POLITICAL DUTIES OF THE HOUR. danger. The orders sent to Col. Burton were to this effect: watch the movements of the army closely, keeping between it and the immigrant and supply trains; if, when Col. Van Vliet reports, the army still persists in its onward march toward the city, use every means in your power to harass and hinder it by stampeding stock, etc. Every effort was made to secure the uninterrupted progress of the season's immigration, and the freight trains, which were loaded with States goods that were almost indispensable. The efforts were entirely successful, the army at no time overtaking the trains, which arrived in the valley safely. There was no movement of the enemy from the time Col. Burton approached them at Devil's Gate, on the Sweetwater that our officers were not speedily apprized of. Scouts and spies were with them continually, examining their camps, arms, equipments, etc., and reporting to headquarters. Many and varied were the adventures of these and of the small stampeding parties that were engaged in driving off cattle. It may be said to the credit of the army that great precautions were taken to guard against such parties and to save the stock; had it not been so, before reaching Ham's Fork they would not have had an ox, horse or 179 As it was, up government mule left. wards of one thousand five hundred head of stock were taken away from them, and they were considerably annoyed by night surprises, etc. It is here proper to remark that the cattle, horses, and other stock taken during the campaign were, on the conclusion of peace, returned to the officers at Camp Floyd, for which act neither thanks nor compensation was ever rendered. Among the animals that fell into our hands was a pet mule, owned by Col. Alexander; an old, white, gentle creature, the pride of the Colonel's household. Governor Young was particularly requested to take charge of this distinguished favorite, and accordingly had it sought out from the herd, stabled in a reserved stall of his barn and fed on the fat of the land. The attention bestowed upon it became the subject of diplomatic correspondence between the commandants of the opposing forces; yet, notwithstanding the enduring fame thus achieved and the tenderest care of experienced hostlers and veterinary surgeons, the poor prisoner succumbed to age and aggravated grief, at being ruthlessly torn from its associates and friends, and during the winter died, lamented by two armies. Vaux. POLITICAL DUTIES OF THE HOUR. ALL our young men and women are agreed that, as members of the Church, they should be well acquainted with its characteristics and peculiarities, its requirements and demands, its laws and regulations, its organization and the powers of all its officers, its penalties for unfaithfulness and its blessings for integrity and devotion. In order that this intelligent comprehension of the whole may be obtained, and made as near universal as possible, all our settlements and wards have their Sunday Schools, their Mutual Improvement Associations, and other organizations, providing opportunity for reading, investigation, reflection and exercises in and for the express purpose of understanding in detail, these important matters. This is called religious teaching, and is meant for the acquisition of such salvation as inevitably grows out of or springs from the practice of principles which are eternal, and inseparably connected with real salvation. Yet this in the world is generally supposed (erroneously no doubt) to be only of a spiritual character and pertaining to a future life; as if man did not need salvation in many other directions and in this life, as well and as much as hereafter. The fathers and mothers of the youth of Utah have not cherished the narrow ideas of salvation which are enter tained by the religious of mankind; their | negligent themselves, their children are anxiety is and has been, for what the Gospel calls "a full and complete salvation," a salvation of the whole man, and all his parts or sections of being, a salvation of “body, spirit and soul!” Hence the gathering, schools, social arrangements, commercial unity, "the word of wisdom," subjection to municipal, county, territorial or state organizations; each section with many others, individually, yet in unison, working out a "common salvation." And those who are satisfied to remain in ignorance, or knowing, are yet content to be neutral or inactive in any given direction, cannot expect that special salvation which comes from the understanding and practical application of sectional salvatory duty or obedience. sure to be so; unnaturalized, their children have grown up without comprehension of the powers and activities of citizenship in their adopted country; the native born having lost some power by migration, have become careless as to the remainder, hence numerically (and numbers count) the people's party is not as strong as it might really otherwise be. Besides all this, there has been an ever-increasing opposition to that growth of power which is so intimately blended with our conceptions of unity; many are jealous of our success, some are in love with our possessions, others with our'resources, and many are opponents from misrepresentation and many from prejudice; then, as the people here are religionists, persuaded of a special mission, professing to have the Gospel and Priesthood and to look for the kingdom of God, believing also in revelation and the restoration of all good in "the dispensa aroused the special ire of other religionists; this element, jealous and unauthorized, seeing only "their craft in danger," seeks for legislative enactment to crush the growing power; plural marriage being among the restored principles of salvation, and standing as a heaven established protest against the corruptions of a false faith, and false assumptions of inherent purity, is used as a lever to overthrow by legislation that which is invulnerable to argument, to science and to scripture. As citizens of our common country, individual members of this republic, we have certain duties, privileges, responsibilities and rights, and each of these should be understood by every young man and every young woman of this Territory; they should be subjects of reflection of the fulness of time," they have tion, of conversation, of debate and comments in our assemblies, for they are intimately blended with our political salvation. The powers of citzenship are exercised in conventions, and