The Battle of the Woods.

THE grand old Forests are going to war.

The proud Wind has shrilled out the battle cry.

The tramp of his armies is heard afar;

And the white signal-flags haste across the blue sky.

The bloody red banners flame far in the West,

Where the Storm Wind encamps with his legions untold;

And the hills, where the gorgeous pavilions rest,

Are all glowing with purple and blazing with gold.

And around in the North, where the dark Midnight reigns, The light of their camp-fires glares broad o'er the sky;

And it flickers and flares as over the plains

The Warrior Winds in their dance hurry by.

The Forests are throned on a thousand hills,

All decked with the glory of Autumn's prime;
While the wild weird voice of the wayward rills
Still murmurs and trills its delicate rhyme.

But the Forests have caught the sound of alarm,
And the pines are tossing their battle crest;
While the oaks are baring each stalwart arm,
And stripping the robes from each brawny breast.

Till all the gay mantles lie low on the ground,
And the gray old trees, in their naked might,
Stand solemn and still till the trumpet sound

Of the Storm King's advancing announces the fight.

Then the Forests are shaken from flank to flank,
And a million arms wildly toss in the air;
And blow upon blow from the close set rank,
Hurl back the baffled assailant there.

But we listen all night to the roaring rage,
And the wild war-cry of the furious blast,
And the groan of the Forests as they engage,
And the crash of the riven oak headlong cast.

Till the Sun with the beautiful morning light

Comes forth from his chambers behind the waves; And the foiled Winds flee with the banished Night, And hide in their gloomy mountain caves.

And the plumage torn from the Tempest's wings
Wraps soft in a winding sheet of white
The prostrate forms of the Forest kings,
Who fell in the clash of the deadly fight.

E. C. P.

Mormonism.

THE conditions of a new problem in political philosophy are developing themselves in gigantic proportions, on the "outermost verge" of our civilization. While pompous declamation has spent itself in panegyric on the prosperity and dawning greatness of our young republic, and the energies and vigilance of our statesmen have been taxed to yield solutions to some vexatious problems in the elder States, the curse of Mormonism, which the arm of an infant might have crushed at its birth, has insidiously crept into and fastened upon our political system, and may yet defy the whole force of the Federal armies to subdue it. If the correct definition of Manifest Destiny be the occupation and population of the continent, it has assumed some odd forms. The Mormons have taken it up with a vengeance.

Patriotism, if not posterity, which is to be affected by our conduct in this transaction, demands of us immediate and prudent action, in the spirit of republicanism, in harmony with the peculiar principles of our democracy, in conformity with the policy adopted by our wisest statesmen, acting as interpreters of the Constitution. The condition of affairs is such that abstract reasoning on the subject is of no avail. The matter must be treated in the concrete. In a moral point of view, the nation is unanimous. But a variety of practical methods may be proposed to wipe out the curse. Two courses suggest themselves. Like the unhappy Waldenses, the Mormons may be hunted down-with bloodhounds, if you wish it. Or the scenes of Smithfield may be re-enacted. Chained to iron posts, they may be burnt out with blazing faggots, or the gloomy walls of the Inquisition may rise up, with its silent rows of ghastly skeletons. Murders, outrage and conflagration may destroy them. But it is a maxim now that fanaticism will not down" at the command of force. Persecution is a despicable engine of reformation.

The other course remains. Bring to bear upon them the effective forces of our moral power. Is this not the most acceptable way?

Surely we believe in it, or our missionaries would not now be preaching down other forms of heathenism over the globe.

We draw the kindly veil of oblivion over the sad errors and religious persecutions of our ancestors. Undoubtedly they made out as strong a case against Witchcraft, Skepticism and Sectarianism as we do against Mormonism. Let us not forget the lessons they taught us. Even now the bayonets of the Federal army are bristling in the mountain passes that open towards the Mormon capital. Imagine the Mormon leaders in conference with the military commanders of the expedition. Have we not a right to settle here? Assuredly you have. Have we not a right to worship God as we elect? Undoubtedly. Can we not make our own laws in accordance with the organic act? True; but then your polygamy. But polygamy is as much a local institution as slavery. Carry our cause up to the Supreme Court, and it will decree so. Marriage is controlled by local laws. The Constitution never mentions it. If we are our own legislators, can we not place marriage on whatever basis we choose? Acknowledge it. But we march against you by the light of an immortal idea-“the cause of civilization." We don't, say the Mormons, understand or admit the force of these "glittering generalities." We stand firmly upon the laws-have we impinged upon the organic act? No; but we attack you in behalf of morality-the higher law! Ah! but you Gentiles have ignored long since the "higher law." With this " ad hominem" the conference ceases. Look for a moment at the " cause of civilization."-Are not law and order and toleration its boasted essentials? Is it not our proud claim that we are guilty of no extra-judicial acts? Long since we rejected the idea of forcible propagandism, and assumed to remove moral maladies by moral remedies. Thus much for the claims of civilization. We now propound the question, have the Mormons violated any law? Violations of law merit the punishment of physical force But no transgression calls for no force. The Mormons settled in the territories of the United States. legal occupation. They petitioned for a territorial government. They received it legitimately. Government admitted them to the threshold of the Union. Congress passed an organic act in a constitutional way. Civil was substituted for martial law. Have they, as a people, violated the provisions of the organic act? We have heard of none. Intrenched behind the law and guarded by the broad shield of the Constitution, they bid defiance to the Federal armies. The difficulty, we think, of the whole matter lies in this, that an organic act was passed instituting a territorial government. ""Twas worse than a crime-a blunder." Con

