us.

pened to be off duty at the time, and who had in his possession an excellent telescope, went with me to the top of a high hill, which commanded a view of the whole field, and where a thick chapparal, through whose branches the cool luxuriant winds came singing, spread its grateful shade above our heads, as we reclined upon the soft carpet-like earth and gazed upon the magnificent view before There lay the sandy plains, dotted with the white tents of the soldiers; the green field on which the enemy was to pile his arms; the shattered walls, ramparts and white domes of the city; the timeworn battlements of the old grim Castle, over which the half-masted flag of Mexico was trailing in sadness; and beyond, the great, solemn, sleeping sea, on whose unruffled bosom the countless fleet of transports, men-of-war and steamers, as the long glassy surge came sweeping in, rolled lazily to and fro, with their wilderness of spars and rigging basking in the yellow sunshine. It was a most beautiful sight, and one that can never be effaced from my memory.

About ten o'clock, A. M., the American army moved up in two columns; a perfect forest of glittering bayonets, the regular troops on the right, and the volunteers on the left; and enclosing the extended field in a hollow square, with an opening nearest the city, through which the Mexicans were to enter, awaited their approach. In a short time the sound of mournful music announced that the enemy was approaching; and looking toward the city, we beheld his columns moving out in good order, and in the direction of our army.

On they came, the poor, crest-fallen, half-starved, emaciated creatures, to the most mournful strains ear ever heard; the long, dejected-looking files of troops accompanied by the inhabitants of the city; women and children; the old, the young, the crippled-all bearing off their little treasures. Some could be seen staggering under the weight of old trunks, others loaded down with bags of meal; no doubt their little all. I need not say that I sincerely sympathized with them in their deep distress; and as I looked around upon the many poor pale sorrowing faces of the females, my heart ached for them, and I involuntarily breathed forth a curse upon the inventor of WAR!

After the soldiers had stacked their arms, and while they were waiting to be paroled, I came down from the hill where I had been seated, and strolled round among the columns of the Mexicans, and was surprised at finding so many fine-looking officers and men among them. They had the appearance of being well disciplined, and their arms and accoutrements were in a most excellent condition. though I was entirely alone, and wore the uniform of the navy, not an insult was offered to me; and whenever I thought proper to salute one of their officers, the civility was always promptly and courteously acknowledged.

Al

On I went, in a spirit of wild recklessness, stopping to exchange an occasional smile or kind word with the pretty señoritas, with their large, dark, languishing eyes, raven tresses hanging down almost to the earth, and with their swelling bosoms more than half

disclosed to view; until suddenly looking up, I for the first time discovered that I had left our army and all assistance far behind, and that I was alone in the very midst of the armed and swarthy hordes of the enemy, and directly before the principal gate of the city. To add to my uneasiness, I perceived many dark and threatening glances cast toward me from the sullen columns of soldiers; and I have no doubt, had they not been restrained by a fear of their officers, they would have sacrificed me on the spot to gratify their thirst for revenge upon the Americans. But let me feel as I would, it was no time to show indecision; so I walked quietly along the walls, examining the loop-holes for musketry, and speculating in my own mind whether some one of the enemy, as at Monterey, might not lie concealed behind them, and take a fancy to make a target of me. I can testify from personal experience that the spot on which I stood at that time was not a bed of roses. Had I been made the victim of some deadly marksman, who at such a time could ever have ferreted out the assassin? Just at this moment, to my great relief, Mr. Crossan, a very brave and accomplished officer, accompanied by three others, came up, having like me wandered on in advance of the army. After a brief consultation, it was decided to go on at all hazards. Accordingly we crossed the old bridge, and after passing under a ponderous arched gate-way, found ourselves in the almost deserted streets. We were the first Americans who had entered the city of Vera Cruz.

What a scene of desolation and distress met the eye at every turn! For nearly a week the American army had rained a ceaseless shower of bomb-shells into the ill-fated city; and not a street, and scarcely a house, remained unvisited by these terrible missiles. The pavements ploughed up; beautiful dwellings shattered into masses of ruin; signs of every description broken in pieces, and fragments of shell lying around in every direction; these told the havoc which had been made with our enemies. The few people who remained in the city seemed completely cowed down' and beaten out with constant fatigue, anxiety, and want of sleep; and as we passed along the echoing streets, they looked out of their broken windows timidly upon us, as if expecting insult and violence.

For myself, I sincerely sympathized with them in their poignant distress; and had I possessed the power, I would not have injured one of the poor pale-faced creatures of that many-sorrow'd throng' for the universe. There is something in deep distress which claims a kindred feeling in the breast of poor humanity,' and I separated from the party, and wandered alone over the entire city. During the whole of my peregrinations, wherever I went I was treated with the greatest respect and kindness; and whenever I stopped before a house to gaze upon the damage done by a shell, if the building was not already deserted some one of the inmates would come to the shattered door, invite me to enter, point out their furniture destroyed, or the time-worn walls stained with the life-blood of a father or a mother, a brother or a sister.