at the ballot-box, and sometimes in official action, and the old proverb is true as ever, that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty;" where men or communities are careless of the exercise of these powers, they may be curtailed, withheld or entirely lost, more easily than they can be regained or restored after such loss. Probably in the past there has not been as much attention given this matter as its importance required or would have justified; there has been little or no opposition in our midst; it has been said that men nominated were sure to be elected, and that one or two votes would make but little difference any way, so trifling excuses have allowed many to avoid or neglect an obligation just as sacred in its way as any so called religious duty. Many fathers and mothers have not sought to encourage our young men and women (their sons and daughters) to either reflection or action in this direction; The fathers and mothers of Israel, who, in obedience to God, in the practice of this principle, are to be disfranchised, are to be deprived of office, no matter how much sustained by those who, knowing them best, have most confidence in them; and having made this country by their patience and industry, are to cease all control of its interests, and to be counted unworthy to participate in its rule. This crisis will have to be met, and this too by our young men and young women; they will have to vote, they will have to hold office, they will have OSCAR WILDE. to stand in the breach and work for that political salvation, of which their parents are to be deprived, yet which is both privilege and birthright, and which Constitution and usage have made sacred, honorable and desirable, for the present and all future time. Now is a good opportunity; there never was a time when information and intelligence were more needed on the topic of political salvation than now; every alien should seek to become a citizen; every young man of age should prepare himself to vote at once, and hold office should he be required; every young woman who is or can be qualified should come in the spirit of devotion to right and privilege, to the discomfiture of those who are plotting against common interests, and seeking to jeopardize common rights and liberties; those who are indifferent now will have cause to repent hereafter; opposition is not likely to decrease, religious fanaticism is hardly likely to cease to fan the flame of persecution; political partisans, bidding for the suffrages of an excited people, are not the ones to plead most heartily for right; imported demagogues and adventurers in our midst, are not of that class who desire justice when self interest 181 bars the way; men with "everything to gain and nothing to lose," see in revolution only a chance "to make a raise;" lawyers without fees see in continuous litigation a ruse to fill depleted coffers; false scribes, political hawks and dead-beats look with envy on the power of truth and the beauty of hard earned homes, and all hell boils over in madness at continued non-success; and some of the so-called Saints think that God has forsaken His people and is about to bring them into bondage, while unbelief and negligence makes victims to shipwreck many once true and faithful souls. In the young Elders, in the daughters of Zion, there is a large reserve of power; let it be used intelligently, and the land that God gave the fathers when they fled from persecution, will not be wrested from them in old age and decrepitude; the consecrated powers of their posterity will bring political and local salvation, as their fathers in earlier life brought the salvation of the Gospel to those who were in bondage, yea, in the very "valley and shadow of death!" H. W. Naisbitt. Self-respect is the early form in which greatness appears.-Emerson. OSCAR TO-DAY, as art in all its branches is making so firm an impression on the soil of the new world, there comes among us a genius of an unusual type. Eccentric as geniuses always are, Oscar Wilde stands out as one of the oddest among the few, compared with the masses, who separate themselves sufficiently from the generality of people, to become known to the world. Whence came he? To speak truthfully and in a commonplace manner, he came originally from Dublin, is of a fine family, and his mother was a very clever writer; to speak æsthetically, he very probably soared out of the common reality of life to the heaven of the beautiful, and pitying the less favored ones below, he brings his principles WILDE. among us to elevate us to his height. A love of the beautiful, a display of good taste in all things, an endeavor to cultivate our minds that we may more readily appreciate whatever is lovely in nature and art, these are the fundamental doctrines of æstheticism. Taking Keats for his model, as Mr. Wilde tells us, he turned his attention to the revolutionizing of poetry and painting, and in the capacity of a laborer for this change he appears before us to-day. Having become tired of the life around him, which was not an existence on the beautiful, and as a refuge where his soul could rest from the "vile traffic house" of bustling England, where his sensitive ears would no longer be pierced by the "ignorant cries" of its "rude people," or the shrieking whistle of its iron horse, the poet turned his face toward "beautiful Italia." Here also his yearning spirit met with disappointment; for the Italia of his dreams is hailed "Queen Only, because rich gold in every town is seen." Rich gold, for which, I am thinking, the spiritual Oscar is to-day occupying the lecture stand and giving forth his soulfully soulful utterances. We, at length, find him in America asking of her the completion of the movement which himself and others have begun. "For you, at least, are young;" says he, in his lecture on the English Renaissance, "no hungry generations tread you down, and the past does not mock you with the ruins of a beauty, the scent of whose creation you have lost." ' And what does America answer to this eloquent appeal? She pays Mr. Wilde a thousand dollars a night to hear him express his opinion on the hanging of a picture, the pattern of a carpet, the building of a house, the perfect loveliness of a life. Many of her best families entertain him, give dinners and receptions in his honor; and most joyful of all to the heart of an earnest preacher, many of her children are becoming disciples of his new doctrine. As a