, without danger to its highest int^r; ests. Loyalty is essential to its fulfilment of a distinc- tive mission, essential to its true glory. Only one course therefore is possible for us, consistent with the self- respect that alone gains the respect of others ; to seek, in the consolidation of the Empire, a common Imperial citi- zenship with common responsibilities and a common inheritance. We are sometimes told that a Republican form of gov- ernment and Republican institutions are the same as our own. But they are not ours. Besides, they are not the same either in themselves or in their effects on character. And, as we are the children even more than we are the fathers and framers of our national institutions, our first duty is to hold fast those political forms the influences of which on national character have been proved by the tests of time and comparison to be the most ennobling. Republicanism is one-sided. Despotism is other-sided. The true form should combine and harmonize botli sides. THE GRANDEUR OF CANADA. 217 botl. The favorite principle of Robertson, of Brighton, that the whole truth in the realm of the spiritual consists in the union of two truths that are contrary but not contra- dictory, applies to the social and political realms. What two contrary truths then lie at the basis of a complete national Constitution ? First, that the will of the people is the will of God. Secondly, that the will of God must be the will of the people. That the people are the ulti- mate fountain of all power is one truth. That govern- ment is of God and should be strong, stable, and above the people, is another. In other words, the elements of liberty and of authority should both be represented. A republic recognizes only the first. In consequence, popu- lar appeals are made to that which is lowest in our nature, for such appeals are made to the greatest number and are most likely to be immediately successful. The character of public men and the national character deter- iorate. Neither dignity, elevation of sentiment, nor refinement of manners is cultivated. Still more fatal consequences, the ark of the nation is carried periodically into party fights. For the time being, the citizen Kv .: country; he has only his party, and the unity of the coantry is conatantly imperilled. On the other hv,\ I, a despotism is based entirely on the element of To unite those elements in due proportions has been and is the aim of every true statesman. Let the history of liberty and progress, of the development of human character to all its rightful issues, testify where they have been more wisely blended than in the British Con- 1' Mv ! ;. 'iv'r. Hi. J ' 218 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. i ( We have a fixed centre of authority and government, a fountain of honor above us that all reverence, from which a thousand gracious influences come down to every rank ; and along with that fixity we have, instead of a cast-iron yoke for four years, representative institutions so elastic that they respond within their own sphere to every breath of popular sentiment. In harmony with this central part of our Constitution, we have an inde- pendent judiciary instead of judges — too often the crea- tures of wealthy adventurers or the echoes of passing popular scL naent. And move valuable than the direct advantages ' -^ isubtle, indirect influences that flow from our unbro . '^ connection with the past, the dynam- ical though imponderable forces that determine the tone and mould the character of a people. " In our halls is hv»ng armory of the invincible knights of old." Ours are the graves of our forefathers and a historical continuity that is the best safeguard against revolutionary fever ; ours the names " to which a thousand memories call"; ours is the flag that symbolizes the highest thoughts that have ever descended from Heaven to earth ; ours the Queen whose virtues transmute the sacred principle of loyalty into a personal affection. PART III. UNIVERSAL PATRIOTISM. m • i it I 1 ■ Hi ' 1^1 S -l PART III. > t UNIVERSAL PATRIOTISM. MY COUNTRY. There is a land, of every land the pride, Beloved of Heaven o'er all the world beside, Where brighter suns dispense serener light, And milder moons imparadise the night ; A land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth, Time-tutored age, and love exalted youth. The wandering mariner, whose eye explores The wealthiest isles, the most enchanting shores, Views not a realm so beautiful and fair, Nor breathes the spirit of a purer air. In every clime, the magnet of his sou' Touched by remembrance, trembles to that pole ; For in this land of Heaven's peculiar race, The heritage of Nature's noblest grace. There is a spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest, Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride, While in his softened looks benignly blend The sire, the son, the husband, brother friend. Here woman reigns ; the mother, daughter, wife, Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life ; In^tlie clear heaven of her delightful eye An angel-guard of love and graces lie ; Around her knees domestic duties meet. And tireside pleasures gambol at her feet. Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found ? Art thou a man ? — a patriot I — look around ; Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam, That land thy country, and that spot thy home. Jaaiks Montgomery. m hi ij 222 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. BRITANNIA. All hail, my country ! hail to thee. Thou birthplace of the brave and free, Thou ruler upon land and sea, Britannia ! No thing of change, no mushroom state, In wisdom thou canst work and wait, Or wield the thunderbolts of Fate, Britannia ! Oh, nobly hast thou played thy part ! What struggles of the head and heart Have gone to make thee what thou art, Britannia I Great mother of the mighty dead ! Sir Walter sang and Nelson ble-^l To weave a garland for thy head, Britannia ! And Watt, the great magician, wrought. And Shakespeare ranged the realms of thought, And Newton soared, and Cromwell fought, Britannia ! And Milton's high seraphic art. And Bacon's head and Burns' heart Are glories that shall ne'er depart, Britannia ! These Ri*e the soul of thy renown, The gems immortal in thy crown, The suns that never shall go down, Britannia ! O, still have faith in truth divine ! Aye sacred be thy seal and sign. And and glory shall be thine, power Britannia A. McLachlan. ST. GEORGES FLAG. 223 ST. GEORGIE'S FLAG. St. George for merry Englaiitl, ho, up with tlie pennon })rave, It hath otreamed o'er many a eoniiuered land, o'er many a distant wave ; Up with the red-cross banner, 'tis a gk)rious sight to see, The noblest flag that ever flew, stream out so fair anc^ free. It floated o'er proud Acre's towers in days long passed away, When Lion Richard led his host at the holy tomb to prisy ; And still the crescent paler waned before the hallowed sign, That tiew hi trium})h o'er thy fields, oh, sacred Palestine. It cheered old England's st;ilwart sons thro' Cress^'s hard won fray. It waved o'er Royal Henry's head on Agincourt's proud day ; The sultry breath of sunny Spain its crimson cross has fanned, And gallant hosts have borne it on through India's burning land. Oh, many a flag of gaudier hue the fanning breeze may wave, But none that bears a nobler name, more stainless or more brave ; Nine that hath led more dauntless hearts to battle for the right, None that have Hown more proudly o'er the crimson Held of fight Up with the brave old banner then, the peerless and the bold, True hearts will rally round it yet as in the days of old ; And still on every English lip the thrilling cry shall be St. George for merry England, ho, God and our own country. Mis. Faulkner. • if' ; I :. UJ 16 a ! 224 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE HOMES OF ENGLAND. Tho stiitely liomes of England, How beautiful they .stand ! Amidst tlxeir tall ancestral trees I O.'er all the pleasant land I The deer across the greensward l»ound Through shade and sunny gleam, And the swan glides past them with the sound Of some rejoicing stream. The merrv homes of England I Around their hearths by night, What gladsitme looks of household love Meet in the ruddy light ! There woman's voice Hows forth in song, Or childhood's tale is told ; Or lips move tunefully along Some glorious i)age of old. The cottage homes of England I By thousands on her plains, They are smiling o'er the silvery brook. And round the hamlet fanes. Through glowing orchards forth they peep. Each from its nook of leaves ; And fearless there the lnwly sleep, As the bird beneath their eaves. The free, fair homes of England, Long, long in hut and hall. May hearts of native proof be reared To guard each hallow'd wall. And green forever be the groves, And bright the flowery sod. Where first the child's glad spirit loves Its cnnntry and its God. Mrs. Hemans. SCOTLAND. 225 SCOTLAND. O, Cak'flonm ! can it be A wonder that we love thee ? And tho' we be afar from thee, We place no land above thee. For tho' in foreign lands we dwell, A sacred tie has bound lis ; Our hearts can never lose the spell Thy mountains threw around us. And tho' thy breath is cold and keen, And rugged are thy features ; Yet, O, my country ! Thou hast been The nurse of noble natures. Does not thine humblest peasant know The truth of truths supernal — That rank is but a passing show, But moral worth's eternal. Scotland I the humblest son of thine Is heir to living pages Heir to a literature divine, Bequeathed to all the ages ; Heir to those songs and ballads old, Brimful of love and pity, Which fall like showers of living gold. In many a homely ditty. O, we may leave our mountains high, Our grand old hills of heather ; Yet song's the tie — the sacred tie — Which binds our hearts together. Then here's to all who fight the wrong. And may their hopes ne'er wither — To Scotland, freedom, love and song, For aye they go together. A. McLachlan. i v\ ' 'be Mm 226 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE IRISH HARP. The harj) that in darkness and silence forsaken, Had slumbered while iiges rolled slowly along, Once more in its (»wn native land shall awaken, And pour from its chords all the raptures of song. Unhurt by the mildews that o'er it were stealing. Its strings in full chorus shall warble sublime, Shall rouse all the ardor of patriot feeling, And snatch a bright wreath from the relics of time. Sweet harp ! on some tale of past sorrow while dwelling, Still plaintive and sad breathes the murmuring sound ; Tlie bright, sparkling tear of fond sympathy swelling, Shall freshen the shamrock that twines thee around. Sweet harp ! o'er thy tones, though with fervent devotion, We mingle a patriot smile with a tear, Not fainter the smiles, nt)t less pure the emotion, That waits on the cause which assembles us here. Behold where the child of atiiiction and sorrow. Whose eyes never gazed on the splendor of light. Is taught from thy trembling vibration to borrow One mild ray of joy, midst the horrors of night. No more shall he wander unknown and neglected, From Winter's loud tempests a shelter to find ; No more a sad outcast, forlorn and dejected, Shall poverty add to the woes of the blind. Miss Balfour. MAKSKILT.AISE IIYMX. 227 MARSEILLAISE HYMN. Yu Sons of France, awaki; to glory. Hark, hark, wliat myriads bid you rise I Your children, wives, and yrandHires lioaiy. Behold the'r tears and hear their cries Sliall hateful tyrants mischiefs hreeditig. With hireling hosts, a ruthan band, Affright and desolate the land, While ])eace and lil)erty lie bleeding. Chorus : To arras, to arms, ye brave I Th' avenging sword un.slieathe I March on, march on, all hearts resolved On victory or death 1 * Now, now the dangerous storm is rolling Which treacherous kings confed rate raise ; The dogs of war, let loose are howling. And lo, our walls and cities blaze. And shall we basely view the ruin, While lawless force, with guilty stride, Spreads desolation far and wide. With crimes and blood his hands imbruing '. Chorus : To arms, to arms, ye brave I Th' avenging sword unsheathe I March on, march on, all hearts resolved On victory or death I 1 1 With luxury and pride surrounded, The vile, insatiate despots dare, Their thirst of gold and power unbounded, To mete and vend the light and air. * When this selection is used as a recitation, the whole school might jom in the chorus as a musical exercise. 228 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. liike hensta of burden would they load us, Like gods, would bid their slaves adore I But man is man, and who is more ? Then, shall they longer hish and goad ns i Chorus : To arms, to arms, ye brave ! Th' avenging sword unsheathe I March on, march on, all hearts resolved On victory or death I O Liberty, can man resign thee. Once having felt thy genorous liamo : Can dungeons, bolts, or l>ax's con tine thee ! Or wliips thy noble s[)irit tame f Too long the world has wept, bewailing That falsehood's dagger tyrnnta wield, — But freedom is our sword and shield, And all their arts are unavailing. Choris : To arms, to arms, ye brave I Th' avenging sword unsheathe I March on, march on, all lioarts resolved On victory i)r death. RoucjKT De Lisle. THE SONfjl OF THE CAMP. 229 Ived >s< )lvecl h: LisLK. THE SONG OF THE CAMP. An lucifhiii of the Crimean War. *' Give us a song ! "' the soldier cried, The outer trenches guurdiug, When the heuted guns of the camp allied Grew weary of bombarding. The dark Redan, in silent scofi", Lay, grim and threatening, under ; And the tawny mound of the MalakoflF No longer belched its thunder. There was a pause. A guardsman said : " We storm the forts to-morrow ; Sing while we may, another day, Will bring enough of sorrow." They lay along the battery's side. Below the smoking cannon ; Brave hearts, from Severn and from Clyde, And from the banks of Shannon. They sang of love and not of fame ; Forgot was Britain's glory ; Each heart recalled a different name, But all sang "Annie Laurie." Voice after voice caught up the song, Until its tender })as.sion Rose, like an anthem, rich and strong, — Their battle-eve confession. Dear girl, her name he dared not speak, But, as the song grew louder, Soniething u])on the soldier's cheek Washed off the stains of powder. ■' i'\ .m ^f 230 PATIUOTIC HKCITATIONS. Beyond the darkening ocean burned Tlie Moody sunset's embers. While the CrinicJin valleys laarned How English lovo reuieniberH. And (»nce again a fire of iioU Rained on Hie Russian quarters, With scream of shot, and burst of shell. And bellowing of the mortars ' And Irish Nora's eyes are dim For a singer, (hnnb and gory ; And English Maiy m«)urns for him Who sang of " Ainiie Laurie." Sleep, soldiers ! still in honore<l rest Your truth and valor wearing. The bravest are the tenderest, — The loving are the daring. Bayard Taylor. THE BKITER WAY. 231 THE BETTER WAY. Who serves his (country best { Not he who, for a brief and stormy .space, Leads forth her iirniies to the fierce affray. Short is the time of turmoil and unrest, Long years of peace succeed it and replace ; There is a better way. He serves his country best Who joins the tide that lifts her nobly on ; For speech has myriad tongues for every day. And song but one ; and law within the breast Is stronger than the graven law on stone ; There is a better way. He serves his country best Who lives pure life, and doeth righteous deed, And walks straight i)aths, however others stray And leaves his sons as uttermost be<iue8t A stainless record which all men may read ; This is a better way. No drop but serves the slowly lifting tide, No dew but has an errand to some Hower, No smallest star but sheds S(jme helpful ray, And man by man, each giving to the rest, Makes the firm bulwark of tho country's power ; There is no better way. Susan CoouixiK. ii I i! 232 PATRIOTIC RKCITATIONS. WHAT MAKES A HERO i What makes a hero ? Not success, not fame, Inebriate merchants, and the loud acclaim Of glutted Avarice, cai)s tossed up in air, Or pen of journalist, with ilourish fair, Bells pealed, stars, ribbons and a titular name, — These, though liis rightful tribute, he can spare ; His rightful tribute, — not his end or aim, Or true reward ; for never yet did these Refresh the soul, or set the heart at ease. What makes a hero i" An heroic mind, Expressed in action, in endurance proved. And if there be pre-eminence of right, Derived through pain well suffered, to the height Of rank heroic, 'tis to bear unmoved, Not toil, not risk, not rage of sea or wind, Not the brute fury of barbarians blind, But worse, — ingratitude and poisonous darts Launched by the country he had served and loved ; This, with a free, unclouded spirit pure, This, in the strength of silence to endure, A dignity to noble deeds imparts. Beyond the gauds and trappings of renown ; This is the hero's complement and crown ; This missed, one struggle had been wanting still, One glorious triumph of the heroic will, One self-approved in his heart of hearts. Henry Taylor. ' I AMERICAS GREETING TO ENGLAND. 233 AMERICA'S GREETING TO ENGLAND. All hail I thou noble land, Our fathers' native soil ! Oh ! stretch tliy mighty hand, Gigantic grown by toil, O'er the vast Atlantic wave to our shore ! For thou, with magic might. Canst reach to where the light Of Phoebus travels bright The world o'er ! The genius of our clime, From pine-embattled steep. Shall hail the guest sublime ; While the Tritons of the deep With their conchs the kindred league shall proclaim. Then let the world combine, — O'er the main, our naval line. Like the Milky Way, shall shine Bright in fame I Though ages long have passed Since our fathers left their home, Their pilot in the blast, O'er untra veiled seas to roam, — Yet lives the blood of England in our veins I And shall we not proclaim That blood of honest fame, Which no tyranny can tamo By its chains ? W bile the language free and bold. Which the bard of Avon sun o> Vi' In which our Milton told How the vault of heaven rung, WSi II i • 234 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. s*s When Satan, blasted, fell with all his host, — While this, with reverence meet, Ten thousand echoes greet, From rock to rock repeat Round our coast ! While the manners, while the arts. That mould a nation's soul, Still cling around our hearts, — Between let ocean roll. Our joint communion breaking with the Sun ; Yet, still, from either beach The voice of blood shall reach, More audible than speech, ' ' We are one ! " Washinoton Allston. 1 a LUCKNOW AND JESSIE BROWN. 235 II, LUCKNOW AND JESSIE BROWN. Oh, that last day in Luck now fort ! We knew that it was the last ; That the enemy's lines crept surely on, And the end was coining fast. To yield to that foe was worse than death, And the men and we all worked on ; It was one day more of smoke and roar, And then it would all be done. There was (me of us, a corporal's wife, A fair, young, gentle thing. Wasted with fever in the siege, And her mind was wandering. ' She lay on the ground in her Scottish i)laid. And I took her head on my knee ; '* When my father comes hame frae the pleugh," she said " Oh I then please waken me." She slept like a child on her father's floor, In the flecking of woodbine-shade. When the house-dog sprawls by the open door, And the mother's wheel is staid. It was smoke and roar and powder-stench. And hopeless waiting for death ; And the soldier's wife, like a full-tired child, Seemed scarce to draw her breath. I sank to slee.) ; and I had my dream Of an English village-lane And wall and garden — but one wild scream Brought me back to the roar again. I ill I J. I ti '- t; 236 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. There Jessie Brown stood listening, Till a sudden gladness broke All over her face, and she caught my hand And drew nie near, as she spoke : " The Hielanders ! Oh ! dinna ye hear The slogan far awa ? The McGregor's ? Oh I I ken it weel ; It's the grandest o' them a' ! ." God Mess the bonny Hielanders I We're saved I we're saved ! " she cried ; And fell on her knees, and thanks to God Flowed iorth like a full flood-tide. Along the battery-line her cry Had fallen among the men And they started back — they wore there to die ; But was life so near them then ? They listened for life ; the rattling tire Far off, and the far-off roar Were all ; and the colonel shook his head, Ana they turned to their guns once more. But Jessie said : "The slogan's done ; But winna ye hear it noo ? The Campbells are comin^ ! It's nae a dream ; Our succors hae broken through ! " We heard the roar and the rattle afar, But the pipes we could not hear ; So the men plied their work of hopeless war, And knew that the end was near. It was not long ere it made its way — A shrilling, ceaseless sound ; It was no noise from the strife afar, Or the sappers underground. LUCKNOW AND JESSIE BROWN. It tins the pipes of the Highlanders ! And now they played Auld Laiuj Syne; It came to our men like the voice of (rod, And they shouted along the line . And they wept, and shook one another's hands, An<l the women sobbed in a crowd ; And everyone knelt down where ho stood And we all thanked God aloud. That happy time, when wo welcomed thorn, Our men put Jessie first ; And the general gave her his hand, and cheers Like a storm from the soldiers burst. And the pipers' ribbons and tartans streamed, Marching round and round our line ; And our joyful cheers were broken with tears As the pipes played Avid Lawj Syne. Robert Lowell, 237 1 t I ■ ! -:> i li ^3<S PATRrOTIC RECITATIONS. THE WATCH BY THE RHINE. (German National Song.) A cry bursts forth like thunder-sound, Like swords' fierce clash, like waves' rebound, — To the Rhine, the Rhine, the German Rhine I To guard the river, who '11 combine '( Dear Fatherland, good trusi bo thine, — Fast stands, and true, the watcli by the Rhine.* From myriad mouths the summons Hies, And l)rightly iiash a myriad eyes I Brave, htmest, true, the Germans come, To guard the sacred bounds <tf home. And though the strife bring death to me. No foreign river shalt thou be : Exhaustless as thy watery flood Is German land in hero-blood. If upward he his glance do'h send. There hero-fathers downward bend. He sweareth, proud to fight his part, Thou Rhine, be German, like my heart. While yet one drop of blood thou 'It yield, While yet one hand the sword can wield, While grasps the rifle one bold hand. No foe shall tread thy sacred strand. The oath peals forth, the wave runs by. Our flags, unfurled, are waving high. To the Rhine, the Rhine, the German Rhine ! To keep thee free we 11 all combine. Max Schnbckbnburger. * When this selection is used as a recitation, the whole school should | join in the chorus as a musical exercise. THE STAMP OF MANHOOD. 239 THE STAMP OF MANHOOD. Come, let us sing to human worth, 'Tis big hearts that we cherish, For they're the glory of the earth And never wholly perish. All nature loves the good and brave, And showers her gifts upon them ; She hates the tyrant and the slave For manhood's stamp's not on them. Thine eye shall be the index true Of what thy soul conceiveth ; Thy words shall utter firm and few The things thy heart believeth ; Thy voice shall have the ring of steel, The good and brave will own thee ; Where'er thou art each heart shall feel That manhood is upon thee. And if stern duties are assign'd And no one near to love thee, Be resolute, nor look behind, ^ The Heavens are still above thee ; And follow truth where'er she leads, Though bigots frown npon thee, Your witnesses will be your deeds If manhood's stamp is on thee. Let hope arounJ thy heart entwine Thy loadstar's love and duty, And every word and deed of thine Will be embalmed in beauty, And goodness from her highest throne Will blessings pour upon thee, Thee Nature's soul will love to own If manhood's stamp is on thee. 17 A. M<jLachla.n. i) l; n 240 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I ? 