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whatever over me? I confess that I am under great obligations to you, and if an opportunity should offer, I shall be too happy to render you any service in return. Meanwhile, till I can have that pleasure, Satan, (and Vincenzio raised himself erect to his full height),-liar and father of lies! know that all your wiles have been baffled and reduced to nothing by a simple mortal-by a man who mocks you to your face! Behold that clock! in a few seconds the time that you are to pass upon the earth expires, and you have to return to hell!"

Rage caused the blood to rush to the face of Astaroth, which completely blackened its purple hue. "Monster of ingratitude!" he howled forth.

"I am a man!" coldly replied Vincenzio.

Scarcely had he finished these words when midnight sounded. A terrible peal of thunder shook Venice to its foundations, and Astaroth disappeared from his eyes.

"After all," said Vincenzio to himself, "I have not treated him very handsomely."

Our Venetian never saw Astaroth again. He lived to a very advanced age, preserving the privileges of youth and the enjoyment of every pleasure, which he owed to his infernal compact. He devoted himself anew to Chess, and became more passionately fond of it than ever; the players of every country acknowledged him as their master. Nor did he forget his eternal salvation. When he felt his last hour approach, he received the consolations of religion, and after the priest had anointed his body with the holy oil, his soul took its flight to its creator.

MORAL.

Always take your full time to play, and never play too quick.

WOMAN'S LOVE.

My heart, a spirit pure, went forth in love,
And found its own, unconscious, fancy free,'
And so returned, without the chance to prove
Its tenderness and immortality.

Ah! say not so-thou thoughtless mind-not so!
Love is not baffled in its tender quest,

My heart returned with gentler, sweeter glow,
And burns the holier in my silent breast.

Unconsciously beloved! how pure the prayer

My soul puts up to Heaven each night for thee;
There sure shall be no selfish purpose there,

And God will hear the wish of purity.

Oh may'st thou love as worthily as I,

And in an answering heart thy power of blessing try.

Can Love be hopeless? ah! they little know

Of woman's love, who think that Hope can die
In that immortal essence. It shall glow,

Long as her faith in God keeps true and high.
'Twas He that bade the stream of love to flow,

And He shall watch it with a father's eye;
What though no bower of home on earth may grow,
Her latent tender power where she may try,
One still may bloom for him whose earthly bliss
It is her life to make-and who can tell,
But the full tides that in her bosom swell
May be the secret source of life to this?
Love ne'er despairs its loved in joy to see,
And hopes an unseen fount of his delights to be.

Ah, little know'st thou of that mystic urn,

A woman's heart, if thou canst ask if Love
Can live and grow without a full return;

Thrice blest indeed the heart allowed to prove,
To him she loves, how life may bloom and glow,
With bliss that wedded souls alone may know.
But Love is heav'n-descended, and, its birth
And source forgetting never, needs must pour

A stream of joy around his path on earth
For whose dear sake it neared this earthly shore.
A cherished visitant art thou to me,

Oh holy Love! and in thy secret cell

I would be worthy that thou still shouldst dwell;
Oh may no thought of self thence ever bid thee flee!

Boston, 1839.

PEACE AND WAR.

AMONG the philanthropic enterprises of our time, one of the most interesting is that which has for its object the abolition of War, and the adoption of the Peace principle by nations and individuals, in the settlement of all differences and disputes of a public and a private nature. The manner in which the cause of Peace has been advocated by the societies expressly formed for its promotion, has led to the discussion of topics of the highest importance to the intercourse of nations, and the existence of every government. The question has been raised whether war, defensive or offensive, be justifiable in any case; whether the taking of human life, and the resort to physical force by nations or individuals in self-defence, and for the redress of injuries, be not absolutely immoral and opposed to the principles of Christianity; and whether a Christian can consistently own allegiance to any government that claims the use of coercive measures for the execution of its laws.—It is with the view to a satisfactory settlement of these great questions as connected with the present agitation of the cause of Peace in our country, that we offer the following considerations.

The history of the Peace Societies in this country is remarkable not so much on account of their increase in numbers and means, as because, short as it is, it exhibits the growth of principle, which, whether true or erroneous, is ever the most important part of human history. An anonymous pamphlet, bearing the title of 'A Solemn Review of the Custom of War,' published in Boston in the year 1814, and republished in England, called into existence the different societies which afterward united under the name of the American Peace Society. That pamphlet was the work of a New England country clergyman, whose fame had hardly reached beyond the sound of the bell of his village church, until the periodical of which he became the editor endeared the name of the "Friend of Peace," to all who found in this enterprise a sphere of action suited to their benevolent desires. "The Friend of Peace" was followed by the "Calumet," and this by the "Advocate of Peace" which is at present the organ of the Peace Societies. Kindred societies have been formed in England, France, and Switzerland. Memorials for the institution of a Congress of nations with a view to a peaceable adjustment of all international disputes, have been brought before one of the State Legislatures, and before Congress, at its last, and again at its present, session. The committee appointed for the con

