A priest at Freedom’s shrine, Whose kindling words he spoke, Till the dumb millions from their sleep To life and hope awoke; A soldier of the Cross, Who bore a stainless brand; The Preacher of a new crusade To rescue a lost land. Rome! to thy care is given The heart whose throbs are o’er; Eternal City! to thy charge Take this one relic more! And Erin, sad and lorn, Take thou thy sacred trust, And let the soil he loved so well Commingle with his dust! And, Fame, take thou in charge The patriot’s renown, And gather from your amaranth fields Another fadeless crown. * * * * * THE ILLINOIS AND THE PRAIRIES. BY JAMES K. PAULDING, AUTHOR OF THE “DUTCHMAN’S FIRESIDE,” ETC. That gallant officer and enterprising traveler, Major Long, did the Illinois great injustice when he described it as “an extended pool of stagnant water,” for it was, when I saw it, one of the prettiest streams to be found in this country of fine rivers. The width is such as to give a full view of objects on both sides in passing; the basin was full without overflowing; and though the current was gentle, its waters were neither muddy nor stagnant. It should, however, be observed, that my journey was in the season when the rivers of the great Mississippi valley, though beginning to subside, were still high, and that those who wish to see them to advantage should visit the South and West before the heats of summer. Else will they be assuredly disappointed, and accuse me of indulging in a favorite amusement of travelers. The Illinois, until you approach the Rapids, seems made on purpose for steam navigation, which is seldom, if ever, molested either by winds or waves. With the exception of points where the prairies approach the borders, the river is every where skirted by those magnificent forests which constitute one of the most striking and beautiful features of this new world; and completely sheltered from the storm, seems to glide along unconscious of the uproar of the elements around. It flows through a region which, even in this land of milk and honey, is renowned far and near for its almost unequaled fertility, and the ease with which it may be brought to produce the rich rewards of labor. There is, perhaps, no part of the world where the husbandman labors less, and reaps more, than throughout a great portion of this fine state, on which nature has bestowed her most exuberant bounties.