1(1 i- A PLEA FOR LIBERTY. It stirs the pulses of the blood With thrills of joy, to hear again How lion-hearted heroes stood And fought, on many a gory plain, For freedom in the olden days When stern oppression ruled the world ; — Or read, in warm impassioned lays, How tyrants from their thrones were hurled. And shall we tamely wear a yoke, And slavish fetters on the mind. Esteeming all, some teacher spoke Or wrote, as gold refined ? Opinion, sentiment or creed Which others firmly held and taught, Cannot to us be truth indeed, Till it becomes our living thought. When round the walls the foemen fight, New points to higher interest rise ; The truths, which once were lost to sight, May be the pearls which most we prize. Each tone from ages past possessed Whatever guiding light it brings, Is not a goal in which to rest, But steps to climb to higher things. As one who climbs some mountain height, That grandly lifts its peaks of snow. Beholds, with wonder and delight. Wild scenes, invisible below, So through the gliding years of time. As suns revolve and earth grows old, The snowy hills of thought we climb, And broader fields of truth behold. A PLEA FOR LIB^^RTY. 241 Shall I condemn, with stem disdain. The man who will not sign my creed ; Though he is with me in the main, And side by side in kindly deed ? If history's darkest page is traced In blood, 1)y Christian bigots stern. The war of creeds will never cease, Till charity from Christ we learn. In thought, there must be false and true, — There must be wrong and right in deed ; Yet truth should value what we do, As highly as a lifeless creed. The thoughts despised, as new or strange, May yet in real triumph reign ; — The form and garb of truth may change, And yet the inner life remain. E. H. Dewart, D.D. li -I 'it m .4. snsaimaBrwaKa mmsmm 242 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. BATTLE-HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord ; He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored ; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword ; His truth is inarching on. I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps ; They have builded him an altar in the evening dews and damps ; I have read his righteous sentence by tlie dim and flaring lamps : His day is marching on. I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel : *' As yp deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal ; Let tiie Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel, Since God is marching on." He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat ; He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment seat ; Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer him ! be jubilant, my feet ! Our God is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea. With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me ; As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, While God is marching on, Julia Ward Howe. THE LAUNCH OF THE SHIP. 243 HI THE LAUNCH OF THE SHIP. " Build me straight, () worthy Master ! Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, That shall laugh at all disaster. And with wave and whirlwind wrestle ! " The merchant's word Delighted the Master heard ; For his heart was in his work, and the heart Give',h grace unto every art. And with a voice that was full of glee, He answered, " Ere long we will launch A vessel as goodly, and strong, and staunch As ever weathered a wintry sea ! " All is finished ! and at length Has come the bridal day Of beauty and of strength. To-day the vessel shall be launched ! With fleecy clouds the sky is blanched ; And o'er the bay. Slowly, in all his splendors dight. The great sun rises to behold the sight. The ocean old Centuries old. Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled, Paces restless to and fro, Up and down the sands of gold. His beating heart is not at rest ; And far and wide, With ceaseless flow, His beard of snow Heaves with the heaving of his breast. He waits inipaitent for his bride. Tiiere she stands. With her foot upon the sands. 244 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Decked with flags and streamers gay, In honor of her marriage-day , Her snow-white signals fluttering, blending, Round her like a veil descending, Ready to be The bride of the gray old sea. Then the Master, With a gesture of command, Waved his hand ; And at the word, Loud and sudden there was heard, All around them and below, The sound of hammers, blow on blow. Knocking away the shores and spurs, And see ! she stirs ! She starts, — she moves, — she seems to feel The thrill of life along her keel. And si)urning with her foot the gromid, With one exulting, joyous bound, She leaps into the ocean's arms ! And lo ! from the assembled crowd There rose a shout, prolonged and loud, That to the ocean seemed to say, — "Take her, O bridegroom, old and gray ; Take her to thy protecting arms, With all her youth, and all her charms ! " How beautiful she is ! how fair She lies within those arms that press Her form with many a soft caress Of tenderness and watchful wire ! Sail forth into the sea, ship ! Through wind and wave, right onward steer ! The moistened eye, tlie trembling lip, Are not the signs of doubt or fear. THE LAUNCH OF THE SHIP. 245 Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State I Sail on, O Union, strong and great I Humanity, with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate ! We know what Master laid thy keel, What W^orkman wrought thy ribs of steel, Who made each mast, and sail and rope, What anvils rang, what hammers beat. In what a forge and what a heat, Were shaped the anchors of thy hope ' Fear not each sudden sound and shock. 'Tis of the wave and not the rock ; 'Tis but the Happing of the sail. And not a rent made by the gale ! In spite of rock and tempest's roar, In spite of false lights on the shore, Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea ! Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee ; Our hearts, our hopes, our prayors^ our tears, Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, Are all with thee, — are all with thee ! LONOFEI-T.OW. I f, ■ ■ ■ 246 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE GOOD TIME COMING. There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming : We may not live to see the day, But earth shall glisten in the ray Of the good time coming. Cannon balls may aid the truth, But thought's a weapon stronger ; We'll win the battle by its aid — Wait a little longer. There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming : The pen shall supersede the sword, And Right, not Might, shall be the lord, In the good time coming. Worth, not Birth, shall rule mankind, And be acknowledged stronger ; The proper impulse has been given ; Wait a little longer. There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming ; War in all men's eyes should be A monster of iniquity In the good time coming. Nations shall not (juarrel then, To prove which is the stronger ; The proper impulse has been given ; Wait a little longer. There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming : Hateful rivalries of creed Shnll not make their martyrs bleed THE GOOD TIME COMING. 247 In the good time coming. Religion shall be shorn of pride, And flourish all the stronger ; And Charity shall trim her lamp ; Wait a little longer. There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming ; Let us aid it all we can — Every woman, every man, — The good time coming. Smallest helps, if rightly given, Make the impulse stronger ; 'Twill be strong enough one day ; Wait a little longer. Charles Mackay. i ti y ,1 HI 1 ' H 248 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CARDINAL WOLSEY. Nay, then, farewell ! I have touched the highest p(nnt of all my greatness, And, from that full meridian of my glory, I haste now to my setting : I shall fall Like a bright exhalation in the evening, And no man see me more. Farewv^ll, a long farewell, to all my greatness ! This is tae state of man : to day he puts forth The tender loaves of hope ; to-morrow blossoms. And bears his blushing honors thick upon him : The third day comes a frost, a killing frost ; And when he thinks, — good, oasy man, — full surely His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root, And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured. Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, These many summers in a sea of glory ; But far beyond my depth : my high-blown pride At length broke under me ; and now has left me, Weary and old with service, to the mercy Of a rude stream that must forever hide me. Vain pomp and glory oi this world, I hate ye ! I feel my heart now opened. Oh, how wretched Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favors ! There is, betwixt that smile he would aspire to. That sweet aspect of i)rinces, and their ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have. And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again ! Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear In all my misories : but thou hast forced me, Out of thy honest truth to play the woman. CARDINAL WOLSEY. 249 Let's dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell ; And when I am forgotten, as I shall be, And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of, — say I taught thee, — Say Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory. And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor, Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it. Mark but my fall, and that which ruined me ! Cromwell, T charge thee, fling away ambition ; By that sin fell the angels : how can man, then, The image of his Maker, hope to win by't ] Love thyself last ; cherish those hearts that hate thee, — Corruption wins not more than honesty ; Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not. Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's Thy God's, and truth's ; then, if thou fall'st, O Cromwell, Thou fall'st a blessed martyr ! Shakespeare. n 260 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. CLEAR THE WAY. Men of thought, be up and stirring, Night and day ! Sow the seed — withdraw the curtain — Clear the way ! Men of action, aid and cheer them As ye may ! There's a fount about to stream, There's a light about to beam. There's a warmth about to glow. There's a flower about to blow. There's a midnight blackness changing Into gray. Men of thought, and men of action. Clear the way ! Once the welcome light has broken, Who shall say What the unmingled glories Of the day ? What the evil that shall perish In its ray ? Aid the dawning, tongue and pen ; Aid it, hopes of honest men ; Aid it, paper — aid it, type — Aid it, for the hour is ripe. And our earnest must not slacken Into play. Men of thought, and men of action. Clear the way. Lo I a cloud's about to vanish F:om the day ; Lo ! a right's about to conquer — Clear the way ! And a brazen wrong to crumble Into clay. With that right shall many more Enter smiling at the door ; With the giant wrong shall fall Many others, great and small, That for ages long have held us For their prey ; Men of thought, and men of action, Clear the way ! Anon. HYMN OF THE VAUDOIS MOUNTAINEERS. 251 HYMN OF THE VAUDOIS MOUNTAINEERS. For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, our God, our fathers' God. Thou hast made Thy children mighty by the touch of the mountain sod, Thou hast fixed our ark of refuge where the spoiler's foot ne'er trod ; For the strength of the hilk we bless Thee, our God, our fathers' (Jod. We are watchers of a beacon whoae light nmst never die ; We are guardians of an altar 'midsi, the silence of the sky ; The rocks yield founts of courage, struck forth as by thy rod ; For the strength of the hills we bless 1 hee, our God, our fathers' God. For the dark resounding caverns, where Thy still, small voice is heard ; For the strong pines of the forests, that by Thy breath are stirred ; For the storms, on whose free pinions thy spirit walks abroad ; For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, our Goil, our fathers God. The royal eagle darteth on his quarry from the heights, And the stag that knows no master seeks there his wild delights ; But we for Thy communion have sought the mountain sod ; For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, our God, our fathers' God. The banner of the chieftain, far, far below us waves ; The war-horse of the spearman cannot reach our lofty caves ; The dark clouds wrap the threshold of Freodoni's last abode ; For the strength of the hills we bless Thee, our God, our fathers' God. For the shadow of Thy presence, round our camp of rock out- spread ; For the stern defiles of battle, bearing record of our dead ; For the snows, and for the torrents, for the free heart's burial sob ; b'or the strength of the hills we bless Thee, our God, our fathers' God. Mrs. HsMANs. 11 fl 252 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I BURIAL OF SIR JOHN MOORE. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, Ah his corse to tlie rampart we hurried : Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot, O'er the grave where our hero was buried We buried him darkly, at dead of night, The sods with our bayonets turning ; By the struggling moon-beam's misty liglit, And the lantern dimly burning. No useless coifin enclosed his breast, Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him ; But he lay like a warrior taking his rest — With his martial cloak around him. Few and short were the prayers we said. And we spoke not a word of sorrow ; But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, And we bitterly thought of the morrow. We thought, as we hollow'd his narrow bed, And smooth'd down his lonely pillow, That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head, And we far away on the billow. Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone, And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him ; But little he'll reck if they let him sleep on, In the grave where a Briton has laid him. But half of our heavy task was done. When the clock struck the hour for retiring ; And we heard the distant and random gun, That the foe was sullenly firing. Slowly and sadly we laid him down, From the field of his fame fresh and gory ; We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone — But we left him alone in his glory ! C. WOLPB. DUTY TO ONES COUNTRY, 258 DUTY TO ONE'S COUNTRY. Our country is a wliole, my Publius, Of which wo all are parts ; nor should a citizen Regard his interests as distinct from hers ; No hopes or fears should t<mch his patriot soul But what affect her honor or her shame. E'en when in hostile fields he bleeds to save her, 'Tis not his blood he loses, 'tis his country's ; He only pays her back a debt he owes. To her he's bound for birth and education, Her laws secure him from domestic feuds, And from the foreign foe her arms protect him. She lends him honors, dignity, and rank, His wrongs revenges, and his merits pays ; And, like a tender and indulgent mother, Loads him with comforts, and would make his state As blessed as nature and the gods tlesigned it. Such gifts my son, have their alloy of pain, And let the unworthy wretch, who will not Jaear His portion of the public burden, lose The advantages it yields ; let him retire From the dear blessings of a social life, And from the sacred laws which guard those blessings I Renounce the civilized abodes of man ; With kindred brutes, one common shelter seek In horrid wilds, and dens, and dreary caves, And with their shaggy tenants share the spoils ; Or, if the shaggy hunters miss their prey, From scattered acorns pick a scanty meal. Far from the sweet civilities of life ; There let him live, and vaunt his wretched freedom, While we, obedient to the laws that guard us, Guard them, and live or die, aa they decree. William Cowper. f\ 'i ,. 254 PATHIOTFC RECITATIONS. "THE GLORIOUS STRIFE." The followinq lines by an unknown auCnor, vjritten at the time of the atruyyU ofviodern Greece for independmcc, in 1S22, are in the spirit of patriotic aspiration. On, on to tlie Just and glorious strife I With your swords ycuir freedom shielding ; Nay, resign, if it must bo so, even life. But die, at least, unyielding. On to the strife, for 'twere far more meet To sink with the foe.s who bay you, Than crouch like dogs at your tyrants' feet. And smile on the swords that slay you. Shall the Pagan slaves, be masters, then, Of the land which your fathers gave you ? Shall the infidel lord it o'er Christian men, When your own good swords may save you ? No ! let him fuel that their arms are strong, That their courage will fail them never, Who strike to repay long years of wrong, And bury past shame forever. Let him know there are hearts, however bowed. By the chains which he threw around them, That will rise, like a spirit, from pall and shroud, And cry ' ' woe ! " to the slaves who bound them. Let him learn how weak is a tyrant's might Against Liberty's sword contending ; And find how the sons of Greece can tight. Their freedom and land defending. Then on, then on to the glorious strife ! With your swords your country shielding ; And resign, if it must be so, even life, But die, at least, unyielding. Akon. WILLIAM TELL TO HIS MEN. 255 WILLIAM TELL TO HIS MEX. My friends, our country must be free 1 The liind Is never lost that 1ms a son to ri!j;ht her, — And here are troops of sons, and loyal ones I Strong in her cliildi-e;) sliouM a mother l»e : Shall ours be helples.s. that has sons like us '. (iod save our native land, whoever pays The ransom that redeems her I Now, what w;iit we .' For word to move upon the (hv3tar<l foe I Upon him, then ! Now think ye on the thinics Ye most do love !— husbands and fatlu-rs, on Their wives and ihildren ; lovers, on their beloved; And all, ui)on their ci>utitry ' When you use Your weaj)ons, think on the beseeching eyes, To whet them could have lent you tears for water I Still, wheiesoe'er men strike for justice, there Is God ; and now beneath His heaven wi- stand. The nations round us bear a foreign yoke. For they have yielded to the C'»n(|Ueror. Nay, e'en within our frontiers juay be found Some that owe villain service to a loid, — A race of l)onded serfs, froin sire to son. But we, the genuine race of ancient Swiss, Have kept our freedom, from the first, till now. Never to j)rinces have we bowed the knee. What said our fathers when the Empei'or Pronounced a judgment in the Abbey's favor Awarding lands beyond his jurisdiction '. What was their answer { This : " 1 he grant is void. No Emperor can bestow what is our own ■ And if the Empire shall deny us justice, We can, within our mountains, right ourselves." Thus spake our fathers ; and shall we endure The shame and infamy of this new yoke, And from the vassal brook what never king Dared, in the fullness of his power, attempt ? 18 256 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. This soil wo have created for ourselves, By the hard labor of our hands ; we've changed The giant forest, that was erst the haunt Of savage bears, into a home for nian ; Blasted the solid rock ; o'er the ai'vas Thrown the tirm bridge for the wavfaring man. By the i)oS8es8ion of a thousand years, The soil is ours. And shall an alien lord, Himself a vassal, dare to venture here, On our own hearths insult us, and attempt To forge the chains of bondage for ouf hands, And do us shame on o>ir own proper soil / Is there no help against such wrong as this / Ves 1 there's a limit to the despot's power. When the oppressed looks round in vain for justice, When his sore burden may no more be borne. With fearless heart he makes appeal to Heaven, And thence brings down his everlastn)g rights, Oh, now be men, or never I From your hearts Thrust the unbidden feet, that from their nooks Drove forth y(jur aged sires, your wives and babes I The couches, your fair-handed daughters used To spread, let not the vaunting stranger press. Weary from spoiling you I Your roofs, that hear The wanton riot of the intruding guest, That mocks their uuisters, - clear them for the sake Of the manhood to which all that's precious clings, Else perishes. The land that bore you oli, Do honcjr to her I Let her glory in Your breeding ! Rescue her I Revenge her,— or Ne'er call her mother more ! Come on, my friends. And where you take your stand upon the tield, However you advance, resolve on this, That you will ne'er recede, while from the tongues Of age, and womanhood, and infancy. The helplessness, whose satety in you lies, Invokes you to be strong I Come en ! Come on I I'll bring you to the foe ! And when you meet him. Strike hard ! Strike home ! Strike, while a dying blow Is in an arm ! Strike, till you're free, or fall ! Arranged from J. S. Knowles by ErKs SAFiaENT. ARNOLD VON WINKELRIED. 257 ARNOLD VON WINKELRIED. " Make way for liberty ! " he cried, — Made way for liberty, and died ! 1 In arms the Austrian phalanx stood, A living wall, a human wood ; ft Impregnable their front appears. All horrent with projected .spears. Opposed to these, a hovci 'm^ band |m. blow AROKNT. Contended for their native land. Peasants whose new found strength iiad broke From manly necks the ignoble yoke, And forged their fetters into swords, ( )n ecjual terras to tight their lords ; Marslialled once more at Freedom's call, Thoy came to con(juer or to fall. And now the work of life and death Hung on the passing of a bruath ; The fire of conflict burned within ; The battle trembled to begin ; Yet, while the Austrians hold their ground, Point for attack was nowlure found ; Where'tr the impatient Switzers gazed, The «>nbi ken line of lances blazed ; That hn ) 'twere suicide to meet, Aid perish at their tyrants' feet. How could thoy rest within their graves. And leave their homes the haunts of slaves ? Would they not feel their children tread With clanking chains above their head I It must not be ; this day, this hour, Annihilates the oppressor's power ! All Switzerland is in the field, She will not fly ; she cannot yield. She must not fall ; her better fate ; iin '> ' i ■;;' 'i fH 258 PATRIOTIC IIECITATIONS. ' ^y Here gives her an iniiiiortal date. Few were tlie numbers she oouUl boabt, But every freeman was a host, And felt as 'twere a secret known That one shouhi turn tlie scale alone. While each unto himself was he On whose sole arm liung Victory. It did depe'.id on oiii\ indeed ; Behold him — Arnold Winkclried ! There Bounds not to the trump of Fame The echo of a noliler name. Unmarked he st' c>d amid the throng, In rumination deep and long, Till you might sec, with sudden grace, The very thought come o'er his face, And by the motion of his form Anticipate the bursting storm ; And by the uplifting of his brow Tell where the bolt woulti Htrike, and how. But 'twas no sooner thought than done, — The Held was in a moment won ! " Make way for liberty ! "' he cried. Then ran. with arms extendi^d wide, As if his dearest friend to clasp ; Ten spears he swept wifhin liis grasp. " Make way for liberty I " he cried ; Their keen p(nnts met from side to side ; He bowed amongst them like a tree, And thus mule way for liberty. Swift to the «>reach his i^)nnade8 fly, — " Make way for liberty ! " they cry, And tluough the Austrian phalanx dart, As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart. While, instantaneous as his fall, Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all. An earthquake could not ovortlirow A city with n surer blow. Thus Switzerland again was free ; Thus death made way f.)r liberty ! Jambs Montoomeky THE SONOS OF OUR FATHERS. 25U THE SONGS OF OUR FATHERS. Sing them upon the sunny hilU, When ilays are long and bright, And the blue gleam of ahining rills Is lovulie.st to thy sight ; Sing them along the misty moor, Where ancient lumters roved, And swell them through 'ho torrent's roar,- The songs our fathers loved. The songs their souls rt-jniced to hear When hari)s were in the hall, And each proud note made lance and spear Thrill on the bannered wall ; T^ > songs that tlirough our valley green, Sent on from age tu age, Like his own river's voice, have been The peasants heritage. The reaper sings them when the vale Is tilled with plumy slu'aves ; The woodman, l)y the starlight jialo Cheered homeward through the loaves ; And unto them the glancing oars A joyous measur*' keep, Where the dark rocks that crest our shores Dash back the foaming deep. So let it he, a light they shod O'er each old fount and giovo ; A memory of the gentle dead, A spell of lingering love ; ' <i 1 [KUY. 260 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. P.Iurmuring the names of mighty men, They bid our streams roll on, And link high thoughts to every glen Where valiant deeds were done. Teach them your children round the hearth, When evening fires burn clear, And in the fields of harvest mirth, And on the hills of deer. So shall each long-forgotten word. When far those loved ones roam, Call back the hearts that once it stirred, To childhood's holy home. The green woods of their native land Shall whisper in the strain, The voices of their household band Shall sweetly speak again ; The heathery heights in vision rise Where like the stag thoyroved, — Sing to your sous those melodies, The songs your fathers loved. Mrs. Hkmans. THE SOLDIEHS DREAM. 261 THE SOLDIER'S DREAM. Our bugles sang truce, for the night-cloud had lowered, And the sentinel stars set their watch in the sky ; And thousands had sunk on the ground overpowered, The weary to sleep, and the wounded to die. When reposing that night on my pallet of straw, By the wolf-scaring faggot that guarded the slain, At the dead of the night, a sweet vision I saw. And thrice ere the morning I dreamt it again. Metliought from the battle-tield's dreadful array, Far, far I had roamed on a desolate track ; 'Twas autumn, and suTishine arose on the way To the home of my fathers, that welcomed me back. I tlew to the pleasant tields, traversed so oft In life's morning march, when my bosom was young, I heard my own mountain goats bleating alot't, And knew the sweet strain that the rorn-reapers sung. Then pledged we the wine-cu]», and f«mdly I swore From my home and my weeping friends never to part ; My little ones kissed me a thousand times o'er. And my wife sobbed aloud in her fullness of heart. " Stay, stay with us, rest, thou art weary and worn I " And fain was the war-broken sohlier to stay, — But sorrow returned witli the dawning of morn, And the voice of my dreaming tlien melted away I Thomas Campukli, !