As 'twould accost some frivolous wing,
Crying out of the hazel copse, "_Phe--be!_"
And in winter, "_Chic-a-dee-dee!_"
I think old Caesar must have heard
In Northern Gaul my dauntless bird,
And, echoed in some frosty wold,
Borrowed thy battle-numbers bold.
And I shall write our annals new,

And thank thee for a better clew:
I, who dreamed not, when I came here,
To find the antidote of fear,
Now hear thee say in Roman key,
"_Paean! Ve-ni, Vi-di, Vi-ci._"

* * * * *


SALTPETRE AS A SOURCE OF POWER.


Every element of _strength_ in a civilized community demands special
notice. The present material progress of nations brings us every day in
contact with the application of power under various conditions, and the
most thoughtless person is to some extent influenced mentally by the
improvements, taking the places of older means and ways of adaptation,
in the arts of life.

We travel by the aid of steam-power, and we think and speak of a
locomotive or a steamboat as we once thought and spoke of a horse or