The mother of the "Prince of Peace," Oh why should this thy soul elate? And is not war a youthful king, A stately hero clad in mail? Beneath his footsteps laurels spring; Him earth's majestic monarchs hail Their friend, their playmate! and his bold bright eye "Tell this in some more courtly scene, To maids and youths in robes of state! I am a woman poor and mean, And therefore is my soul elate. "A murderous fiend, by fiends adored, Steals all his widow's toil has won : "Then wisely is my soul elate, 'That strife should vanish, battle cease'; I'm poor and of a low estate, The mother of the "Prince of Peace," Joy rises in me, like a summer's morn: Peace, "Peace on Earth!" The "Prince of Peace" is born! REFORM INSTRUMENTALITIES. It is Sunday night. I have just returned from one of Humanity's meetings, and am too full of its enlivening spirit to think of repose. It was not an appointed meeting, except in the general order of Providence, but was a spontaneous gathering of a roomfull of free spirits, met for no special purpose, and confined, therefore, to no special topics. In course of the conversation, which at no time degenerated into speech-making, the great question of human rights, in many of its most important bearings, was considered and as we were restricted by none of the tyrannical formalities of organized bodies, but were left to the free utterance of our convictions, the discussion was very free and familiar, and resulted in the great edification of all present. It was one of those meetings which stand first and foremost among reform instrumentalities; for it was without a single authoritative trammel. It was a living protest against formal and conventional assemblages, and a triumphant affirmation of the incomparable excellence and efficiency of entire freedom of speech. You should have been there to feel how beyond all expression it refreshes and strengthens one to be loosed for a while from this great cage which we call Government, and allowed to range abroad at will without let or bar. Our self-constituted keepers see unimaginable dangers in our being at large in this way, and are for narrowing our cage and shortening our chain. If we don't shiver the bars and snap the chain, now that we may do it if we will, we shall soon be drawn down to the ringbolt and starved into imbecility. It is a great leap from the fenced and spiked limits of an icy conventionalism on to the illimited and illimitable plain of absolute freedom,-and it isn't strange that on first pressing its green soil, and feeling the exquisite sense of entire emancipation, one is disposed to caper about with what seems to those who are peeping at him through the prison bars, a most unreasonable and extravagant joy. But if extravagance ever has a sure defence, it is when indulged in by a freed slave, and if there is a freed slave in the universe it is he who has cut the last strand which binds him to the footstool of human authority, or any other save the absolute authority of his own free convictions. Whoever have done this "shall mount up with wings as eagles: they shall run and not be weary: and they shall walk and not faint." As we sat by each other on the occasion which has suggested these "extravagances," it was truly inspiring to see how a new thought, uttered by one of the men or women, would fly round the magic circle like electricity, waking every one into new life with its pleasant shock, and leaving a bright spark in every eye. It was delightful, too, to feel the absence of all order, or rather all "rules of order." I suppose, in point of fact, we had that highest order, the "order of nature"-a kind of order not "made and provided" for in Jefferson's Manual, and which is contraband to all Parliaments, and utterly extraneous and irrelevant to all chairmen. I wish our friends Garrison and Foster and Quincy and Chapman had been with us; for it seems to me they would have seen the beauties of unshackled speech so finely illustrated, that they could never again rest easy under the orderly control of a chairman appointed to moderate them, and would never again consent to subject anti-slavery to anything but its own will, moderate or immoderate! However, the time is coming, is nigh at hand, when the surges of free thought will break over the petty chains which are insanely used to stay its bold career, as unconcernedly as the restless surges of the sea rolled over the fetters of poor Xerxes. But to our meeting again. The prevailing, presiding thought, was that our reform movement should utterly repudiate all political instrumentalities whatsoever, and devote the whole of its immense energies to the inculcation of simple truth. Every other course was represented as ruinous. The idea of calling upon politicians to use any of their murderous tools in our behalf, was exposed by showing that they were utterly useless for anything but mischief. Every argument which ingenuity could devise was adduced in favor of calling upon our state and national legislatures to put their engines upon our track; but it was shown that they were infinitely too narrow for that purpose, and if placed there would only tear up the ground, upset the cars, get our enterprise into hot water, and dash us to pieces like a potter's vessel. In fine, the broad ground was taken that about the only thing we have to do with governments is to protest against their existence and call upon them in the high name of Humanity instantly to disband. To do this, with our professions, is noble, but to go creeping up to their crimson thrones with petitions "praying them" to "abolish slavery in the District of Columbia" by the crushing force of their authority; and asking them to place themselves at the South end of our Eden to keep out Texas with a "flaming sword;" seemed to some of us most unworthy and ignoble, and in flat contradiction to our moral suasion professions. The main suggestion in reply to these thoughts was, that we ought to petition these armed bodies to repeal their iniquitous laws, to undo their vile work. To this the ready answer was, that we had no objection to calling upon them to undo anything which could be undone without the use of the sword, and especially to quit doing everything; but that we couldn't call upon them to do a single thing, because they have but one instrumentality and that the sword. THE TRUTH. The truth must always triumph in the end. Her light may be for a time obscured by the clouds of ignorance, distorted by the mists of superstition, or concealed by mountains of prejudice; but she is omnipotent, and inspires her true disciples with a perennial faith which will shine through the clouds, dissipate all mists and remove mountains. The glittering host of Pride may be arrayed against her: Ambition may put his iron heel upon her cause: Selfishness may essay to elude or vanish her: but all in vain. As well might they attempt to stay the incoming of the tide, or circumscribe the light of the stars. Amidst all their vain babblings and all their noisy conflict, she remains in unchangeable beauty and unweakened power. With form erect, and countenance beaming with hope, she looks mildly upon her enemies; and before the steady light of her eye, they quail and quiver like the reed in a storm. Like the Sun, she presses forward in her path, in sublime dignity and grandeur. She heeds not the roaring tempest, and for her the arrowy lightning has no terror. Error may spread his black wings 'twixt her and the earth; but into her breast he can send no alarm. His startling voice disturbs not her quiet; his ominous notes are not ominous to her. The "shadow of his coming" darkens not her countenance, but as he moves stealthily on in his dark path, she pursues her appointed way like an Angel of Light; and when Error has passed away into oblivion, she shines forth upon the world, with a more ravishing light, and a more quickening power. "Truth struck to earth will rise again, The eternal years of God are hers; |