-i: f .. % ■ «! 262 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. i i HOW HE SAVED ST. MICHAEL'S. It was loiij^ iigo it liappened, ero ever the signal gun That blazed above Fort Sumter had wakened the North as one ; Long ere the wondrous pillar of battle-eloud and fire, Had marked vvliere tlie unchained millions marched on to thoir liearts' desire. On the roofs and the flittering turrets, that nigiit, as the sun went down, The mellow glow of the twiliglit shone like a jewelled crown ; And, bathed in the living glory, as the people lifted their eyes. They saw the pride of t))e city, the si ire of St. Michael's, rise. High over the lesser .steeples tipped with a gtdden ball. That hung like a radiant planet caught in its earthward fall, First glimpse of home to the sailor who made the harbor-round, And last, slow-fading vision dear to the outward bound. The gentle gathering shadows .shut out the waning light ; The children prayed at their bedsides, as you will pray to-night ; The noise of buyer and seller from the busy mart was done ; And in dreams of ii peaceful mori'ow the city slumbered on. But another light than sunrise aroused the sleeping street, For a cry was heard id mi<l night, and the rush of trampling feet ; Men stai'iil in each other's faces through mingled lire and smoke. While I hi! frantic bells went clashing, damorjus stroke on stroke, By the glare (»f her bla/.ing roof-tree the houseless mother tied. While the babe she pressed to her bosom shrieked in nameless dread, Whilf the Hreddng's wild battalions scaled wall and capstone high. And planted their flaring l)anners against an inky sky. HOW HE SAVtl) ST. MICHAELS. 2G3 rht ; Hi, i5ieles3 (J hif<h, For the death that niged Lehiiid them, and th'j crash of ruin loud, To the great scjuare of the city were driven the surging crowd ; Where yet, firm in aU tlie tuimdt, unscathed hy tli© fiery tiood, With its henveuward-pointing finger the Church of St. Michael stood. But e'en as tliey gazed iipou it there rose a sudden wail, A cry of horror, blended with the roaring of the gale, On whose scorcliiiig wings up-driven, a single flaming brand Aloft on the towering steeple clung like a bloody hand. " Will it fade r The whisper trembled from a thou^iand whitening lips ; Far out on the lurid harbor, they watched it from the ships, A baleful gleam that lirighter and ever brighter shone. Like a tlickering, tiembling will-o'-wisp to a steady beacon grown. " Uncounted gold shall l)o given to the man whose brave right hand. For the love of the perilled city, plucks down yon burning brand," So cried the Mayor of Charleston, that all the people heard ; But they looked each one at his fellow, and no man spoke a word. Who is it leans from the belfry, with face ui»turned to the sky, Clings to a cohuun, and measures the dizzy spire with his eye f Will he dare it, the hero undaunted, that terrible sickening height f Or will the ho' blood of his courage freeze in his veins at the sight ^ But see ! he lias stepped on the railing, he climbs with his feet and his hands, .\nd tirin on a narrow ju-ojection, with the belfry l)eneath him, he stands , Now once, and once only, they cheer him, a single tempestuous breath, And there falls on the multitude gazing a hush like the stillness of death. Sh)W, steadily mounting, unheeding aught save the goal of the fire, Still higher and higher, an atom, he moves on the face of the spire, He stops. Will he fall ! Lo, for answer, a gleam like a meteor's track, And, hurled on the stones of the pavement, the red brand lies shattered and black. 264 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ; '< Once more the shouts of the people huve runt the quivering air, At the church door mayor and council wait with their feet on the stair, And the eager throng behind them press for a touch of his hand, The unknown savior, whose daring could compass a deed so grand. But why does a sudden tremor seize on them while they gaze ? And what meaneth that stitied murmur of wonder and amaze ( He stood in the gate of the temple he had perilled his life to save ; And the face of the hero undaunted, was the sable face of a slave. With folded arms he was speaking, in tones that were clear, nut loud And his eyes, ablaze in their sockets, burnt into the eyes of the crowd. " You may keep your gold ; I scorn it. But answer me, ye who can, If the deed I have done before you be not the deed of a man '(" He stepped but a short space backward ; and from all the Avomen and men There were only sobs for answer ; and the mayor called for a pen, And the great seal of the city, that he might read who ran. And the slave who saved St. Michael's went out of its door — a man. ! \ HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE. 266 HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE. Tho Consul's brow was sad, aiul thu ConBul's speech wm low. And darkly looked he at tlie wall, and darkly at the foe. "Their van will be upon us before the bridge goes down ; And if they once may win the bridge, what hope to save the town :*" Then out sjioke brave Horatius, the Captain of tho gate ; *' To every man upon this earth death conietli, soon or late. Hew down the bridge. Sir Consul, with all the speed ye may. I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe at bay. " In yon straight path a thousand may well be stopped by three. Now who will stand on either hand and keep tho Itridge with me if" Then out spoke Spurius Ijiirtius — a Ramnian proud was he, ** Lo, I will stand at (;hy right hand, and keep the bridge with thee /' And out .spake strong Herminius— of Titian blood was ho, " I will abide on thy loft side, and keep the bridge with tlioe." " Horatius," quoth tho Consul, "as thou sayest, so let it bo," And straight against that great array, forth went tho dauntless Three. Soon all Etruria's noblest felt their hearts sink to see On the earth the bloody corpses, in the path tho dauntless Three. And frou) tho ghastly entrance, where those bold Romans stood. The bravest shrank like boys who rouse an oh^ boar in the wood. But meanwhile axe and lever have manfully been plied. And now the bridge hangs tottering above tho boiling tide. " Come back, come back, Horatius ! ' loud cried the Fathers all, " Back, Lartius ! Back, Herminius ! Back ere the ruin fall 1" Back darted Spurius Lartius : Herminius darted back ; And, as they passed, beneath their foot thoy felt the timbers crack ; But when thoy turnoil their faces, and (»n the further shore Saw brave Horatius stand alone, they wouUl have crossed once more. But, with a crash like thunder, fell every loosened beam, And, like a dam the mighty wreck lay right athwart the stream : And a long shout of triumph rose from the walls of Rome, As to the highest turret-tops was splashed the yellow foam. i f i 2()6 PATRIOTIC RFX'ITATIONS. And, like a horse unbroken when HrHt he feels tlie rein, The furious river struggled hard, and tossed his tawny mane, And burst the curl), and bounded, rejoicing to be free. And battlement, and plank, and pier, whii'led headOng to the sea Alone stood brave lloratius, but constant still in mind. Thrice thirty thousand foes before, and the broad Hood behind ; " Down with him !" cried faUo Sextus, with a smile on his pale face, "Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena, "now yie d thee to our grace. " Round turned he, as not deigning those craven ranks to see ; Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, to Sextus naught spak-e he ; But he saw on Palatinus the white porch of his home, And he spake to the noble river that rolls by the towers of Rome. " O Tiber I Father Tiber ! to whom the Romans pray, A Roman's life, a Roman's arms take thou in charge this day !" So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed the good sword by his side. And, with his liarness on his back, jdunged htuidlong in the tide. No sound of joy or sorrow was heard on either bank ; But friends and foes, in dumb surprise, stood gazing where he sank ; And when above the surges they saw his crest appear, Rome shouted, and e'en Tuscany could scarce forbear to cheer. But fiercely ran the current, swollen high by months of rain. And fast his blood was flowing ; and he was sore in pain, And heavy with his armor, and si)ent with changing blows ; And oft they thought him sinking, but still again he rose. Never, I ween, did swimmer, in such an evil case, Struggle through such a raging Hood safe to the landing place ; But bis limbs were borne up bravely by the brave heart within, And our good father Tiber bare bravely up his chin. "Curse on hnu !" quoth false Sextus, " will not the villain drown ? But for this stay, ere close of day we should huve sacked the town 1" " Heaven help him 1" (pioth Lars Porsena, " ai.d bring him safe to shore. For such a gallant I'eat of arms was never seen before." And now he feels the bottom ; now on dry earth he stands , Now round him throng the Fathers to press his gory hands. And now, with shouts and clapping, and noise of weeping loud, He enters through the River Gate, borne by the joyous crowd. Macaulay. UP AND HE A IIEUO. 267 UP AND BE A HERO. Up, my friend, be bold and true, There is noble work to do, Hear the voice which calls on you, " Up, and be a hero ! " What, tho' fate has fixed thy lot, To the lowly russet cot ; Tho' thou art not worth a groat, Thou mayest be a hen* ! High heroic deeds are done. Many a battle's lost or won. Without either sword or gun. Up, and be a hero ! Not to gain a worldly height, Not for sensual delight. But for very love of right, Uj), and be a hero I Follow not the worldling's creed. Be an honest man indeed, God will help thee in thy need, Only be a hero ! There is seed which must be sown. Mighty truths to be made known. Tyrannies to be o'erthrown, Up, and be a hero ! There are hatreds and suspicions, There are social inijuisitions. Worse than ancient superstitions, Strike them like a hero ! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) . 1.0 I.I '-^ IIIM 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -• 6" — ► V] <^ /} "c^l ^a 'W .. % .>- ^l. »>* •;> '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation \ S V % V €gb LO' ^^L s\ '^^ 6^ 33 WEST MAIh/ STREET WEBSTER, N.M. 14580 (71A) 872-4503 e C/a 6^ 268 ii 4 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. In the mighty field of thought, There are battles to be fought, Revolutions to be wrought, Dp, and be a hero I Bloodless battles to be gained, Spirits to be disenchained, Holy heights to be attained, Up, and be a hero ! To the noble soul alone. Nature's mystic art is shown, God will make His secrets known, Only to the hero ! If thou only art but true, What may not thy spirit do. All is possible to you, Only be a hero ! A. McLaohlan. •ins :^.li MY COUNTRY. 269 MY COUNTRY. I love my country's pine-clad hills, Her thousand bright and gushing rills, Her sunshine and her storms ; Her rough and rugged rocks that rear Their hoary heads high in the air In wild fantastic forms. I love her rivers, deep and wide, Those mighty streains that seaward glide To seek the ocean's breast ; Her smiling tields, her pleasant vales, Her shady dells, her flowery dales, The haunts (»f peaceful rest. I love her forests, dark and lone, For there the wild bird's merry tone Is heard from morn till night, And there are lovelier flowers, 1 ween, Than e'er in Eastern lands were seen, In varied colors bright. Her forests and her valleys fair, Her flowers that scent the n)orning air, Have all their charms tor me ; But more I love ray country's name, Those words that echo deathless fame, — "The land of liberty." Oh, give me back my native hills, My daisied meads, and tnuitecT rill.s, And groves of pine ! Oh, give me, too, the mountain air, — My youthful days without a care, When rose for me a mother's prayer, In tones divine ! 1 Ji I{ J—. I I, 11 !: 2T() PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Long years have passed, and 1 behold My father's elms and niansiini t)ld, — The lirook's bright wave ; But, ah ! the scenes whicli fancy drew Deceived my heart, — tlie friends I knew, Are sleeping now, beneath the yew, — Low in I lie grave ! The sunny sports 1 loved so well, When but a child, seem like a spell Flung round the bier I The ancient wood, the cliff, the glade, Whose charms methought could never fade, Again 1 view, — yet shed, unstayed, The silent tear 1 Here let me kneel, and linger long, And pour, unheard, my native song, And seek relief I Like Ocean s wave that restless heaves, My days roll on, yet memory weaves Her twilight o'er the past, and leaves A balm for grief 1 Oh that I could again recall My early joys, companions, all, That cheered my youth ! But, ah I 'tis vain, — how changed am I 1 My heart hath learned the bitter sigh I The pure shall meet beyond the sky, — How sweet the truth I He.SI'ERIAX. i; THE WAV TO SUCCESS. 271 THE WAY TO SUCCESS. Heaven is not gained at a single bound ; But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we mount to its summit round by round. I c<)unt this thinfj to be grandly true, That a noble deed is a stej) toward Ciod, — Lifting the soul from the common sod To a purer air and a broader view. We rise by things that are 'neath our feet ; By what we have mastered of good and gain ; By the pride deposed and the passion slain, And the vanquisiied ills that we hourly meet. We hope, we aspire, we resolve, we trust, When the morning calls us to life and light J?ut our hearts grow weary, and, ere the night, Our lives are trailing the sordid dust. We hope, wo resolve, we aspire, we pray, And we think that wc mount the air on wings Beyond the recall of sensual things. While our feeii still cling to t\ e heavy clay. Wings for the angels, but feet for men ! We may borrow the wings to find the way, — Wo may hope, and resolve, and aspire, and pray, But our feet must rise or we fall again. Only in dreams is a ladder thrown From the weary earth to the sapphire walls ; But the dream departs and the visi<m falls, And the sleeper awakes on his pillow of stone. Heaven is not reached at a single bound ; But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we mount to its summit round by round. 19 JosiAH Gilbert Holland. 1i r fr ' 272 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONt; MV NATIVE VILLAGE. .if •11 There lies a village in a peaceful vale, With sloping hills and waving woods around, Fenced from the blasts. There, never ruder gale liows the tall grass that covers all the ground. And planted shrubs are there, and cherished Howers, And a bright verdure born of gentle showers. 'Twas there my young existence was begun. My earliest sports were on its tlowery green, And often when my school-boy task was done, I climbed its hills tit view the pleasant scene, And sto(»d and ga/.ed till the sun's setting ray Slu)ne on tht height, - the sweetest of the day. There, when that hour of mellow light was come. And mountain shadows cooled the ripened grain, I watched the weary yeoman plodding home, In the lone path that winds across the plain, To rest his limb.s, and watch his child at play, And tell him o'er the labors of the day. And when the woods put on their autuuni glow, And the bright sun came in among the trees, And leaves were gathering in the glen below. Swept softly from the nutuntains by the breeze, 1 wandered till the starlight on the stream At length awoke me from my fairy dream, MY NATIVE VlLLAdE. ^h : happy day8, too happy to return, Fled on the wings of youth's .lepHrte.l yonr, A hitter lesson has been mine to learn The truth of life, its labors, pains, and fonrs • Vet does the memory of my boyhood stay A twilight of the brightness passed away. ' % thoughts steal back to that sweet village still ■ Its tlc.wers and peaceful shades before .ne rise • ' J he play-place and the prospect from the hill, Its summer verdure, and autumnal dyes ■ ' The present brings its storn.s ; but while they last 1 shelter me in the delightful past. 273 tr Jons HowAui. Bkya? N'/', I 274 PATIliOTlC UfX'ITATlONS. ; 11 THE SLAVE'S DREAM. lieside the ungathered rice he lay, His sickle in his hand ; His l)reast was ])are, his matted hair Was ])uried in the Srvnd. Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep, He saw his native land. Wide through the landscape of his dreams The lordly Niger Howed ; Beneath the palm-trees on the plain Once more a king he strode ; And heard the tinkling caravans Descend the mountain road. He saw once more his dark-eyed queen Among her children stand ; They clasited his neck, they kissed his cheeks, They held him by the hand !— A tear burst from the sleeper's lids, x\nd fell into the sand. « And then at furious speed he rode Along the Niger's bank ; His bridle reins were golden chains. And, with a martial clank, At each leap he could feel his scabbard of steel Smiting his stallion's Hank. Before him, like a blood-red flag, The bright flamingoes flew ; From morn till night he followed their flight, O'er plains where the tamarind grew, Till he sjiw the roofs of Caffro huts. And the ocean rose to view. THE slave's DRBAM. 276 At night he heard the lion roar, And the hysena scream, And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds Beside some hidden stream ; And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums, Through the triumph of his dream. The forests, with their myriad tongues, Shouted of liberty ; And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud. With a voice so wild and free. That he started in his sleep and smiled At their tempestuous glee. He did not feel the driver's whip, Nor the burning heat of day ; For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep, And his lifeless body lay A worn-out fetter, that the soul Had broken and thrown away ! Longfellow. t I 1^ Hi I ^f steel Vg'^U 276 PATRK^TIC RECITATIONS. ii '■ft THE DOWNFALL OF POLAND. O sacred Truth ! thy triumph ceased awhile, And Hope, thy sister, ceased with thee to smile, When leagued Oppression i)oured to Northern wars Her whiskered pandoors and her fierce hussars, Waved her dread standard to the breeze of morn, Pealed her loud drum, and twanged her trumpet horn : Tumultuous horror brooded o'er her van. Presaging wrath to Poland — and to man ! W.arsaw's last champion from her height surveyed, Wide o'er the fields, a waste of ruin laid ; " O Heaven ! " he cried, "my bleeding country save ! Is there no hand on high to shield the brave ? Yet though destruction sweep these lovely plains, Rise, fellow-men ! our country yet remains ! By that dread name, we wave the sword on high, And swear for her to live, with her to die !" He said, and on the rampart-heights arrayed His trusty warriors, few, but undismayed ; Firm-paced and slow, a horrid front they form, Still as the br.eeze, but dreadful as the storm ; Low murmuring sounds along their banners fly, " Revenge, or death," — the watchword and reply ; Then pealed the notes, omnipotent to charm. And the loud tocsin tolled their last alarm ! In vain, alas ! in vain, ye gallant few, From rank to rank your volleyed thunder flew : Oh ! bloodiest picture in the book of Time, Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ; Found not a generous friend, a pitying foe. Strength in her arms, nor mercy in her woe ! Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear, Closed her bright eye, and curbed her high career ; Hope for a season, bade the world farewell, And Freedom shrieked — as Kosciusko fell. THE DOWNFALL OF POLAND. 277 The sun went down, nor ceased tlie carnage there ; Tumultuous murder shook the midnight air. ' On Prague's proud arch the tires of ruin glow, His blood- dyed waters murmuring far below ; The storm prevails, the rampart yields away. Bursts the wild cry of horror and dismay ! Hark ! as the mouldering piles with thunder fall, A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call I Earth shook, red meteors flashed along the sky, And conscious Nature shuddered at the cry ! O righteous Heaven ! ere Freedom found a grave, Why slept the sword, omnipotent to save i Where was thine arm, O Vengeance ! where thy rod. That smote the foes of SSion and of God ; That crushed proud Amnion, when his iron car Was yoked in wrath, and thundered from afar ? Where was the storm that slumbered till the host Of blood-stained Pharaoh left their trembling coast, Then bade the deep in wild commotion tiow. And heaved an ocean on their march below { Depaited spirits of the mighty dead I Ye that at Marathon and Leuctra bled I Friecds of the world ! restore your swords to man, Fight in his sacred cause, and lead the van ! Yet for Sarmatia's tears of blood atone, And make her arm puissant as your own ! Oh ! once again to freedom's cause return The patriot Tell,— the Bruce of Bannockburn ! Thomas Campbell. I ^ 278 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. I I I 1 1' Si ! 1; ll li;' i? THE GRAVES OF THE PATRIOTS. Here rest the great ami good, — here they repose After their generous toil. A sacred band, They take their sleep together, while the year Comes with its early tlowers to deck their graves, And gathers them again, as winter frowns. Theirs is no vulgar sepulchre, — green sods Are all their monument ; and yet it tells A nobler history than pillared piles, Or the eternal pyramids. They need No sUitue nor inscription to reveal Their greatness. It is round them ; and the joy With which their children tread the hallowed ground That holds their venerated bones, the peace That smiles on all they fought for, and the wealth That clothes the land they rescued, — these though mute, As feeling ever is when deepest, — these Are monuments more lasting than the fanes Reared to the kings and demi-gods of old. Touch not the ancient elms, that bend their shade Over the lowly graves ; beneath their boughs There is a solemn darkness , even at noon, Suited to such as visit at the shrine Of serious liberty. No factious voice Called them unto the field of generous fame, But the pure consecrated love of home. No deeper feeling sways us, when it wakes In all its greatness. It has told itself To the astonished gaze of awe-struck kings, At Marathon, at Bannockburn, and here. When first our patriots sent the invader back, Broken and cowed. Let these green elms be all To tell us where they fought, and where they lie. THE GRAVES OF THE PATRIOTS. 279 Their feelings were all nature ; and they need No art to make them known. They live in usi While we are like them, simple, hardy, bold, Worshipping nothing but our ,,wn pure hearts And the one universal Lord. They need No column pointing to the heaven they sought. To tell us of their home. The heart itself, Left to its own free purposes, hastens there, And there alone reposes. Let these elms Bend their protecting shadow o'er their graves, And build with their green roof the only fane, Where we may gather on the hallowed day. That rose to them in blood, und set in ., ry. Here let us meet ; and while our motionless lips Give not a sound, and all around is mute In the deep Sabbath of a heart too .ull For words or tears, — here let us strew tli ■ sod VV^ith the first flowers of snring, an*! uuike to them An offering of the plenty. Nature ;^ives, And they have rendered ours, — perpetually. James Gate;^ Pkrcival. I 1 f ♦ HI 280 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. i TEE ENGLISHMAN. There's a land that bears a world-known name^ Though it is but a little spot ; I say 'tis first on the scroll of Fame, And who shall say it is not ? Of the deathless ones who shine and live In Arms, in Art, or Song ; The brightest the whole wide world can give To that little land belong. 'Tis the star of earth, deny it who can ; The island home of an Englishman. There's a flag that waves over every sea. No matter when or where ; And to treat that flag as aught but the free Is more than the strongest dare. For the lion spirits that tread the deck Have carried the palm of the brave ; And that flag may sink with a shot-torn wrecks But never float over a slave. Its honor is stainless, deny it who can ; And this is the flag of an Englishman. There's a heart that leaps with burning glow, The wrong'd and the weak to defend ; And strikes as soon for a trampled foe ; As it does for a soul-bound friend. It nurtures a deep and honest love ; It glows with faith and pride ; And yearns with the fondness of a dove, To the light of its own fireside. 'Tis a rich, rough gem, deny it who can ; And this is the heart of an Englishman. THE ENGLISHMAN. 281 The Briton may traverse the pole or the zone And boldly claim his right ; For he calls such a vast domain his own, That the sun never sets on his might. Let the haughty stranger seek to know The place of his home and birth ; And a flush will pour from cheek to brow ; While he tells his native earth. For a glorious charter, deny it who can ; Is breathed in the words " I'm an Englishman." Eliza. Cook. 'J II » !