It was a

sider briefly the operation of things under territorial law. The enacted laws are Mormon. The juries are Mormon juries. The subordinate officers of government all are Mormons. But to understand thoroughly the full effect of the laws, it is necessary to inquire into the moral condition of the people. Brigham Young is the divine leader of their hosts. He is undoubtedly one of the marked men of this age. With a shrewdness and keen sagacity that out-manoeuvred the acute and intellectual Rigdon at Nauvoo, and secured his accession to the office of high priest in those chambers of infamy;-endowed with a commanding genius, that has never failed to sustain him in his dangerous position, by appealing to the religious feelings of the "saints" he has converted them into mere tools, which he employs with consummate ability. Suppose, now, the perpetration of a "Gentile" murder, or the assassination of a United States official. A Mormon sheriff will suffer the escape of the criminal, or, if he be apprehended, he will put himself for trial "on the Mormon God," before a Mormon jury, with Mormon witnesses, abjectly subservient to the dictates of Brigham. Murders, outrages hideous and unparalleled, may be committed with impunity. The United States army cannot interfere except in case of rebellion. But the Mormons are too shrewd for rebellion-at least, if they follow the common sense dictates of Young. Without rebellion, the army can only act as a “posse commitatus"—only in the cases of individual crime. Depose Young, by virtue of the territorial act. If suspected of guilt he will not be punished, for reasons we have just stated. His omnipotence will remain unimpaired. The cases of other individuals will be similar. The grand Federal army may yet adopt the tactics of the redoubtable French army, that "marched up the hill," and-executed a manœuvre in the contrary direction.

If there be rebellion even, let it be suppressed. Has anything been gained The seeds of future rebellions lie buried there. Life and property will not be more safe. The Mormons cannot be disarmed, for when rebellion ceases, the right to bear arms is restored to them. The only remedy lies in a repeal of the territorial act. By virtue of it, the laws were given into their own hands. Deprived of it, they reUnder martial law,

lapse into the condition of military government. such division of the territory may be made and such disposition of the inhabitants adopted as will check the progress of the Saints. Under martial law, we may confidently expect the same results that have occurred in India under the military rule of the British. Infanticide has been checked. The immolation of women has been abolished; the roll of Juggernaut stopped.

We do not believe that Mormonism is destined to a lengthy career. It is the unholy child of ignorance. Nor can it prevent the free admission of knowledge and intelligence, from its close proximity to our civilization. The "Bull of Bashan," the "Wild Ram of the Mountains," the "Fruitful Vine," (as they term their leaders,) will not perpetuate a thriving aristocracy. The novelties of their doctrine which allured large numbers of the susceptible-the persecutions which have operated to confirm their belief, have thus far recruited their ranks. But, above all, the marvelous promises they have made to the illiterate poor of the old world-the fascinations of a pioneer life in the great West-the promise of lands teeming with wealth-and the prospect of a splendid central empire in the heart of this continent-have garnered up for them a rich harvest. If the matter is treated rightly, the illusion will be dispelled and Mormonism finally perish.

W. N. A.

A Frozen Heart.

"The fountain of his heart dried up within him,—
With nought that loved him, and with nought to love,
He stood upon the desert earth alone."

towering icebergs shot up
Timbers and cordage were
shroud, and sail stood out,

AMID the glitter of an Arctic sea, whose far toward the sun, there lay a frozen ship. incrusted with a silvery armor. Mast, and all rigid and shining, and perfectly proportioned. Upon the deck was a group of ice-clad men. They had chosen the position in which to die. There, seated around the leader, who stood proudly erect, they had awaited their summons and watched its progress. Every fragment was in its place, as if the Ice-king had carefully arranged his toy before gilding it. At his magic touch, ship and crew became forever motionless.

The view of this scene must have been awful. Its contemplation, even, is impressive. But we shudder at the fate of these poor mariners and forget ourselves. We think sadly of their hearts, chilled and frozen, but forget to think sadly or sternly of living men whose heartstrings are dried up, chilled, it may be, by blasts more searching than polar winds, frozen, perhaps harder than ice, even "as hard as hammered. iron." We have toward such, a duty which demands our attention. This duty, while simple in its object, is varied in its application. The object is, to set free the icebound heart. This wretched heart itself