* Noah Worcester. He died at Brighton, Massachusetts, 1837.

sideration of this subject by the Legislature of Massachusetts in 1837, moved several resolutions, condemning the "resort to War to settle questions of national profit or honor;" and recommending The first "the institution of a Congress or Court of Nations." petition of the New York Peace Society besought Congress, to' "adopt the principle of reference to a third Power of such international disputes as cannot be amicably adjusted by the parties themselves, as an invariable rule instead of an occasional one;' and further, that, "in pursuance of this principle, a proposal be sent forth by this Government to those of other nations, that they would unite with it in the establishment of a great international Board of Arbitration, or a Congress of Nations, to which to refer international disputes; and also for the purpose of digesting and preparing a regular code of international law, obligatory on such nations as may afterwards adopt it." This memorial was read, and laid upon the table, in consequence of a very able report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, by Mr. Legare, of South Carolina.

The Peace movement has encountered less opposition in this country and abroad, than perhaps any other cause of moral reform; and the inconsiderable degree of interest it has hitherto excited may, in part at least, be traced to the nature of the principle itself, which, when stated in its most general form, meets with universal assent or acquiescence; but when set forth with all the consequences derived from it by uncompromising practical reasoners, finds but few minds willing to adopt it. It is allowed by all that Peace is in general better than War; and that for the redress of wrong the use of moral power is generally preferable to physical force. But that coercion and war ought never to be resorted to, even in defence of life and liberty-this is a corollary to the Peace principle which would require a radical change of sentiment to gain admission to the practical creed of individuals and nations. This internal impediment to the progress of the Peace cause, arising from the nature of the principle on which it rests, is sufficiently evident from the change which the constitution of the society has undergone in the fundamental article which defines its object; and in the recent attempt at a still more thorough reform which has led to the formation of the "New England Non-Resistance Society."

The object of the American Peace Society as stated in its original constitution was the abolition of offensive war. Nothing was said with regard to the moral character of defensive war, because a difference of opinion was known to exist among the friends of Peace on that subject, and because the abolition of all offensive or oppressive wars implied that of defensive warfare as a necessary consequence. But this prudential restraint, and calculation of consequences, did not satisfy those who had embraced the principle of Peace as a divine precept that required explicit profession and VOL. V. NO. XV.--MARCH, 1839. T

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strict obedience. They also argued, with much effect, that the term defensive war' is in practice at least a vague title, which in most cases, as recently in the wars of Napoleon, has been used by each of the contending powers to justify its having recourse to Accordingly, at the ninth anniversary of the society, in 1837, the constitution was amended so as to declare, that "all war is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel."

arms.

This change was deprecated by those members of the society who approved of defensive war; and they thought themselves bound in conscience to dissolve their connexion. The official organ of the society endeavoured to persuade them to remain united, although the revised constitution had recognised for its basis the contrariety of all war to the spirit of the Gospel." "Under such a constitution," it was said, "cannot all the friends of peace consistently unite? We do not propose this principle as a pledge; we do not enforce it as a test; we merely give it as a guarantee, that our influence as a society shall never go to countenance any form of war." But this mode of reasoning, while it did not convince the conscientious believers in the justice of defensive war, failed, on the other hand, of satisfying those whose opposition to all war was only the consequence of a more radical principle. They reasoned in this way; and it is a singular instance of the general tendency of the times to push abstract principles to impracticable and even absurd extremes in their application: If the Government have no right to use and prepare means for defence against foreign aggressors, how can it be justified in proceeding forcibly against internal enemies by threatening and inflicting punishments? And if a nation has no right to defend itself against foreign enemies, or to punish its invaders, no individual possesses that right in his own cause.' The Gospel precepts, • Do not kill,' 'Resist not evil,' and 'Render not evil for evil but overcome evil with good,' absolutely forbid the taking of humau life, and discountenance the use of force against enemies in every case, and inculcate an implicit faith in moral means, in reinonstrance and self-sacrificing endurance, as sufficient to protect the just from the unjust, and to convert enemies into friends. These sentiments which had been cherished for some time by some of the most zealous advocates of the cause, though disavowed by the official organ of the society, found a full expression in the Peace Convention, held in Boston, on the 18th, 19th, and 20th of Septem ber last. This convention resulted in the formation of the "New England Non-Resistance Society," which put forth a Declaration of Sentiments, and adopted a constitution distinct from that of the American Peace Society. The second article of the new society states its object, in the words following:

99

Advocate of Peace, No. 3, December 1837, page 107.

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