• m M i M I 282 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Ij: ■ i M BARBARA FRIETCHIE. Up from the meadows rich with com, Clear in the cool September mom, The clustered spires of Frederick stand Green-walled by the hills of Maryland. Round about them orchards sweep, Apple and peach tree fruited deep, Fair as the garden of the Lord To the eyes of the famished rebel horde. On that pleasant morn of the early fall When Lee marched over the mountain-wall— Over the mountains winding down, Horse and foot, into Frederick town. Forty flags with their silver stars, Forty flags with their crimson bars, Flapped in the morning wind ; the sun Of noon looked down, and saw not one. Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then. Bowed with her four score years and ten j Bravest of all in Frederick town, She took up the flag the men hauled down ; In her attic window the staflf she set. To show that one heart was loyal yet. Up the street came the rebel tread, Stonewall Jackson riding ahead. Under his slouched hat left and right He glanced : the old flag met his sight. *' Halt ! " — the dust-brown ranks stood fast. «' Fire ! "—out blazed the rifle-blast. BARBARA FRIETCHIE. 283 It shivered the window, pane and sash ; It rent the banner with seam and gash. Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf. She leaned far out on the window-sill, And shook it forth with a royal will. " Shoot, if you must, this old gray head. But spare your country's flag," she said. A shade of sadness, a blush of shame, Over the face of the leader came ; The nobler nature within him stirred To life at that woman's deed and word ; " Who touches a hair of yon gray head Dies like a dog ! March on ! " he said. All day long through Frederick street Sounded the tread of marching feet ; All day long that free flag tossed Over the heads of the rebel host. Ever its torn folds rose and fell On the loyal winds that loved it well ; And through the hill-gaps sunset light Shone over it with a warm good-night. Barbara Frietchie's work is o'er. And the rebel rides on his raids no more. Honor to her ! and let a tear Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall s bier. Over Barbara Frietchie's grave. Flag of Freedom and Union, wave ! Peace and order and beauty draw Bound thy symbol of light and law ; And ever the stars above look down On thy stars below in Frederick town ! ii" 'HI Hi; ii i£itli I Whittier. 284 PA.TRIOTIC RECITATIONS. HERVE KIEL. Ill i!i lii I. On the sea and at the Hogue, sixteen hundred and ninety-two, Did the English fight the French — woe to France ! And, the thirty -first of May, helter-skelter thro' the blue, Like a crowd of frightened porpoises a shoal of sharks pursue, Game crowding ship on ship to St. Malo on the Bance, With the English fleet in view. II. 'Twas the squadron that escaped, with the victor in full chase ; First and foremost of the drove, in his great ship, Damfreville : Close on him fled, great and small, Twenty- two good ships in all ; And they signalled to the place, " Help the winners of a race ! Get us guidance, give us harbor, take us quick — or, quicker still. Here's the English can and will ! " III. Then the pilots of the place put out brisk and leapt on board ; "Why, what hope or chance have ships like these to pass?" laughed they : *' Rocks to starboard, rocks to port, all the passage scarred and scored, Shall the Formidable here with her twelve and eighty guns, Think to make the river-mouth by the single narrow way, Trust to enter where 'tis ticklish for a craft of twenty tons. And with flow at full ebb beside ? Now, 'tis slackest ebb of tide. Reach the mooring ? Rather say, While rock stands or water runs. Not a ship will leave the bay ? " HERVE KIEL. 285 )ty-two, ue, pursue, IV. Then was called a council straight. Brief and bitter the debate : ** Here's the English at our heels ; would you have them take in tow All that's left us of the fleet, linked together stern and bow, For a prize to Plymouth Sound ? Better run the ships aground ! " (Ended Damfreville his speech.) Not a minute more to wait ! " Let the captains all and each Shove ashore, then blow up, burn the vessels on the beach ! France must undergo her fate. i :1 chase ; amfreville uicker still, V. Give the word i " But no such word Was ever spoke or heard ; For up stood, for out stepped, for in struck amid all these — A captain ? A lieutenant ? A mate — first, second, third ? No such man of mark, and meet With his betters to compete ! But a simple Breton sailor pressed by Tourville for the fleet, A poor coasting-pilot he, Herve Riel the Croisickese. board ; |se to pass ? " scarred and runs, way, [tons, VI. And " What mockery or malice have we here ? " cries Herve Riel : *' Are you mad, you Malouins? Are you cowards, fools or rogues Talk to me of rocks and shoals, me who took the soundings, tell On my fingers every bank, every shallow, every swell 'Twixt the ofling here and Grove, where the river disembogues ? Are you bought by English gold ? Is it love the lying's for ? Morn and eve, night and day, Have I piloted your bay, Entered free and anchored fast at the foot of Solidor. Burn the fleet and ruin France ? That were worse than fifty Hogues ! 286 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Sirs, they know I speak the truth ! Sirs, believe me there's a way ! Only let me lead the line, Have the biggest ship to steer, Get this Formidable clear, Make the others follow mine. And I lead them, most and least, by a passage I know well, Bight to Solidor past Greve, And there lay them safe and sound ; And if one ship misbehave. Keel so much as grate the ground, Why, I've nothing but my life— here's my head ! " cries Herve Kiel. VII. Not a minute more to wait. " Steer us in, then, small and great ! Take the helm, lead the line, save the squadron ! " cried its chief. '* Captains, give the sailor place ! He is Admiral, in brief." Still the north-wind, by God's grace ! See the noble fellow's face As the big ship, with a bound. Clears the entry like a hound. Keeps the passage as its inch of way were the wide sea's profound t See, safe thro' shoal and rock, How they follow in a flock, Not a ship that misbehaves, not a keel that grates the ground, Not a spar that comes to grief ! The peril, see, is past. All are harbored to the last, And just as Herve Kiel hallos " Anchor ! " — sure as fate Up the English come, too late ! VIII. So, the storm subsides to calm : They see the green trees wave On the heights o'erlooking Greve. HERVE KIEL. 287 e there's 11, [erve Riel. 3d its chief. profound t round, Hearts that bled are staunched with balm. *' Just our rapture to enhance, Let the English rake the bay, Onash their teeth and glare askance As they cannonade away ! 'Neath rampired Solidor pleasant riding on the Ranee ! " How hope succeeds despair on each captain's countenance ! Out burst all with one accord, " This is Paradise for Hell ! Let France, let France's King Thank the man that did the thing ! " What a shout, and all one word, " Herve Riel ! " As he stepped in front once more, Not a symptom of surprise In the frank, blue Breton eyes, Just the same man as before. IX. Then said Damfreville, "My friend, I must speak out at the end. Though 1 tind the speaking hard. Praise is deeper than the lips : You have saved the King his ships, You must name your own reward. 'Faith, our sun was near eclipse ! Demand whate'er you will, France remains your debtor still. Ask to your heart's content and have ! or my name's not Dam« freville." f n S -S' .• ■;' Is •Irl X. Then a beam of fun outbroke On the bearded mouth that spoke, As the honest heart laughed through Those frank eyes of Breton blue : " Since I needs must say my say, 20 288 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Since on board the duty's done, And from Malo Roads to Croisic Point, what is it but a run ? — Since 'tis ask and have, I may — Since the others go ashore — Come ! A good whole holiday ! Leave to go and see my wife, whom I call the Bell Aurore I " That he asked and that he got — nothing more. XI. Name and deed alike are lost : Not a pillar nor a post In his Croisic keeps alive the feat as it befell ; Not a head in white and black On a single fishing smack, In memory of the man but for whom had gone to wrack All that France saved from the tight whence England bore the bell. Go to Paris : rank on rank Search the heroes flung pell-mell On the Louvre, face and flank ! You shall look long enough ere you come to Herve Riel. So, for better and for worse, Herve Riel, accept my verse ! In my vbibO; Herve Riel, do thou once more Save the squadron, honor France, love thy wife the Belle Aurore ! Robert Browning. THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 289 I run ^ — ore . I " d bore the el. lie Aurore ! iROWNING. THE BRITISH EMPIRE. There is not a country in the history of the world that has undertaken what England in its traditional estab- lished policy and position has undertaken. There is no precedent in human history for a formation like the British Government- A small island at one extremity of the globe peoples the whole earth. But it is not satisfied with that ; it goes among the ancient races of Asia and subjects 240,000,000 of people to its rule there. Along with all this it distributes over the world a commerce such as no imagination ever conceived in former times, and such as no poet ever painted. And all this it has to do with a strength that lies within the narrow limits of these shores — not a strength that I disparage ; on the contrary, I wish to dissipate if I can the idle dreams of those who are always telling you that the strength of England depends upon its prestige, upon its extending its empire upon what it possesses beyond these shores. Rely upon it the strength of Great Britain and Ireland is within the United Kingdom. Whatever is to be done in defending and governing those vast colonies with their teeming millions, in protecting that unmeasured commerce, in relation to the enormous responsibility of India — what- ever is to be done must be done by the force to be derived from you and your children, from you and your fellow- electors. And why ? They are between some three and thirty millions of persons. They are a population less than the population of France, of Austria, of Germany or of : i it' STi* •iliv ■fpif li 290 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Russia ; but the populations of France, Austria, Germany and Russia are quite able enough to settle their own matters within their own limits. We have undertaken to settle the affairs of a fourth or nearly a fourth of the entire human race scattered over the world; and is not that enough for the ambition of Lord Beaconsfield ? It satisfied Mr. Pitt, Mr. Canning ; it satisfied Sir Robert Peel ; it satisfied Lord Palmerston, Lord Russell and the late Lord Derby ; and why cannot it satisfy, I wish to know, Lord Beaconsfield and his colleagues ? It seems to me they are all very much of one mind. They move with harmony among themselves. Is it not enough to satisfy the ambition of the members of the present Govern- ment ? Strive as you will — I speak after the experience of a lifetime, of which a fair portion has been spent in o£gce — strive and labor as you will in Parliament and office, human strength and human thought are not equal to the discharge of the whole duties appertaining to Government in this great, wonderful and world-wide Empire. W. E. Gladstone. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. 291 rmany ir own jrtaken of the I is . not Id? It Robert and the wish to t seems sy move Qugh to Govern- perience spent in lent and ot equal ining to d-wide iTONE. GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA. Let all good citizens in both England and America, all who desiry the world's progress, strive to preserve peace and international good-will. I appeal to you by the unity of our race — for, with two governments we are one people ; by the unity of the grand old language we alike speak, with the thrilling names of father, mother, home, dear to us alike ; by our cpmmon literature, our Shakespeare, who is your Shake- speare, our Milton, who is your Milton, our Longfellows and Tennysons, side by side in all our libraries ; I appeal to you by the stirring memories of our common history, — by those ancestors of both our nations, who proved their prowess at Hastings, whether as sturdy Saxons de- fending the standard of King Harold, or as daring Normans spurring their chivalry to the trumpet of Duke William, — and who, afterward united on a better field, wrung from a reluctant tyrant that great charter which is the foundation of our liberties on both sides of the Atlantic ; I appeal to you by the stirring times when those common ancestors lighted their beacons on every hill, and rallied around a lion-hearted queen, and launched forth — some of them in mere fishincf vessels — aijjainst the proud Armada that dared to threaten their subjugation ; I appeal to you by the struggles of the commonwealth, by the memories of those who put to rout the abettors of tyranny — Cromwell, Hampden, Sir Harry Vane ; I appeal to you by those Pilgrim Fathers here, and by those Puritans and Covenanters who remained behind, by whose heroic sufferings both nations enjoy such freedom to worship God ; I appeal to you by the graves in which m 292 PATRIOTIC UECITATIONS. our common ancestors repose, — not only, it may be, be- neath the stately towers of Westminster, but in many an ancient village churchyard, where daisies grow on the turf-covered graves, and venerable yew-trees cast over them their solemn shade ; I appeal to you by that Bible — precious to us both ; by that gospel which our mission- aries alike proclaim to the heathen world, and by that Saviour whom we both adore, never let there be strife between nations whose conflict would be the rushing together of two Niagaras, but whose union will be like the irresistible course of two great rivers flowing on ma- jestically to fertilize and bless the world. Never let our beautiful standards — yours of the stars and stripes, suggesting the lamps of night and the rays of day, and ours of the clustered crosses, telling of union in diversity, and reminding of the One Great Liberator and Peace- Maker, who, by the cross, gave life to the world — nevei' let these glorious standards be arrayed in hostile ranks ; but ever may they float side by side, lead- ing on the van of the world's progress. Oh, I can imagine that if we, the hereditary champions of freedom, were engaged in strife, all the despots of the earth would clap their hands, and all the demons in hell would exult, while angels would weep to see these two nations wasting the treasure and shedding the blood that should be reserved for the strife against the common foes of freedom. Never give angels such cause of lamentation, never give despots and demons such cause for rejoicing ; but ever Great Britain and America — the mother and the daugh- ter, or, if you prefer it, the elder daughter and the younger — go forth hand in hand, angel guardians to- gether of civilization, freedom and religion, their only rivalry the rivalry of love. Newman Hall. ' be, be- lany an on the ast over at Bible nis.sion- by that e strife rushing be like on ma- he stars the rays )f union iberator to the ayed in e, lead- mpions s of the in hell ese two lod that ion foes -er give ut ever dauorh- ,nd the ans to- ;ir only Iall. POPULAR SOVEREIGNTV. 293 POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY. Oui; opponents have charged us with being the pro- moters of a danjjerous excitement. Thev have the effrontery to say that I am the friend of public disorder. I am one of the people. Surely, if there be one thing in a free country more clear than another, it is that any one of the people may speak openly to the people. If I speak to the people of their rights, and indicate to them the /'Loy to secure them — if I speak of their danger to the monopolists of power — am I not a wise counsellor, both to the people and to their rulers ? Suppose I stood at the foot of Vesuvius, or /Etna, and, seeing a hamlet or a homestead planted on its slope, I said to the dwellers in that hamlet or in that homestead : " You see that vapor which ascends from the summit of the mountain, that vapor may become a dense, black smoke, that will obscure the sky. You see the trickling of lava from the crevices in the side of the mountain : that trickling of lava may become a river of fire. You hear that muttering in the bowels of the mountain ; that muttering may become a bellowing thunder, the voice of a violent convulsion, that may shake half a continent. You know that at your feet is the grave of great cities, for which there is no resur- rection, as histories tell us that dynasties and aristoc- racies have passed away, and their names have been known no more forever." ■il y I I ill 294 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. If I say this to the dwellers upon the slope of the mountain, and if there comes hereafter a catastrophe which makes the world to shudder, am I responsible for that catastrophe ? I did not build the mountain, or fill it with explosive materials. I merely warned the men that were in danger. So, now, it is not I who am stimu- lating men to the violent pursuit of their acknowledged constitutional rights. The class which has hitherto ruled in this country has failed miserably. It revels iu power and wealth, whilst at its feet, a terrible peril for its future, lies the multitude which it has neglected. If a class has failed, let us try the nation. That is our faith, that is our purpose, that is our cry. Let us try the nation. This it is which has called together these countless numbers of the people to demand a change ; and from these gatherings, sublime in in their vastness and their resolution. I think I see, as it were, above the hilltops of time, the glimmerings of the dawn of a better and nobler day for the country and for the people I love so well. John Bright. OUR RELATIONS TO ENGLAND. 295 of the strophe ible for a, or fill he men I stimu- ivledged itry has , whilst ultitude it us try Dur cry. 8 called ople to Iblime in see, as of the and for GHT. OUR RELATIONS TO ENGLAND. Who does not feel, what reflecting American does not acknowledge, the incalculable advantages derived by this land out of the deep fountains of civil, intellectual and moral truth, from which we have drawn in England ? What American does not fell proud that his fathers were the countrymen of Bacon, of Newton, and of Locke ? Who does not know that, while every pulse of civil liberty in the heart of the British empire beat warm and full in the bosom of our ancestors, the sobriety, the firmness, and the dignity, with which the cause of free principles struggled into existence here, constantly found encouragement and countenance from the friends of liberty there ? Who does not remember that, when the pilgrims went over the sea, the prayers of the faithful British confessors, in all the quarters of their dispersion, went over with them, while their aching eyes were strai:ied till the star of hope should go up in the western skies ? And who will ever forget that, in that eventful struggle which severed these youthful republics from the British Crov>7n, there was not heard, throughout our continent in arms, a voice which spoke louder for the rights of America than that of Burke, or of Chatham, withit the walls of the British Parliament, and at the foot of the British Throne ? I am not — I need not say I am not — the panegyrist of England. I am not dazzled by her riches, nor awed by her power. The sceptre, the mitre, and the coronet, — 296 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. stars, garters, and blue ribbons, — seem to mo poor things for great men to contend for. Nor is my admiration awakened by her armies, mustered for the battles of Europe ; her navies, overshadowing the ocean ; nor her empire, grasping the farthest East. It is these, and the price of guilt and blood by which they are too often maintained, which are the cause why no friend of liberty can salute her with undivided affections. But it is the cradle and the refuge of free principles, though often persecuted ; the school of religious liberty, the more precious for the struggles through which it has passed ; the tombs of those who have reflected honor on all who sj)eak the English tongue ; it is the birthplace of our fathers, the home of tlie Pilgrims ; it is these which I love and venerate in Eiiij^land. I should feel ashamed of an enthusiasm for Italy and Greece, did I not also feel it for a land like this. In an American, it would seem to me degenerate and ungrateful to hang with passion upon the traces of Homer and Virgil, and follow, without emotion, the nearer and plainer footsteps of Shakespeare and Milton. I should think him cold in his love for his native land who felt no melting in his heart for that other native country which holds the ashes of his fore- fathers, Edward Evkrett. UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. 297 ' i UNIVERSAL EMANCIPATION. I put it to your oaths : — Do you think that a blessing of that kind — that a victory obtained by justice, over bigotry and oppression — should have a stigma cast upon it by an ignominious sentence upon men, bold and honest enough to propose that measure ? — to propose the redeeming of Religion from the abuses of the Church, the reclaiming of three millions of men from bondage, and giving liberty to all who had a right to demand it ? — giving, I i^ay, in the so much censured words of this paper, giving "Universal Emancipation!" I speak in the spirit of the British law, which makes liberty com- mensurate with, and inseparable from, British soil ; — which proclaims, even to the stranger and sojourner the moment he sets his foot upon British earth, that the ground upon which he treads is holy, and consecrated by the genius of Universal Emancipation. No matter in what language his doom may have been ]»ronounced — no matter what complexion, incompatible with freedom, an Indian or an African sun may have burnt upon him ; no matter in what disastrous battle his liberty may have been cloven down ; no matter with what solemnities he may have been devoted upon the altar of slavery ; the first moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain, the altar and the god sink together in the dust ; his soul walks abroad in her own majesty ; his body swells beyond the measure of the chains that burst from around him ; and he stands — redeemed, regenerated and disen- thralled by the irresistible genius of" Universal Emanci- pation." CUUHAN. Hi i' I i.. 298 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS, ii ' '1 I i KOSSUTH'S FAREWELL TO HIS COUNTRY. Farewell, my beloved country. Farewell, land of the Magyar. Farewell, thou land of sorrow. I shall never more behold the summit of thy mountains. I shall never again give the name of my country to that cherished soil where I drank from my mother's bosom the milk of justice and liberty. Pardon, oh, pardon him who is henceforth con- demned to wander far from thee, because he combated for thy happiness. Pardon one who can only call free that spot of thy soil where he now kneels with a fe\v of the faithful children of conquered Hungary. My last looks are fixed on my country, and L see thee overwhelmed with anguish. I look into the future ; but that future is overshadowed. Thy plains are covered with blood, the redness of which pitiless destruction will change to black, the emblem of mourning for the victories thy sons have gained over the sacrilegious enemies of thy sacred soil. How many grateful hearts have sent their prayers to the throne of the Almighty. How many tears have been gushed from their very depth to implore pity. How much blood has been shed to testify that the Magyar idolizes his country, and that he knows how to die for it. And yet, land of my love, thou art in slavery. From thy very bosom will be forged the chains to bind all that is sacred, and aid all that is sacrilegious. Oh, Almighty Creator, if thou lovest thy people to whom thou didst give victory under our heroic ancester, Arapad, I implore thee not to sink them in degradation. I speak to thee. KOSSUTH S FAREWELL TO HIS COUNTRY. 