Nor was it the Mexicans alone who suffered. The foreign residents of the town, not expecting a bombardment, but an assault from our army, had remained at their residences; and to use the phrase of the indignant British consul, were caught like so many rats in a trap! This gentleman informed me, that for a whole week he had not taken off his clothes, and had scarcely slept a moment during the whole of the bombardment. Whenever,' said he, a person did lie down to obtain a little rest, it was with the comforting thought that in all human probability he would have a great bomb-shell come down through the roof of his house, and take up its quarters by his side for a bed-fellow !'

He went on to say, that during the second night of the bombardment he collected together quite a large party of his friends, if I remember rightly, some twenty in number, ladies and gentlemen, who took refuge in the parlor of a large stone house, which being very strong, was thought to be tolerably safe against the incursion of the shells, though they could be heard crashing into the city like a hail-storm, without intermission. But while the party were congratulating themselves upon their probable security, they heard a dreadful crash upon the roof of the house, which made its firm walls tremble, and in an instant the terrible missile landed directly in the centre of the room, and exploded with a blinding glare and deafening roar, shattering down the strong building, and destroying twelve of the unfortunate creatures åt one fell swoop!' In fact, no place was safe; the palace of the grandee and the hut of the wretched peasant shared one common fate.

In the afternoon I visited the hospital, where the wounded were lying; some in the last mortal agonies; some with their arms blown off, others with their legs broken, and all horribly mutilated. The old, the young, the rich and the poor, male and female, had been gathered in from all parts of the city to this vast receptacle of pain and suffering. Heart-rending moans arose from every quarter of the building; clouds of flies almost darkened the air; and I turned in horror from the sickening sight.

Before night the town was filled with our troops, who kept pouring in, regiments at a time, and a constant stream of baggagewagons were entering at the different gates, from the scene of the capitulation, loaded down with the arms and accoutrements of the vanquished enemy. As the vehicles passed me, rattling over the ruined pavements with their glittering freights, on their way to deposite them for safe keeping in the Castle of San Juan d'Ullio, I could not but think of LONGFELLOW's beautiful and truthful lines:

'Is it, O man, with such discordant noises,
With such accursed instruments as these,
Thou drownest Nature's sweet and kindly voices,
And jarrest the celestial harmonies?

"Were half the power that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals nor forts!'

E. C. H.

'As a Priest, or Interpreter of the Holy, is the noblest and highest of all men, so is a sham-priest (Scheinpriester,) the falsest and basest.'

SARTOR RESARTUS.

'How came you to say, Mr. PARSON,' said the 'DOCTOR,' taking off his gold spectacles, and slowly wiping them with his white mouchoir, how came you to say, in your yesterday-morning's sermon, that 'all truths are akin ?''

Simply because I thought so, Doctor. Have you any good reason for thinking they are not?'

The Parson, as he said this, indolently threw his legs at length upon the lounge, and settled back upon the cushion, resting his head upon his hand. The Doctor was already in much the same position his feet nearly touching those of the Parson.

'Perhaps not any,' answered the Doctor, in his deliberate way; 'but I would ask a question or two. You affirm that all truths are akin.' Now I should like to know what affinity the fact that the fire on my left is burning has with the fact for all facts are truths—that the Tattleton Gazette' is issued every Saturday morning?'

In the first place, my dear Doctor, I must object to the phraseology of your question. It is not true that all facts are truths. A fact is not a truth, but the statement of a fact is one.'

'Very well,' said the Doctor; 'go on.'

'You would know what affinity the burning of these coals has with the issuing of the Tattleton Gazette' every Saturday morning?'

Exactly that,' interrupted the Doctor.

And in order to answer this satisfactorily, we must inquire,' proceeded the Parson,' what the source of all truths is. Manifestly that source is God himself. He produced all facts. Intelligence, taking cognizance of facts, affirms their existence. This affirmation is Truth. Now since GoD is the Supreme Intelligence, and, as creator of all facts, takes cognizance of all, He can affirm the existence of every fact and all. TRUTH, then, universal Truth, resides in HIM alone. As no two truths can contradict each other, and be truths, so they consequently must bear a mutual relation to each other in the Divine Mind, and must be akin.'

The Parson here smiled complacently, and changed his legs. The Doctor threw a sly glance at the Lieutenant to see if he was listening; but he was looking into the fire with a fixed gaze, and the Doctor was at fault. So, changing his glance to the face of the 'Squire, who, ensconced in his easy-chair in front of the grate, was composedly paying good attention, the Doctor thus began: