O, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blessed with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a Nation Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto--"In God is our trust;" And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! F. S. Key. CLVIII. ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH Higher, higher, will we climb, Up the mount of glory, That our names may live through time In our country's story; Happy, when her welfare calls, He who conquers, he who falls. Deeper, deeper, let us toil, In the mines of knowledge; Nature's wealth, and learning's spoil, Win from school and college; Delve we then for richer gems Than the stars of diadems. Onward, onward, may we press Through the path of duty; Virtue is true happiness, Excellence true beauty. Minds are of celestial birth; Make we then a heaven of earth. Closer, closer, let us knit Hearts and hands together, Where our fireside comforts sit, In the wildest weather; O! they wander wide who roam For the joys of life from home! J. Montgomery. CLIX. THE L0VE OF COUNTRY AND OF HOME. There is a land, of every land the pride, Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside; Where brighter suns dispense serener light, And milder moons imparadise the night; A land of beauty, virtue, valor, truth, Time-tutored age, and love-exalted youth.