299 my country, thus from the abyss of my despair, and whilst yet lingering on the threshold of thy soil. Pardon me that a great number of thy sons have shed their blood for thee on my account. I pleaded for thee — I hoped for thee, even in the dark moment when on thy brow was written the withering word " despair." I lifted my voice in thy behalf when men said, " Be thou a slave." I girt the sword about my loins, and I grasped the bloody plume, even when they said, " Thou art no longer a nation on the soil of the Magyar." Time has written thy destiny on the pages of thy story in yellow and black letters — death. The Colossus of the North has set his seal to the sentence. But the glowing iron of the East shall melt that seal. For thee, my country, that has shed so much blood, there is no pity ; for does not the tyrant eat his bread on the hills formed of the bones of thy children ? My country, it is not the iron of the stranger that hath dug thy grave ; it is not the thunder of fourteen nations, all arrayed against thee, that hath destroyed thee ; and it is not the fifteenth nation, traversing the Carpathians, that has caused thee to drop thy arms. No, thou hast been betrayed — thou hast been sold, my country ; thy death sentence has been written, beloved of my heart, by him whose love for thee I never dared to doubt. Yes, in the fervor of my boldest thought I should have almost as soon doubted of the existence of the Omnipotent, as have believed that he could ever be a traitor to his country. Thou hast been betrayed by him into whose hands I had but a little space before deposited the power of our country, which he swore to defend, even to the last drop of his heart's blood. He has done treason ;* i I: '' ' i 300 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. nf'l I •111: ^ m to his mother ; for the glitter of gold hath been for him more seductive than that of the blood shed to save his country. Base gain had more value in his eyes than his country, and his God has abandoned him, as he has abandoned his God for his allies of hell. I desire a free nation, free, man cannot be made but by God. And thou art fallen; faded as the lily, but which in another season puts forth its flower still more lovely than before. Thou art dead ; for hath not thy winter come on ? but it will not endure so long as that of thy companion under the frozen sky of Siberia. No. Fifteen nations have dug thy tomb. But the hosts of the sixteenth will come to save thee. Be faithful, as thou hast been even to the present. Lift up thy heart in prayer for the departed, but do not raise thy own hymn until thou hearest the thunders of the liberating people echo along thy mountains, and bellow in the depth of thy valleys. Farewell, beloved companions. Farewell, comrades, countrymen. May the thought of God, and may the angels of liberty forever be with you. I will proclaim you to the civilized world as heroes ; and the cause of an heroic people will be cherished by the freest nation on earth, the ireest of all free people. Farewell, thou land dyed with the blood of the brave. Guard those red marks, they will one day bear testimony on thy behalf. And thou, farewell, 0, youthful monarch of the Hun- garians. Forget not that my nation is not destined for thee. Heaven inspires me with the confidence that the day will dawn when it shall be proved to thee even on the ruined walls of Buda. May the Almighty bless thee, my beloved country. Believe, hope and love. n for him ) save his s than his ,s he has made but lily, but still more 1 not thy as that of eria. No. Dsts of the il, as thou heart in )\vn hymn ing people depth of comrades, may the proclaim luse of an Qation on the brave, testimony Ithe Hun- Istined for that the [en on the country. NEGRO SLAVERY. 301 NEGRO SLAVERY. I trust, that, at length, the time has come, when parlia- ment will no longer bear to be told that slave-owners are the best lawgivers on slavery ; no longer suffer our voices to roll across the Atlantic, in empty warnings and fruit- less orders. Tell me not of rights — talk not of the property of the planter in his slaves. I deny his right — I acknowledge not his property. The principles, the feelings of our common nature, rise in rebellion against it. Be the appeal made to the understanding or to the heart, the sentence is the same — each rejects it ! In vain you tell me of laws that sanction such a claim ! There is a law, above all the enactments of the human codes — the same throughout the world — the same in all times : such as it was, before the daring genius of Columbus pierced the night of ages, and opened to one world the sources of power, wealth and knowledge ; to another, all unutter- able woes, — such is it at this day ; it is the law written by the finger of God on the heart of man ; and by that law, unchangeable and eternal — while men despise fraud and loathe rapine and hate blood — they shall reject, with indignation, the wild and guilty fantasy that man can hold property in man ! In vain you hold to treaties — to covenants between nations. The covenants of the Almighty, whether the old covenant or the new, denounce such unholy preten- sions. To these laws did they of old refer, who main- tained the African trade. Such treaties did they cite — and not untruly ; for, by one shameful compact, you bar- 302 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. tered the glories of Blenheim for the traffic in blood. Yet, in despite of law and treaty, that infernal traffic is now destroyed, and its votaries put to death like other pirates. How came this change to pass ? Not, assuredly, by par- liament leading the way ; but the country at length awoke ; the indignation of the people was kindled ; it descended in thunder and smote the traffic, and scattered the guilty profits to the winds. Now, then, let the planters beware — let the government at home beware — let their assemblies beware — let the parliament beware ' The same country is once more awake — awake to the condition of negro slavery ; the same indignation kindles in the bosom of the same people ; the same cloud is gathering that annihilated the slave trade ; and if it shall descend again, they on whom its crash may fall will not be destroyed before I have warned them ; but I pray that their destruction may turn away from us the more terrible judgments of God ! Brougham, Ji V' THE LAST SPEECH OF ROBESPIERRE. 303 od. Yet, 3 is now r pirates. , by par- it length idled; it scattered , let the beware — ; beware ! e to the n kindles cloud is if it shall 1 will not it I pray the more rGHAM. THE LAST SPEECH OF ROBESPIERRE. (A.D. 1794.) The enemies of the Republic call me tyrant ! Were 1 such, they would grovel at my feet. I should goi-ge them with gold — I should grant them impunity for their crimes — and they would be grateful. Were I such, the kings we have vanquished, far from denouncing Robes- pierre, would lend me their guilty support. There would be a covenant between them and me. Tyranny must have tools. But the enemies of tyranny — whither does their path tend ? To the tomb, and to immortality ! What tyrant is my protector ? To what faction do I belong i Yourselves ! What faction, since the begin- ning of the Revolution, lias crushed and annihilated so many detected traitors ? You— the people — our prin- ciples — are that faction ! — a faction to which I am devoted, and against which all the scoundrelism of the day is banded ! The confirmation of the Republic has been my object ; and I know that the Republic can be established only on the eternal basis of morality. Against me, and against those who hold kindred principles, the league is formed. My life ? Oh! my life I abandon without a reget ! I have seen the Past ; and I foresee the Future. What friend of his country would wish to survive the moment when he could no longer serve it — when he could no longer defend innocence against oppression ? Wherefore should I continue in an order of things where it > { ■ !■ •. 21 ;;u4 J'ATUIOTIC JJECITATIONS. M' intrii,nie cteinally triuiDphs over trutli ; wlieie justice i.s mocked ; wliei'e jmssioiis tlie most abject, or iears the most a)>sui(l, override tlie saci'ed interests of humanity ? Jn witnessing tlu; multitude of vices whicli the toirent of the llevohition lias rolled in turbid connnunion with its civic virtues, I confess that I liave sometimes feared that 1 should be sullied, in the eyes of posterity, by the impuie neiyhboi'hood of unprincipled men, who had thrust themselves into association with the sincere friends of humanity ; and 1 rejoice that these conspirators against my country have now, by their reckless rage, traced the deep line of demarcation between themselves and all true men. Question history, and learn how all the defenders of liberty, in all times, have been overwhelmed by calumny. But their traducers died also. The good and bad disap- pear alike from the earth ; but in very ditierent condi- tions. Frenchmen ! my countrymen ! let not your enemies, with their desolating doctrines, degrade your souls and enervate your virtues ! No, Chaumette, no ! Death is not "an eternal sleep !' Citizens ! efface from the tomb that motto, graven by sacrilegious hands, which spreads all over nature a funeral crape, takes from oppressed innocence its support, and affronts the beneficent dispensation of death ! Inscribe rather thereon these w^ords : " Death is the commencement of immortality !" 1 leave to the oppressors of the people a terrible testament, which 1 proclaim with the independ- ence betitting one whose career is so nearly ended : it is the awful truth, '• Thou shalt die !" From Translation by Epes Sargent. THE VALOR OF THE IRISH SOLDIER. 305 iticc i.s irs the anity ? torrent Q with feared by the 10 had friends Dirators is rage, uiselves nders of alumny. d disap- condi- lot your le your tte, no! ce from hands, , takes nts the rather ent of eople a epend- |d : it is JENT, THE VALOR OF THE IRISH SOLDIER. There is, however, one man (Lord Lyndhurst), of great abilities, not a member of this House, but whose talents and whose boldness have placed him in the topmost place in his party — who, disdaining all imposture, and thinking it the best course to appeal directly to the religious and national antipathies of the people of this country — abandoning all reserve, and flinging off the slender veil by which his political associates affect to cover, although they cannot hide, their motives — dis- tinctly and audaciously tells the Lish people that they are not entitled to the same privileges as Englishmen ; and pronounces them, in any particular which could enter his minute enumeration of the circumstances by whic'. fellow-citizen.ship is created in race, identity and religion, to be aliens — to be aliens in race, to be aliens in country, to be aliens in religion. Aliens! was Arthur, Duke of Wellington, in the House of Lords, and did he not start up and exclaim, " Hold ! I have seen the aliens do their duty ? " The Duke of Wellington is not a man of an excitable temperament. His mind is of a cast too martial to be easily moved ; but, notwithstanding his habitual inflexibility, I cannot help thinking that when he heard his Roman Catholic countrymen (for we are his countrymen) designated by a phrase as offensive as the abundant vocabulary of his eloquent confederate could supply, I cannot help thinking that he ought to have ill.' 306 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. , recollected the many fields of fi^ht in which we have been contributors to his renown. " The battles, sieges, fortunes that he has passed," ought to have come back upon him. He ought to have remembered that, from the earliest achievement in which he displayed that military genius which has placed him foremost in the annals of modern warfare, down to that last and surpassing combat which has made his name imperishable — from Assaye to Waterloo — the Irish soldiers, with whom your armies are filled, were the inseparable auxiliaries to the glory with which his unparalleled succes.ses have been crowned. Whose were the arms that drove your bayonets at Vimiera through the phalanxes that never reeled in the shock of war before ^. What desperate valor climbed the steeps and filled the moats at Badajos ? All his victoiies should have rushed and crowded back upon his memory — Vimiera, Badajos, Salamanca, Albuera, Toulouse, and, last of all, the greatest — tell me, for you were there — I appeal to the gallant soldier before me (Sir Henry Hardinge), from whose opinions I diflfer, but who bears I know, a generous heart in an intrepid breast — tell me for you must needs remember — on that day when the destinies of mankind were trembling in the balance — while death fell in showers — when the artillery of France was levelled with a precision of the most deadly science — when her legions, incited by the voice, and inspired by the example of their mighty leader, ru.shed again and again to the cnset — tell me, if for an instant, when, to hesitate for an instant was to be lost the "aliens" : 11 THE VALOR OF THE IRISH SOLDIER. 307 3 have , sieges, 16 back rom the iiilitary mals of combat saye to uies are ry with rowned. mets at 1 in the iibed the victoiies memory se, and, ihere — I Henry |o bears tell me len the tlance — France iience — lired by lain and ^hen, to aliens " blenched ? And when at lenp^th the moment for the last and decisive movement had arrived, and the valor which had so long been wisely checked , was at last let loose — when, with words familiar, but immortal, the great captain commanded the great assault — tell me, if Catholic Ireland, with less lieroic valor than the natives of this your own glorious country, precipitated herself upon the foe ? The blood of England, Scotland and of Ireland, flowed in the same stream, and drenched the same field. .When the chill morning dawned, their dead lay cold and stark together; in the same deep pit their bodies were deposited — the green corn of spring is now breaking from their commingled dust — the dew falls from heaven upon their union in the grave. Partakers in every peril — in the glory shall we not be permitted to partici})ate ; and shall we be told, as a requital, that we are estranged from the noble country for whose .salvation our life-blood was poured out ? Richard Lalor Shiel. i 308 P/VTIIIOTIC KE(UTATI()NS. THK LAST (ilAlKJK (W NKY. i'lio wliolo contiiuMital s<nin;_irl«> oxliibitod no suhiinun' spoetacio than tl»o last, ^reat cflort of Napoloon to .save liis sinkinii; em|>iro. FiMrojH' liad hcon put upon tlio plains of Waterloo to Ix^ hattlod for. Tho u^roafcent military (Mioroy and skill the world possessed luid lujon tasked to the utmost during tiie <la,y. Thrones were totterino- on the ensanuuined field, and tlie sha(h)WH of fugitive kings llitted through the smoke of battle. Bonajiarte's star trembled in th«» zenith, now blazing out in its ancient splendor, now suddenly palijig before his anxious eye. At length, wIumi the I^'ussians appeared on the field he resolviMl to stake Murope on one bold throw. lie eommitted himself and France to Ney, and saw his empire rest on a single charge. The intense anxiety with which lie watched the advance of tlu- colunni, the terrible suspense he sulVered when the smoke of battle conc«'ale(l it fVoni sight, and the utter despair of his great heart when the curtain lift(>(l over a fugitive aiiuy, and the des})airing shriek rang on ever}- side, " La garde recnlo, La garde recule," maki^ us, for the moment, forget all tlie carnage, in symnathv with his distress. Ney felt the pressure of the immense respon.sibility on his brave heai't, and resolved not to prove unworthy of the great trust conunitted to his care. Nothing could be more imposing than the movement of the grand column to the assault. The guard had nev(}r yet recoiled before a human foe ; and the allied forces beheld with awe its firm and tenible advance to the final char^iC. II L to Have oil tlie jreafceHt tid ItcotJ •H we 1*0 lowH of V)uttlo. :\w^ out il'oio his lu' tiold \v. llo saw his ty witli toniblo ncealed t wlion ])ainnir a. ij;arde [aina^e, lility on rthy of louhl be Icolumn before lawe its THK LAST CHAKc;!'; OK NKV :{()!) For a inoincdt th(i l>att»'ii ^s stopped playiuLj, and the firinsT cuascd alonir tix' l>t itisli lines, m,s without tin; l»eat- in^^ of M, ditini, or i.he blast of a buLrle, they moved in (h^ad siliMuu-! over the jilain. The next nionienl tlie arliilcry opened, and tlie head of the ^^alljint eohnnn soenuHl to sink down ; yet tiiey n<'itlier stopped nof ({dtered. Dissolving sipiadroTis and whole battalions dis- Mpj)eaiin<;', oiii^ alter another, in the destructive lire, afl'ected not their steady eiJuriiLje. The raid<s closerl up as before, and each tit^adine' over his fallen eoniiade pressed lirinly on TIk; liorse which N(!y r<ile fell undei" hinj, an<i he liad scarcely mounted another, before it also saidv to the earth. Ai;ain and ai^ain did that unllinchiiiL; man feel hi-^ steed siid< dowji, till live had been sliot umler him. 'I'beii with his unib)rm riddled witli bullets, and his face sin^jijii and blaeUened with powdtu-, he marclied on foot, with drawn sabre, at the head of ins men. In vain did tlu^ artilhu-y hurl its storm of lire aiul lead into tluit livini^ mass; up to tlu^ very muzzles tliey ])r(>sse<l, and ilrivin;L^ tlie artillei'y-nx^n from tluur j)lae(^s, ])ushed on through the lOnidish liniss. I hit at that, moment a lile of soldii^rs, .vhohad lain Hat on the ;(rouud behind a low rid;j;(? of eaith. snddeidy rose and pounMJ a volley into ih* ir ■ ery faces. Ariotluir and another followed til! (<Me bi"oad she(!t of llame rolh^l ori their bosoms, ai. I m such a liisrce and un \i;ect(;d How, that human eoui'i-,,e could not withstand n Thev reeled, shook, stn<(^ti jd back, then turiusd and fled. The fate of Na))()leoii was writ, 'I'lie star that had blazed ;;o bi'iijhtly over tlu; world went down in blood ; and the Bravest of tiie Brave had to Jj^ht his last battle. J. .1. flKADI.V. i W I ;■ v: 3i- 310 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ! ! r ™'f m ! I LABOR. I honor the toil-worn craftsman that with earih-made implement laboriously conquers the earth and mai es her man's. Venerable to me is the hand, i>ard and coarse ; wherein notwithstandinf^ lies a cunning virtue, indef u,s- ibly loyal as of this planet. Venerable, too, is ^^he rugged face all weather-tanned, besoiled, with his rude intelli- gence; for it is the face of a man living man-l'ke. Oh, but the more venerable for thy rudeness, and even because we must pity as well as love thee. Hardly entrea ;?, brother. For us was thy back so bent, for us wei-, ^hy straight limbs and fingers so deformed ; thou were kjIVl conscript on whom the lot fell, and Hghting our battles wert so marred, For in thee, too, lay a God-created form but it was not to be unfolded; encrusted must it stand with the thick adhesions and defacements of labor ; and thy body like thy soul, was not to know freedom. Yet, toil on, toil on, thou art in thy duty, be out of it who may ; thou toilest for the altogether indispensable daily bread. There is a perennial nobleness, and even sacredness, in work. Were he ever so benighted, or forgetful of his high calling, there is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works ; in idleness alone there is perpetual despair. Consider how, even in the meanest sorts of labor, the whole soul of a man is composed into real harmony. He bonds himself with free valor against his t'l'^k ; and doubt, desire, sorrow, remorse, indignation, i LABOR. 311 ih-made ai es her coarse ; ndef u,s- 13 rujrsied intelli- ve. Oh, because ntrea :" vev-. ^hv verc ».nr r battles ted form it stand or ; and . Yet, it who ) daily ness, in of his ictually rpetual orts of ito real inst his nation, li « ^ despair itself shrink, murmurinj^ far off into their caves. The glow of labor in him is a purifying fire, wherein all poison is burnt up ; and of smoke itself there is made a bright and blessed flame. Blessed is he who has found his work ; let him ask no other blessedness ; he has a life purpose. Labor is life. From the heart of the worker rises the celestial force, breathed into him by Almighty God, awakening him to all nobleness, to all knowledge. Hast thou valued patience, courage, openness to light, or readiness to own thy mistakes ? Tn wrestling with the dim brute powers of fact, thou wilt continually learn. For every noble work the possibilities are diffused through immensity, undiscoverable, except to faith. Man, son of Heaven, is there not in thine inmost heart a spirit of active method, giving thee no rest till thoa un- fold it ? Complain not. Look up, wearied brother. See thy fellow- workmen surviving through eternity, the sacred bands of immortals. Thomas Carlyle. ii 312 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS 1 U HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. (1844.) Sir, these topics are perilous ; but I do not fear to touch them. It is my thorough conviction that England would be able to put down any insurrectionary movement, with her gigantic force, even although maddened and frantic Ireland might be aided by calculating France. But at what a terrible cost of treasure and of life would treason be subd-^ed ! Well might the Duke of Wellington, although ''v^i-t!r with the fields of death, express his horror at t;. 'atemplation of civil war. War in Ireland would be worse than civil. A demon would take pos- session of the nation's heart, — every feeling of humanity would be extinguished, — neither to sex nor to age would mercy be given. The country would be deluged with blood ; and when that deluge had subsided, it would be a sorry consolation to a British statesman, wlien he gazed upon the spectacle of desolation which Ireland would then present to him, that he beheld the spires of your Established Church still standing secure amidst the desert with which they would be encompassed. You have adjured us, in the name of the oath which we have sworn on the gospel of Go'l, — I adjure you, in the name of every precept contained in that holy book, — in the name of that religion which is the perfection of humanity, — in the name of every obligation, divine and human, as you are men and Christians, to save my counti'y from those evils to which I point, and to remember, that if you shall be the means of precipitating that country into perdition, HORRORS OF CIVIL WAR. 313 ' to touch id would ent, with ] frantic But at 1 treason jUingtoii, press his 1 Ireland ake pos- lu inanity <ye would ^ed with would be he gazed 1 would of your le desert Du have e sworn of every name of -ill the you are ose evils hall be erdition, posterity will deliver its great finding against you, and that you will not only be answerable to posterity, but responsible to that Judge, in whose presence, clothed with the blood of civil warfare, it will be more than dreadful to appear. But God forbid that these evils should ever have any other existence except in my own affrighted imaginings, and that those visions of disaster should be embodied in reality ! God grant that the men to whom the destinies of England are confided by their sovereign may have the virtue and the wisdom to save her from those fearful ills that so darkly and so densely lower upon her ! For my own part, T do not despair of witnessing the time when Ireland will cease to be the battle-field of faction ; when our mutual acrimonies will be laid aside ; when our fatal antipathies will be sacri- ficed to the good genius of our country ; and, so far from wishing for a dismemberment of this majestic empire, I would offer up a prayer, as fervent as ever passed froMi the heart to the lips of any one of you, that the great- ness of that empire may be imperishable, and that the power, and the affluence, and the glory, and, above all, the liberties of England may endure forever. Richard Lalor Shiel. M 314 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE MEN TO MAKE A STATE. The Men, to Make a State, must be Intelligent Men. — The riefht of suftraije is a fearful thinij. It calls for wisdom, and discretion, and intelligence, of no ordinary standard. It takes in, at every exercise, the interests of all the nation. Its results reach forward through time into eternity. Its discharge must be accounted for among the dread responsibilities of the great day of judgment. Who will go to it blindly ? Who will go to it passionately ? Who will go to it as a sycophant, a tool, a slave ? How many do ! These are not the men to make a state. The Men, to Make a S tatk, must he Honest Men. — I do not m(;an men that would never steal. I do not mean men that would scorn to cheat in making change. I mean men with a single face. I mean' men with a single eye. I mean men with a single tongue. I mean men that consider always what is right, and do it at whatever cost. I mean men whom no king on earth can buy. Men that are in the market for the highest bidder ; men that make politics their trade, and look to office for a living ; men that will crawl, where they cannot climb,— these are not the men to make a state. The Men, to Make a State, must be Brave Men. — I mean the men that walk with open face and unpro- tected breast. I mean the men that do, but do not talk. I mean the men that dare to stand alone. I mean the men that are to-day where they were yesterday, and will |: THE MEN TO MAKE A STATE. 