poet Mr. Wilde was first known to the public under the nom de plume "Postlethwaite ;" and though his poems have been much ridiculed as æsthetic jargon, they nevertheless bear, here and there, strong impressions of talent. His "Ave Imperatrix," relating to England's glory in her possessions all over the world, and sorrowing for the many noble lives lost in obtaining that glory, is both beautiful in sentiment and strong in construction. His poems savor less of the æsthetic than his lectures, and are, on the whole, superior to the latter, judging from the few lectures I have had the opportunity of perusing. In the former he deals with much loftier subjects; he does not go so much into detail, nor expatiate at such length on insignificant topics as in the latter. To do Mr. Wilde justice we must glance at his religious poems, which are decidedly the best in his collection. His sonnet on "Easter Day" is very beautiful. He seems to be perfectly sincere in his belief in and respect for religion and the Deity; and for this, if for nothing else, we should esteem the heart of the man. A brief description of Oscar Wilde's personal appearance will not be out of place. "He is a tall, well built man," says an eye witness at his first lecture in New York, "with long light hair, parted in the middle, which curls slightly at the ends. His features are all long and narrow, yet, withal, his face is both good looking and smart-looking. He wears a short black velvet cut away-coat, deep white collar and cuffs, velvet knee-breeches, black silk stockings and low cut slippers. His voice is pleasing and well modulated; and he speaks very distinctly." Did Mr. Wilde look at the vast improvements of to-day with a less scornful eye; did he not so thoroughly prize everything which is old and de spise everything which is new; did he not make such an oddity of himself in his dress and manner, I think that his doctrines would take deeper root and in time produce better fruit, than it is possible for them, under the present circumstances, to do. By the time that the ethereal gentleman reaches the Pacific slope, I do not imagine he will have such an aversion to the noisy, rattling engine; but that, in his heart, hę will bless Mr. Stevenson for inventing the iron monster, which, in its progress, has so ruthlessly cut up the green fields and "ye bonnie banks of merrie England." The journey will be long enough as it is. And as he retraces his steps, or rather his ride, over the many miles of land covered with nothing but sagebrush and sunflowers, think you he will so highly prize the "gaudy leonine beauty" of the latter, considering it so preciously lovely, so utterly utter, as before? Talula Young. Willing to wound and yet afraid to strike. What men want is not talent, it is purpose; not the power to achieve, but the will to labor.-Bulwer. AWAKENING OF SPRING. 183 AWAKENING "When rosy plumelets tuft the larch, And rarely pipes the mounted thrush; Or underneath the barren bush Flits by the sea-blue bird of March." The long, long winter is over, or in common parlance, the first spring month is upon us, and though now and then the air is cold and raw, and the light fleecy snow falls occasionally, beautifying the landscape for a transitory moment, yet we cannot but see that spring de facto is about to pay us her annual visit. Soon we shall have the sprightly, coy, artless maiden, whom we designate Spring, peeping out from sunny nooks and corners with her trailing garlands of green, and gladsome, shining face, though now and then bedewed with jeweled teardrops, yet all the more beautiful, with the pleasing contrast of sunshine and shade; and anon, with positive assurance of her real designs, she will burst forth in fairy-like beauty to gladden the universe. She is heralded with the sweetest orchestra, to me, the most finished music, surpassing the composition of the finest masters. The trilling and quavering of the forest birds, never ceases to be wonderful to the lover of nature. These songs of the birds, and other evidences of springtime, convey to us more than the reality-there is something indefinable when we try to express it in words, but of which we are quietly conscious within-for want of a better term, the world declares it poetical sentiment, and as such I accept it; knowing no more than the rest of man kind how to define it. It is an inexpressible charm of sense and sound, an exhilaration imparted to the soul, by the sympathy of many unseen forces, and by the languid softening of the air, lengthening of the days, and the thousand beautiful things that make their appearance in such a marvelous manner, through an unseen effort of our mother earth, so joyful when these inanimate beings spring to life, that the effect of this renewal is everywhere apparent, although varying in its intensity. One in intimate association with the OF SPRING. woods and fields, finds much pleasure, poetry if you will, in the first indications of the bursting of the green leaf on the bare bough. At this particular season of the year, the young hemlock is artistically beautiful, “"lying almost flat upon the ground," like a heavy carpet, richer in its designs than the most elaborate patterns of the skillful manufacturer. There are many varieties of tree and leafy shrub that are exceedingly beautiful when bursting into leaf, and each of these might form a separate subject. The graceful long leaved willows that fringe the brooklets on the river's edge; although superstitiously suggestive of melancholy and traditional as funereal in aspect and bearing, yet, in the poetic mind, are associated even "sweetly and cheerfully;" for instance, Tennyson to the "Lady of Shallott:" "Willows whiten, aspens quiver, me is Flowing down to Camelot." The simple word willow to poetry, musical and melodious. "Sing willow, willow, willow, Sing all a green willow, must be my garland." "My mother had a maid called Barbara; These little snatches of quaint songs, perpetuate the tradition, and it may be that poets love to be melancholy or are imbued with a tinge of sadness which renders them happier. Is this paradoxical? This sentiment is one of the things of which words do not convey the whole meaning. The reed is another of these sad and musical plants, and by its long peculiar leaves is said to suggest the idea of inditing, which endears it all the more to the heart of the poet. At this season of the year, the reeds are a pale, exquisitely tasteful yellow, and as the soft, |