We heard the roar and the rattle afar,
    But the pipes we could not hear;
  So the men plied their work of hopeless war,
    And knew that the end was near.

  It was not long ere it made its way,—­
    A shrilling, ceaseless sound: 
  It was no noise from the strife afar,
    Or the sappers under ground.

  It was the pipes of the Highlanders! 
    And now they played Auld Lang Syne;
  It came to our men like the voice of God,
    And they shouted along the line.

  And they wept and shook one another’s hands,
    And the women sobbed in a crowd;
  And every one knelt down where he stood,
    And we all thanked God aloud.

  That happy time, when we welcomed them,
    Our men put Jessie first;
  And the general gave her his hand, and cheers
    Like a storm from the soldiers burst.

  And the pipers’ ribbons and tartans streamed,
    Marching round and round our line;
  And our joyful cheers were broken with tears
    As the pipes played Auld Lang Syne.

NEW ENGLAND MINISTERS.

Dr. Sprague, of Albany, has added to the literature of our country two large octavo volumes, containing biographical accounts of the Congregational clergy of New England, from its earliest settlement until the year 1841.  The book has been for the most part compiled from letters furnished by different individuals, who, either through personal knowledge or through tradition, had the most intimate acquaintance with the subjects of which they wrote.

The characters here sketched, though perfectly individual, are in so great a degree the result of peculiar political influences, that it would be difficult to suppose their existence elsewhere than in New England.  We have therefore chosen this book as a kind of standpoint from which to take a glance at the New England clergy and pulpit.

The earliest constitution of government in New England was a theocracy; it was the realization of Arnold’s idea of the identity of Church and State.  Under it the clergy had peculiar powers and privileges, which, it is but fair to say, they turned to the advantage of the Commonwealth more than has generally been the case with any privileged order.

A time, however, came when the democratic element, which these men themselves had fostered, worked out its logical results, by depriving them of all special immunities, and leaving them, like any other citizens, to make their way by pure force of character, and to be rated, like other men, simply for what they were and what they could do.

It is creditable to the intelligence and shrewdness of this body of men that the more far-sighted among them received this change with satisfaction; that they were such uncommonly fair logicians as to be willing to accept the direct inference from principles which they had been foremost to inculcate, and, like men of strong mind and clear conscience, were not afraid to rest their claim to influence and deference on the manfulness with which they should strive to deserve them.