315 I TELLIGENT f. It calls 3e, of no ercise, the 1 forward must be ies of the ) blindly ? ) to it as a These are :sT Men. — I do not \<y chansje. en with a I mean d do it at earth can st bidder ; to office ey cannot ^E Men. — nd unpro- not talk, mean the , and will be there to-morrow. I mean the men that can stand still and take the storm. I mean the men that are afraid to kill, but not afraid to die. The man that calls hard names and uses threats; the man that stabs, in secret, with his tongue or with his pen ; the man that moves a mob to deeds of violence and self-destruction ; the man that freely offers his last drop of blood, but never sheds the first, — these are not the men to make a state. The Men, to Make a State, must be Religious Men. — To leave God out of states, is to be atheists. I do not mean that men must cant. I do not mean that men must wear long faces. I do not mean that men must talk of conscience, while they take your spoons. I speak of men who have it in their heart as well as on their brow. The men that own no future, the men that trample on the Bible, the men that never pray, are not the men to make a state. The Men, to Make a State, are made by Faith. — A man that has no faith is so much flesh. His heart is a muscle ; nothing moi'e. He has no past, for reverence ; no future, for reliance. Such men can never make a state. There must be faith to look through clouds and storms up to the sun that shines as cheerily, on high, as on creation's morn. There must be faith that can afford to sink the present in the future ; and let time go, in its strong grasp upon eternity. This is the way that men are made, to make a state. The Men, to Make a State, are made by Self- denial. — The willow dallies with the water, drawa its waves up in continual pulses of refreshment and delight ; and is a willow, after all. An acorn has been loosened. 316 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ' m ¥ some autumnal morning, by a squirrel's foot. It finds a nest in some rude cleft of an old granite rock, where there is scarcely earth to cover it. It knows no shelter, and it feels no shade. It asks no favor, and gives none. It grapples with the rock. It crowds up towards the sun. It is an oak. It has been seventy years an oak. It will be an oak for seven times seventy years ; unless you need a man-of-war to thunder at the foe that shows a tiag upon the shore, where freemen dwell : and then you take no willow in its daintiness and gracefulness : but that old, hardy, storm-stayed and storm-strengthened oak. So are the men made that will make a state. The Men, TO Make a State, aue Themselves made BY Obedience. — Obedience is the health of human hearts : obedience to God ; obedience to father and to mother, who are, to children, in the place of God ; obedience to teachers and to masters, who are in the place of father and of mother ; obedience to spiritual pastors, who arc God's ministers ; and to the powers that be, which are ordained of God. Obedience is but self-government in action ; and he can never govern men who does not govern first himself. Only such men can make a state. Doane. [t finds a ;k, where o shelter, ves none, v'ards the rs an oak. 'S ; unless lat shows and then sefulness ; ingthened ate. ^ES MADE an hearts : bo mother, edience to of father who are hich are nment in does not e a state. PART IV. ARBOR DAY ).iNE. PART IV. ARBOR DAY. A TALK WITH TEACHERS. The teacher should anticipate Arbor Day by lialf-hour conversations daily, for several weeks, on trees and flowers, particularly such as grow in Canada. Every pupil in a Canadian school should know the principal trees of our forests at sight, and a stroll through the woods in early spring, where convenient, svould be an excellent way of observing their form and the variations of bark and leaf and stem. In these conversations the following might be con- sidered : (1) Extent of Canadian forests : Once the home of the Indian, the deer, the elk, the wolf and the bear ; the forests of Canada compared with the forests of other countries, and how these forests are peopled ; the solitude of the forest. Selections of poetry and prose might be read descriptive of the forests. (2) The task of elearlnrj the Canadian forests : How trees are cut down; how disposed of; their conversion into fire-wood, saw logs, rails for fencing, shingles for roofing ; the experience of early settlers in the forests, dangers from wild beasts ; anecdotes and c J ventures ; the pursuit of game. (3) Remarkable forests : The pine forests of Canada and the Northern States ; forests reserved for Park pur- poses ; some of the great English forests ; Epping Forest ; 22 . i I ;l - • i' 320 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Windsor Park ; Bois de Boulogne, Paris ; the forests of Central Europe, of India, Africa and tlie Amazon. (4) The comviercial value of fure.sts : The oak and fir for ship building ; the pine, spruce, ehn, etc., for house building ; the asli, hickory, basswood, etc., for carriage building; the walnut, chestnut, bircli, etc., for furniture; description of lumbering and of a lumbering ca* of a saw mill, of a furniture factory. (5) Trees of the Bible : The cedars of Lebanon, the olive, the pomegranate, the oak, the palm, the willow, the fig tree, the poplar, the ehn, the myrtle, etc. Where and in what connection these trees are mentioned (6) Carious trees: The cow tree, the bread fruit tree, the candle-nut tree, the banyan-tree, and the upas tree. (7) Nut hearing trees : The hickory, oak, walnut, but- ternut, etc., of Canada ; the cocoanut tree, the almond nut tree, and other trees of foreign countries. (8) Fruit trees : Ap|)le, peach, pear, cherry, pi etc., of Canada; the fig, date, orange, lemon trees, v,.^,., of other countries. (9) Beautiful trees : The Canadian maple, the elm, the oak, the birch, etc. (10) Evergreen trees : Pine, cedar, Canadian spruce, laurel, etc. Flowers may be treated in a similar way. Canadian wild flowers might first be considered and pupils encour- aged to collect specimens of them in early spring. The most common flowers for house planting or for bedding or for making borders, might be taken up.. A few days previous to Arbor Day, arrangements should be made for the planting of such trees and shrubs irt the school grounds as may be necessary. The teacher rests of : and fir r house L'arriage rniture ; of a ion, the low, the lere and uit tree, pas tree. [\ut, but- ! ahiiond etc., v-.^., of elm, the spruce, Canadian encour- ig. The bedding jgements Id shrubs teacher ARBOR DAY. SSI might form a committee of the larger boys to attend to the tree planting, and of the girls to attend to flower beds. A committee should ahu be formed to arrant^e for raking up the school yard, looking alter the repairs of the fences, and for removing all offensive material from the school premises. The committee on tree planting should provide the requisite number of trees, and also arrange for such assistance in planting them as may be necessary. Great care should be taken in the removal of the trees from their native bed. The roots .should be fully protected and ample accommodation made for them in their new home. It may be well to call in the as.sist- ance of some resident of the section who has had some experience in matters of that kind. The committee on flower beds should also arrange for the laying of the necessary sodding and for th» selection of such shrubs and flowers as are best adapted to the soil into which it is proposed to transplant them. A few general directions from the teacher in such cases might be helpful. The com- mittee on school grounds should wait upon the trustees and secure, if possible, their co-opeiation in repairing fences and in attendinfj to other matters coming under their direction. Every school yard in Canada should be a model of neatness, and with such an abundance of beautiful trees indigenous to the country there is no excuse for the want of shade which characterizes so many schools. With a little tact on the part of the teacher all objections on this score would quickly disappear. Arbor Day should be made a busy, joyous holiday, one to which the pupils would look forward with enthusiasm and one that would each year add additional interest to Canadian forests and fields. Besides the decoration of . / 322 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. the school ^jfrounds, Arbor Day .sliould also be made to contribute to tlio aesthetic and intellectual culture of pupils. For that purpose suitable selections of poetry and prose may be nieuiorized and an entertainment given in which the beauties ot Nature, as displayed in her great forests and her myriad tinted flowers, are the principal theme. Froui the selections that follow, the teacher would have no diiliculty in preparing a suitable programme, 1. OiioiOE OF Trkes. —Trees for school groimds and yards, along roadsides an<l streets, nuist be such as are least liable to siiffer from injuiies; they sliouM be com- pact and symmetrical in shape, free from objectionable habits, such as bad odors, root-sprouting, frecpient drop- pi)ig of parts, etc., and from insect pests, an^l if planted for shade, should liave a broad crown and a dense foliage, budding early in spring and retaining leaves long into the fall. Absence of skilful hands at tree planting on Arbor Days would also limit the selection to those which are transplanted easily and reipiirc the least care. Trees native to the region in which the planting is done usually have more promise of success and are generally less cosily than exotics. Trees from well-managed nurs- eries are preferable to those grown in the forest, because their root-system is better prej)ared for transplanting. Rapidly-growing trees, although giving shade soonest, are mostly short lived and become soonest unsightly. 2. Size — yMthough as a rule small plants have a better promise of success, other considerations recommend the choice of larger sizes for roadside and ornamental plant- AHHOIl DAY. M2n in^. Trcos of any size can be Hucces.st'ully transplanted, but in proportion to tlie hv/a) grows tl»o difliculty, the amount of work and the care necessary. As a rule the largeso si/e should not exceed two to three inches in dia- meter at the base and t(;n to fifteen feet in hei;,d»t. Those one-half tliat si/e will probubly make lietter grovv^th, because less of their rooL-system will be curtailed in taking them up for transplanting. .'J. CoNsiDKUATioNS IN Tra\.splantin(;. — {((,) An abun- dance of librous roots. Not the turnip-like main or tap- root but the little fibres sustain the life of a tree. See that theie are plenty of them, compactly grown within a small compass, and that they are not stripped of their bark or torn at their ends or dried up. (h) A normal form and well-proportioned develoj^ment of shaft and crown. Tlu; shaft should be clean and straight, neither thick set and short, or thread-like and over elongated, but gi-adually tnpering and strong enougli to hold up its head without support, 'i'he nornuil crown is characterized by vigorous full-sized leaves, or else by a large number of thick and full buds ; it covers the main stem one-thinl to one-half its length, with a symmetric spread evenly l)ranched, and has only one leadei", of mode- rate length. The length and vigor of the last year's shoots, nundjer and thickness of buds, and appearance of the bark afford means of judging the healthy constitution of the tree. (c) The position from which the tree came has some influence on its further development. Trees from the 324 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. i ! forest have generally a wide spreading root system, which is ditficult to take up and transplant. Those which have grown in the shade of the forest as a rule do not start easily in the open sunlight ; those from cool north sides are apt to sicken when placed on hot exposures and vice versa. A healthy tree from poor soil transferred into better conditions will show itself grateful by vigorous development. 4. Treatment before Transplanting. — Transplant- ing is at best a forcible operation, and inj y to the roots, although it may be small, is almost unavoidable. The roots are the life of the tree, and need, therefore, the most attention. In taking up a tree for transplanting the greatest care must be exercised to secure as much of the root-system intact as possible, especially of the small fibrous roots. (a) Never allow roots to become dry, from, the time of taking up the tree until it is transplanted. A healthy- looking tree may have the certainty of death in it if the root tibrils are dried out. To prevent drying during transportation, cover the roots with moist straw or moss or bags, or leave on them as much soil of the original bed as possible. At the place where the tree is to be planted, if the planting cannot be done at once, " heel in " the roots, i. e., cover them and part of the lower stem with fresh earth, or place the tree in the plant hole, throwing several spadefuls of earth on the roots. (6) Pruning roots and branches is almost always neces- sary, but must be done with great care, especially as to root I, which ch have 3t start ih sides md vice id into igorous isplant- le roots, e. The ;he most ing the 1 of the e small time of lealthy- it if the durinij Dr moss original to be leel in " m with rowing s neces- 3 to root ARBOR DAY. 325 pruning. The cutting at the roots should be as little as possible, only removing with a clean sharp cut the bruised and broken parts. Extra long t ip-roots may be cut away, but all the small fibres should be preserved. The cutting at the top is done to bring crown and root into proportion ; the more loss at the roit-systetn has been experienced the more need of reducing the crown system. Larger trees, therefore,^ require severer pruning, especially on poor soils ; yet if there be fibrous roots enough to sus- tain great evaporation from the crown, the less cut the better. With large trees severe pruning is less dangerous than too little. A clean cut as close as possible to the stem or remaining branch will facilitate the healinor of the wound. No stumps should be left (except with conifers, which suffer but little pruning). Shortening of the end shoots to one-half or two-thirds of their length may be done a little above a bud which is to take the lead. As a rule, the pruning for symmetry should have been done a year or so before transplanting, but may be done a year after. 5. Method in Planting a Tree. — (1) Holes are best made before the trees are brought to the ground. They should be a little deeper than the depth of the root- system, but twice as large around as seems necessary, to facilitate penetration of rains and development of root- lets through the loosened soil. Place the top soil, which is better (being richer in easily assimilated plant food) to one side, the raw soil from the bottom to the other side ; in filling back bring the richer soil to the bottom. If it 326 PATiaonC RECITATIONS. be practicable, improve a heavy loamy soil by adding to and mixinc^ with it looser sandy soil, or a loose poor soil by eniichiug it witli loam or compost. Keep all stones out of the bottom ; they may be used above the roots, or better on the surface. Providing proper drainage is the be.^t means of improving ground for tree planting. Use no manure except us n top dressing. (2) Planting is bust done by two or three persons. A, who manipulates the tree, is the planter and responsible for the result ; B and C do the spading under his direction, A places the tree in the hole, to ascertain whether this is of proper size ; a board or stick laid across the hole aids in judging the depth. Trees should not be set deeper than they stood before, excepting in loose, poor soil. More trees are killed by too deep plautint; than the reverse. If the root-system is developed sideways but not centrally, as is oiten the case, a hill is raised in the hole to till out the hollow si)ace in the root system, and the earth of the hill is patted down with the spade. When the hole is in proper order, A holds the tree peq^endicularly in the middle of the hole, with the side bearing the fullest branches towards the south or south-west, for better pro- tection of the shaft against the sun. B and C spread the roots into a natural position, then till in the soil, using the good soil tirst — small spadefuls deliberately thrown over the roots in all directions — while A, by a slight shaking and pumping up and down of the stem, aids the earth in settling around the rootlets. A close contact of the soil with the rootlets is the secret of success in plant- ARBOR DAY. 327 ing. Only fine mellow soil, not too moist, and free from stones, will permit such close adjustment to the rootlets, which should also be aided by hand and fingers filling in every crevice. A, while setting the tree, must exercise care to Veep it in proper position and perpendicular, until the soil is packed so as to keep the tree in place ; then B and C rapidly fill the holes, A treading down the soil firmly after a sufficient quantity is filled in, finishing off a little above the general level to allow for settling, and finally placing the stones or any mulching around the stem. 6. Watering. — The practice of using water while planting can hardly be said to be a good one, unless the water is very carefully applied with a "rose" after the soil is well filled in and packed around the fibrous roots. Especially with a soil which has a tendency to clog, there is great danger of an uneven distribution and settling, with conse(iuent empty spaces between the roots. More trees are probably killed by too much water in trans- planting than by too little. Water after the transplanting (and perhaps before the last shovels of earth are filled in) especially if the soil was dry, is useful and should be applied during the hot season, choosing the late afternoon or evening for applying it. 7. After care. — Any mulch of waste material, hay, straw, or better, wood shavings or chips, sawdust, or even stones simply placed around the foot of the tree, is of excellent service in checking evaporation. n 328 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Keeping the ground free from weeds and grass, and preventing it from baking, by occasional hoeing and rak- ing, is advisable. To prevent tfie trees from being swayed by the wind, if of larger size, they should be staked firmly; a loose post is worse than none. The tying should be so done as not to cut or injure the tree ; a tree-box insures more safety against accidents. With the development of the crown it becomes necessary to trim it, so as to carry the top above reach. Trees are not benefited by being used for hitching-posts, or climb- ing poles or other frolic. Summarizing the elements of success in tree planting, they are : (1) Trees suitable to soil and surrounding conditions ; (2) A well developed root-system kept in living condi- tion ; (3) Wide holes and mellow soil ; (4) Firm packing of soil around the roots. 8 Choice of Kinds. — Leaving out conifers — which require more careful handling and better situations than are as a rule to be had on occasions like that in view — there are over one hundred indigenous species to choose from for planting on the Atlantic side ; of these thirty to forty might deserve attention for Arbor Day tree plant- ing, according to climate, soil, and situation, or object. It is best to limit the choice for this occasion to trees of recognized merit, native to your locality ; opportunities will vary the choice. It is only possible here to name ARBOR DAY. 329 ;rass, and and rak- na being hould be me. The the tree ; bs. With essary to Trees are or climb- planting, iditions ; ing condi- the following selections, which admit of a wide application in Canada : Three Trees to be Planted Where Nothing else WILL Grow; easily transplanted, growing rapidly, but short-lived, liable to injuries, root-sprouting, soon scraggy looking unless specially attended : Silver Maple, Carolina Poplar, Box Elder. Four Trees, Among the Best for Street and Lawn : Sugar Maple, Ked Maple, Linden, Elm. FiVe Trees Desirable for Lawn and Yard : Tulip Tree, Red Oak, Willow Oak, Black Cherry, Basswood. Tkees Suitable for special Positions: Sycamore, Black Birch, Mountain Ash, Black Walnut, Chestnut, Beech, Horse Chestnut. 'Si • s — which ions than m view — to choose thirty to ree plant- ar object. trees of ortunities to name 330 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE LOVE OF NATURE. The sounding cataract Haunted me like a passion ; the tall rock, The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood, Their colors and their forms, were then to me An appetite, — a feeling and a love That had no need of a remoter charm By thought supplied, or any interest Unborrowed from the eye. That time is past. And all its aching joys are now no more. And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this Faint I, nor mourn, nor murmur ; other gifts Have followed, for such loss, I would believe, Abund mt recompense. For 1 have learned To look on nature, not as in the hour Of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftimes The still sad music of humanity, Nor harsh, nor grating, though of ample power To chasten and subdue. And I have felt A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts ; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused. Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean, and the living air. And the blue sky, and in the mind of man ; A motion and a spirit that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought. And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still A lover of the meadows and the woods And mountains, and of all that we behold From this green earth ; of hU the mighty world Of eye and ear, both what they have create And what perceive ; well pleased to recognize In nature, and the language of the sense, The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul Of all my moral being. Wordsworth. A FOREST HYMN. 331 A FOREST HYMN. The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave, And spread the roof above them — ere he framed The lofty vault, to gather and roll back The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood, Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down, And offered to the Mightiest solenni thanks And supplication. For his simple heart Might not resist the sacred influence Which, from the stilly twilight of the place, And from the gray old trunks that high in heaven Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound Of the invisible breath that swayed at once All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed His spirit with the thought of boundless power And inaccessible majesty. Ah why, Should we, in the world's riper years, neglect God's ancient sanctuaries, and adore Only among the crowd, and under roofs That our frail hands have raised ? Let me at least. Here in the shadow of this aged wood, Offer one hymn — thrice happy, if it find Acceptance in His ear. Father, thy hand Hath reared these venerable colunuis. Thou Didst weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down Upon the naked earth, and, forthwith, rose All these fair ranks of trees. They, in thy sun, Budded, and shook their green leaves in thy breeze, u !H^ n »32 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. And shot toward heaven. The century-living crow Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died Among their branches, till at last they stood, As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark, Fit shrine for humble worshipper to hold Communion with his Maker. Thou hast not left Thyself without a witness in these shades, Of thy perfections. Grandeur, strength and grace Are here to speak of Thee. This mighty oak — By whose immovable stem I stand and seem Almost annihilated — not a prince, In all that proud old world beyond the deep. E'er wore his crown as loftily as he Wears the green coronal of leaves with which Thy hand has graced him. Nestled at his root Is beauty, such as blooms not in the glare Of the broad sun. That delicate forest flower. With scented breath and look so like a smile, Seems, as it issues from the shapeless mould. An emanation of the indwelling Life, A visible token of the upholding Love, That are the soul of this wide universe. Bryant. THE FOREST TREES. 333 THE FOREST TREES. Up with your heads, ye sylvan lords, Wave proudly in the breeze. For our cradle bands and coffin boards Must come irom the forest trees. We bless ye for your summer shade, When our weak limbs fail and tire ; Our thanks are due for your winter aid, When we pile the bright log tire. Oh ! where would be our rule on the sea, And the fame of the sailor band, Were it not for the oak and cloud-crowned pine. That spring on the quiet land ? When the ribs and masts of the good ship live. And weather the gale with ease. Take his glass from the tar who will not give A health to the forest trees. Ye lend to life its earliest joy. And wait on its latest page ; In the circling hoop for the rosy boy. And the easy chair for age. The old man totters on his way, With footsteps short and slow ; But without the stick for his help and stay Not a yard's length could he go. The hazel twig in the stripling's hand Hath magic power to please ; And the trusty sta£f end slender wand Are plucked from the forest trees. I! is : 334 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Ye are seen in the shape of the old hand loom And the merry ringing tlail ; Ye shine in the dome of the monarch's homo And the sacred altar rail. In the rustic porch, the waiuscdtted wall, In tiiu gay triumphal car ; In the rude built hut or the banquet hall, No matter I there ye are I Then up with your heads, ye sylvan lords I Wave proudly in the breeze ; From our cradle bands to our cotttn boards We're in debt to the forest trees. Eliza Cook. PLANT A TUER, ;^:?r> PLANT A TRP:K. Ht! who plants a tree Plants a ho]u>. Rootlets up through fibres blindly grope ; Loaves unfold into liorizons free. So man's life must climb From the clouds of time l^nto heavens sublime. Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of thy bouglis shall be ? He who plants a tree Plants a joy ; Plants a comfort that will never cloy. Every day a fresh reality. Beautiful and strong, To whose shelter throng Creatures blithe with song. If thou couldst Vjut know thou happy tree. Of the bliss that shall inhabit thee. He who plants a tree He plants peace. Under its green curtains jargons cease, Leaf and zephyr nmrmur soothingly ; Shadows soft with sleep Down tired eyelids creep. Balm of slumber deep. Never hast thou dreamed, thou blessed tree, Of the benediction thou shalt be. 23 336 PATRIOTJC llECITATIONS. He who plants a tree He plants youth ; Vigor won for centuries in sooth ; Life of time, that hints eternity ! Bouglis their strength uprear, New shoots every year On old growths apjiear. Thou flhalt leach the ages, sturdy tree, Youth of soul is immortality. Ho who plants a tree He plants love ; Tents of coolness spreading out above Wayfarers, he may not live to see Gifts that grow are best ; Hands that bless are blest ; Plant, — life does the rest ! Heaven and earth help him who plants a tree, And his work its own reward shall be. Lucy Larcom. nri THE OAK. 337 THE OAK. A glorious tree is the old gray oak ; He has stood for a thousand years — Has stood and frowned On the trees around, Like a king among his peers ; As around their king they stand, so now, When the flowers their pale leaves fold Tho tall trees round him stand, arrayed In their robes of purple and gold. He has stood like a tower Through sun and shower, And dared the winds to battle ; He has heard the hail. As from plates of mail. From his own limbs shaken, rattle ; He has tossed them about, and shorn the tops (When the storm has roused his mighty Of the forest trees, as a strong iiuin doth The heads of his foes in tight. Gkorob Hill. I < ( 338 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE. Woodman, spai^e that tree I Touch not a single hough ! In youtli it sheltered me, And 111 protect it now. 'Twas my forefather's hand That placed it near his cot, There, woodman, let it stand : Thy axe shall harm it not ! The old familiar tree. Whoso glory and renown Are spread o'er land and sea, — And wouldst thou hack ib down ? Woodman, forbear thy sti'oke ! Cut not its earth-bound ties ; Oh, spare that aged oak, Now towering to the skies ! When but an idle boy I sought its grateful shade ; In all their gushing joy, Here, too, my sisters played. My mother kissed me here ; My father pressed my hand — Forgive the foolish tear ; But let that old oak stand. My heart-strings round thee cling, Close as thy bark, old friend ; Here shall the wild-bird sing, And still thy branches, bend. Old tree ! the storm still brave ! And, woodman, leave the spot ; While I've a hand to save, Thy axe shall harm it not. Gkoroe p. Morrm. FOREST SONG. 339 FOREST SONG. A song for the beautiful trees ! A song for the forest grand, The garden of God's own land, The pride of His centuries. Hurrah ! for the kingly oak, For the maple, the sylvan queen, For the lords of the emerald cloak, For the ladies in living green. For the beautiful trees a song, The peers of a glorious realm, Linden, the ash, and the elm. The poplar stately and strong Hurrah ! for the beech-tree trim. For the hickory stanch at core, For the locust thorny and grim, For the silvery sycamore. A song from the palm, — tlie pine, And for every tree that grows From tlie desolate zone of snows To the zone of the burning line. Hurrah ! for the warders proud Of the mountain-side and vale, That challenge the tliunder-cloud, And buffet the stormy gale. A song for the forest aisled, With its gothic ri)of sublime, The solemn temple of time, Where man becometh a child, As he lists to the anthem-roll Of the wind in the solitude. The hynai which telleth his soul Tliat (Jod is the voice of the wood. So long as the rivers flow, So long as the mountains rise, May the forest sing to the skies, And shelter the earth below. Hurrah ! for the beautiful trees. Hurrah ! for the forest grand. The i)ride of His centuries. The garden of God's own land. W. H. Venaulk. 1 S40 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. INVITATION. Oh, come away to the grave old woods Ere the skies are tinged with light, Ere the slumbering leaves of the gloomy trees Have thrown off the mists of night ; Ere the birds are up, Or the floweret's cup Is drained of its fresh'ning dew, Or the bubbling rill Kissing the hill Breaks on the distant view ; Oh, such is the hour To feel the power Of the quiet, grave old woods ! Then, while sluggards dream, Of some dismal theme, Let us stroll, With prayerful soul. Through the depths of the grave old woods. Oh, come away to the bright old woods, As the sun ascends the skies, While the birdlings sing their morning hymn, And each leaf in the grove replies ; When the golden-zoned bee Flies from flower to tree Seeking sweets for its honeyed cell, And the voice of praise Sounds its varied lays From the depths of each (juiet dell : Oh, such is the hour To feel the ]»ower Of the magic bright old woods ! Then, while sluggards dream Of some trifling theme, Let us stroll, With studious soul, Through the depths of the bright old woods. Charles Sangster. PLANTING FOU THE FLTURE. 341 PLANTING FOR THE FUTURE. In youth's glad morning hour, All life a holiday doth seem ; We glance adown time's vista long Beholding but the sunny gleam. The happy hearts that meet to-day, In a loving band are drawn more near By the loving end that crowns our work, Planting trees for a future year. O tender trees I ye may thrive and grow, And spread your branches to the sun, When the youthful band assembled here. Has reaped life's harvest, every one. When the shining eye shall lose its fire, When the rosy .cheek shall fade away, Thou'lt drink of the dew and bask in the light Forgetful of this Arbor Day. The bounding heart, the active limb. The merry laugh and sparkling jest, Be mingled with the things of earth. And sink to solitude and rest. But o'er this ground with branching arms, These trees shall cast their leafy shade, And other hearts as light and gay, Shall reap the shelter we have made. So let our riauting ever be, Something in store for a future year, When homeward with our harvest bound, We'll meet the Master without fear. Hakrikt B. Wrioht. 342 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE HEART OF THE TREE. What does he phint wlio plants a tree ? He plants a friend of sun and sky ; He plants the flag (»f breezes free ; The shaft of beauty, towering hij^li ; He plants a home to heaven anigh For song and mother-croon of bird In hushed and happy twilight heard — The treble of heaven's harmony — Tliese things he plants who plants a tree. What does he plant who plants a tree i He]>lants cool shade and tender rain. And seed and bud of days to be, And years that fade and flush again ; He plants the glory of the plain ; He plants the forest's heritage ; The harvest of a coming age ; The joy that unborn eyes shall see — These things he plants who plants a tree. What does he ])lant who plants a tree ? He plants, in saj) and leaf and wood, In love of home and loyalty And far-cast thought of civic good — His blessing on the neighborhood Who in the hollow of His hand Holds all the growth (tf all our land — A nation's growth from sea to sea Stirs in his heart who plants a tree. The Century. THE IVY GREEN. 343 THE IVY GREEN. Oh, a dainty plant is the ivy green, That cioepoth o'er ruins old ! Of right choice food are his meals I ween, In his cell so lone and cold. The walls must be crumbled, the stones decayed, To pleasure his dainty whim ; And the mold'ring dust that years have made Is a merry meal for him. Creeping where no life is seen, A rare old plant is the ivy green. Fast he stealeth on, though ho wears no wings. And a staunch old heart has he ! How closely he twineth, how tightly he clings, To his friend, the huge oak tree ! And slyly he traileth along the ground, And his leaves he gently waves, And he joyously twines and hugs around The rich mould of dead men's graves. Creei)ing where no life is seen, A rare old plant is the ivy green. Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed. And nations scattered been ; But the stout old ivy shall never fade From its hale and hearty green. The brave old plant in its lonely days Shall fatten upon the past : For the stateliest building man can raise la the ivy's food at last. Creeping where no life is seen, A rare old plant is the ivy green. Cm ARMS Dl(KEN.S. 344 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. MAY. Can it be tliat it is snowing, On this clear and sunny day ! Are the snow-tlakes thickly falling In the pleasant month of May t No, it is the apple blossoms Falling, falling from the trees. Dancing in a whirl of rapture To the music of the breeze. Till the orchard grass is covered With a carpet pure and white ; Like the crystal snow of winter Dipped in rosy sunset light. May, the month of song and story, Singing birds'and fairest flowers ; May. the month of nature's glory, Sunshine bright and gentle showers. Listen to the robins singing 'Mid the branches of Lho trees ; Listen to the blue-birds' carol And the drowsy hum of bees. All the land is filled with sunshine, Every heart is light and gay, Nature smiles upon her children For it is the month of May. May, the month of song and story. Singing birds and fairest flowers ; May, the month of nature's gloiy. Sunshine bright and gentle showers. \Vm v.. Pahk. A BUTTERCUP. 345 A BUTTERCUP, A little yellow buttercup Stood laughing in the sun ; The grass all green around it, The summer just begun ! Its saucy little head abrim With happiness and fun. Near by — grown old and gone to seed, A dandelion grew, To right and left with every breeze His snowy tissues flew. He shook his saucy head and said : ** I've some advice for you. ** Don't think because you're yellow now, That golden days will last ; I was as gay as you are, once ; But now my youth is past. This day will be my last to bloom ; The hours are going fast. " Perhaps your fun may last a week, But then you'll have to die." The dandelion ceased to speak, — A breeze that capered l)y Snatched all the white hairs from his head And wafted them un high. His yellow neighbor first looked sad, Then, cheering up, he said : " If one's to live in fear of death, One might as well be dead."^' Tlie little buttercup laughed on, And waved his golden head. K. C, 846 PATRIOTIC UECITATIONS. FLOWERS. Spake full well, in languii«;e ([uaint and oldon, One who dwelleth by the castled Rhino, When he called the Howers, so blue and golden, Stars, that in earth's firmament do shine. Wondrous truths, and manifold as wondrous. God hath written in those stars above ; But not less in the bright flowerets under us Stand the revelation of His love. Bright and glorious is that revelation, Written all over this great world of ours ; Making evident our own creation, In these stars of earth, these golden flowers. Everywhere about us they are glowing, Some like stars, to tell us spring is born ; Others, their blue eyes witli tears o'erflowing. Stand like Ruth amid the golden corn. In all places then, and in all seasons, Flowers expand their light and soul-like wings, Teaching us, by most })ersuasive reasons, How akin they are to human things. And with childlike, credulous aft'ection We behold their tender buds expand ; Emblems of our own great resurrection, Emblems of the bright and better land. LoN<i FELLOW, BRINf! FLOWERS. 847 .LOW, imiN(} FLOWEllS. Bring flowers to strew in the conciiieror's jtath I lie hiith shaken thnmes with liis stormy wrath; He comes witli spoils of nations })ack. The vines lie crushed in his chariot's track. The tiirf looks red where he won the day. Bring tlowers to die in the con(|ueror's way I Bring tlowers to the captive's lonely cell 1 They have tales of the joyous woods to tell, — Of the free hlue streams; and the glowing sky. And the bright world shut fiom his languid eye ; They will bear him a thought of the sunny hours, And the dream of his youth. Bring him tlowers, wild tlowers. Bring flowers, fresh tlowers, for the bride to wear ! They were born to blush in her shining hair. She is leaving the home of her childhood's mirth, She hath bid farewell to her fathers hearth. Her place is now by another's side. Bring tlowers, for the locks of the fair young bride ! Bring tlowers, pale tlowers, o'er the bier to shed, A crown for the brow of the early dead ! For this through its leaves hath the white rose burst, For this in the woods was the violet nursed ! Though they sn)ile in vain for what once was ours, They are love's last gift. Bring ye tlowers, pale tlowers ! Bring flowers to the shrine where we kneel in prayer, — They are nature's oflfering, their place is there ! They speak of hope to the fainting heart. With a voice of promise they come and part, T hey sleep in dust through the wintry hours, They break forth in glory. Bring tlowers, bright flowers ! Mrs. Hemans. 348 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. THE BLUEBIRD'S SONG. I know the song that the liluebird is singing, Out in tlie apple tree where he is swinging. Brave little fellow ! the skies may be dreary — Nothing cares he while his heart is so cheery ! Hark ! how the music leaps out from his throat ! Hark ! was there ever so merry a note ? Listen awhile, and you'll hear what he's saying. Up in the apple tree swinging and swaying. *' Dear little blossoms down under the snow, You must be weary of winter 1 know ; Hark, while I sing you a message of cheer ! Summer is coming I and spring time is here ! " " Little white snowdrop ! 1 pray you arise ; Bright yellow crocus ! come open your eyes ; Sweet little violets, hid from the cold, Put on your mantles of purple and gold , Daffodils I daftodils ! say do you hear ? Summer is coming ! and spring time is here ! " Anon. MAY DAY. 349 MAY DAV. Uh, the merry May has pleasant hours, And dreamily they glide, As if they floated like the leaves Upon a silver tide. The trees are full ot crimson buds, And the woods are full of birds ; And the waters How to music, Like a tune with pleasant words. The verdure of the meadow land Is creeping to the hills ; The sweet, blue blossomed violets Are blowing by the rills ; The lilac has a leaf of balm For every wind that stirs ; And the larch stands green and beautiful Amid the sombre firs. There's perfume upon every wind — Music in every tree — Dew for the moisture-loving flowers — Sweets for the sucking bee. The sick come forth for the healing sun ; The young are gathering flowers ; And life is a tale of poetry, That is tctld by golden hours. Nathaniel Pakkek Willis. 350 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. !ir NATURE'S GARDEN. O Painter of tlio fruits jind flowers ! We thank Tlieo for thy wice design Whereby these liuman hands of ours In Nature's garden work with Thine. And thanks tliat from our daily need The joy of simple faith was born ; That he who smites the summer weed, May trust Thee for the autuiini corn. (jive fools their gold, and knaves their power ; Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall ; Who sows a field or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all. For he who blesses most is blest ; And God and man shall own his worth VVho toils to leave as his bequest An added beauty to the earth. And, soon or late, to all th;it sow, The time of harvest shall bo given ; The flowers sliall bloom, the fruit shall grow, If not on eiirth, at last in heaven. Whittibr. THE CLASS TREE. 351 vet ; vv. TTIBR. THE CLASS TREE. TVHE-God Have, the Qne^n. (irow thou and flourish well Ever the story toll Of this glad day ; Long may thy branches raise To heaven our crateful nraise. VVatt them on sMulight rays To God away. Deei» in the earth to-day, Safely thy roots we lay Tree of our love ; Grow thou and tlourish lojig ; Ever our grateful song Shall its glad uf.tes pmlong To God above. Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees', On this glad day ; Bless thou each .student band O'er all our hiijoy land ; T^^ach them Thy love'.s c'onnnand vjreat God, we pray. AuBOR Day Manual. 24 852 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. BriLDlNd THE BIRCH CANOE. FiKsT Pri'iL : — " (Jive nie of your luuk, O birch tree I Of your yellow Iwtrk, O l)irch tree I (irowing by the ru.shiii<.'[ river, Tall and stately in the valley 1 I a light canoe will build me, Build a swift Cheeniaun for sailing, Thiit shalt rioat ujion the river, Li'o a yellow leaf in autwuin. Like a yellow water lily I "' Skconh Pupil:- And the tree with all its branches flustled in the l)ree/,e of morning, r Saying with a sigh of patience, " Take my cloak, O Hiawatha ! " Third Pii'Il :— " Give ni8 of thy boughs, O cedar I Of your strong ar.tl pliant branches. My canoe to make more steady, Make nio?»( strong and tirnt beneath me I Through the suuimit of the cedar Went a sound, a cry of horror. Wont a nnirniur of resistance, But it whispered, bending downward, ' Take my boughs, O Hiawatha I ' Down he hewed tl,e b(»ughs of cedar, Shaped them straiyhtway to a framework, Like tw() bows ho Ibrmed and shaped them, Like tw(» bended bows together." '^ '1 BUILDING THE BIRCH CANOE. 363 Fourth Pupil : — " Give me of your roots, O Tamarack ! Of your fibrous roots, O larch troo ! My c"\!u»c to bind ♦"ogether Thai the water may not enter. That the river may not wet me I " Fifth Pupil : — And the larcli, with all its fibres, Sliivered in the air of morning, Toiiched his forehead with his tassels Said, with one long sigh of sonow, "Take them all, O Hiawatha ! " Sixth Pupil : — '* Give me of your balm, O fir tree ! ( >f your balsam and your reain, So to close the seams t(ig»!ther That the water may not enter. That the river may not wet me." Seventh Pui-il : — And the fir tree, tall and sombre, Sobbed through all its robes of darkness. Rattled like a shore of pebbles, Answered wailing, answered weeping, "Take my baiiu, O Hiawatha ! " All k:m. Thus the birch canoe was builded In the valley, by the river, In the bositm of the forest ; And the forest life was in it. All itii mystery and magic. All the lightness of the birch tree, All the toughness of the cedar. All the larch's supple sinews ; And it floated on the river. Like a yellow leaf in autumn, Like a yellow water lily. LONOFELLOW. 354 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. EXERCISE FOR SIX PUPILS. 1. In the merry month of May Comes our gladsome Arbor Day, And with cheerful vt)ice we rnise Hearty notes of grateful praise. 2. All the buds and bees are singing ; All the lily bells are ringing ; All the brooks run full of laugh '>er, And the winds come whispering aft.jr, What is this they sing and say/ It is May ! 3. Hail beauteous May I that dost inspire Mirth and youth and warm desire ; Woods and groves are uf thy dressing, Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing. 4. Robins in the tree-tojis Blossoms in the grass ; Green things a-gro"wing Everywhere you pass. 6. Sudden little breezes ; Showers of silver dew ; Black bough and bent twig Budding i»ut anew 1 6, Pine tree and willow tree, Fringed elm and larch Don't you think that May time's Pleasanter than March ? ODES TO IHEfFLOWERS. 355 ODES TO THE FLOWERS. [The children are to Btand in a semicircle, each child holdinfi; her respective flower, and talkinf? to it. The flower may be given to the teacher or some one in the audience.] To A Daisy:— Oh ! little flower so bright and fair, We find you bloonnng everywhere. My dear,— your merry little eyes Are always looking to the skies. Your dress is white and red and pink, — The sweetest is the white, — I think. Around your pretty yellow head, Your dainty ruffled cap is spread. You are the " day's eye," pei)ple say, And so you're wide awake all day ; — And when the .-»un i.s hid from sight. You shut your eyes like mint*, so tight. And l)id the world a " sweet good-night." Prasentatuni : So here's my daisy wide awake, I've brought it here for you to take. To A Pansy: — Oh 1 little flower, you drink the dew. And bathe in Heaven's own rain-drops too, Your food is sunshine bright and fair. You breathe like us the balmy air. Your drees of purple velvet hue, Your over-dress, of lilac, too, And in between each dainty fold. Your pretty suit is triuiuied with gold. Kind people you are sure to please. For sometimes you are called " heart's-easf" And just like us when shadows creep. You shut your eyes and go to sleep. 366 PATKIOTIC RECITATIONS. And in your little bed you lie, Till bright the sun shines in the sky. I know wlm is your cousin, too, The violet witli eyes so blue. Your name means Inippy tliou{;;hts and true, I wish / wore as sweet as you. Preseiitatiuti : I'm going to givo my Hower to you, With happy thoughts and kisses too. To A Violet: — Dear, — you've a name we can't forget, The sweetest one, <>f violet. We love you best, (»f all the flowers, Others may claiUi, but you are ours. Sweet-heart, wheii I'm older grown, I'll have a garden all my own. And have it gron'ing tlirough and through. With [tretty little plants like you. Dearie, your darhr.g little head Hangs down as if you were afraid. So modest and so sweet are you, — So pretty are your eyes of blue, That I don't wonder you're a pet ! You dainty, precious violet I PreiU'iitatUm : Hoping you'll not me forget. Here is my little violet. To A Hose:— The sweetest Hower of all that grows, To me's the fragrant-scented rose. This is the queen of all the rest, In robes of royal velvet di'essed. She has a gown of red so bright. And bridal robe of gau/y white. And one of pink and cream and bufl'. Now don't you think that is enough ? 5, ODES TO THE J-'LOWEKS. I know now what they mean who speak, Of roses blooming in each clieek. They say I'll have a cheek of rose, If like that flower I'll live outdoors. 8ee, here's a rose of every hue, I've made them in a bunch for you. [Prt':ients runes to one of the audience.] To A Snowdroi*: — My dear, you are (he sinetrst .sijjht, So small and fair, so pure and white ! When all is cold and chill around, Vou lift your head above the <<round. I found you out in all the snow. And brought you in to warm, you know. And say goodbye to the Snow-King, And ring the bells to coming Spring. I know where every snow-drop dwells, For I Juive listened to the bells. I know how many on a stem, For I have counted all of them. 1 am my mannna's snow-drop to(» For I am small and white like you. I wondei' how you ever grow Out there in all the cold and snow ? Tho' I am big and eight years old, I could not live in all tliat cold. Prescnlotiou : Here are my snow-drops— won't you take And keep t hem for — sake ? In concert : Now don't you think I his school of ours Is raising pretty little flowers. 357 358 PATUIOTIC KECITATIONS. AN EXERCISE FOR ARBOR DAY. Adapted from Arbor Day Mamud tind Other Extrciaen. One tree at least should be planted each year by the scholars ; and, if possible, on the school grounds. In cities, this will be impossible, of course. Planting must be arranged in paiks. In these cases, it is usual to have some prominent public man make an address. The chil- dren march and sing. But as these will be few compared with the vast number they may plant on their own grounds, the teacher will want exercises fitted for a " tree planting" on his own premises. 1. There will be exercises in the school building; then these being finished, 2, There will be exercises at the spot selected for the planting. At a signal the school will rise, and march in this order : 1. The speaker and teacher. 2. The pupils who will plant the tree. 3. Those who will perform any part. 4. Those who will sing, etc. 5. Guests. 6. The rest of the pupils. This part of the exercise should be practised until it can be well done. (The tree should be at the spot, the opening made in the ground, the shovels and dirt in place.) There should be a platform decorated with evergreens and flowers. On coming to order the speaker chosen will make an address. Programme follows. AN EXEIiCISE FOIt ARBOR DAV. 35 1» Exercise in the School-room. Thk Teacher :— To-day is the " Tree Planting Day." We are going to plant something to-day that will live long after we are gone. A great many persons have tliought about trees. I will ask you to tell us what you have found. 1st Pupil :— The first one to plant trees was the great Creator. He commanded the earth to bring forth " the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind." And when the Creator saw it, He " saw that it was good. When He made the garden in Eden He caused to- grow " every tree that is pleasant to the sight." This shows us that the Creator felt that trees were necessary for the happiness of man- kind 2x1) Pupil:— Without doubt, better trees there might be than even the most noble and beautiful now. I .suppose God has in His thoughts, much better ones than He has ever planted on this globe. They are reserved for the glorious land. Beneath them we may walk ! H. W. Beecher. 3rd Pupil : — When we plant a tree we are doing what we can to make our planet a more wholesome and happier dwelling place for those who are to come after us, if not for ourselves. As you drop the seed, as you plant the sap- 300 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. ling, your left liand liardly knows what your right hand is doing. But Nature knows, and in due time the Power that sees and works in secret will reward you openly. You have been warned against hiding your talent in a napkin ; but if your talent takes the form of a maple-key or an acorn, and your napkin is a shred of the apron that covers the lap of the earth, you may hide it there unblamed ; and when you render in your account you will find that your deposit has been drawing com- pound interest all the time. 0. W. Holmes. 4th Pupil : — If it is something to make two blades of grass grow where only one was growing, it is much more to have been the occasion of planting an oak which shall defy twenty scores of winters, or an elm which shall canopy with its green cloud of foliage half as many generations of mortal immortalities. I have written many verses, but the best poems I have produced are the trees I planted on the hillside which overlooks the broad meadows, scal- loped and rounded at their edges by loops of the sinuous Housatonic. O. W. Holmes. oTH Pupil : — What are these maples and beeches and birches but odes and idyls and madrigals ? What are those pines and firs and spruces but holy hymns, too solemn for the many-hued raiment of their gay, deciduous neighbors ? O. W. Holmes. AN KXKKCISE FOR ARBOR DAV. 361 ()TH Pupil : — " We may obtain some idea of tlie usefulness of trees when we learn that we obtain from the forests of Canada over $40,000,000 worth of pi-odiicts every year. Amonj: these products are himber, timber, raih-oad ties, telej^'raph poles, fuel, charcoal, fencinj^ stutt, tan-bark, etc. Jn fact, no other crop e(|uals that of the forest in money value." 7th Pupil : — " Our supply of some of the best kinds of timber is being rapidly exhausted, Forost tires alone do damage each year to the extent of thousands of dollars These fires are caused in different ways — by the sparks from locomotives, the carelessness of farmers in clearing their land, and from caiup-fires left by hunters. Such fires are t?ie chief discourai^ement to timber culture. In addition to the loss by fire, there are droughts, floods, changes of climate, etc., and from all of these our forests suffer." 8th Pupil : — " Many parts of the old world, which were once fertile and thickly peopled, have become so impoverished through the destruction of forests that they are barren and unin- habited. Lariie regions in south-westei*n France, which were once marshy and sandy, are now giving a living to dense populations, because trees were planted and culti- vated." IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I m 111^ |||||r5 t ''"'- IIIIM ■' m III 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" — ► P2 o ^ e/. ^1 '^ f 'CS' #3 ■^^ 'V O .^. /, 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation V s ■^ ^v <r \ \ 6^ %^ % l>^ 23 WEST MA'N STRIET WEBSTER, NY. USBO (716) 872-4503 z\? ^ ^ . <- wJ •y I/. % 362 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Teacher : — " We are going to plant a tree to-day, and I want you to tell me which is your favorite tree, and if possible quote something about it." 1st Pupil (boy) : — " I choose the apple tree. It is a good tree for shade, for its branches spread so far, and then it is useful as well as ornamental. I don't know what we should do without apples, and I think we ought to plant as many apple trees as we can. It was a favorite tree with Bryant, the poet. He says : " ' What plan' we in this apple tree ? Sweets for a hundred (lowering springs To load the May-wind's restless wings. When from the orchard's row, he pours Its fragrance through the open doors : A world of blossoms for the bee, Flowers for the sick girl's silent room, For the glad infant sprigs of bloom, W'. plant with the apple-tree.' " 2nd Pupil (girl) : — " Apples are very nice of course, but I love the blossoms better. I found a quotation from Henry Ward Beecher, and although it is not poetry, I think it very appropriate : " ' But we must not neglect the blossoms of fruit trees. What a great heart an apple tree must have ! What gene- rous work it makes of blossoming ! It is not content with a single bloom for each apple that is to be ; but a profusion, a prodigality of blossoms, there must be. The tree is but a huge bouquet ; it gives you twenty times as much as there is need for, and evidently because it loves to blossom.' " AN EXERCISE FOR ARBOR DAY. 363 3rd Pupil (boy) : — " I love the pine. It stands up so straight and tall, that it looks like a king among trees. I have two verses to the pine by James Russell Lowell : " 'Thou alone know'st the splendor of winter 'Mid thy snow-silvered, hushed precipices, Hearing crags of green ice groan and splinter. And then plunge down the muflBed abysses, In the quiet of midnight. " * Thou above know'st the glory of summer. Gazing down on thy broad seas of forest ; On thy subjects that send a proud murmur Up to thee, to their sachem, who towerest From thy bleak throne to heaven.' " 4tii Pupil (boy) : — " I think the hemlock quite as handsome as the pine. It is green in winter as well as summer. Longfellow has written some very pretty line.'* about it : " *0 hemlock tree ! O hemlock tree ! how faithful are thy branches ; Green not alone in summer time. But in the winter's frost and rime ! O hemlock tree ! O hemlock tree ! how faithful are thy branches !' " oTH Pupil (girl) : — " I love the aspen. I can't help pitying the poor tree, for it trombles, trembles, all the time, as if it had been frightened. I have some lines about the aspen. They were written by John Leyden : " ' Beneath a shivering canopy reclined Of aspen leaves that wave without a wind, I love to lie, when lulling breezes stir The spiry cones that tremble on the fir." ' 364 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. 6th Pupil (boy) : — " Nobody seems to think of the oak, which I call the grandest of trees. Only think how large it grows and how long it lives ! A little while ago, somebody called the pine the king of trees ; but I think you will agree with me that the name belongs to the oak. I found a great deal of poetry about the oak, but I like these lines by H. F. Chorley best of all : " ' A song to the oak, the brave okl oak, Wlio liath ruled in the greenwood long ; Here's hefilth and renown to his broad, green crown, And his fifty arras 8o strong. There's fear in his frown when the sun goes down, And the tire in the West fades out ; And he showeth his might on a wild midnight, When the storms through his branches shout.' " 7th Pupil (boy) : — *' I say, let us plant a hickory tree. We may never eat the nuts ourselves, but perhaps our grand-children will have fun going nutting in the autumn. I am glad some- body had the good sense to plant hickory trees for us, and I guess the squirrels are glad too : " ' When the autumn comes its round Rich, sweet walnuts will be found, Covering thickly all the ground Where my boughs are spread. Ask the boys that visit me, Full of happiness and glee, If they'd mourn the hickory tree Were it felled and dead.' " AN EXER(;iSE FOR ARBOR DAY. 365 call the ows and dy called ill agree found a lese lines rown wn. lever eat iren will id some- for us 8th Pupil (girl) : — " I love the lilac tree, its blossoms are so sweet in the spring ! Don't you remember what pretty bouquets we made of lilacs last year. We set the vases in the windows, and the bees came and helped themselves to honey. I think we ought to remember the bees as well as the squirrels. Mr.s. Stebbins has written some lines about the lilac : " ' I am thinking of the lilac trees. That shook their purple plumes, Anil when the sash was open. Shed fragrance through the rooms.' " 9th Pupil (boy) : — " The willow is my favorite tree. Perhaps I like it so well because it shows signs of life so early in the spring, " The willow is almost the earliest to gladden us with the promise and reality of beauty in its graceful and delicate foliage, and the last to scatter its yellow yet scarcely withered leaves upon the ground. All through the winter, too, its yellow twigs give it a seeming aspect, which is not without a cheering influence, even in the grayest and gloomiest day. Beneath a clouded sky it faithfully remembers the sunshine." 10th Pupil (girl) : — " I think the ash is a beautiful tree. I can't make a speech about it, but I can tell you what Mr. Lowell says : " ' The ash her purple drops forgivingly, And sadly, breaking not the general hush ; The maple swamps glow like a sunset sea, Each leaf a ripple with its separate flash ; All round the woods' edge creeps the skirting blaze, Of bushes low ; as, when on cloudy days, Ere the rain falls the cautious farmer burns his brush.' " . 366 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. 11th Pupil (boy): — " No one has cast a vote for the maple. I think it the most beautiful of all tre'es, and besides it is the national tree of Canada. Hear what has been said of it : All hail to the broad-leaved Maple ! With her fair and changeful dress — A type o{ our youthful country In its pride and loveliness ; Whether in Spring or Summer, Or in the dreary Fall, 'Mid* Nature's forest children, She's fairest of them all. Down sunny slopes and valleys Her graceful form is seen. Her wide, umbrageous branches The sunburnt reaper screen ; 'Mid the dark-browed firs and cedars Her livelier colors shine, Like the dawn of the brighter future On the settler's hut of pine. She crowns the pleasant hill-top, Whispers on breezy downs, And casts refreshing shadows O'er the streets of our busy towns ; She gladdens the aching eye-ball. Shelters the weary head, And scatters her crimson glories On the graves of the silent dead. When W^inter's frosts are yielding To the sun's returning sway, And merry groups are si)eeding To sugar-woods away ; The sweet and welling juices, Which form their welcome spoil, Tell of the teeming plenty, Which here v aits honest toil. nk it the Datioual AN EXERCISE FOR ARBOR DAY. Whon sweet-tjued Spriny;, soft-l>i\iatliiii^, Breaks Nature's icy sleep, And the forest boughs are s*vaying Like the green waves of the deep ; In her fair and budding l)eauty, A fitting emblem she Of this our land of promise, Of hope, of liberty. And when her leaves, all crimson, Droop silently and fall, Like drop3 of life-blood welli?>g From a warrior brave and tall ; They tell how fast and freely Would her children's blood bo shed, Ere the soil of our faith and freedom Should echo a foeman's tread. Then hail to the broad-leaveJ Maple ? With her fair and changeful dress — A tyj)e of our youthful country In its pride and loveliness ; Whether in Sprnig or Summer, Or in the dreary Fall, 'Mid Nature's forest children, She's fairest of them all. H. F. Darnell, D.D. 367 25 ■I 368 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS. Maij />«' (iri<nt(ii'(l far a respoi'siix' nenirc GENESIS. I, 11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the fruit tree, yielding fruit after his kind. 12. And the earth hrought forth the tree, yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after liis kind. And God saw that it was good. 29. And God said, Behold 1 have given you every tree in which is the fruit of Ji tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat. II, 8. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9. And out of the ground made the Lord (iod to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midat of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. DKUTEUONOJIY. VII], 7, 8, 9. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land ; a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of val- leys and hills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil olive, and honey ; a land wherein thou ehalt eat bread without scarceness, thou ghalt not lack anything in it ; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass, XX, 19. For the tree of the field is man's life. I KINGS. IV, 29. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceedingly much. 33. And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. X, 11. And the navy also of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees and precious stones. 12. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also, and psalteries for singers ; there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. 27. Solomon made cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale or abundance. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS, 369 B, yielding e seed was lich is the , and there. tree that is the midst -cod land ; lout of val- trees, and thou ehalt it ; a land lass, Ixceedingly panon even ^om Ophir ^tones. luse of the [eta ; there linthevai^ I'SALMS. I, 1, 2, 3, Blessed i.s the man whose de!i(?ht is in the law of the Lord. He shall be like a tree planttnl by the streams of water that bringeth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. XXX Vf I, 35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading hims(;lf like a green bay tree. 36. Yet he passed away, and, lo ! he was not ; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found, XCir, 12, The righteous shall Hourish like the palm tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. CIV, 16, 17. The trees of the Lord are full of sap ; the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted ; where the birds miike their nests ; as fortht stork, the fir trees are her house, I8.MAH, VI, 13, As a teil tree and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves ; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof, XLI, 19, I will plant in the wilderness the cedar tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree : I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine and the box tree together, XLIV, 4. They shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. 14, He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest ; he planteth an ash and the rain doth nourish it. LV, 12. All the trees of the field shall clap their hands ; 13. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name. LX, 13. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree and the box together. LXI, 3. That they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified, .lERBMI.VH, XVII, 7, 8. Blessed isthe man that trusteth in the Lord, and whoae hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the water, and spreadeth out his roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drouth, neither shall ceaee from yieldiog fruit. 370 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. K/.KKIKL. XXXI, 3. Heboid the AHByrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches and . . . liis top was among the thick boughs. 4, The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high, with the rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the Held. 5. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long, because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. (5. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs. 7. Thus was he fair in his greatness in the length of his branched ; for his root was by great waters. 8. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him ; the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches ; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in its beauty. 9. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches ; so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. XXXIV, 27. Andthetreeof the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord. XLVII, 12. And by the river by the bank thereof, on this side and on that side shall grow all the trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither siiall the fruit thereof be consumed ; it shall bring forth new fruit, accord- ing to his months. . . . and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. MATTHEW. VII, 17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ; but a cor- rupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. XII, 33. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good ; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt ; for the tree is known by his fruit. REVKLATION. II, 7. ... To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. XXI, 10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem. . XXII, 2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side o( the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every montb ; and the leaves of the tree were foi the heal- ing of the nations. SPECIMEN PROORAMMK. 871 SPECIMEN PKOGRAMME. Adaiitcd frohi Arltor Day Manual. (Thih proj?ramnie \h intended to be merely suggestive, and may be varied as tastes, circumstances and opportunities may permit. The ingenuity of teachers is relied upon to make sucti changes as may be necessary to inter- est in some way all grades of pupils, care being taken to make the exercises aa full of life as possible.) SUGOK.STIONS : The order of recitations noted below may be greatly varied. Different scholars may recite one verse each of a stated poem, all reciting the last verse in concert. A very appropriate exercise for younger children may be made under the head " Breexes from the Forest," or " Voices of tfie Trees," in which many children may take part, each pupil reciting a verse especially pre- pared. The first may begin : " I am the sugar maple," etc., other pupils si)eaking as other trees. The following is given as an illustration of this plan: " I am the sugar maple and a favorite ornamental tree. People love me because I am possessed of sweetness. 1 claim to have made more boys and girls happy than any other tree. I have many changes of dress — wearing in spring the softest shade of every color, in the summer the purest emerald, and in the autumn the most brilliant yellow. My wood is used for fur- niture, floors, and for furnishing the interior of houses, and after the houses are finished, few can warm them better than I." The expression in the opening sentence may be varied, as " I am known as "— " They call me," etn. Older pupils might interest themselves in organizing as a " Convention of Trees,'' each pupil rei)resenting a tree familiar in the locality, and to be called by its name. Officers to be chosen by name of trees, and remarks and discussions participated in by members of the Convention, to be recog- nized by names of trees. Compositions may be pre[)ared by older students upon various subjects connected with trees ; as, for example, their uses for bhade, for ornament, for producing fuel, lumber, etc. ; their influence in increasing the rainfall, retaining moisture, modifying the temperature, etc. ; their value in fur- nishing food, materials for clothing, ropes, medicines, oils, homes for the birds, houses, furniture, etc. ; their value as defence against storms, from avalanches in Switzerland, and in preserving health by counteracting the influences of malaria, etc. 372 PATRIOTIC UECITATIONS, Compositions may also be written on the size of trfles, trees in history, care of trees, enemies of trees, the kind* and habits of native tree«, kinds of ornamental treci ; also, a diMcripticm of the tree chosen for planting, its characteristics, usefulness, etc, ; upon varieties of shrubs that are valuable fur landscape gardening, their habits of growth, flowering, etc. The same exercises may be extended to include the vines of Hower seeds or nowering plants that may be selected for cultivation. 1. Devotional Kxekciskh : NoTK. — See Scripture les<<()n given elsewhere. This may be read by one i)ergon, or different scholars may eaoh rejteat a verse or a sentence. Or it may be made a responsive service, the teacher repeating one sentence, and the scholars the next. 2. Reahixo ok thk Law EsTABLiaHiNr. Arbor Day. 3. Rkading of Lettkrs in Rekkuk.vck to Arbor Day. Note.— Many teachers and others in charge of exercises may choose to invite letters appropriate to the occasion, from prominent persons in the different localities who are unable to be present. Song. Recitations. 4. 5. -By different pupils. First Pupil : " The graves were God's first temples. Ere man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave And spread the roof above them— ere he framed The loioy vault, to gather and roll back The round of anthems, in the darkling wood. Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks And Eupplications." Hutant. Second Pupil : " I shall speak of trees, as we see them, love them, adore them in the fields where they are alive, holding their green sunshades over our heads, talking to us M'ith their hundred thousand whispering tongues, looking down on us with that sweet meekness which belongs to huge but limited organisms —which one sees most in the patient posture, the outstretched arms, and the heavy, drooping r;jbee of these vast beings, endowed with life, but not with scul— which outgrow us and outlive us, but stand helpless, poor tbiogs— while nature dresses and undresses them." Holmes. SPECIMEN l'U()(iUAMME. 373 in hJBtory, reex, kinds lanting, its re valuable The Rarae r iiowering 36 read by itence. Or E) sentence, y choose to tons in the Thiud PiTiL : " Give fools their gold and knaves their power ; Let fortune's bubbles risw and fall ; Who sows a field, or trains a Hower, Or plants a tree, is more than all. For he who blesses most is blest ; And God and man shall own his worth, Who toils to leave as his bequest An added beauty to the earth." Whitfikr. FOUHTH Pli'il : "There is something nobly nimple and pure in a taste for the cultivation of forest trees. It argues, I think, a sweet and generous nature to have this strong relish for the beauties of vegetation, and this friendship for the hardy and glorious sons of the forest. There is a grandeur of t ■ 'srht con- nected with this part of rural economy. * * * He who plai. > an oak looks forward to future ages, and plants for posterity. Nothing can be less selfish than this." luviNO. Fifth Pupil : "What conqueror in any jj.irt of 'Life's brcid field of battle' could desire a mv. beautiful, a more noble, or a more patriotic iiioniimerf- than a tree planted by the hands of pure and joyous children, ac a memorial of his achievements.' Lossing. Sixth Pupil : ' Oh ! Ropalind, these trees shall be my books, And in their barks my thoughts I'll character. That every eye which in this forest looks, SShall see thy virtue witnessed everywhere. '' Shakkspeahb. huTANT. )m in the |ur heads, p, looking |t limited [stretched Ived with I helpless, >LMES. Seventh Pupil : "There ie something unspeakably cheerful in a spot of ground covered with trees, that smiles amidst all the rigors of winter, and gives us a view of the most gay eeason in the midst of that which is the most dead and melancholy." Addison. Eighth Pupil : " As the leaves of trees are said to absorb all noxious qualities of the air, and to breathe forth a purer atmosphere, so it seems to me as if they drew from us all sordid {^nd angry passions, and breathed Torth peace and philan- thropy." —Irving. 374 PATRIOTIC RECITATIONS. Ninth Pupil : " I care not how men trace their ancestry, To ape or Adam ; let them please their whim ; But I in Jur>e am midway to believe A tree amoi^^' my far progenitors, Such sympathy is mine with all the race, Such mutual recognition vaguely sweet There is between us. " LOWKLL. Tenth Pupil : " Trees have about them something beautiful and attractive even to the fancy. Since they cannot change their plan, are witnesses of all the changes that take place around them ; and as some reach a great age, they become, as it were, historical monuments, and, like ourselves, they have a life grow- ing and passing away, not being inanimate and unvarying like the fields and rivers. One sees them passing through various stages, and at last, step by step, approaching death, which makes them look still more like ourselves. Humboldt. Elfa'enth Pupil : " Summer or winter, day or night, The woods are an ever new delight ; They give us peace, and they make us strong. Such wonderful balms to them belong ; So, living or dying, I'll take my ea«e Under the trees, under the trees. " Stoddard. d. Reading or Declamation. 7. Song. 8. Address.— "Our School -houses and our Homes, How to beautify them." Note. — Any other appropriate subject may be selected. 9. Song. 10. Brief EssATS.-By different scholars. First scholar may choose for subject, "My Favorite Tree is an Oak,* and give reasons. Other scholars may follow, taking for subjects the Elm. Maple, Beech, Birch, Ash, etc. These essays should be very short. 11. Song. 12. Voting on the Question. -" What is the Favorite Tree." 13. Readiko or Recitation. 14. SoNO. 15. OfiOANiZATioN OF LocAL " Shade Tree Planting ABBoclation. " Note.— The scholars should at least appoint a committee to uerve for a year to see that trees planted are properly cared for. 16. God Save the (Jueen. LOWKLL. 'e even to the 11 the changes they become, e a life grow- ike the fields and at last, ill more like lUMBOLDT. iTODDARD. to beautify is an Oak,' ts the Elm. ort. B.' kion." (ierve for a